Cory Booker

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I also ask the incredible Senator presiding for unanimous consent that the senior Senator from Montana be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions from January 18, 2024, through January 22, 2024.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I am pretty excited. In fact, let's just say this is the season of joy, and I feel such joy today. The gentleman who just spoke, the Senator from Illinois, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is a man of heroic action. What we are marking today, this anniversary, is so much due to his work and steadfast leadership on these issues years before I came here. We are celebrating this moment of joy and a moment of deep, profound gratitude, and I want to give Senator Durbin my deep thanks. I also want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I want to thank Chuck Grassley. I want to thank Mike Lee. I want to thank all of their staffs who worked so hard for this moment. This was truly a bipartisan effort and one of the best experiences I have had as a U.S. Senator. In addition to that, we worked with the President's staff and his team to get to that bill and that moment. We had activists across the political spectrum, people like Mark Holden, who worked for Koch Industries, all the way to folks like Jessica Jackson and Dan Jones. We had not only activists but people who were directly impacted-- advocating organizations, nonprofits--trying to bring justice to the justice system. This bill was a product of compromise and shows what is possible in this institution when both sides come together on common ground. It was a recognition that had been growing that the criminal justice system needed reform and was devastating our Nation's highest ideals and principles. We are a nation of liberty and justice for all. Think about the backdrop to this. Think about all of the facts that were happening leading to this incredible accomplishment 5 years ago. Our Federal prison system since 1980 had grown--exploded--by 800 percent. The United States of America, which professes freedom as its fundamental ideal, had more people incarcerated than any other nation on the planet Earth. One in four incarcerated people on our planet in the world was here in the United States of America. We had a system that was not based on justice or restorative justice but based on retribution and, in many ways, cruelty. We became captive of impulses of fear rather than the wisdom for healing and growth and security. I was stunned when I first saw that data point that about a third of the adult Americans in our country--adults--had a criminal record. Think about the criminalization. Think about that. Over 5 million children in our country had a parent who was actually in jail or prison during their childhood. This overreaction to the War on Drugs that did not--it was not a war on drugs but a war on people and disproportionately impacted certain people and not others. The African-American community is a great example. Because of this overincarceration, there were more Black folks in our country under criminal supervision--more Black men under criminal supervision than were enslaved in 1850. This is an affront to our ideals of liberty and justice. We malign other countries for imprisoning journalists, for imprisoning politicians, imprisoning people who dare to protest the state, but in our country, whom do we imprison? The poor. The mentally ill. The addicted. Survivors of abuse and sexual assault. Black and Brown folks are way overindexed in our prisons and jails. Any visit to an American jail will show in so many ways the failings of our system. Instead of offering people help with substance abuse or mental illness, we were wasting billions of dollars, tearing families apart, destroying communities, and ultimately making communities less safe; investing billions of dollars in warehousing people--not in roads, not in bridges, but incarcerating human beings. In fact, between 1990 and 2005, a new prisoner jail opened in our country every 10 days. Think about that for a second. Our national treasure was being used not for education, not for research, not for roads, bridges, technology, but to warehouse human beings. The perversity of the system was that it was making us less safe. People who were being released had recidivism rates that were so high because they weren't getting the help they needed. People incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses were coming out and facing over 40,000 collateral consequences that stopped them from getting a job, from buying a home, from providing for their family. Our system is supposed to be about justice, and what was happening in the early 2000s is that red States and blue States were starting to make an effort to reform their criminal justice systems. We saw States, from Georgia to New Jersey, lower their prison populations and lower crime at the same time, understanding that if you affirm people's dignity and give them pathways to health and well-being, you not only lower your prison population but you make communities safer and you make families more intact. After decades of these failed policies, a group of bipartisan Senators, working with a Republican White House and House Members, crafted this legislation that has affected thousands of people's lives. Senator Durbin said it: The population that was liberated from unjust incarceration as a result of this bill has a lower recidivism rate than people who have served out full terms and come home, because the fullness of this bill wasn't just about liberating people from unjust incarceration but creating programs that could empower people in prison to pathways to better lives when they are coming out. It was logical, it was common sense, and that is why the rightwing think tanks and the leftwing tanks and all in between were supporting and advocating and pushing for this commonsense bill. Five years after the passage of the First Step Act, we now have evidence that not only demonstrates its success but shatters the myth that criminal justice reform and public safety don't go hand in hand. As the Senator said, almost 30,000 individuals were released, and almost 9 in 10 have avoided rearrest or reincarceration, compared to the 45-percent recidivism rate Senator Durbin talked about. Oh, but God, these are data. This is just statistics. What is powerful for me is meeting the human beings and their families, meeting the children who had their parents come home. Do you want to talk about joy? When this passed 5 years ago, I will never forget, right out those doors, as soon as it passed, as an impulse, I hugged Chuck Grassley because it was what I knew was going to happen. The holidays were really going to be about the American values, that the most sacrosanct thing we can have is liberty. The most severe thing the government can do is to take someone's liberty. We literally have slogans in our country--``Give me liberty or give me death.'' To see people come up to you and saying: All hope was gone. I was sitting in the depths of incarceration, like Joseph thrown into the well, thrown into prison--no hope--but yet I found deliverance because of Republicans and Democrats who worked together for common sense. I visited with those families. I have seen the impact on children. I have seen the stories of grades improving in school. I have seen the stories of people who have come out of prison as we met, Senator, who have gone to work making their communities safer, doing violence intervention, helping other people not go the same way. This is what happens when we affirm human dignity. This is what happens when we understand how powerful and urgent families are in America. This is what happens when we live the values we swear an oath to with our hand over our heart--liberty and justice for all. So yes, today, again, I wish Senator Grassley were here. I might try to hug him one more time in honor of the anniversary. But this is a time when we should be celebrating this incredible step toward justice. But I will tell Senator Durbin, we called this the First Step Act. I remember the press conferences we had, Republicans and Democrats standing together and saying: This is the first step, but we still have work to do because we are still a nation where the majority of women incarcerated are survivors of sexual violence. We are still a nation where people struggling with addiction more easily find jail than treatment. We are still a nation where our prisons and jails are filled with people who are mentally ill and need medical care that they do not receive. We are still a nation where you get better justice if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent. So let us celebrate progress. Let us celebrate success. But let us double down again on making our Nation real for everyone because if you want to judge a nation, don't just look at the size of their military, the height of their towers. Go to the dark places. Go to the shadows on this holiday season, celebrating a man who focused on the least of these, as it says in Matthew 25. Did you visit me in prison? If you go there, you see the unfinished business. If you celebrate this season, remember those who are in solitary confinement, remember those who are suffering unjustly, and remember those most in need of our empathy, our grace, our love. The First Step Act was the height of my experiences as a Senator, but the United States of America and this greatest deliberative body--we can go higher. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOOKER. Senator, I have four words: Joe Zogby for President. Thank you.