Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in the fall of 1868, recently freed African-American men participated in Federal elections for the first time in American history. According to Ron Chernow's biography of Ulysses S. Grant, the impacts of expanding the vote were immediate and dramatic. In a startling reversal for an area once dominated by slavery, the elections spawned black sheriffs, school board members, state legislators, and congressmen. That yesterday's slave laborer was today's state legislator horrified many white southerners who refused to accept this extraordinary inversion of their bygone world. Naturally, the opponents of voting rights had an answer. Chernow continues: [T]o circumvent the fifteenth amendment, white politicians in Georgia [and other states] devised new methods of stripping blacks of voting rights, including poll taxes, onerous registration requirements-- Let me repeat that quote. [O]nerous registration requirements, and similar restrictions copied in other states. Many attempts were made by this very body to stop these sinister laws, but the result was ultimately a failure. By 1877, ``the black community in the South steadily lost ground until a rigid apartheid separated the races completely, a terrible state of affairs that would not be fixed until the rise of the civil rights movement after World War II.'' Today, the U.S. Senate meets in a different century, facing new and different dangers but wrestling with the same fundamental question: How will the Members of this body protect and expand the most basic right of American citizens, the wellspring of our democracy, the thing that distinguished America from all of the countries in Europe when it was established in, first, 1776 and then 1789--the right to vote--the most important wellspring of our democracy, the most important feature of our democracy? How will the Members of this body expand and protect the most basic right--the right to vote--from forces, right now in the 21st century, conspiring to take it away? That is why, today, the U.S. Senate will debate legislation to protect our democracy, and the eyes of history--the eyes of history--are upon us. The question that is before us today is as old as the Republic itself. The story of democracy has been a long march toward universal suffrage, a holy struggle to take the vision of our Framers and make it real in the present. The march, unfortunately, has often not been linear. At the time of our Constitution's ratification, you had to be, in many States, a White, male, Protestant, landowner to vote. How many in this Chamber would have been able to participate in those early elections? Throughout our Nation's history, moments of significant progress have often been followed by reactionary backlash. Unfortunately, it seems-- led by one party, compelled by the most dishonest President in our history--we are in another of those dark periods. That is why, for the first time--the first time--in this Congress, the Senate is debating and will vote on legislation to confront these threats: the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. For the information of all, debate on these bills will continue throughout the day. And as soon as 6:30, if not a little bit later, we will hold a cloture vote to conclude debate and proceed to final passage on these measures. I want to thank my colleagues who spoke yesterday in favor of these bills. There were so many eloquent and strong speeches. At our caucus, I have rarely seen such passion about the need to vote and the need to change the rules to allow these vital bills--so fixed upon the wellspring of our democracy, voting--to pass. If the Republicans block cloture on the legislation before us, I will put forward a proposal to change the Senate rules to allow for a talking filibuster on this legislation, as recommended by a number of our colleagues who have been working on this reform for a very long time. Make no mistake, win, lose, or draw, Members of this Chamber were elected to debate and to vote, particularly on such an important issue as this. And win, lose, or draw, we are going to vote--we are going to vote--especially when the issue relates to the beating heart of our democracy, as voting rights does. For months, Senate Republicans have resisted virtually every attempt at holding a bipartisan debate on voting rights legislation. Senate Democrats have certainly tried to bring them onto the table. Senate Democrats have certainly been willing to compromise to get something done. My colleagues Senators Manchin and Kaine and Tester and King and Durbin and Klobuchar and Leahy--and many more--have all met with Republicans to initiate a dialogue, dating back to last August, if not earlier. At virtually every turn, we have been met with resistance. And amazingly enough, my colleagues--none of them are here to hear it--our Republican colleagues don't even acknowledge that we have a crisis. Leader McConnell even claimed that ``States are not engaged in trying to suppress voters whatsoever.'' Let me read that quote again. This is from Leader McConnell's words: States are not engaging in trying to suppress voters whatsoever. I would ask the Republican leader, if there is no effort to suppress the vote, why have 19 States passed 33 new laws making it harder for Americans to participate in our elections, in the aftermath of one of the safest elections in American recent history, where there is virtually no evidence of any material fraud--none. If there is no effort to suppress the vote, why are States from Texas to Montana restricting the number and hours of polling places? Why have States like Florida and Texas made it harder to register--to register-- to vote? Is that not suppressing the vote? Why are States like Iowa cutting down on the number of days you can vote early? Is that not suppressing the vote? And if there is no effort to suppress the vote, why have States like Georgia made it a crime for volunteers to give food and water to voters standing in line at the polls? Leader McConnell, once again: States are not engaging in trying to suppress voters whatsoever. Just as Donald Trump has his Big Lie, Leader McConnell now has his: States are not engaging in trying to suppress voters whatsoever. The same types of lies that have motivated--the same type of Big Lie that Donald Trump put forward has now motivated