THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBER. IT IS A HONOR TO ANTICIPATE IN MY FOURTH SUPREME COURT NOMINATION. JUDGE JACKSON, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NOMINATION. I FEEL LIKE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE EVERY REASON TO BE VERY PROUD. AND YOUR DAUGHTER, APPARENTLY HAS PRETTY WEIGHTY LETTER WRITING SKILLS. WE MET TOGETHER, I ASKED YOU ABOUT YOUR FAMILY. I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY FAMILY MEMBERS, SIBLINGS --. NOW YOU HAVE GONE TO DO THAT IN YOUR PUBLIC OFFENDER ROLE IN AS A JUDGE. WE SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF THAT. WE SHOULD RECOGNIZE THE SHORT NATURE OF THIS EVENT AS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN FEMALE TO BE PUT FORTH CONFIRMATION FOR THE SUPREME COURT IS EXTRAORDINARY. I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN WE HAD THE MEETING IN MY OFFICE, I ASKED YOU WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING THIS BECAUSE THIS WEEK IS NOT GOING TO BE PARTICULARLY FUN EVERY MOMENT OF THIS. YOU ARE BRILLIANT, YOUR EDUCATED. THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO. YOU HAVE SET THAT IT IS REALLY YOUR PROFESSION. I GUESS IN MANY RESPECTS THIS IS A DREAM OF YOURS, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT IT IS PROBABLY WITHIN REACH FOR MANY YOUNG BOYS AND GIRLS, YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN, THE REALITY THAT THEY TOO CAN BE HERE BEFORE THE SENATE BEING CONSIDERED FOR CONFIRMATION TO THE HIGHEST COURT OF THE LAND. YOU ARE NOT ONLY FOR KILLING YOUR DREAMS, YOUR MAKING THE DREAMS OF OTHERS FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS, YOUR FULFILLING THE DREAMS OF OTHERS. I THINK YOU HAVE A STRONG TRACK RECORD OF ETHICAL VALUES. HONESTY, INTEGRITY. IN CONFIRMING THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, IT IS ONE OF THE MOST RESPONSIBILITIES I THINK I HAVE AS THE U.S. SENATOR. THE OUTCOME OF OUR DECISION WILL IMPACT MILLIONS OF LIVES AND THE STRUCTURE OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ARE FINANCES TO SOME OF THE MOST RESTING LEGAL --PRESSING LEGAL QUESTIONS AT TIMES. MANY OF THEM DO NOT HAVE GOOD ANSWERS, OR AT LEAST EASY ONES. THAT IS WHY IT IS CRITICAL WHENEVER WE CONFIRM A SUPREME COURT, WE UNDERSTAND THE JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY AND RECONCILE IT WITH OUR CONCEPTION OF THE BEST MINDSET TO BRING TO THE BENCH. IN MY OPINION, THE JUSTICES JOB IS TO INTERPRET THE WORDS OF THE CONSTITUTION AS IT IS WRITTEN AND GIVE THEM THE ORIGINAL MEANING. I REJECT THE NOTION OF THE CONSTITUTION AS A LIVING EVOLUTIONARY DOCUMENT THAT CHANGES BASED ON THE IMPULSES OF FIVE UNELECTED JUSTICES. A GOOD JUDGE UNDERSTANDS THAT HIS AND HER JOB RIDDING THEIR PERFORMED OUTCOMES TO STATUTE. IF THE RIGHTS OF THE STATUTE ARE CLEAR, A GOOD JUDGE WILL REACH A DECISION BASED ON THOSE WORDS. EVEN IF IT CREATES AN OUTCOME THAT THEY MAY THIS AGREE WITH COMPLETELY. IN OTHER WORDS, CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS, A GOOD JUSTICE HAS ONE JOB. NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS. SOMETIMES THAT LEADS TO RULINGS OF REPUBLICANS THAT LIGHT, THE LIKE AND DEMOCRATS HATE. SOMETIMES AT LEAST TWO ROWS THAT EVERYONE HATES. THAT IS YOUR JOB AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET JUDGE JACKSON. I WANT TO THANK YOU TO YOUR INDULGENCE. I HAD ALL OF MY STAFF ASKED A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS. I WAS QUITE IMPRESSED HOW ENGAGED YOU ARE WITH SOME OF THE FORMAL MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE AND OTHER STAFF. ONE PERSON HAD A QUESTION, HE YOU WERE VERY AND DILIGENT IN YOUR ANSWER. I JUST THOUGHT WE WERE HONEST AND WORTH COMING. AFTER YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TEMPERAMENT BASED ON HOW SEEING YOU REACT TO THE QUESTIONS, THE STATEMENTS TODAY. I ALSO APPRECIATE HOW YOUR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE, A BROOM GETTIN PERSPECTIVE AND UPGRADING --NUMBERING AND SHAPE YOUR VIEWS. I DO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT TO WEAVE TOGETHER OR RECONCILE MY CONCEPTION OF THE RIGHT MINDSET FOR A JUDGE GOING TO THE SUPREME COURT. I AM CONCERNED, AND WILL LOOK INTO QUESTIONS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. I WILL BE HERE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE HEARING TO KIND OF PUT TOGETHER THE FOUNDATION THAT I NEED TO MAKE ULTIMATELY TO MAKE A DECISION ON YOUR CONFIRMATION. TO PROCEED WITH THE HEARING THIS WEEK, I WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE, MOST OF THE TIME EXCEPT HER BREAKS. I WILL FOCUS ON UNDERSTANDING YOUR WRITINGS. I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR THESIS RIGHT NOW, SHOULD BE FINISHED BY TOMORROW MORNING. YOUR POLITICAL ACTIVITIES AND OPINIONS WITH A GOAL OF DETERMINING YOUR PHILOSOPHY, WHETHER OR NOT IT IS WITHIN MY CONCEPTION OF THE RIGHT PHILOSOPHY OF SOMEBODY I WOULD GO TO CONFIRM. AT THE END OF THE WEEK, I WILL ULTIMATELY HAVE TO CONCLUDE WHETHER OR NOT I AM COMFORTABLE WITH PUTTING SOMEONE IN A LIFETIME POSITION, AND WHETHER THAT PERSON IS LIKELY TO HAVE THE KIND OF PHILOSOPHY THAT I WANT. I HOPE, I EXPECTED THAT THEY WOULD TAKE OPINIONS THAT WOULD MAKE ME MAD. THAT IS OK. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW THAT THEY DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASON. I DO NOT WANT AN ACTIVIST AT EITHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, ALTHOUGH I THINK SOME FOLKS ARE OK WITH ONE END OF SPECTRUM, NOT THE OTHER. IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY OF THE COURT, THERE IS NO PLACE ON THE SUPREME COURT FOR JUDICIAL ACTIVISM. THE BEST THING WE COULD DO HERE IS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE JUSTICES THAT ARE GOING TO BE STORED TO THE CONSTITUTION, RESPECTFUL OF THE MEASURES THAT WE HAVE HAD AND RIGHT SPIRIT I LOOK FORWARD TO THE HEARING TOMORROW. YOU ARE GOING TO GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ASKED. I DO THINK -- THANK ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES IN ADVANCE FOR BEING RESPECTFUL, THOUGHTFUL AND OPEN-MINDED. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR OPENING STATEMENT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 