John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, yesterday, I was privileged to be able to pay my respects to Representative John Lewis as he lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda--a fitting place for an American hero. His death is a loss, but his dauntless courage and deep conviction have carved out for him a permanent place in American history. When we tell stories of those who have made America greater, John Lewis's name will always be among them.

Mr. THUNE

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from Arizona (Ms. McSally), and the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have 8 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: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 9:45 p.m. to conduct a hearing on nominations. Committee on Foreign Relations The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 2 p.m., to conduct a hearing on nominations. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Rules and Administration The Committee on Rules and Administration is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Select Committee on Intelligence The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Subcommittee on Water and Power The Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, before I begin, I would like to take a moment to honor Congressman John Lewis, who died on Friday. A leader of the civil rights movement, he was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders and an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. He was a man of conscience, conviction, and supreme courage. ``When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to do something,'' he would say. John Lewis did something. Confronted by the great sin of segregation, John Lewis put himself front and center in the fight. He organized sit- ins. He led demonstrations. He marched for freedom. And he paid for his convictions with his blood. A man who espoused nonviolence, he suffered incredible brutality at the hands of both police officers and civilian mobs. He was attacked and beaten an untold number of times During a march in Selma, AL--on a day that lives in infamy--a police officer fractured John Lewis's skull, leaving him with a scar that he carried to the end of his life. Yet John Lewis was unbowed. No matter how many times he was attacked or what he suffered, he got up again and rejoined the fight. His death is a great loss, but John Lewis will live on in the annals of American heroes. May we all have his courage in fighting for the right. Coronavirus Mr. President, so far, Congress has provided $2.4 trillion to fight the coronavirus. Over the past couple of months here in the Senate, we have been closely tracking the implementation of this money and working with the administration on disbursement. In June alone, we held 30 hearings in the Senate on COVID-related issues. All of this has helped us identify the priorities that need to shape our next bill, which we are hoping to pass in the next couple of weeks. Those priorities are kids, jobs, and healthcare. First, kids: Getting kids back in school safely needs to be a priority. Being able to attend school in person is important for students' academic development and for their social and emotional well- being. The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated: ``All policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.'' Now, not every school may be able to fully reopen this fall, but we need to make sure that those schools that can reopen have the resources they need to reopen safely. That is why the legislation the Republicans are drafting here in the Senate would provide more than $100 billion to help schools ensure they have what they need to safely welcome students back to class. While our first priority in getting kids back to school is ensuring their academic and social well-being, getting students back in school is also important for families' economic health. There are a lot of parents in this country who can't afford to have one parent stay home to homeschool. We need to ensure that those parents have access to schools and childcare wherever possible so that they can keep or return to their jobs. Enabling Americans to return to work is key to our economic recovery. Currently, there are more than 17 million unemployed Americans. While this is a significant improvement from where we were 2 months ago, that number is still much too high, and we have to do everything we can to get these Americans back on the job and receiving a regular paycheck. That is why the legislation we are drafting will provide incentives for businesses to hire and to retain workers. It will provide a refundable tax credit for Main Street businesses for the protective equipment and cleaning supplies that they need to keep their employees and customers safe and to encourage Americans to return to their businesses. It will provide another round of assistance to small businesses, with a focus on those that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. We also expect to issue another round of direct payments to hard- working Americans to help them get back on their feet and to stimulate the economy. The third bucket of our coronavirus response is, of course, healthcare. We have to keep ensuring our healthcare professionals have the resources needed to treat patients, develop new treatments, and to find a vaccine to tame this virus once and