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Thank you very, very much, Mr. President. Thank you very much for the fist pump, Mr. President. I know that you have a lot of appreciation and love for New Jersey, so this is really a New Jersey moment. So thank you, sir. I rise today with an extraordinary amount of joy but sadness, an extraordinary amount of pride but a sense of loss because today I get a chance to say a few words about my very embarrassed, longtime friend, member of my staff, Zach McCue. Now, Zach has been a member of my staff my entire time in the U.S. Senate. In fact, he predated me in this office because Zach worked for my predecessor, Senator Frank Lautenberg. So he has served in this institution and has served the people of New Jersey for 12 years. But now he is moving out to new gardens within the Garden State. Zach has a title in my office. He is the deputy State director, but the truth of the matter is, that title does little justice to the grand import and enormous impact of this incredible young man. Zach, I believe, is one of those people who is an unsung hero, who makes Congress work and, in so many ways, has made indelible contributions to New Jersey. If the highest calling of our country is service to it, then Zach is someone who embodies that ideal of public service and patriotism. He has worked tirelessly. He has worked indefatigably. He has worked relentlessly in service of our State. I know he works around the clock because occasionally I disturb him at some late hours. But the truth of the matter is, as hard as he works, he works away from the limelight, not capturing headlines, not sucking oxygen out of rooms but, in so many ways, making the difference that New Jerseyans feel. I have seen him and how he deals with people. In a time when so many people don't feel like they are seen or appreciated, he is somebody who embodies empathy and has an extraordinary ability to connect with others, to allow them to feel like they matter, to feel heard, and to so often have their issues addressed. And more than just being someone who is extraordinary with people, he has a pretty incredible mind to grasp complicated policy. He is a bit of a wonk. He has a flash of the nerdiness in him. But that knowledge, that acumen, that policy expertise, he has put to work on behalf of New Jerseyans. Now, I know that infrastructure is not the sexiest issue in America, but for New Jerseyans, it is vital. Over 700,000 people commute just to New York, and that doesn't include those who commute into Philly as well. And infrastructure in our State is critical, and this has been one of Zach's primary areas of focus. He has had extraordinary drive and focus that has helped to advance so much critical infrastructure work in our State. And more than this, his mastery of knowledge of other issues of import to New Jerseyans, from environmental justice to social justice, has made him such a powerful force in our State and, indeed, he has made me a better U.S. Senator. Zach is a Jersey boy. I think if there were a Mount Rushmore of New Jersey, he might be eligible to stand up upon that pantheon of some of the great Jerseyans like Bruce and Bon Jovi. He is a rock star, at least in our office, and a guy that grew up in Jersey. He grew up in Rumson, and he has raised his family with his incredibly indulgent wife Meg in Cranford. Zach joined Lautenberg's office early, right after graduating from Penn State, which is sort of a Western Jersey college. And after 2 years with Senator Lautenberg, including a stint actually as his driver--and I hear that he was OK as a driver--Zach joined an environmental nonprofit in New Jersey focusing on environmental issues, where he worked on the issues that he still holds dear, things like protecting our coastal and marine resources and leaving behind a cleaner and healthier New Jersey environment for generations. And then, in 2014, he joined my office and, as a new Senator, as a junior Senator, he grew with my office and helped to lead our office to being the success we are today. He continues to lead on our team on issues he knows so well, from environmental issues so that we can make sure that we deal with the threat of climate change head-on; transportation and infrastructure, moving critical programs that, but for him, would not be seeing the kind of success we see today, like the Gateway project moving forward; and overall improvements to consumer safety and to reliability and so much more. During the earliest and darkest days of the COVID pandemic, when our team was working overtime to help constituents in need and doing Zoom call after Zoom call, working early in the morning to late at night, I got to see Zach's leadership in this dark time shine like a North Star. No. 1, he helped to hold our office together amongst the strain and the challenges that were on each and every one of us. He helped us to stay focused on our purpose. He brought humor and groundedness to the work. And every day, he rose with that heroic compassion and empathy for the challenges that New Jerseyans were facing. Look, this is an extraordinary institution, and very famous people have sat in the seats here since 1859. But the truth of this institution that doesn't get told often enough is that, for every great Senator, there are usually greater staff people who empower them in the mission. I have served in this institution for a decade, and I say, with no false modesty but just the truth, that I have been the Senator I am today because of the leadership that Zach has brought to my team each and every day. We have a calling here as Senators in this deliberative body, and that is to be of service, that is to rise to challenges, and that is to give dignity to the office and to be there for people. This office has been successful over these 10 years because of Zach. I am grateful to him. I am grateful to his family who raised him. I am grateful for his spouse and his children who have supported and loved him through his service. And most of all, I know that even though New Jerseyans don't know his name up and down our State, I know that our State is profoundly grateful. As Zach prepares to leave our office, the good news is, he may be leaving the employ of the U.S. Senate, but he is not leaving the service of our State. He is going on to another public service job. I and my team wish him the best of luck. Once you are a part of the Booker team, you are always part of the Booker team. But what excites me most is that Zach is a young guy with a heart full of love and a soul driven by commitment to country and to people. And so as great as his service was to us, I suspect that he still has some extraordinary great days ahead of him. And so it is with a lot of sadness but a lot of gratitude, it is with a lot of pride but a lot of just missing him already, I say from the Senate floor into the Senate Record, a hearty, hearty thank-you to my friend, to my team leader, and to a great American, Zach McCue. Thank you. No applause from the Gallery, please. That is against Senate regulation. Thank you very much. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise today for a moment of reflection about an extraordinary person, and I would like permission to give Zach McCue permission to sit next to me while I give these remarks that will most certainly embarrass him tremendously.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, 10 years I have been in this incredible institution, the U.S. Senate, and I am stunned that we are still having this debate. We know, if you read our Constitution, that we formed our form of government with lots of high callings, but the first is to provide for the national defense. It is astonishing to me that the No. 1 killer--the No. 1 threat--the No. 1 issue facing our children in America is death by gun violence. This is a purview of the Federal Government as is written by our Constitution. And the Second Amendment, like the First Amendment, is not absolute. You can't yell ``fire'' in a crowded movie theater. There are limitations on our fundamental rights. Don't take my word for it; take the Supreme Court of the United States. A conservative Court in the Heller decision made it very clear that government can take steps--reasonable steps--to protect our Nation. So what does it mean in a country when the top killer of our children is gun violence, and we cannot take commonsense steps like the ones spelled out in the law that was just objected to? Safe storage of weapons, this is not an infringement of someone's right to own a gun. Safe storage of weapons, this is not taking away someone's gun. Safe storage of weapons, this is not a violation of someone's fundamental rights. What it is, is a reasonable step to protect children because 90 percent of the kids in our country who are dying by suicide or unintentional shootings are in homes where a loaded gun is easily accessible to children--children as young as 3 years old getting their hands on these weapons. Over 40,000 Americans die in a year to gun violence, and the response of this body is to do nothing. Forty-thousand Americans, the No. 1 killer of our children, and instead of seeing this as a crisis, as far as having special hearings and gatherings to put our minds together in a bipartisan way, how do we stop our children from dying, how do we stop our children from being slaughtered--instead of this being something that is concerning us to do something, we do nothing. And I am sorry, inaction is complicity in this violence. If you object to this, what is your idea to protect our children? If you object to this, what is your idea to stop so many kids, so many Americans from dying? Tell me what it is because Martin Luther King said it plain, in another point in American history, in another crisis. He said: What we will have to repent for as a nation is not just the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and inaction of the good