Leader McConnell and many other Republicans to embrace that Big Lie and spout others that come from the same poisonous tree. And what is even more galling, knowing our history, that the laws that I spoke of a minute ago don't target everyone. This is not an effort aimed at everyone. They are aimed particularly at people of color, at poor people, at young people, at disabled people, at elderly people, at people who live in cities. Given the long history, particularly against African Americans, Black Americans, of suppressing the vote in every kind of way possible, this is particularly disgraceful, particularly abhorrent, particularly obnoxious. We all know the game here today, exemplified by every seat being empty when we are having our first debate about voting rights, not because Republicans agreed to go along but because we were able to use a message from the House to go forward without their OK. So we all know the game here. To date, I don't know if any of you have, but I have not heard a single serious defense of these laws from Senate Republicans. They don't come here to the floor to defend what is going on in the States. What we have heard is sophistry, distractions, and outright gaslighting. For months, Senate Republicans have come up with excuses and subterfuges to avoid doing the right thing, just like others have come up with similar lame excuses and subterfuges in the past. But this is the 21st century. We are supposed to have gone beyond that, but unfortunately we have not. Facts are stubborn, and today's debate will help us arrive at the facts of voter suppression before we vote to take action. As we debate this issue so critical to the wellspring of our democracy, will we all confront a critical question: Shall Members of this Chamber do what is necessary to pass these bills and move them to the President's desk? It is my hope that courage awakens within the heart of our Republican colleagues before the day is out. But if the Senate cannot protect the right to vote, protect the cornerstone of our democracy under the existing rules, then the Senate rules must be reformed. Let me say this. We have diverse views about whether the filibuster today in 21st century America is a good thing or a bad thing. And there are some in our caucus who believe it helps bring--a few who believe it helps bring--us together. I don't see evidence of that at all, and I think the majority of my colleagues will agree with that. But even for those who feel that the filibuster is a good thing and helps bring us together, I would ask this question: Isn't the protection of voting rights, the most fundamental wellspring of this democracy, more important? Isn't protecting voting rights and preventing their diminution more important than a rule in the Senate, which has not always been in existence and was not envisioned by the Founders? That is the question we should ask ourselves. Our proposal for a talking filibuster on these pieces of legislation would be the first step toward passing voting rights, restoring this body, and breaking the gridlock that we now face on this vital issue. In this body, proponents of our democratic rights, again and again, have brought legislation to the floor only to be met by a filibuster. Opponents of fair, open elections filibustered anti-poll tax legislation in 1942, 1944, 1946. They filibustered the civil rights bill of 1960. They filibustered legislation on literacy tests in 1962-- all this before real substantive progress was made. Our struggle today is not new, but we must nevertheless meet it with renewed conviction. Senate Democrats are under no illusion that we face an uphill fight, especially when virtually every Republican has remained staunchly against every attempt to pass voting rights legislation. Again, I would remind the American people and every one of my colleagues that this is a different Republican Party controlled by Donald Trump. Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush all supported renewal of the Voting Rights Act--every one of them--and it received large bipartisan majorities in the Senate. It is a different Republican Party, not just on so many issues that we debate but on this issue, the wellspring of our democracy. So we know it is an uphill fight. But whenever this Chamber confronts a question this important, one so vital to our country, you don't slide it off the table and say, ``Never mind.'' You don't say, ``We are not going to deal with this issue head-on.'' The Senators' job is to vote and to vote on the most important issues facing us, and vote we will, and we are going to keep pushing. We are going to keep working. We are going to keep fighting long after today because the issue is so important to all of us. I believe firmly in my bones, Mr. President, that if we follow Dr. King's advice to just ``keep moving,'' history shows that doing the right thing will eventually prevail. Justice will flow like the mighty waters, as the Prophet Amos has said. But the work of justice does not stir into action on its own. It is up to us, Members of this body and Americans all across the country, to do our part to make justice come alive today and assure that our country does not backslide here in the 21st century. So I urge my colleagues, for the sake of our beautiful, wonderful democracy, for the sake of what the Founding Fathers called this ``noble experiment,'' take a stand and do everything, everything, everything you can to protect voting rights today--today--in this Chamber. Recognition of the Minority Leader

