July 15, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4921 Given her years of experience work- move out of the chain of command. Op- lence. It is not only ineffective, it is ing on issues germane to the Federal ponents have tried to misrepresent actively concealing information and Circuit, she will be ready upon con- these crimes the bill addresses. It does hampering justice. That is why the firmation to hit the ground running. not, for example, deal with larceny current system is unacceptable. Mr. President, at the end of her hear- under $1,000 or destruction of govern- We have to reform the system. The ing, I said to her say: ‘‘Why did you ment property. Those crimes would Military Justice Improvement and In- want to do this? Why would you go into stay with the commander. creasing Prevention Act is supported public life? It seems like things are The bill includes a finite list of by experts, by servicemembers, and by going pretty well for you as a lawyer.’’ crimes. I will read them all now: re- a bipartisan filibuster-proof majority She said: ‘‘It has always been my cruit maltreatment, nonconsensual dis- of Senators if we bring it to the floor. dream to serve on this bench.’’ tribution of visual images, murder, Mr. President, as in legislative ses- Well, I hope her dream comes true manslaughter, murder of a pregnant sion, I ask unanimous consent that at and the Senate helps her reach it. I mother, child endangerment, sexual as- a time to be determined by the major- urge my colleagues to join me in vot- sault, obscene mailing, sexual assault ity leader, in consultation with the Re- ing in favor of Ms. Cunningham’s nomi- of a child, voyeurism, major financial publican leader, the Senate Armed nation. crimes, major fraud, robbery, bribery, Services Committee be discharged from I yield the floor. graft, kidnapping, arson, extortion, ag- further consideration of S. 1520 and the I suggest the absence of a quorum. gravated sexual assault, maiming, do- Senate proceed to its consideration; The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mestic violence, stalking, perjury, ob- that there be 2 hours for debate, equal- clerk will call the roll. struction of justice, and retaliation. ly divided in the usual form; that upon The legislative clerk proceeded to That is it. That is the list. Those are the use or yielding back of that time, call the roll. crimes that have punishment of more the Senate vote on the bill with no in- Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I than 1 year associated with them. tervening action or debate. ask unanimous consent that the order I ask those who oppose this reform to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there for the quorum call be rescinded. tell me why they would expect a com- objection? The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without mander with as little as a few hours of Mr. REED. Mr. President, I object. objection, it is so ordered. training to be prepared to try cases on The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 1520 obscene mailing or to be well versed on tion is heard. Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I the elements of extortion. Tell me rise again today to call for every Sen- about the commander who understands f ator to have the opportunity to cast the intricacies of using false docu- their vote on the Military Justice Im- ments to claim benefits or has the time CLOTURE MOTION provement and Increasing Prevention to investigate complex financial The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant Act. frauds. Tell me about what leaves our to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the It is time for us to look at this issue commanders prepared to act as judge Senate the pending cloture motion, to move serious crimes like sexual as- and jury in a murder trial or a kidnap- which the clerk will state. sault and murder out of the chain of ping case. The legislative clerk read as follows: command and put them in the hands of Our bill simply recognizes that these CLOTURE MOTION well-trained military prosecutors who are serious crimes that require legal We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- are independent, impartial, and highly expertise to properly review and pros- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the trained uniformed prosecutors. ecute. By moving these crimes to inde- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby This is an issue that deserves ur- pendent military lawyers, this reform move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- gency. I began calling for this full floor allows commanders to focus on what nation of Executive Calendar No. 193, Tiffany vote on May 24. Since then, it is an es- they are trained to do: preparing our P. Cunningham, of Illinois, to be United timate that 2,912 servicemembers will troops to fight and win our Nation’s States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit. Charles E. Schumer, Richard J. Durbin, have been raped or sexually assaulted wars. , Margaret Wood Hassan, during that time; more will have been Additionally, the chairman has said , Jeff Merkley, victims of other serious crimes. Many that this bill would remove from the , , Debbie will not even report these crimes be- chain of command ‘‘crimes that have Stabenow, Gary C. Peters, Angus S. cause they have no faith in the current been handled by the military chain of King, Jr., , Robert system, where decisions about whether command effectively for years and P. Casey, Jr., Christopher Murphy, Ben to prosecute are made by commanders years and years.’’ Ray Luja´ n, Jack Reed, Chris Van Hol- and not trained lawyers. And yet this But, actually, that is not the case. len. vote continues to be delayed and de- They haven’t been handled effectively. The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- nied, week after week. Just this week the Military Times re- imous consent, the mandatory quorum While I am glad to see that more of ported on the case of Private Jonathan call has been waived. our colleagues have acknowledged that Lauture, who is alleged to have shot The question is, Is it the sense of the we must move sexual assault out of the and killed Jason Lindsay in June 2019, Senate that debate on the nomination chain of command, it is not enough. It when Lindsay entered Lauture’s home of Tiffany P. Cunningham, of Illinois, doesn’t address the fundamental flaw in an attempt to intervene in a situa- to be United States Circuit Judge for in the military justice system, which is tion of domestic violence. the Federal Circuit, shall be brought to that it asks commanders to act as His chain of command at Fort Bliss a close? judge and jury in highly complex was aware of the killing, but they did The yeas and nays are mandatory crimes that they are not trained to do. not inform the Army’s criminal inves- under the rule. In fact, the training commanders get tigation division. Instead, they quickly The clerk will call the roll. includes just a few hours, at the most, reassigned him to Fort Stewart, where The bill clerk called the roll. on legal topics like military justice he continued to assault his wife. Mr. THUNE. The following Senators and unlawful command influence. No The Military Times reports: ares necessarily absent: the Senator one could be expected to learn in a few Army investigators had no idea that the from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM), the hours what it takes lawyers years of shooting had even occurred, much less the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. JOHNSON), domestic violence. . . . Lauture’s Fort Bliss and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. study and decades of experience to chain of command did not inform the CID of MORAN). master. the shooting. Nobody did, until a domestic That is why this bill would move se- violence investigation in December 2019 by The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 63, rious crimes to the purview of those Fort Stewart CID incidentally learned that nays 34, as follows: lawyers who have had the time to prop- Lauture had [allegedly] killed a man who [Rollcall Vote No. 266 Ex.] erly prepare for the job. was attempting to rescue his wife. YEAS—63 Today, I would like to outline ex- That is how the current system han- Baldwin Blumenthal Brown actly which crimes this bill would dles alleged murder and domestic vio- Bennet Booker Cantwell

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They are Ernst Merkley Stabenow They are still running the numbers. hanging on. They are hanging on with Feinstein Murkowski Tester Fischer Murphy Tillis The damages are in the billions and bil- every ounce of strength they have, but Gillibrand Murray Van Hollen lions and billions and billions of dol- they are human. And, as I said, they Grassley Ossoff Warner lars, and my people need help. are tough, but they are tired. Hassan Padilla Warnock For that reason, on behalf of Senator Heinrich Peters Warren The purpose of my bill today is to Hickenlooper Portman Whitehouse offer us help for them. My bill today CASSIDY and myself, as if in legislative Hirono Reed Wyden and Senator CASSIDY’s bill today—as I session, I ask unanimous consent that NAYS—34 said, I am here on behalf of Senator the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2359, which is at the Barrasso Hagerty Sasse CASSIDY, as well—would authorize $1.1 Blackburn Hawley Scott (FL) billion to help my people recover. desk. I further ask that the bill be con- Blunt Hoeven Scott (SC) Now, I want to emphasize, some peo- sidered read a third time and passed, Boozman Hyde-Smith Shelby ple, when they think of flooding and and that the motion to reconsider be Braun Inhofe Sullivan hurricanes, think of wealthy people considered made and laid upon the Burr Kennedy Thune Cassidy Lankford Toomey with second homes, with multimillion- table. Cotton Lummis Tuberville dollar dwellings on the beach. That is The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Cramer Marshall Wicker not what I am talking about. I am not objection? Crapo McConnell Young Cruz Paul putting down anybody who has a nice, Mr. PAUL. Mr. President. Daines Risch expensive beach house, but that is not The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- what we are talking about in Lou- ator from . NOT VOTING—3 Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, reserving Graham Johnson Moran isiana. The people who were hit by these the right to object, we have now The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. VAN weather events, through no fault of crossed $28 trillion in debt. We borrow HOLLEN). On this vote the yeas are 63, their own, are just good, honest middle more than $2 million every minute. the nays are 34. Americans who get up every day and go The deficit last year was over $3 tril- The motion is agreed to. to work and obey the law. They pay lion. The deficit this year will be over f their taxes. They try to do the right $3 trillion. There is a $1 trillion wish list out there for everybody. Everybody EXECUTIVE CALENDAR thing by their kids. Their biggest in- vestment is their home, and many wants something. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The completely lost their home. Many of Somebody says: Oh, there is money clerk will report the nomination. them had flood insurance, and many of in the Treasury. Guess what. There is The bill clerk read the nomination of them had homeowner’s insurance—and not. There is a big hole, a big black Tiffany P. Cunningham, of Illinois, to both. But it just didn’t cover their hole in the Treasury, 28 trillion dollars’ be United States Circuit Judge for the losses completely. So we are talking worth. Federal Circuit. about middle America here, and I want So we do have this one asset, and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- to make that clear. when we sell it, we should do it to pay ator from Louisiana. Now, Mr. President, I am sure you down the deficit. We shouldn’t do it to UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 2359 are thinking, because I know you well expand government further. Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I rise and you are a smart man: OK, if we are So I object to this because we are $28 today on my own behalf and on behalf spending $1.1 billion here, where are we trillion in debt. We don’t have any of my colleague Senator . going to get it? money, and we should be fiscally con- I know this has been true for States Well, I come to you today with a servative as we profess to be. besides Louisiana, but for the last 18 problem, but I also come to you today I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- months, from a weather perspective, with a solution. jection is heard. Louisiana has been a fantastic impres- I don’t want to digress too much, but, The Senator from Nevada. sion of hell. We have had three hurri- as you know, we are trying to build out ORDER OF BUSINESS canes. We have had, depending upon 5G in America, and 5G operates Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, how you define them, probably 10 dif- through radio waves through the air I ask unanimous consent that all ferent heavy rain events. And when I called spectrum. And the FCC is in postcloture time on the Cunningham say ‘‘heavy rain events,’’ I mean, that charge of those radio waves. A couple nomination be expired and that at 5:30 doesn’t sound very serious. I can assure of years ago, the FCC—and those radio p.m., Monday, July 19, the Senate vote you, it was. When you get 6, 8, 10, 12 waves, by the way, belong to the Amer- on confirmation of the nomination; inches of rain in a short period of time, ican people. The FCC licenses them out further, that if the nomination is con- you are going to flood. I don’t care if to companies to use in wireless com- firmed, the motion to reconsider be you are living on Pikes Peak. You are munications. A few years ago, the FCC considered made and laid upon the going to flood. The water has to go was about to give away what is called table and the President be immediately somewhere. And, of course, we were the C-band spectrum, these particular notified of the Senate’s action. part of the bad, debilitating freeze, as radio waves that would allow for 5G to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without well, that also hit Texas very hard. become reality in America. And a num- objection, it is so ordered. My people are very resilient, and ber of us objected. We said: You know, they are tough, but they are tired. you don’t own these radio waves. The f Most Americans, when they think of American people own these radio LEGISLATIVE SESSION a natural disaster, at least in connec- waves. Why are you giving them away? tion with Louisiana, think of Hurri- And after some lively discussions, we --- cane Katrina, and, certainly, it was a finally turned the FCC around, and MORNING BUSINESS bad one. I was there. We never would they decided to auction those radio Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, have recovered without the help of the waves to the highest bidder. They I ask unanimous consent that the Sen- American people, and I will never be brought in $80 billion—$80 billion—and ate proceed to legislative session and able to thank the American people I am very proud of that. That money is be in a period of morning business, enough for putting forth their hard- sitting in an account in the Depart- with Senators permitted to speak earned tax dollars to help us recover. ment of the Treasury. therein for up to 10 minutes each.

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