people. And so I know this body. I know the good, hard-working, dedicated Americans who serve here. But the inaction is appalling. The inaction is complicity. The strongest Nation on the planet Earth gives the implicit messages to our children and their parents: We can't protect you. So you know what we are going to do? We are going to teach you how to hide because we are now in a nation where there are more active shooter drills than there are fire drills. What message is this to our children and our families that we are saying we are going to do nothing? Another year will pass, another 40,000 Americans are going to die, and we do nothing to protect you. That is unacceptable to me. We are better than this. We are stronger than this. The very ideal of liberty should be that our people should not live in fear. But by our inaction, we have a nation where people all over our country are now chained to fear, shackled by grief, communities ripped apart, families in mourning. And a simple step in America, a simple Federal law like seatbelt laws, a simple Federal law like the safety of our airplanes, a simple Federal law to address the No. 1 cause of killing of our children, that if you have a loaded firearm at home, you should lock it up and keep it away from a child, we can't do that. Well, Merry Christmas, America. The most urgent and basic thing this body should do is to protect children. And the No. 1 cause of child death in America, what have we done this year? Nothing--nothing. This is a time we should act. This is a time we should join together. I call on my Republican colleagues to put forth one idea that will save a child from gun violence, to show that your allegiance is to safety and security. No other country deals with this. We are an aberration when it comes to deaths by gun violence. No other nation allows their children to be slaughtered--Canada, New Zealand. I can tell you the nations that have taken action and, as a result, have seen a dramatic drop in the numbers of deaths. We are an exceptional country, but in this case, being the exception is horrific to too many. And so I am disappointed to sit here and witness an objection, but I am relentless. We must be undeterred because change is not always easy. But in this case, we, as a country, with thousands of our children dying every year, must stay determined to make the change necessary for us to protect the people of this great Republic. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I am grateful for the respect with which you said those two words, ``New Jersey.'' It is an extraordinary State, and I know you recognize and respect it, sir. I want to stand at this moment, as we are about to close out the Senate, to recognize perhaps one of the most unrecognized elements of the functioning of the U.S. Senate. There are extraordinary people who work in this institution--people who have dedicated their careers to it and support not just Senators but really this incredible, august body. But, today, I want to mark that this is the last day of a class of pages that is serving today. They are the youngest people on the Senate floor--15, 16 years old--but they have served on the frontlines of history over the last months. I have seen a lot of young people pass through here, and this class of pages is the least funny pages I have seen. (Laughter.) I have asked them for jokes. They have given me things that could be called a joke, but they did not have their intended purpose. I am disappointed. I stand in judgment of them. (Laughter.) But despite their lack of humor, what they did show was an abundance of commitment to country, to service, to patriotism. Most of America doesn't realize what these pages go through to be here. They have an extraordinary challenging time. They actually wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning. They do their homework, they do their class work, and then they come and work a full-time job, often into the evening when the Senate goes on to 8 and 9, getting closer to 10. Ten is a wonderful, wonderful time because if they get past 10, they don't have to go to class in the morning. Is that it? They have no class. Now, I am not saying that they are classless people. I am not saying that if they go past 10 p.m., they have no class. (Laughter.) But think about this: They are waking up at 5 in the morning, they are going until 8 or 9, and they start it all over again. It is a difficult job, it is demanding, but yet they have done it with distinction. Tomorrow, they will graduate, and they will go back to their lives all across the country. It is extraordinary. These young folks come from the North, the South, the East, the West, and they will go back, having had a unique experience. But although they leave this institution, they also leave their spirit, their energy, and their contributions. I want to say to all of the pages--because I won't have a chance to say goodbye to them at the graduation--I want to say, on behalf of myself and also 99 others, it was an honor to serve with you in the U.S. Senate. I hope as you continue your careers of service to country, of being the calling of a nation that needs its young people more than ever-- people full of hope, people full of dreams, people full of commitment-- that you consider coming back to this body. There are extraordinary people who serve here who were former pages, everyone from Parliamentarians, all the way to Senators themselves. But on this day, on behalf of this body, I want to conclude by simply saying thank you.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, today I would like to applaud the Senate's passage of S. Res. 203, a resolution recognizing Jewish American Heritage Month. This resolution is an important reminder of the numerous contributions of Jewish Americans to our society. I have long felt connected to the Jewish values of ``tzedakah'' and ``chesed,'' values that, at their core, speak about justice, decency, kindness, and mercy. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the Jewish Americans who embodied these values, people like Rabbi Heschel, who marched side-by-side with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and demanded equality and justice, or leaders like Rabbi Joachim Prinz, who fled Berlin in 1937, moved to Newark, NJ, and was one of five people who spoke before Dr. King at the March on Washington. Rabbi Prinz's entire speech was focused on helping people understand that one of the most urgent challenges we face in society is silence, silence in the face of injustice. Because of the leadership of so many Jewish Americans, who refused to be silent and decided to act, we were able to move the moral arc of this Nation towards justice. So I stand here in the Senate incredibly proud to represent vibrant Jewish communities across New Jersey. And I stand here, at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise, to speak out against this hate that violates our most commonly held values. We all have a responsibility to stamp out anti-Semitism and remind ourselves that our diversity strengthens the society and culture of the United States. S. Res. 203 does just that by honoring and celebrating the incredible history of the Jewish people in the United States and their contributions to our country, and I strongly support this resolution's passage.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, less than a mile from where we are right now--just a 15-minute walk away--are two curving, blue-gray limestone walls about 304 feet long. They curve their way through the center of Judiciary Square, under the shadow of neatly organized trees, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum. Built and dedicated in 1991, these walls were inscribed with nearly 12,000 names at the time they were built. Each year since then, more names have been added. In fact, just this weekend, families, loved ones--Americans of all backgrounds, Americans of all beliefs, a tapestry of our humanity--gathered under the night sky for a candlelight vigil; and very solemnly, additional names were read aloud and inscribed into that limestone, adding, once again, to the total. These are hallowed names, engraved into those walls and etched forever into our Nation's memory. These are names that belong to our fallen heroes. The names are of brave, loyal, patriotic law enforcement officers--our great citizens--who answered the call, who sacrificed for their communities. No greater love hath a man than this, than to give his life for his friends, for his Nation. These were men and women who knew, every day when they suited up, that they could face danger, potentially even the ultimate call. They are the names of police officers who had tragedy visited upon them and their families and their loved ones. They are also police officers who took their own lives. They are the names of officers who fell to COVID--officers who, in the midst of the pandemic and when we were sheltering in place, were out doing their duty. Each one of these names is a son. Each one of these people is a daughter. They are husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues. They are parents who have perished. In short, they are the names of public servants--of men and women--who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. It pains me to say that I am familiar with some of these names listed on the walls. I am familiar from my time as mayor when I oversaw a city, including a mighty police department. I remember vividly those times when I would receive that call that one of our officers had been injured in the line of duty or had been shot or, in two cases, when they were tragically killed. I remember those phone calls. I remember the visits with loved ones, with their fellow officers, with friends. I remember the pain and the hurt