Subject: Senator Cardin, Presidents of NEA, AFT, Washington Teachers Union Demand Senate GOP Move Forward on Filling Supreme Court Vacancy
From: Natalie Raps <[email-masked]>
To: Natalie Raps <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2016 17:43:51 +0000

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
May 17, 2016

PRESS CONTACT:
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Senator Cardin, Presidents of NEA, AFT, Washington Teachers Union Demand Senate GOP Move Forward on Filling Supreme Court Vacancy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) joined the American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García, and Elizabeth Davis of the Washington Teachers Union, to mark the 62 anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling and demand that Senate Republicans stop the historic obstruction of Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

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U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD):

“President Obama has carried out his constitutional responsibilities and duties by nominating a successor for Justice Scalia. ‎The Senate now has to do its job and act on the nomination. That Chief Judge Garland has impeccable qualifications should make this easier, but the process should be the same regardless of who the President’s nominee is. The current Republican strategy of obstruction ignores the Constitution and hundreds of years of American history. This is not how our system is supposed to operate.  Without a full nine-member court, the Senate risks creating a constitutional crisis if the Court continues to reach a 4-4 deadlock on major decisions. ‎ We need nine. This nomination should not be about popularity or politics, it is about finding the next justice who will advance the rule of law in this country.”

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT):

“The fight for racial equality is in the AFT’s DNA. Three years before Brown v. Board of Education, we stopped chartering segregated locals. We filed an amicus brief in support of Brown. And in 1957, we expelled the locals that refused to integrate, losing 14 percent of our membership in the process. We fight for equal access and racial justice because it’s the right thing, not because it’s the easy thing. It’s time for Senate Republicans to do the right thing for our country, end this partisan blockade, and hold hearings to return the Supreme Court to its full strength.”

Lily Eskelsen García, President of the National Education Association (NEA):

“Few U.S. Supreme Court decisions have impacted our nation’s history as much as the Brown v. Board<http://www.nea.org/home/59114.htm> landmark decision. This historic ruling marked a turning point in our nation’s history, not only outlawing school segregation, but also having a direct, immediate and personal impact on millions of students and their families. Today, the stakes remain high at the Supreme Court, evidenced by recent cases that highlight the real and practical implications of the Court’s decisions on issues ranging from voting rights to the rights of American workers to organize. In order for the Court to continue to serve the American people at full strength, educators are demanding the Senate to do its job, put students ahead of partisan politics, and to hold a hearing and a vote on President Obama’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland.”

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