for all. The coronavirus legislation that we are drafting will address all three of those priorities. Our legislation will also include another important priority that will protect jobs, schools, businesses, and healthcare workers, and that is liability protections. No matter how many precautions schools and businesses take, there is no way for them to completely eliminate all risk of employees, students, or customers contracting the virus, but an army of trial lawyers is waiting to levy lawsuits against even the most careful schools and businesses. There is absolutely no question that schools and businesses should be liable for gross negligence or for intentional misconduct, but businesses and schools that are taking every reasonable precaution to protect employees and students and customers should not have to worry about facing lawsuits for virus transmission that they could not have prevented. Healthcare workers giving their all on the frontlines to treat coronavirus patients should not have to worry that their efforts will be rewarded with lawsuits. I would like to think that we can put a bipartisan bill together and get it to the President's desk in the next couple of weeks. Republicans are ready and willing to work with Democrats to get this done. We will introduce our draft shortly and be ready to negotiate with Democrats to arrive at a final bill, the same process that we followed with the CARES Act, our largest coronavirus relief bill to date. This will work only if Democrats are willing to come to the table and negotiate a reasonable bill. My Democratic colleagues sometimes behave as if government money is drawn from a magical pot of gold that will never run out, but it is not. It is not. Every dollar of the coronavirus funding we provided so far has been borrowed money, and every dollar we appropriate in the phase 4 bill we are drafting will likely be borrowed money as well. It can be argued that it is money we need to borrow, but we need to remember that it is borrowed money and that the bill for that money will eventually come due. The more we drive up our debt, the greater the threat to the health of our economy, not to mention to the economic future of today's younger workers. We have an obligation to them to limit our borrowing to what is absolutely necessary to fight the virus. The Democratic leader has come down to the floor the past couple of days and suggested that the Heroes Act--a $3 trillion coronavirus bill the House passed is--``a good product to start with'' when it comes to a phase 4 coronavirus relief bill. That is ludicrous. The bill the Democratic leader is promoting--the bill he thinks is a good starting point for coronavirus legislation--is a bill that mentions cannabis--cannabis more often than it mentions the word ``jobs.'' Let me just repeat that. The bill the Democratic leader thinks is a good starting point for coronavirus relief legislation mentions the word ``cannabis'' more often than it mentions the word ``job.'' While the Democratic leader is certainly welcome to disagree with me, I don't think diversity studies in the cannabis industry have a major role to play in defeating this virus or getting Americans back to work, nor does federalizing election law--another priority the Democrats included in their bill. Despite its $3 trillion pricetag, the bill the Democratic leader is endorsing fails to meet one of the most basic requirements of any coronavirus relief bill, and that is providing a meaningful plan for getting Americans back to work. It is disappointing to hear the Democratic leader promoting such an unserious piece of legislation at a time that we should be devoting all of our efforts to getting a bipartisan bill to the President. I hope my other Democratic colleagues in the Senate are ready to look beyond partisan wish lists and focus on negotiating a relief package that addresses the real priorities we are facing: helping kids and parents, getting Americans back to work, and providing the healthcare resources needed to fight this virus. Republicans are ready to come to the table, and I urge Democrats to join us. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Braun) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), the Senator from Arizona (Ms. McSally), the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), and the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi), and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, in just a few minutes, we will vote on whether to move forward on Senator Scott's policing reform bill. We are at a turning point in our Nation's history--a moment when Americans of every background and political persuasion are united in a call for change. We have a chance to give it to them. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will have a chance to pass legislation that will permanently reform policing in this country--legislation that will improve training, increase accountability, and give increased security to families who worry that their sons or daughters could be the next George Floyd or Breonna Taylor. Senator Scott's legislation, the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act, or the JUSTICE Act, is a product of years of serious work. It is an extensive bill that focuses on a number of areas that call for reform. Make no mistake about it. When the Democrats vote today, if they do-- and, I hope, there will be enough of them who will not, so as to allow this legislation to move forward--they will be voting to block police reform legislation, because that is what this is. This is not Senator McConnell's bill. The Democratic leader kept attacking Senator McConnell and the McConnell legislation. This is a Tim Scott bill, crafted with input from other Senators, with input from communities of color from across this country, and with input from the law enforcement community--people who care deeply about not just talking about this issue but about actually solving this issue, people who care about action. The Democratic objection and vote to block this legislation from moving forward will prevent an open debate in front of the entire American public about an issue that has generated a tremendous amount of controversy, not only currently but throughout our Nation's history. We cannot change our past--there are parts of it that we are not proud of--but we can change our future, and that could start today with this vote to get on this bill and then to have an open process. The leader has promised that, if we can get on this bill, we will have an amendment process. If there are things in the bill that people on either side of the aisle think can be improved on, they will have an opportunity to offer amendments to make those improvements. Yet, by not even getting on the bill, they will be saying to the American people that we don't care about your having a voice in this process or being able to see what your elected leaders are actually doing to resolve this problem in our country. That is what this would do. It would open it up. It would allow a piece of legislation to be brought to the floor; allow for a motion to proceed to get on it; allow us to open up the amendment process and to have a freewheeling, fulsome debate about each and every one of the issues that is involved in this legislation. They have said that this doesn't go far enough, that it doesn't do this or that it doesn't do that. Sure, that is true. Perhaps, it doesn't, but it gets about 75 percent of the way there. If you look at the contents and the substance of this bill, it represents a lot of what both sides have been talking about. There are a lot of recommendations in it that have come forward from people across this country who have been directly impacted, none more so than Senator Scott. I can tell you Senator Scott doesn't view this as a messaging exercise. He views this as something that is deeply personal to him. Unfortunately, he has experienced the pain of racism, not only as a young boy, growing up in the South, but as an adult and as a U.S. Senator. He wants a solution, and we should all want a solution, but that starts by getting on the bill and debating it in the open, in the light of day. The Democratic leader talks about: Why can't we go back behind closed doors and negotiate this? Look, we have a piece of legislation that represents 75 percent of what the Democrats say they want, and we can finish the other 25 percent. Maybe we will not get to 100 percent. Nobody ever, usually, gets 100 percent of what one wants around here. Yet simply having a debate, allowing an open amendment process, and allowing the will of the U.S. Senate to be heard is all this is about. This isn't about the final bill. This isn't about the final contents. This is about whether or not this body--100 U.S. Senators--has listened enough to what is going on around this country to say: We want to have this debate. We want to get on this bill, and we want to have it in public, in the light of day, in front of the American people, not behind closed doors--an open debate, a fulsome debate, in which amendments can be offered and in which the American people can observe and see it. That is what this vote today is about. Now, the Democrats will say that, if you allow us to get on the bill, then they will have no control over what will happen after that. Well, actually, they will, because it is not just a 60-vote threshold to get on the bill; it is a 60-vote threshold to get off the bill. So, if you want to stop this somewhere--anywhere in the process--you will have the opportunity to do that because it will take 60 votes to move it forward and to ultimately pass it, not just to get on it. It takes 60 votes--a supermajority here in the U.S. Senate. I think it is fair to say that, historically, the way the Senate has worked on major pieces of legislation is it ends up being bipartisan because of the 60-vote threshold. There hasn't been a time since the popular election of Senators, at least on the Republican side, when we have had more than 55 votes in the U.S. Senate. The Democrats have had 60 a few times throughout history, but the Republicans have never had more than 55. So we know it is going to take a bipartisan solution, and we know that the Democrats' voice matters. We know that, in the end, if you are going to have a bipartisan product, you are going to have to have input from both sides That is what this is about. It is about getting on the bill that has been advanced and put forward by an individual, Tim Scott--it is a Tim Scott bill--again, with input from others. It is not a McConnell bill. It is a Tim Scott bill. He is someone who has personally experienced and felt the very frustration and anger that is being voiced by the American people across the country. He wants a solution. He doesn't want a messaging bill. We want a solution. Let me just tell you