and the agony. I remember the eulogies and the funerals--the grief that lingers still. I remember the families and communities shattered then and still feeling the loss now. It first happened in March of 2007, just months after I had become mayor. Sergeant Tommaso Popolizio was the youngest of seven siblings. He was an avid paintball player and a loyal son of Newark. His family had immigrated from Italy back in the sixties and had settled in the city, where Sergeant Popolizio attended high school. Police work, you could say, was in his DNA. Two of his older brothers were Newark officers, and Sergeant Popolizio was following in his family's footsteps. He had been a Newark police officer for 12 years when he had responded to a call, on a late night, of dangerous drag racing going on. Sergeant Popolizio pursued a subject in a high-speed chase during which his SUV crashed into a pole and rolled several times. He succumbed to head injuries 2 hours later. I remember vividly, that day, speaking to news media at the hospital. I remember speaking to his heroism. I remember speaking to his dedication, to his commitment. And those words are as true today as they were then. Those words of heroism ring true also for Detective Michael Morgan, a 6-year veteran of the Newark police force, who was tragically taken from us in November of 2011. It was said that Detective Morgan was destined to be a cop. When he was a young boy, he would sit by his window and make siren noises as police cars went past his New Jersey home. Two of his cousins were police officers. His uncle was a police officer--a retired deputy chief no less. He was an athlete. He played linebacker and fullback for New Jersey City University. During his years on the force, he helped take hundreds of guns off the streets, protecting people from gun violence. He was more than just a Newark police officer. He was a community leader from Newark, serving Newark, involved in the community, loving his city in every way. On that November day, Detective Morgan was off duty when he attempted to stop an armed robbery suspect. Just as he was about to pull his weapon, he was shot in the torso. Other officers there tried to save his life. They rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced dead. Today, these stories cut even deeper. They weigh even heavier. New Jersey has lost too many police officers. New Jersey grieves, recently, the loss of Deptford Police Officer Robert ``Bobby'' Shisler. He tragically passed away just this Sunday from a gunshot wound that he suffered 2 months ago following a pedestrian stop. A 4-year veteran of the force, he was the first Deptford police officer killed in the line of duty. He was just 27 years old. The stories of these officers, of these three individuals--Sergeant Popolizio, Detective Morgan, and Officer Shisler--are among the hundreds and hundreds of stories of fallen officers whose names are on that wall. They are forever emblazoned on the heart and the soul and the character of our country. Their stories show duty; they show honor; stories of service, of selfless purpose and the ultimate sacrifice, stories that remind us of the dangers that every single day law enforcement officers face. Most importantly, they demonstrate what it takes in this democracy, the greatest Nation on the planet still--the call of duty, the challenge of what it takes to preserve peace. Without officers who put themselves in harms' way, I struggle to think how the challenges we face would be all the deeper. This week, as we commemorate National Police Week, the purpose of these days is for us to pay tribute. Police Week is about paying tribute to the law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to our country. Let's not forget that. It is a chance for all of us to pause and reflect on how we can continue to work together to ensure that police officers have the support that they deserve in doing some of the most difficult jobs in America. Every day, law enforcement officers are on the frontlines of major crimes. They are there in our crises. They are there when we are afraid. They are there when we are under assault. They are there in our communities and our neighbors with a noble purpose to serve, to keep us safe, to make us strong. They respond to mass shootings, to domestic violence, to horrible accidents, and to painful crimes. They have to confront the scourge of the rising rates of gun violence in our country, walking into situations where they face individuals sometimes with weapons that belong not on our streets or in our neighborhoods but in theaters of war. I have seen situations, active shooter situations, where other people are running out; they are running in. Other people are ducking for cover; they stand strong to protect us. In the past few years, during the pandemic, I began to hear the stories of officers, with little regard for their own safety, still going out and doing their job. When fear and the unknown of this pandemic was hitting, you still had officers showing up for duty, going into dangerous situations, and I began to worry about their well-being. It is why, working with Senator Grassley, I was proud, in the depth of the pandemic, to introduce legislation with other colleagues from both sides of the aisle to expand the PSOB Program so that death benefits are given to survivors of police officers and first responders who lose their lives to COVID-19; that the presumption is, if an officer dies, that it was a line-of-duty death. Today, I introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure officers across the Federal Government receive their full retirement benefits. They are there for us for their whole career; we can make sure that we are there for them when they retire. Of all these bills that are introduced and debated in this body, I know that it is a shadow of the work being done by the law enforcement officers in this Nation. Many of us in this body were reminded of their heroism when this Chamber was attacked on January 6, and we saw officer after officer put their lives on the line. Indeed, as a result of that attack, we lost Capitol Police officers, including Brian Sicknick from the State of New Jersey. We stand here, and we debate. We stand here, and we legislate. But out on the walls just yards from where I stand are the officers who show that every single day they face a danger that we will never know. So this week, a week in which we remember our police officers, law enforcement themselves are still out there serving our community. Law enforcement officers are still, with little regard for their safety, running into situations of great danger. Whether it is a rookie cop on their first day or a seasoned veteran who has been on the job for decades, police officers put on their uniform, head outside, and their families and their children and their loved ones know the challenges and the dangers of the job. Most of them will come home. Most of them will raise their kids. Most of them will see retirement. But, tragically, some of them will not. So this week, we call it Police Week, but it is a bit of a divergence from the understanding of why this week came to be. This week is here to remember the sacrifice and the service and the patriotism: ``My country `tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;'' land where fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers died who wear the uniform, land of patriotism and pride. Let us not forget those who have fallen, and let us continue in a bipartisan way to protect them, to serve them who so nobly serve us, protect us, and advance this Nation forward each and every day.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, less than a mile from where we are right now--just a 15-minute walk away--are two curving, blue-gray limestone walls about 304 feet long. They curve their way through the center of Judiciary Square, under the shadow of neatly organized trees, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum. Built and dedicated in 1991, these walls were inscribed with nearly 12,000 names at the time they were built. Each year since then, more names have been added. In fact, just this weekend, families, loved ones--Americans of all backgrounds, Americans of all beliefs, a tapestry of our humanity--gathered under the night sky for a candlelight vigil; and very solemnly, additional names were read aloud and inscribed into that limestone, adding, once again, to the total. These are hallowed names, engraved into those walls and etched forever into our Nation's memory. These are names that belong to our fallen heroes. The names are of brave, loyal, patriotic law enforcement officers--our great citizens--who answered the call, who sacrificed for their communities. No greater love hath a man than this, than to give his life for his friends, for his Nation. These were men and women who knew, every day when they suited up, that they could face danger, potentially even the ultimate call. They are the names of police officers who had tragedy visited upon them and their families and their loved ones. They are also police officers who took their own lives. They are the names of officers who fell to COVID--officers who, in the midst of the pandemic and when we were sheltering in place, were out doing their duty. Each one of these names is a son. Each one of these people is a daughter. They are husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues. They are parents who have perished. In short, they are the names of public servants--of men and women--who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. It pains me to say that I am familiar with some of these names listed on the walls. I am familiar from my time as mayor when I oversaw a city, including a mighty police department. I remember vividly those times when I