Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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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 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021 No. 87 Senate The Senate met at 10:30 a.m. and was Mr. LUJA´ N thereupon assumed the ship to make sure we forget that that called to order by the Honorable BEN Chair as Acting President pro tempore. fateful day ever happened. RAY LUJA´ N, a Senator from the State f Later today, the House will vote on of New Mexico. establishing an independent Commis- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME f sion to investigate the events of Janu- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- ary 6, a complement to the investiga- PRAYER pore. Under the previous order, the tion in the House and Senate commit- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- leadership time is reserved. tees. Both sides negotiated for months. fered the following prayer: f The House Republican leader made Let us pray. three specific requests in February. All Precious Lord, we praise You because CONCLUSION OF MORNING three were granted by House Demo- You provide us with a lifetime of bless- BUSINESS crats. Modeled after the bipartisan 9/11 ings. You are the foundation of all that The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Commission, it will have equal rep- is good in our lives, keeping us from pore. Morning business is closed. resentation from both Democrats and neglecting Your plans for our future, as You prepare us to stand in Your pres- f Republicans. Subpoenas can only be ence without a single fault. issued if Members from both sides PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL agree. Lord, prosper the work of our Sen- DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER ators. Make their efforts as secure as It appeared we had reached a con- 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES sensus with the support of rank-and- the mountains. Inspire them to strive CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED less for success and more for faithful- file Republicans and, frankly, I BY THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT thought the Speaker was being very ness. Guide them to hate evil, pride, ar- OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION RE- rogance, and corruption. Remind them generous because subpoena power is so LATING TO ‘‘UPDATE OF COM- important when you look into some- that their future is in Your hands. MISSION’S CONCILIATION PROCE- We pray in Your loving Name. Amen. thing, but she did that. I salute her for DURES’’—Resumed f it. But even when she went that far, at The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the eleventh hour, the House Repub- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE pore. Under the previous order, the lican leadership turned tail, threw its The Presiding Officer led the Pledge Senate will resume consideration of own negotiators under the bus, and de- of Allegiance, as follows: S.J. Res. 13, which the clerk will re- cided to try to sabotage the Commis- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the port. sion. Once again, they are caving to United States of America, and to the Repub- The senior assistant legislative clerk Donald Trump and proving that the lic for which it stands, one nation under God, read as follows: Republican Party is still drunk off the indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. A bill (S.J. Res. 13) providing for congres- Big Lie. f sional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, Just one week after House Repub- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING United States Code, of the rule submitted by licans fired Congresswoman CHENEY for PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE the Equal Employment Opportunity Com- simply telling the truth about the elec- mission relating to ‘‘Update of Commission’s tion, their new leadership is trying to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Conciliation Procedures’’. clerk will please read a communication kill a bipartisan investigation—a very RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER to the Senate from the President pro down-the-middle bipartisan investiga- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- tempore (Mr. LEAHY). tion—of the attack on our Capitol. The senior assistant legislative clerk pore. The majority leader is recog- At the root of both efforts is the read the following letter: nized. shameful desire to protect Donald JANUARY 6 COMMISSION U.S. SENATE, Trump and perpetuate the Big Lie, PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, so the even though it undermines our democ- Washington, DC, May 19, 2021. Spanish philosopher, Jorge Santayana, racy, because when people don’t believe To the Senate: is credited with the saying, ‘‘Those elections are on the level, that is the Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, who cannot remember the past are con- beginning of the end of a democracy. of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby demned to repeat it.’’ What the Republicans are doing—the appoint the Honorable BEN RAY LUJA´ N, a Senator from the State of New Mexico, to When it comes to January 6, we House Republicans—is beyond crazy. perform the duties of the Chair. would all do well to heed that advice. To be so far under the thumb of Donald PATRICK J. LEAHY, But right now, there is an effort on the J. Trump, letting the most dishonest President pro tempore. part of the House Republican leader- President in American history dictate ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S2745 ® Pdnted on recycled papfil. VerDate Sep 11 2014 11:46 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19MY6.000 S19MYPT1 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE S2746 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021 the prerogatives of the Republican ate might be following his House col- tures are orchestrating the greatest Party, will be its demise. Mark my leagues down the rabbit hole and will contraction of voting rights since the words. Whatever that means for Demo- oppose the Commission. I hope that end of reconstruction and the begin- crats, it is bad for America. isn’t true. ning of Jim Crow. We all know there needs to be a thor- But the American people will see for These laws cannot go unanswered. ough and honest accounting of what themselves whether our Republican Senate Democrats are moving forward took place on January 6, the greatest friends stand on the side of truth or on with legislation, S. 1, to combat this attempt at insurrection since the Civil the side of Donald Trump’s Big Lie. rash of voter suppression laws. It has War. We have to make sure such a des- VOTING RIGHTS gone through the Rules Committee, picable event never repeats itself. That Mr. President, on voting rights, the and it will receive a vote here on the is why we need the investigation. Texas State Senate recently passed a Senate floor. Getting at the truth is more impor- bill that repeals all requirements for Our Republican colleagues need to tant now that some Republicans are carrying a handgun, including a valid decide if they are going to stand up for trying to rewrite history. It is just in- license, registering fingerprints, and 4 democracy or not. credible what they are doing. How dis- hours of training. Texas would be the CLEAN CARS FOR AMERICA honest can they be, in abject fear of sixth State to pass a permitless carry Mr. President, on one final matter, the most dishonest President who has law, with Louisiana waiting in the clean cars, yesterday, at an event in ever sat at the White House, Donald wings. If both Texas and Louisiana Michigan, President Biden declared Trump, who will tell lies at will? He pass these laws, fully a third of Ameri- that the future of the auto industry is doesn’t care. It is only his own ego. We cans would live in States where it was electric. He is absolutely right. know that. One Member said it was a legal to carry firearms without train- But even though the transition to ‘‘boldfaced lie’’ to call it an insurrec- ing or a license. electric vehicles has already begun, it Just one week after the Texas legis- tion and likened the mob to a ‘‘normal is progressing too slowly. China is out- lature advanced that law to make it as tourist visit.’’ Give me a break. pacing the United States in the elec- easy as possible to carry a handgun, it Several Members have spread the lie trical vehicle market, and the only that it was actually Antifa that advanced another law to make it hard- er to vote. You need stringent identi- way we are going to meet our ambi- stormed the Capitol and so have some tious climate targets is to accelerate commentators on one of our leading fication to vote and no identification to carry a handgun. What the heck is the transition to zero-emission vehi- news networks—shamefully, shame- cles. fully. going on in Texas? Just think about that for a moment. That is why I was so glad to hear One Republican went so far as to say President Biden get into the specifics the mob, not the police, were the real Across the country, Republican legisla- tures are removing all barriers to carry and talk about the many ways that victims of the violence that day. Can government, industry, and labor can you imagine being in the family of one firearms, while at the same time put- ting up barriers around voting. The po- partner up to put more electric vehi- of the police officers who died or was cles on the road and create more jobs injured? It is bad enough, but hearing litical right wants to make it easier for felons to get a gun but harder for in the process.