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Threatens America E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021 No. 90 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at 12 p.m. Senate MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021 The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, NOMINATION OF KRISTEN M. called to order by the President pro I ask unanimous consent that the order CLARKE tempore (Mr. LEAHY). for the quorum call be rescinded. Mr. MCCONNELL. On a completely f The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. different matter, when President HIRONO). Without objection, it is so or- Biden’s nominees have been qualified PRAYER dered. and mainstream, they received bipar- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- f tisan cooperation. But the President’s fered the following prayer: RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY choice to head a key Division at the Let us pray. LEADER Department of Justice as an Assistant Eternal God, You place melodies in Attorney General failed to even ad- our hearts. Thank You for the music of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Re- vance out of the committee. Your mercies, for the harmonies of publican leader is recognized. The Democratic leader had to reach Your sacred words, and for the sym- f into the Judiciary Committee and res- phonies of Your unfailing love. May NATIONAL GUARD cue the nomination of Kristen Clarke. Our colleagues on the committee did Your songs that surround us in the spa- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, cious skies and rolling hills inspire our not give her a favorable recommenda- this week, the National Guard is de- tion. That is because of a long history lawmakers with reverence and faith. parting what has been a months-long Give our Senators such awe for Your of statements that placed the nominee presence here at the Capitol. Aspects of on, frankly, the far-left fringe of the goodness that they will strive to obey the Guards’ presence here were not You. Provide them also with a faith political spectrum. fleshed out as clearly or coherently as If our Democratic colleagues have that stands firm and embraces Your either Congress or the servicemembers plan. their way, a couple of days from now, deserved, and Members of Congress will the American people will have an As- Lord, save us all by Your power and continue to discuss and debate whether liberate us with Your might. sistant Attorney General who argued it is appropriate for uniformed mili- publicly just last year that ‘‘we must We pray in Your great Name. Amen. tary personnel to play an ongoing role invest less in police.’’ She used that f in policing the U.S. Capitol going for- exact phrase three times in one essay. ward. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Violent crimes shot up dramatically But where Senators are absolutely, in 2020. One survey of 30-plus major The President pro tempore led the 100 percent united is in our great admi- American cities found that the murder Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: ration and appreciation of the indi- rate jumped 30 percent last year alone. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the vidual men and women who volun- Other estimates have found even larger United States of America, and to the Repub- teered to serve in the National Guard, increases. Experts say 2020 saw the lic for which it stands, one nation under God, who have put on the uniform, and largest 1-year rise in homicides that indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. whose orders brought them here to the America has ever seen as far back as The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Capitol Complex. we have recorded these kinds of statis- Senator from Hawaii. It was my particular honor to get to tics. Ms. HIRONO. I suggest the absence of meet and talk with several groups of Early data from this year suggests a quorum. the remarkable men and women of the that 2021 may even be worse, but, ap- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Kentucky National Guard during this parently, the President’s response to clerk will call the roll. period. this violent crimewave is to have a pro- The senior assistant legislative clerk Thank you, all, from all 50 States, for ponent of defunding the police help run proceeded to call the roll. your patriotism and for your service. the Department of Justice. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S3317 ® Pdnted on recycled papfil. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A24MY6.000 S24MYPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE S3318 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 24, 2021 Adequate policing is not an enemy of bone of our competition with China— tics and government in the last 40 civil rights. Among other things, a re- the resources we allocate to our Armed years or if you have called my office in cent study by multiple university pro- Forces and national defense—was not Springfield anytime in the last 24 fessors confirmed that more cops lead neglected. years, there is a good chance you know to fewer murders: Make no mistake, supply chains, es- the fellow I am about to speak about Larger police forces save lives, and the pionage, intellectual property—those this afternoon. For those who haven’t lives saved are disproportionately Black are all important topics, but all the been lucky enough to meet him yet, let lives. policy tweaks in the world would not me tell you about my friend, one of the Police funding isn’t the only impor- amount to much help if we lose our best people I have ever known. His tant issue where the nominee’s judg- military edge with respect to China. name is Bill Houlihan. ment has missed the mark. Soft power isn’t much good without Bill came to work on my first Senate Three years ago, when the then-At- the hard power to back it up. campaign in 1996, and when we won, I torney General was standing up a task The Chinese Communist Party ap- asked him to be my staff director for force on religious liberty, Ms. Clarke pears to understand this quite clearly. downstate Illinois—all 96 counties. He said this was designed ‘‘to make it According to one watchdog, it has in- has been with me ever since, and now easier for people to use religion to creased military investment by 76 per- he is State director of the entire State. mask their discriminatory goals’’—an cent over the last decade. China has in- Whenever I can’t attend an event in Il- incredibly out-of-touch, far-left state- creased its military spending by 76 per- linois, Bill is the person I turn to. I ment. cent over the last decade. The same don’t have to write any speech for him, Finally, we are currently watching data show that our own U.S. defense and I don’t have to check on what he an alarming spike in anti-Semitic at- spending fell 10 percent over that pe- said. People know Bill speaks for me, tacks and violence across our country. riod, thanks to the approach of the last and I have complete confidence in his I introduced new legislation on Friday, Democratic administration, and now judgment and integrity. with Senator COTTON, to confront anti- President Biden has signaled that he Everybody seems to know him. Just Semitism head-on, but as a Harvard wants to cut defense spending after in- try going to a grocery store with Bill undergraduate, Ms. Clarke invited, wel- flation—exactly the wrong approach. Houlihan in Springfield, IL. Be pre- comed, introduced, and then defended a No serious strategy for our competi- pared for delays as everyone needs to famously anti-Semitic guest speaker tion with massive foreign powers could talk to him or to thank him for some- who had authored a book literally enti- leave the U.S. Armed Forces, their thing that he might have done: Thanks tled—now listen to this—‘‘The Jewish tools, and their resources out of the for helping my mom get her Social Se- Onslaught.’’ conversation in a meaningful way. I curity. Thanks for helping my dad with The nominee has stated recently that hope and expect we will have a number the Veterans Health Administration. she regrets that decision. Goodness, I of further votes on important amend- Thanks for helping to get that passport would certainly hope so. ments before there would be any at- so my daughter could go away to Yet she also claims that her op-ed tempt to shut off debate on this wide- school. Thanks for helping the local from just last year, which asserted ranging measure. union get the project that creates the three times—three times—that we f jobs here in our community. must invest less in police, was not ac- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME Over the years, Bill has helped thou- tually suggesting that we invest less in sands of people find jobs and provide The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under police. for their families. He knows about the the previous order, the leadership time This is not the right nominee for a dignity of work. He does whatever he is reserved. crucial post at a crucial time so I can to help whomever he can, having would urge colleagues to vote no this f no expectation of any recognition.
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