would receive that call that one of our officers had been injured in the line of duty or had been shot or, in two cases, when they were tragically killed. I remember those phone calls. I remember the visits with loved ones, with their fellow officers, with friends. I remember the pain and the hurt and the agony. I remember the eulogies and the funerals--the grief that lingers still. I remember the families and communities shattered then and still feeling the loss now. It first happened in March of 2007, just months after I had become mayor. Sergeant Tommaso Popolizio was the youngest of seven siblings. He was an avid paintball player and a loyal son of Newark. His family had immigrated from Italy back in the sixties and had settled in the city, where Sergeant Popolizio attended high school. Police work, you could say, was in his DNA. Two of his older brothers were Newark officers, and Sergeant Popolizio was following in his family's footsteps. He had been a Newark police officer for 12 years when he had responded to a call, on a late night, of dangerous drag racing going on. Sergeant Popolizio pursued a subject in a high-speed chase during which his SUV crashed into a pole and rolled several times. He succumbed to head injuries 2 hours later. I remember vividly, that day, speaking to news media at the hospital. I remember speaking to his heroism. I remember speaking to his dedication, to his commitment. And those words are as true today as they were then. Those words of heroism ring true also for Detective Michael Morgan, a 6-year veteran of the Newark police force, who was tragically taken from us in November of 2011. It was said that Detective Morgan was destined to be a cop. When he was a young boy, he would sit by his window and make siren noises as police cars went past his New Jersey home. Two of his cousins were police officers. His uncle was a police officer--a retired deputy chief no less. He was an athlete. He played linebacker and fullback for New Jersey City University. During his years on the force, he helped take hundreds of guns off the streets, protecting people from gun violence. He was more than just a Newark police officer. He was a community leader from Newark, serving Newark, involved in the community, loving his city in every way. On that November day, Detective Morgan was off duty when he attempted to stop an armed robbery suspect. Just as he was about to pull his weapon, he was shot in the torso. Other officers there tried to save his life. They rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced dead. Today, these stories cut even deeper. They weigh even heavier. New Jersey has lost too many police officers. New Jersey grieves, recently, the loss of Deptford Police Officer Robert ``Bobby'' Shisler. He tragically passed away just this Sunday from a gunshot wound that he suffered 2 months ago following a pedestrian stop. A 4-year veteran of the force, he was the first Deptford police officer killed in the line of duty. He was just 27 years old. The stories of these officers, of these three individuals--Sergeant Popolizio, Detective Morgan, and Officer Shisler--are among the hundreds and hundreds of stories of fallen officers whose names are on that wall. They are forever emblazoned on the heart and the soul and the character of our country. Their stories show duty; they show honor; stories of service, of selfless purpose and the ultimate sacrifice, stories that remind us of the dangers that every single day law enforcement officers face. Most importantly, they demonstrate what it takes in this democracy, the greatest Nation on the planet still--the call of duty, the challenge of what it takes to preserve peace. Without officers who put themselves in harms' way, I struggle to think how the challenges we face would be all the deeper. This week, as we commemorate National Police Week, the purpose of these days is for us to pay tribute. Police Week is about paying tribute to the law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to our country. Let's not forget that. It is a chance for all of us to pause and reflect on how we can continue to work together to ensure that police officers have the support that they deserve in doing some of the most difficult jobs in America. Every day, law enforcement officers are on the frontlines of major crimes. They are there in our crises. They are there when we are afraid. They are there when we are under assault. They are there in our communities and our neighbors with a noble purpose to serve, to keep us safe, to make us strong. They respond to mass shootings, to domestic violence, to horrible accidents, and to painful crimes. They have to confront the scourge of the rising rates of gun violence in our country, walking into situations where they face individuals sometimes with weapons that belong not on our streets or in our neighborhoods but in theaters of war. I have seen situations, active shooter situations, where other people are running out; they are running in. Other people are ducking for cover; they stand strong to protect us. In the past few years, during the pandemic, I began to hear the stories of officers, with little regard for their own safety, still going out and doing their job. When fear and the unknown of this pandemic was hitting, you still had officers showing up for duty, going into dangerous situations, and I began to worry about their well-being. It is why, working with Senator Grassley, I was proud, in the depth of the pandemic, to introduce legislation with other colleagues from both sides of the aisle to expand the PSOB Program so that death benefits are given to survivors of police officers and first responders who lose their lives to COVID-19; that the presumption is, if an officer dies, that it was a line-of-duty death. Today, I introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure officers across the Federal Government receive their full retirement benefits. They are there for us for their whole career; we can make sure that we are there for them when they retire. Of all these bills that are introduced and debated in this body, I know that it is a shadow of the work being done by the law enforcement officers in this Nation. Many of us in this body were reminded of their heroism when this Chamber was attacked on January 6, and we saw officer after officer put their lives on the line. Indeed, as a result of that attack, we lost Capitol Police officers, including Brian Sicknick from the State of New Jersey. We stand here, and we debate. We stand here, and we legislate. But out on the walls just yards from where I stand are the officers who show that every single day they face a danger that we will never know. So this week, a week in which we remember our police officers, law enforcement themselves are still out there serving our community. Law enforcement officers are still, with little regard for their safety, running into situations of great danger. Whether it is a rookie cop on their first day or a seasoned veteran who has been on the job for decades, police officers put on their uniform, head outside, and their families and their children and their loved ones know the challenges and the dangers of the job. Most of them will come home. Most of them will raise their kids. Most of them will see retirement. But, tragically, some of them will not. So this week, we call it Police Week, but it is a bit of a divergence from the understanding of why this week came to be. This week is here to remember the sacrifice and the service and the patriotism: ``My country `tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;'' land where fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers died who wear the uniform, land of patriotism and pride. Let us not forget those who have fallen, and let us continue in a bipartisan way to protect them, to serve them who so nobly serve us, protect us, and advance this Nation forward each and every day.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Madam President, I have 15 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. I ask unanimous consent for 3 more minutes.

Mr. BOOKER. We cannot profess to be a nation of freedom if we cannot free our society from fear, if we can't free our society from violence. We cannot profess to live up to our values if the very Nation founded for--one of the reasons being common defense, but we can't defend our children. Last week, I introduced with Senator Warren the Firearms Safety Act, which would implement Federal safety regulations for firearms because right now guns--the most lethal of all consumer products--are the only products that aren't even subject to consumer safety regulations. Look, I want to end with the truth. A police officer who arrived at the shooting in Allentown recounted discovering a young boy beneath his mother's lifeless body who died protecting this child. He shared with anguish the haunting encounter of finding a young girl also crouched in a prayer-like position. As he searched for signs of life, he turned her head to the side only to find the horror of her face missing. In her final moments on Earth, the position of that girl was in prayer--was to pray. And we in this country--only in America--our response is only thoughts and prayers? We need to be the prayer answerers. We need to be the ones who respond when people call out for help. How will we respond to this national nightmare? What will we do to this uniquely American problem? Will we show American might? Will we show American strength? Will we show American healing? Will we show American community? Will we show American love for our children or will we repeat this national nightmare over and over again? When the shots ring out, people run, people hide, people pray. It is time that we in America answer those prayers with action.

