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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020 No. 115 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, at 2 p.m. Senate TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020 The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was THE JUSTICE ACT PROTESTS called to order by the President pro Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, we are taking a very important vote 2 weeks ago, I argued that civil dis- f tomorrow on a bill called the JUSTICE course in America faces a crossroads. Act. I am proud to cosponsor this po- A major newspaper had buckled PRAYER lice reform bill, and I also applaud Sen- under pressure from the social media mob. They apologized profusely for The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- ator TIM SCOTT for his leadership in fered the following prayer: improving police accountability while publishing a policy argument from a Let us pray. at the same time preserving the essen- U.S. Senator and made personnel O, God, our shield, look with favor tial service that law enforcement pro- changes to prove their penitence. I said upon our Senators today. Guide them vides. These are the people who main- that we could either recommit to our tradition of seasoned debate or let an around the obstacles that hinder their tain the peace in the respective com- angry mob run our culture. progress, uniting them for the common munities around the United States. good of this great land. Recent days have reminded us that it We are ready to work with Demo- Lord, free them from anxiety and is not just our present-day debates that crats on police reform. I hope the fear as they put their trust in You. En- far-left radicals want to overwhelm. Democrats finally are willing to come able them to go from strength to They also want to rewrite the past. to the table. strength, fulfilling Your purpose for Back in 2017, when people wondered their lives in this generation. Guide A successful vote to proceed to the whether our important conversations them to use their abilities and talents JUSTICE Act speaks volumes. A vote over Confederate monuments would to accomplish Your holy will. Striving against proceeding shows the American give the far left a broader taste for to please You, help them to stand for people that politics are more impor- pulling down statues, major news- right and leave the consequences to tant than people, talking points more papers and media figures literally You. important than change, and gridlock mocked that concern. They said there We pray in Your Holy Name. Amen. more important than solutions. were obvious differences between rebel generals and our Nation’s Founders. f Surely, Democrats want police re- They said nobody would come gunning form. I hope Democrats will vote in for Washington or Jefferson. Well, the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE favor of opening debate on the JUS- far left missed the memo. The President pro tempore led the TICE Act. George Floyd and countless A few days ago, in Portland, OR, a Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: others so murdered deserve the Sen- mob graffitied a statue of our first ate’s action and consideration of this I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the President, pulled it down, and burned United States of America, and to the Repub- bill. an American flag over his head. This is lic for which it stands, one nation under God, I yield the floor. George Washington. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Another Washington statue was de- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. f faced in Baltimore. A statue of Thomas HYDE-SMITH). The Senator from Iowa. Jefferson was ripped down in Portland Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY also. This is the general and first Presi- ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 LEADER dent who built our Nation and the au- minute in morning business. thor of the Declaration of Independ- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- ence—genius statesmen who helped objection, it is so ordered. jority leader is recognized. begin this grand experiment that has ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S3131 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A23JN6.000 S23JNPT1 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with SENATE S3132 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 23, 2020 brought freedom to hundreds of mil- laws’’ means anything, it means may- These are the subjects that the coun- lions and saved the world a few times ors and Governors cannot selectively try needs us to address. Accordingly, for good measure. stand down because they would rather these are the subjects Senator SCOTT’s Yet, a crazy fringe is treating their not pay the political price for con- proposal does address. monuments like vanity statues of tin- fronting a particular mob. But that is The American people expect us to do horn tyrants. Our Founding Fathers precisely what we are seeing in Demo- our jobs, discuss, debate, and legislate are being roped to the ground like they cratic-governed cities all across our on this subject that has captured the were Saddam Hussein. country. Nation’s attention—discussion, debate, The list goes on: Saint Junipero In Seattle, for weeks now, a mayor and votes on amendments. Serra, the missionary settler whom has let bands of people ban police from Tomorrow, we will find out whether Pope Francis celebrated here in Wash- several square blocks. People have even these modest steps are a bridge ington a few years ago to bipartisan been shot. A teenager has died. But, ap- too far for our colleagues on the Demo- applause, sided with native people over parently, stopping this insanity has cratic side. soldiers; Ulysses S. Grant, the general been deemed less politically correct Earlier this month, Senate Demo- who crushed the Confederacy, the than letting it continue. Night after crats were telling everyone who would President who used Federal force to night, Governors and mayors have listen that we would be derelict in our fight the Klan. They, too, have been stood down and watched criminals duty if we did not have police reform placed on the historical hit list for this spray paint churches and topple stat- legislation on the floor of the Senate new Red Guard that nobody elected. ues. Public order is now totally op- this month. But then, as soon as the There are more monuments toppled up tional and depends on the lawbreaker’s junior Senator from South Carolina ac- and down the west coast. politics. tually published something concrete, There could be no clearer sign that Here in Washington, last night, local their tune changed rather sharply. these far-left radicals have severed any police protected one monument from a Now, suddenly, our Democratic col- connection to the righteous cause of memorial-hunting mob over near the leagues are reportedly agonizing and racial justice. They have literally tried White House. It is past time for that debating whether to let the Senate to succeed where Robert E. Lee failed courage to be replicated in every city, have this discussion at all or whether and bring General Grant to the ground. every night, until Americans have the to kill any chance of reform legislation Like any cultural revolution, this peace and the rule of law that all of our before it can even taxi onto the run- far-left anger is sparing some heroes of citizens deserve. way. their own. I understand that in Seattle, It is no surprise that people who The American people deserve better a large statue of Vladimir Lenin stands want to say our country is intrinsically than a partisan stalemate. The Amer- quite untouched. Apparently, people evil are so frantic to erase history that ican people deserve for the Senate to claim with a straight face that this they will break the law to do it. Eras- take up this issue at this time. Communist statue has survived be- ing history is the only way their Senate Republicans want to have this cause it is located—wait for it—on pri- claims could carry any water. discussion. We are ready to make a vate property. So the Founding Father Americans know that an imperfect law, not just make a point. of the mass-murdering Soviet Union nation built by imperfect heroes is still Tomorrow, we will find out whether watches over Seattle streets, but our the most perfect Union the world has our Democratic colleagues share our own Founding Fathers are dragged in ever seen. We are proud to build stat- ambition or whether they choose to the dirt. ues of the geniuses who fought to found duck the issue and leave the country in A small slice of our national elite has this country. We are proud to build the lurch. spent years cooking up highfalutin statues to the leaders who have pre- theories to justify the cheapest, basest served it. We are proud to build statues f forms of anti-Americanism. The absurd of prophetic civil rights leaders who RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME claim that America’s deepest founding made the country confront gross injus- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under principle is bigotry has escaped the tice.