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the House message to accompany H.R. 5746 no longer be the pending business.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, before I begin the substance of my remarks, I want to offer a few words in reaction to the terrible hostage situation this weekend in Texas. Saturday's hostage crisis at Congregation Beth Israel was a horrifying reminder that the ancient poison of anti-Semitism continues to this day. I am relieved that all of the hostages made it out alive, and I commend the quick thinking of the first responders and of Rabbi Charlie Citron-Walker, who acted valiantly, and all those present for bringing this crisis to an end. Moving forward, we must get to the bottom of what inspired the terrorist attack on Saturday but increase our vigilance against all forms of anti-Semitism and racially motivated violence. Here in Congress, we must continue working to increase our investment in nonprofit security grants to groups that are targets of hate. We need to give our communities the tools they need to protect themselves so they can live without fear of being targeted for just who they are. On this day, I stand in solidarity with the congregation of Beth Israel, the Jewish community of Greater Dallas-Ft. Worth, and with all Jewish Americans for whom Saturday's attack was a traumatic reminder of the hate we have yet to overcome. Voting Rights Mr. President, this is on defending democracy. The eyes of the Nation will be watching what happens this week in the U.S. Senate. Just a few days removed from what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 93rd birthday, the Senate has begun debate on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act--for the first time, the first time in this Congress. Democrats have tried for months to hold a voting rights debate on the floor, but we have been blocked each time by Republicans. We brought commonsense proposals four times on the floor of the Senate and only once did one Senator--Lisa Murkowski, to her credit--agree to even begin debate on voting rights. On all three other votes, not a single Republican joined us. Every one of them voted to block even a debate on voting rights. So, today, we are taking this step by using a message from the House. Now, it is just a step, but an important step moving forward, in that we will finally debate this one issue that is so central to the American people, to our history, and to our democracy. As we debate these measures, the Senate will confront a critical question: Shall the Members of this Chamber do what is necessary to pass these bills and bring them closer to the President's desk? Today, we have just taken the first steps that will put everyone-- everyone--on the record. Much has been said over the past few days about the prospects of passing voting rights legislation in this Chamber. Senate Democrats are under no illusion that we face difficult odds, especially when virtually every Senate Republican--every Senate Republican--is staunchly against legislation protecting the right to vote. But I want to be clear. When this Chamber confronts a question this important--one so vital to our country, so vital to our ideals, so vital to the future of our democracy--you don't slide it off the table and say, ``Never mind.'' Win, lose, or draw, Members of this Chamber were elected to debate and to vote, especially on an issue as vital to the beating heart of our democracy as voting rights. The public is entitled to know where each Senator stands on an issue as sacrosanct as defending our democracy. The American people deserve to see their Senators go on record on whether they will support these bills or oppose them. Indeed, that may be the only way to make progress on this issue now, for the public to see where each of us in this Chamber stands. The public deserves to see it, and that is exactly, precisely, what the Senate is going to do this week. Make no mistake about it. Using Dr. King as an inspiration, Democrats will continue to fight on this issue until we succeed, and I believe history will vindicate us. Mr. President, the fight over voting rights is as old as the Republic itself. Recently--well, let me say, when the Republic was founded, in many States you had to be a White male Protestant property owner to vote. As is obvious by who is in this Chamber, we have made progress-- inexorable progress--in expanding that franchise. History does not regard those restrictions that occurred early on as worthy, but we must continue the fight. We have not reached the place where every person can vote easily and openly and honestly. So we have to keep it up. I have been reading the biography of Ulysses S. Grant by Ron Chernow. The No. 1 thing the southern segregationists wanted to take away from the newly freed slaves was the right to vote. Segregationists back then knew that if recently freed Black slaves didn't have the right to vote in the South, they would have no power at all: no power over laws, over resources, over the future of the country. And that was the No. 1 thing segregationists wanted to prevent: the right of the newly freed slaves to vote. It is why, a century later, Dr. King made a direct appeal to Congress for acting on voting rights: ``Give us the ballot,'' he said in 1957, ``and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights.'' ``Give us the ballot'' and all other rights will follow. With the ballot, he argued, voters could end the worst of racial segregation. They could elect good men and good women to government. They could subdue the dangers of the mob and keep democracy alive. But the ballot had to come first. The ballot had to come first. Dr. King might as well have been speaking to us, because across the United States, in 2022, ballot access is not being expanded; it is being repressed. And our democracy is not safe; it is under attack. A year ago, a violent mob incited by the President and his Big Lie attacked this very building in order to reverse the results of a free and fair election. Last week, for the first time, the Department of Justice announced sedition charges against a number of the rioters who were here that day. A year later, at least 19 States have passed 33 laws that make it harder for people to vote, using the Big Lie--the Big Lie, as false as it is--as a justification. Those States together are home to 55 million Americans, and new laws are certainly coming once the State legislatures return to session this year. And the kind of violence--the threats of violence--we saw on January 6 by that insurrectionist mob is now being threatened increasingly against countless election workers across the country. Just this weekend, the Houston Chronicle reported that ``County officials in urban areas across the State [of Texas] say they've been forced to reject an unprecedented number of mail ballot applications [thanks to the new Republican voter suppression law.] And this past Saturday, Donald Trump once again repeated the same conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that have paved the way for voter suppression at the State level. So, unfortunately, the dangers that face our democracy are alive and well, and the laws that suppress