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise to speak about another public health crisis. I feel a little bit like I am in this horrific version of Ground Hog Day because I have come to the floor of the Senate to speak about this crisis time and time again. This is a public health crisis that is happening only in America, a public health crisis that is impacting every community in this country, whether it is a rural town called Uvalde, a movie theater in Aurora, a school in Nashville--the uniquely American crisis of gun violence. If you love this country, I will tell you, if America hasn't broken your heart, you don't love her enough. This is heart wrenching--a specifically, uniquely American epidemic. And so I stand here on the Senate floor heartbroken, like so many Americans, and share the sense of obligation that we speak as a nation after a mass shooting, that we don't treat this like business as usual. Decades ago, in this body, if eight people were shot and killed--I think we should share a sense of outrage with our heartbreak that in the face of almost daily reportings of gun violence victims, many of them innocent children, we have failed to respond to this crisis. Instead, we choose the pathway of inaction or choosing a pathway where the action is in no way proportionate to the crisis. We have allowed carnage in our country to persist, and we have chosen to value the power of wealth and special interests to overcome the majority will of a nation. It seems so common now to turn on the TV and see, yet again, Americans being slaughtered in our Nation. This past Saturday, that place was a shopping mall. It was in the suburbs of Dallas. It was in the suburbs of Dallas, where a shooter opened fire on shoppers with an AR-15-style rifle. We are still learning more about this event, but the early reports indicate that at least eight lives have been lost and numerous others wounded. Lives shattered, crippled by weapons that belong in a war zone, firing with bullets that rip through bodies with gruesome reality; victims from their sixties to a child--to a child-- that is 5 years old. Only in America. Only in America. Only in this country is something like this routine. Eight people killed, and we continue with a growing savage normalcy that just accepts this carnage. Eight more souls--eight more. Every time one of these shootings happens, we go through the same motions, almost beginning to seem like autopilot. I see the same tweets. I see the same moans. I see similar statements. And then we seem to get to a point where it leaves the headlines, just to be replaced by another slaughter, by another shooting, by another mass murder, by another child dying, by another kid without his parents. We seem to have resigned ourselves to this cycle of carnage, and the responses are ``thoughts and prayers.'' As the death toll climbs, thoughts and prayers. As more people die, thoughts and prayers. As more people are put into the ground, thoughts and prayers. As more families and communities and places of worship and places of commerce are forever remembered as the place where family members, friends, and loved ones died. Only in America. Only in America. Only in America. Yesterday, May 8, was the 128th day of the year. In those 128 days, there have been 201--201 mass shootings. In those 128 days, more than 14,000 Americans have been killed by gun violence. In 128 days, there have been 12,000 Americans who have been injured, many of them crippled, many of them with forever scars on their bodies and trauma to their souls. This staggering toll includes people who weren't shot in mass shootings. We just had a 14-year-old girl shot because she was playing hide-and-seek--shot in the back of the head because she went on someone else's property. What about the young Black boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, mistakenly ringing the wrong doorbell, only to be shot and traumatized for the rest of his life. What about the toddler, a toddler shot in the head after a gun fell off a shelf. As of 2018, we have seen an explosion of gun purchases in the United States. We now have 390 million guns in circulation, which means there are more guns in this Nation right now than there are people. In my lifetime alone, just a short 50-plus years of my life, more Americans have been killed by gun violence in the United States than all of our wars, from the Revolutionary War to the World Wars, to the Vietnam war, to the Korean war, to the War on Terror. Than all of our wars combined, we have had more people in our country killed by gun violence in the last 50 years. And every single day that this body does nothing, another 120 people die. Only in America. Only in America. We have gun death rates that are 8 times higher than our northern neighbor Canada; 22 times higher than the European Union; 23 times higher than Australia. Only in America. Only in America. Fifty-eight percent of us now--more than half of Americans now--more than half of American adults have someone they care for who has experienced gun violence. This creeping reality is eating into everyone in America. It is now the leading cause of premature death in the United States and the leading cause of death for our children. The No. 1 killer of American children is gun violence. Only in America. Only in America is the No. 1 cause of death for children gun violence. Nearly 19 percent of childhood deaths in 2021 were caused by firearms. Only in America. In no other comparable country are firearms even in the top four causes of mortality with our children. Our kids are being forced to do active shooter drills more so now than fire drills, being forced to hold hands, to be taught to escape, to be taught to hide, to be implicitly told by adults that we can't protect you from the No. 1 cause of death. What is this doing to our society? More than the deaths even is the trauma that is creeping like a cancer into all parts of our society. What is it doing to our collective hearts? What is it doing to our one Nation under God that this cancer of trauma is entering neighborhoods and communities and towns and cities? What does it mean? Well, research on trauma shows that the level of collective trauma constitutes a cataclysmic event that affects not just victims of violence but the society as a whole. It is a cancer. It undermines our fundamental sense of security. If you look at other countries that have suffered these same tragedies that decided to act, that their collective response was to do something--Canada took steps to ban military-style assault weapons. New Zealand placed restrictions on AR-15s and other semiautomatic weapons. In Australia, they implemented a gun buyback program and other actions. In country after country that took action, they affirmed their collective agency to protect their nations. They responded to tragedy with action, to trauma with healing. And yet, only in America, while other nations make progress, we choose to normalize trauma. People make comments like more guns, more guns will make us safer. People make comments like, oh, well, it is mental health issues, when other nations have mental health crises. Some argue--

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, the Senator from Louisiana is a friend and someone who is, as he said, angry about these issues. That passion is real. His anger, his frustration, his determination is something that I share. In fact, I think this is one of the issues that, if you polled 100 Senators, you would see 100 Senators who sincerely and urgently believe we need to do something with this crisis that the Senator from Louisiana has so patently and clearly and candidly put forward. The fentanyl crisis is killing Americans at outrageous rates. Doing nothing or continuing to do the same thing is absolutely unacceptable. So my colleague, his passion--Louisianians should know that this is one of the best fighters when it comes to protecting people in his State, and his passion for protection affects people all over this country. But this is the challenge I have. We have now seen generations of the so-called War on Drugs, and the solutions that we seem to come up with are about more and more and more incarceration, longer and longer and longer sentences. And if that would solve the problem, count me in for continuing to go down that pathway. We now incarcerate more people than any country on the planet Earth. One out of every three incarcerated women on the planet Earth is here in America. One out of every four incarcerated