quickly about a few of the things that are in this bill, which I think suggest that it would be really important to get on it and to, at least, have a debate. One of the most important sections of the bill is the George Floyd and Walter Scott Notification Act, which would correct deficiencies in law enforcement's reporting of use-of-force incidents. Right now, the FBI's National Use-of-Force Data Collection only receives data on about 40 percent of law enforcement officers--40 percent. That needs to change. The only way we can understand the scope of the problems we are facing is to have full and accurate data--a complete data picture--that will allow us to pinpoint problems, identify troubled police departments, and develop best practices for use-of-force and deescalation training. There are many police departments across the Nation that are doing an excellent job of policing and that are keenly interested in becoming still better. I recently met with law enforcement leaders back in my home State of South Dakota. Among other things, they have been participating in listening sessions with the community since George Floyd's death, and they are supportive of new measures that will help to ensure that every officer does his or her job in the best possible way. Yet, while there are a lot of excellent police departments out there, there are also troubled departments--departments that fail to train their officers properly and that overlook officer misbehavior. We need to identify those departments and demand their reform. Collecting full and accurate data on use-of-force incidents will help us to do just that. Another important section of the JUSTICE Act focuses on police deescalation and duty-to-intervene training. Sometimes police end up using force in situations in which force could have been avoided simply because they lack the necessary training to deescalate a situation without the use of force. It may be understandable that well-meaning but overwhelmed police officers who are in dangerous circumstances will sometimes resort to the use of force too quickly, but that is not a situation that we can accept. Every police officer in this country should be given the kind of training that will ensure that the use of force is restricted only to those situations in which it is absolutely needed. Another key area of the bill--one that is absolutely essential to getting bad cops off the streets--deals with law enforcement records retention. Too often, law enforcement officers with problematic records, like multiple excessive use-of-force complaints, manage to transfer to new jurisdictions because the hiring police departments never see their full records. That is a problem. Bad cops should not be able to find new homes in other jurisdictions. We can prevent that from happening by ensuring that every police department is able to access the full disciplinary record of any officer it is looking to hire. The JUSTICE Act would help to make sure these records are readily available by requiring police departments to keep officers' records for at least 30 years. It would also require any police department that hires a new officer to obtain a full employment and disciplinary record for that officer from all of his previous departments. There are a lot of other important measures in the JUSTICE Act, from the funding of body cameras to expanding minority hiring, to developing best policing practices. With this legislation, we have a real chance of improving policing in this country and of ensuring that every officer is held to the highest standards. Our ability to do that is going to depend on one thing, and that is the willingness of the Democrats to come to the table. It was disheartening to see the Democrats dismiss Senator Scott's bill before it had even been released, especially because, as I said, many of the proposals in the bill have been taken directly from earlier bipartisan bills. The word, of course, today, is that they are planning to block the bill without even allowing it to be considered on the floor. The Democrats have spent a lot of time talking about police reform, but if they want to actually achieve reform and not just talk about it, they are going to have to decide to move beyond politics. Senator Scott's bill is a serious, wide-ranging bill. It is a commonsense bill. It is a bill that all of us, whichever our party, should be willing to agree on. As I said, the Democrats have changes they would like to make, and the leader has made it clear there will be an opportunity for amendments. But to refuse even to allow debate on this bill suggests the Democrats are more interested in attempting to score political points on this issue rather than to actually do anything about reform. I hope that what we are hearing about the Democrats' plans to block this bill is wrong. I hope--I really, sincerely, hope--that we are going to see the Democrats--some courageous ones--come to the table and vote to move forward with debate on this legislation. We have a chance to do something important here--a historic chance. With the JUSTICE Act, we can permanently improve policing in this country and bring real hope to those who have lost faith in law enforcement, but we are going to have to stand together to get this done. I urge my colleagues to vote, in a few minutes, to move forward on the JUSTICE Act and start the process of reform. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan).