the vote at the State level are being enacted on a partisan basis. We have seen periods of regression, in terms of voting rights and equality and fairness to people of color. We have seen regression occur. And this seems to be a period of regression in what the legislatures are doing, and fight it we must. So the Senate must act. We must step in and act. We must do everything to pass voting rights legislation, just as this Chamber has done in the past, just as the Constitution permits us to do. That is why we will vote this week on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. And if Republicans choose to continue their filibuster of voting rights legislation, we must consider and vote on the rule changes that are appropriate and necessary to restore the Senate and make voting legislation possible. As I have recounted already, these laws are urgently needed. We must not--we cannot--allow another period of that regression, which we have seen throughout American history. Here is what some of the laws would do--our two laws would do: They would set basic commonsense standards for all Americans for access to the ballot as well as restore preclearance provisions that were passed by this Chamber for decades on a bipartisan basis. They would establish clear and consistent standards for early voting across the country and make it easier for voters to access absentee ballots. They would protect election workers from unlawful intimidation. We are seeing so much of that now. It is disgraceful--disgraceful. They would end the toxic practice of partisan gerrymandering, and they would take new steps to fight the power of dark money corroding our elections. Senate Democrats repeatedly tried, over the last year, to bring Republicans to the table to debate these issues. I will remind my colleagues that this is not the old Republican Party. I would remind the American people how dramatically the Republican Party has regressed. The Republican Party used to be one that supported voting rights. Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush worked to renew voting rights bills. No, sadly, unfortunately, this is Donald Trump's Republican Party. And it is the one now trying to take away the vote from younger Black and Brown, elderly, minority, and low-income voters. And yet every time we try to engage our Senate Republican colleagues, they resist it. So we have no choice. We are moving ahead on our own. Once again, no one denies the path ahead is an uphill struggle. Republicans have been clear, they will entertain no bipartisan compromise on voting rights, but long odds are no excuse for this Chamber to avoid this important issue. Again, Members of this Chamber were elected to debate and to vote. We are going to vote. We are all going to go on the record. And Republicans will have to choose which side they stand on--protecting democracy or offering their implicit endorsement of Donald Trump's Big Lie. For months, Senate Republicans have come up with excuses and subterfuges to avoid doing what they know is the right thing, just like so many others have come up with similar lame excuses and subterfuges in the past. But as history shows, doing the right thing will eventually prevail. Justice will flow like mighty waters, as the Prophet Amos has said. The direction of voting rights in America is enough to have shaken the faith of even the most optimistic champion of America--of democracy. Sometimes it seems like for each step forward, the country takes two steps back, but fights like this are not unusual in American history. The story of our country has been a long, arduous march toward expanding the promise of freedom for all Americans. We find ourselves in such a struggle today. Dr. King had simple, powerful advice for his followers during moments like this: Keep moving. Keep fighting. The road to justice is often painful and full of setback, but we must keep moving. We must keep moving, he said, against every obstacle and prodigious hilltop and mountain of opposition. Let nothing slow you down. And even after you cross the Red Sea only to find yourself in the desert, just keep moving forward through the wilderness. ``And if you will do that with dignity,'' he said, ``when the history books are written in the future, the historians will have to look back and say, `There lived a great people.''' We will keep fighting in the same spirit to protect our democracy in this day and age. And if we do that, I have faith that one day the history books will likewise look back at this generation of Americans and conclude, ``There lived a great people,'' too. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. I send a cloture motion to the motion to concur to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President--of the Senate pro tempore, as well--Mr. President, it is my understanding the Senate has received a message from the House of Representatives to accompany H.R. 5746.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the House message to accompany H.R. 5746.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 5746. Motion to Concur with Amendment No. 4903

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 5746 with an amendment.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask that further reading of the amendment be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to concur with an amendment.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have an amendment to the amendment, which is at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to refer the House message to accompany H.R. 5746 to the Committee on Rules, with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask that further reading be dispensed with.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER. I have an amendment to the instructions, which is at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask that further reading be dispensed with.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER. I have an amendment to the amendment, which is at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask that further reading be dispensed with.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2471 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 491, submitted earlier today.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I further ask that the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.