people in the world is here in America. But has that stopped the crisis of drugs in our communities, kids dying of fentanyl, of opioids? No. There is no correlation. Not one study--nothing--shows that higher and higher rates, higher and higher sentencing relate in any way to safer communities, and I have looked for that data. The Department of Justice itself--the folks who are prosecuting people for drugs--their own report from the National Institute of Justice says more severe punishments do not chasten individuals convicted of these crimes. It has no correlation at all. And yet, as my colleagues pointed out, every 7 seconds someone is dying. And so the question is this: What will make the difference? My colleague, if you follow the evidence that you so passionately talked about on this day--National Fentanyl Awareness Day--the things that we know are actually driving down the deaths are treating this issue like a national health crisis. Yes, we need law enforcement. Yes, we need to stop this fentanyl coming into our country. Yes, the law enforcement needs all the tools. I support them. I will fight for them. I will continue to invest in them. But what is lacking to save lives is the kind of healthcare access that we need. Drug treatment, awareness, public health interventions-- we know those work, but yet we don't have the resources in communities to do them. I bring your attention to some of the facts. The National Institutes of Health reports that 85 percent of our prison population right now-- think about that. The overwhelming majority of our prison population right now has an active substance use disorder of people incarcerated involving drug use. That is who we are incarcerating in America right now, folks coming in and out, getting further and further engaged in that dark world of drug abuse and drug sales; but we are not solving the problem. Let me bring attention to the fact that, when it comes to sentencing, my colleague was talking about the mandatory minimums. But do you know what? If you get caught with possession--I know this--you get tagged with possession with intent to distribute. God, if you are in a school zone, you get tagged with something else. We have prosecutors now that could stack up 20, 30, 40, 50 years, even more so. I don't know if folks know this, but on your first offense, possession with intent to distribute has a 5-year mandatory minimum, but you could be given up to 40 years. In the second offense in the United States of America, you could get a life sentence. The mandatory minimum is 10 years to life. Is that stopping the crisis in our country? Do we need to bring in the death penalty? Is that going to stop what is happening in every 7 seconds? Thirty years I have lived in Newark--25 years to be exact--and God, I have watched the drug war and what it has done: more mandatory minimums, more incarceration, and lives that continue to be destroyed by the horrors of drugs. I beg this body to look at the evidence of what actually saves lives. Did you know that the No. 1 reason why people don't call for help when someone is having a drug overdose is because they are afraid of the consequences when they engage with the police? People are dying right now because people are afraid of the police because we are treating this like just a law enforcement problem and not a public health problem. I will join with any colleague on either side of the aisle to stop the scourge of fentanyl taking too many of our children, but, God, follow the evidence, and let's work together on what we see is actually lowering causes, lowering the rates of death. So, yes, I object with a heart that is hurting with the same anger that my colleague has shown. I will work with him. We have worked together before. Let's do something that is a comprehensive approach, that follows the data, that follows the report, that follows the National Institutes of Health and the DOJ's best recommendations. I will join with him, and we will bring to the floor a comprehensive bill that does affect the fentanyl coming into our country, overwhelmingly being brought by Americans; that does affect law enforcement's capabilities and powers to detect those substances, as I found out on the border; that does impact the addicts that he so passionately and compassionately cares about. Let's do a comprehensive bill, not something that the data does not support will actually stop children from dying like they have died in the many seconds that I have talked. I object.

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to speak for 11 minutes, followed by Senator Grassley for 10 minutes, and Senator Menendez for 5 minutes prior to the scheduled vote.

Mr. BOOKER. Reserving the right to object.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. So, officially, I object.

Mr. BOOKER. Reserving the right to object.

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I am here on behalf of Senator Sanders, who was pulled away from the floor on an important matter, and he asked me to object on this matter. He gave me some documentation and some points. I don't want to burden the Senate with reading everything I was given, but I would like to ask unanimous consent to enter into the Record the objection on behalf of Senator Sanders, if there is no objection to that, sir. And I will say, I really feel so blessed to be a Senator, and one of the great blessings for me has been getting to know my colleagues. I know folks on both sides of the aisle and have sincere friendships and admiration. Senator Lee is one of the people I respect in this body the most. He is learned. I have learned from him. My positions on issues have evolved by taking time to actually listen to my colleague from Utah speak. I see both colleagues from Utah are here. I need to get Menendez down to this floor and get some firepower here. But I have also learned a lot about Utah itself, and when he talks about the reasons for getting rid of this, they are very compelling to me. The reality is, tourism is one of our greatest industries. It creates jobs and opportunities. When he talks about sports teams--I am not sure if it is because he is a sports fan--I think he understands that sports teams help promote economic growth and economic opportunity. And even more than that, what I have learned from my colleague and my friend is that Utah is a very special place. I remember the Senator from Utah told me that I think one of the cities in Utah is one of the places in America that most foreign languages are spoken and mastered in all of our country, and I imagine because of the extensive foreign travel, there are real connections. And he said something that resonated with my spirit, which is this idea that it is affecting families; that we might have blended families. Americans do often marry people from outside of our country. All of those reasons I feel are very compelling. When I read Senator Sanders' remarks here, though, I found them compelling as well. And one of the things I found most compelling--I don't know about the Senator from Utah, but I actually have a science degree, a political science degree, so I tend to rely on health professionals. And then Senator Sanders' remarks, all of which I will put in the Record, talk to the point about the fact that people are still dying in the United States from COVID, but they also point out that COVID didn't originate here. We know it came from another country. We know that a zoonotic disease spread from wet markets in other countries into human beings. It then traveled to our Nation, most likely, and spread to us. We know that variants are still happening. Many of them can come from outside of our country, and there are many health professionals who believe that doing the right thing, ensuring people are vaccinated, may help us to stop a future variant. Now, again, there are reasonable objections on the other side on this, and my hope is that perhaps we as a body can come together and find a just way forward. We are, indeed, a body where a lot more happens in a bipartisan way than I think most of the public understands. And I know from my experience of 9 years in the Senate that a lot of the bipartisan legislation I respect most, Senator Lee, especially on our Judiciary Committee, has been involved in those. So I, on behalf of Senator Sanders, am objecting because of his reasons, but I do hope to continue my personal conversations with Senator Lee on that.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays, or whatever means yes and no.