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, in the wake of recent tragic deaths of several African Americans at the hands of the police, our country has reached a turning point. Americans of every race, background, and political persuasion are calling for change. Too many Americans feel unsafe right now. Too many Americans live in fear that what happened to George Floyd could happen to their own fathers, sons, and brothers. Too many Americans see in law enforcement officers individuals to be feared rather than trusted. Americans are ready for all of that to end. They want reform and increased accountability. They want to make sure that we are holding our law enforcement officers to the highest standards. And they want their fellow Americans to feel confident that what happened to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others will not happen to their loved ones. Members of Congress have been listening. I have been listening. Today, I am proud to rise in support of Senator Scott's policing reform bill, which I am cosponsoring. Senator Scott's Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act, or the JUSTICE Act, is the product of a lot of serious work--years of it, in fact. The JUSTICE Act is an extensive bill that addresses various aspects of policing reform. One important section of the bill is the George Floyd and Walter Scott Notification Act, which would correct deficiencies in law enforcement reporting of use-of-force incidents. Right now, the FBI National Use-of-Force Data Collection receives data on only about 40 percent of law enforcement officers. That needs to change. The only way we can understand the scope of the problems we are facing is to have full and accurate data. A complete data picture will allow us to pinpoint problems, identify troubled police departments, and develop best practices for use of force and deescalation training. There are many, many police departments across our Nation that are doing an exemplary job of policing, that have excellent relationships with the community, and that are already implementing a lot of best practices. But there are also more troubled police departments. Police departments that fail to train their officers properly overlook officer misbehavior. We need to identify those police departments and demand their reform. Collecting full and accurate data on use-of-force incidents will help us do that. One policing measure that has been found to reduce both officers' use of force and complaints against police officers is body cameras. Body- worn cameras record every officer interaction with the community, which encourages appropriate behavior and helps to create an accurate record of events. These cameras keep both citizens and police officers safer. But implementing the use of these cameras can be costly, as can storing the copious data that accumulates. So the JUSTICE Act will create a new grant program to help local police departments purchase body-worn cameras and associated data storage. Funding eligibility will be conditional on the department's implementation of best practices for these cameras, and any department that fails to properly use the cameras that it has purchased using the grant program will face a reduction in Federal funding. Another important section of the JUSTICE Act focuses on police deescalation and duty-to-intervene training. Sometimes police end up using force in situations where it could have been avoided simply because they lack the necessary training to deescalate a situation without the use of force. It may be understandable that well-meaning but overwhelmed police officers in dangerous circumstances have sometimes resorted to the use of force too quickly, but that is not a situation we can accept. Every police officer in this country should be given the kind of training that will ensure that use of force is restricted only to those situations where it is absolutely needed. I expect to see a lot of support for this bill from my Republican colleagues here in the Senate. I wouldn't be surprised if this bill receives a lot of support from law enforcement, as well, because most of our Nation's law enforcement officers want to implement policing best practices. They want to develop strong relationships with the communities they protect, and they want to avoid use-of-force incidents that place both officers and suspects in jeopardy. I met with local law enforcement leaders in my home State of South Dakota last Friday. What I heard from them was a real desire to do everything they can to serve every member of their communities. They have already been participating in forums to listen to community concerns in the wake of George Floyd's death, and they are supportive of JUSTICE Act measures to help departments expand their minority hiring, to improve deescalation training, and to develop and promulgate best practices. I wouldn't be surprised if they and a lot of other law enforcement agencies end up backing this bill. I really hope Democrats will come to the table as well. Senator Scott has produced a bill that should have the support of every Member of the Senate, and I hope that it will. We have made a lot of progress as a nation when it comes to overcoming the sins of our past, but it would be a mistake to think that because we have made progress, our work is over. There is still much to be done and many wounds to heal. We must make those tasks a priority. We must continue to work toward a more perfect Union, toward the full realization of our founding promise that all men are created equal, and toward an America where there is truly liberty and justice for all. I yield the floor I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.