Mr. BOOKER

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I am grateful to the Presiding Officer for recognizing me. I want to say I am excited to be standing up tonight and talking, along with Senator Wyden, Senator Hassan, and we just heard from Senator Casey who is marking this 13th anniversary celebration with extraordinary determination not to see these great programs cut. I was not in Congress when the ACA was passed into law. But in an affirmation of that old adage about politics being local, I saw in my local community of Newark, NJ, the powerful difference that the ACA made, the difference that health reform had on my community. Folks would come up to me immediately in the months and years afterwards and talk about how they were finally able to get the healthcare that they needed, not only for themselves, but for their loved ones--how they moved from anxiety and fear to security and strength. You had folks with preexisting conditions who were discriminated against in the United States of America before the law's passage, but now they had a pathway for quality, affordable healthcare. Folks had to choose often between putting food on the table, paying rent, or just visiting a doctor; a choice between buying school supplies and getting their prescription drugs. Choices that, in this Nation--the richest Nation on the planet Earth--are outrageous, unacceptable, and fiscally irresponsible. What I saw as Newark's mayor is that, often, people would let their healthcare needs go until they ended up in the emergency room, which was a cost then borne by them and their family for unnecessary illness, but also to all of us. This should not be the Nation we live in, and we are celebrating the fact that 13 years ago this body made a difference. I have seen this passion for the Affordable Care Act echoed in my 9 years as a U.S. Senator. One of my constituents told me, as a registered nurse from New Jersey, she spent her entire professional life caring for patients. Before the ACA, she witnessed those in need delay or simply refuse healthcare until it was too late. Soon, though, she almost became one of those patients herself after she retired and confronted her own health challenges and their accompanying costs. It was only thanks to the Affordable Care Act that she didn't have to resort to emptying her retirement accounts in order to afford the healthcare. She said it best herself: The Affordable Care Act saved my life. Another constituent of mine, a recent widow, wrote to me a few years ago. After losing her husband, she relied on the marketplace to get insurance--the Affordable Care Act marketplace. She was diabetic, had preexisting conditions, and told me: I'm afraid of having no coverage. I could lose my home and everything I have saved during my 35-year marriage. Now, despite the partisan attacks that you hear against the Affordable Care Act, despite the challenges in the courts, we know the Affordable Care Act has worked. The data is clear. From 2010 to 2021, the number of uninsured, nonelderly individuals has decreased substantially in the United States of America from 46.5 million to 27.5 million. That number has been nearly cut in half. We also know that the ACA has been invaluable in the fight to achieve just greater healthcare justice by dramatically decreasing the uninsured rate for many ethnic minorities in our country. For example, those rates have gone from 20 percent uninsured in 2010 to just 11 percent in 2021; for Black folks, 33 percent to 19 percent; for Latino folks, 17 percent to 6 percent. We have seen a dramatic decrease for Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Black Americans, and more. The law has saved lives, unequivocally. A 2014 study showed that the ACA prevented an estimated 50,000 preventable patient deaths in just 3 years from 2010 to 2013. And in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACA marketplace was a lifeline to folks who were laid off and had no insurance. One of the most important things that this law has done is to get people insured, to reduce deaths, to lower healthcare costs, and to expand access to Medicaid to people who were previously ineligible. I live in a State that was one of the first to expand Medicaid to more of our citizens. We did it under a Republican Governor who recognized just how important it was that we expand Medicaid, how lifesaving it was, how good for the empowerment of families and children it was. It has helped so many more people in New Jersey obtain health insurance, and it has helped my State fight the opioid crisis by providing us the vital resources to do so. New Jersey is one of 39 States, plus the District of Columbia, that has chosen to expand Medicaid. By all accounts, these 39 States with Medicaid expansion are outperforming those who have inexplicably--you might say outrageously--chosen to reject Medicaid expansion, despite the overwhelming evidence that it helps countless Americans stay healthier and better access quality affordable care. Perhaps that is one reason why the State of North Carolina, with a Republican-led legislature and a Democratic Governor, are in the middle of a bipartisan process to expand Medicaid in their State, right now as we speak. States that expanded Medicaid have continuously shown to have lower uninsured rates, lower premiums on exchange policies, to have lower mortality rates. States that expanded Medicaid better live up to the ideals of this country that, fundamentally, we are about life--life-- liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Expanding healthcare access lowers death rates. It is about life. Expanding healthcare access is about liberty, freeing people from fear and anxiety, from being chained to the worry that comes from not being able to afford even an ambulance ride. And, ultimately, it is about happiness. People in these States are going to the doctor more often for preventive screenings, visiting the dentist for dental care, getting mental health treatment. They have seen an increase in early stage cancer diagnosis when cancer is more treatable. People in those States have lower medical debt than in States that have neglected to expand Medicaid. It has actually had a positive effect on the overall economy. And I have led the charge to make sure that those States which expand Medicaid also provide coverage for birthing people, for moms, for a year postpartum. We live in a country that shamefully has a maternal mortality rate that is far higher than our peer nations and especially higher for marginalized communities. New data was recently released showing a significant increase in the maternal mortality rate in 2021. This problem is getting worse, with maternal mortality rates nearly doubling in the United States since 2018. The maternal mortality rate is bad for all Americans, and it is even worse for African Americans. Given that Medicaid coverage covers half the births in the United States, the continuing expansion of coverage and care will help address these concerning trends and address those disparities and help ensure that more women can get access to the reproductive care that they need, and we could have more healthy births with healthy moms. The bottom line is clear: Medicaid is integral to helping Americans get the care they need and to affirm our common values. We love our children in this Nation, and the data for their births, for the children and their mothers, should reflect that love. What does love look like in public? It looks like justice. It looks like healthy children being born. It looks like lowering the death rates for women giving birth. Look, we have much work to do. We should note the progress on this 13th anniversary. We should stop the politicization of healthcare in this country when we make strides that belie all the outrageous claims that were made about what the Affordable Care Act would turn into. All of the lies that were said about this legislation, all the dire predictions have not come true. Look, when I think about the ACA, I think back to the night I sat with my dear friend John Lewis, a hero to people on both sides of the aisle in this Chamber, a truly great American. When the Affordable Care Act was in crisis and threatened to be repealed, we sat on the Capitol steps, opened up Facebook Live, and started having a conversation. I will never forget. Hundreds of people came to join us on the steps of the Capitol, and I will never forget that John Lewis made it clear to this large crowd of people and to a live, online audience--he said: Affordable healthcare is the birthright of every American. At stake are not just the details of policy but the character [the character] of our country. Think about that for a second, the character of our country. Who are we? What do we stand for? Not just those unbelievable words on those founding documents, not just the spirit of America, but, in truth, you can judge the greatness of a country by the well-being of its people. I believe that when we talk about healthcare, we aren't just talking about policy and legislation and politics, but we are taking about the very fabric--the moral fabric--of this Nation. We cannot be a nation that stands for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness if people don't have access to what is fundamental to those ideals, which is quality healthcare. We are a nation that should be a beacon to the world. I believe we are. We are a nation of promise, a nation of hope, a nation of possibility, a nation of infinite potential. But there are still too many people in this country where that potential and that possibility are undermined by the mere fact that they cannot access a doctor, preventive care, birthing care. That is wrong. I am endlessly grateful for the Affordable Care Act for helping us to make a stride toward our ideals, for bending the arc of the moral universe more toward justice, for making this a more perfect union. Yes, tonight is a 13-year anniversary, but we should commit ourselves to going from doing good work, from making progress, to ultimately doing what we are called to be, which is a nation that is a light unto all nations. It sets the highest standards for healthcare and health outcomes; that we are not a nation that proclaims a nation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness but demonstrates it relative to all other nations in the true fabric of our living. That is a cause that calls this body and the House of Representatives and our Federal Government that should call us not just to celebrate a 13-year anniversary but to continue to improve upon the good work that was done. I am concluded with my remarks. I am just a warmup act for the Senator who is coming right now, from my second favorite ``new'' State after New Jersey, the great State of New Hampshire. I yield the floor.