can regulate our lighting syst system, there is so much that can be done just from that alone. >> new york democratic congressman you bette clark on "the communicators" tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. >> for the federal government at work in dc and throughout the country use the congressional directory for contact affirmation from embers of congress, governors and federal agencies. order your copy online today at c-span store .org. >> u.s. senate is about to dabble in. lawmakers plan to spend the week on a bill to create a fund for maintenance of national parks and other public lands. the national park service estimates they have a 12 lead dollar backlog of maintenance projects. senators will vote at 5:30 p.m. on moving forward with the bill. coming up, live coverage from the senate floor here on

c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will open the senate with prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. .eternal god, amid these challenging times,

use our lawmakers to do the work of freedom. may they strive to protect and defend the constitution of the united states to the best of their abilities. inspire our senators to find creative ways to mitigate the effects of the painful blows that have hit this land we love. .as our legislators strive to become instruments for your glory, sustain them with your grace. .lord give them the wisdom to seek to understand and help one another

to seize the opportunities that accompany nearly every crisis. .provide them with clear minds, clean hands, and courageous hearts in this grand and difficult time. .we pray in your powerful name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask to speak for one minute in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: it's no longer business as usual in america, so let's end business as usual in washington. we're experiencing the deadly pandemic. the united states is firing on all cylinders to fight it and to find a vaccine, but it does us no good if americans can't even afford the vaccine or related treatments. even before the virus outbreak reached our shores, president trump called upon congress to

deliver a bill to his desk that lowers drug prices for americans. he mentioned that in his state of the union message. the prescription drug pricing reduction act does just that. it's time for congress to support the american people. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, all across our nation the past few days have seemed to mark a turn for the better. on friday morning new data showed that the economic fallout from this pandemic may have bottomed out and begun to turn around weeks earlier than had been predicted. instead of losing millions more jobs in the month of may, our

nation had already begun adding back millions of jobs. lockdowns are easing, businesses are reopening. the greatest country in the world history is coming back on line, and our citizens are getting their jobs back by the millions. now there's no question our national comeback is just beginning. the coronavirus is still with us. we have a long way to go to rebuild and recover from the historic layoffs this spring. but already, even in these early days of our careful reopening, the american people are trouncing the predictions and starting to come back strong. what's more, this weekend saw millions of americans once again take to the streets and town squares to protest the deaths of george floyd, breonna taylor, and other black americans at the

hands of law enforcement. but unlike what our nation faced about a week ago, this weekend's demonstrations seemed to have been almost entirely peaceful. no more rampant looting, no more police precincts set on fire. by and large, just peaceful protests in our great american tradition. in my home state of kentucky, in louisville, just like around the nations, hundreds gathered to remember breonna taylor on what would have been her 27th birthday and they continued to call for answers. in lexington, a moment of silence was held at an historic former slave market. then a group marched to police headquarters. police officers, including the chief, came out and met them in civil discourse. and while a lot of ink has been

spilled recently about our big cities, we cannot miss that this moment is echoing throughout small town america as well. it was the same story in benton, in danville, in morehead, all around the commonwealth and all around the country. our country has remembered that peace and protests can and must coexist. the vast majority of men and women in law enforcement across our country are not evil, are not racist, do not wake up every morning looking for violence. we are reminded of their bravery every time a citizen needs to dial 911 and they rush toward danger. and we were all reminded again this past weekend as these professionals bravely kept watch over demonstrations, including ones where they themselves have been called racist or evil or denigrated in the worst ways because of their uniform and

their badge. so, mr. president, if peaceful protesters rightly do not want to be lumped in with a subset of looters and rioters who seek destruction, then the vast majority of police officers cannot be lumped in with the very worst examples of heinous behavior. it's that simple. but instead we're already seeing outlandish calls, defund the police, or abolish the police take root within the left-wing leadership class. the president of the city council in minneapolis has proclaimed she can imagine a future without police. one of our fellow council members put it even more clearly, this council is going to dis dismantle this police department. to be clear, what this effort is about, one of the local groups in forming this push in

minnesota has literally stated that arts programs and mental health resources will be more effective at stopping crime than armed cops. instead of, quote, dangers armed with guns, they say other professionals like social workers should be the ones to, quote, respond to crises within our community. i'm all for social workers. and mental health. but call me old-fashioned. i think you may actually want a police officer to stop a criminal and arrest him before we try to work through his feelings. well, even if some left-wing leaders fall for this nonsense, i have a feeling the american people are too smart for that. they know that what happened to george floyd is totally abhorrent. they also know that riots and looting are unacceptable.

and they also know that well-trained law enforcement officers are an important part of creating safe communities, not something to defund or abolish. so i'm proud that americans across the country can protest in safety and peace. i'm proud that their neighbors continue to answer the call to protect and to serve. and i'm hopeful that with unity and mutual respect, we can continue this important national discussion to ensure justice and equal protection under the law. now, mr. president, on an entirely different subject, while the senate remains the only chamber in this capitol with its lights on, we're going to continue with legislative work for the country. today we'll take our first vote to advance the great american outdoors act, a generational bill from senator daines and senator gardner that will secure the future of our nation's

natural treasures. america's home to 419 national park sites, 567 national wildlife refuges, and hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. every year, millions of americans turn to these lands for recreation, inspiration, and for their livelihoods. these resources exist because of the visionary actions of prior congresses. now it's our turn to secure them for generations yet to come. our colleagues' legislation does two big things. it improves access to parks and public lands by investing in maintenance and upkeep, and it secures permanent support for the missions of the land and water conservation fund. their legislation has already persuaded 59 cosponsors here in the senate. it's earned the bipartisan endorsement of the last six secretaries of the interior.

and a diverse coalition of independent advocates from the nature conservancy to the outdoor industry association to the american battlefield trust have called on us to pass this bill. this bill has unusually broad bipartisan and vocal support, because the issues at hand affect so many different communities so concretely. every year, visitors to america's national parks bring more than $40 billion in economic impact to the gateway towns that surround them. the state and local parks stewarded by the lwcf help generate another $166 billion in local economic activity and support more than 1.1 million jobs. my fellow kentuckians and i know this firsthand. at least 120,000 jobs are supported by active outdoor

recreation in the commonwealth. from hunters and anglers in the daniel boon national forest to tourists visiting mammoth cave, our state's national treasures occasion nearly $13 billion in annual consumer spending. but kentuckians also know that tight budgets for maintenance often mean that historic sites go without important repairs and upgrades that would ensure safe access and smooth operations. so we are acutely aware of the need to address the deferred maintenance backlog which this legislation tackles head on. so i'm very grateful to our colleagues from montana and colorado for shepherding this legislation. i'm proud of the stand they have taken in support of our nation's natural wonders and the millions of american livelihoods that depend on them. i look forward to discussing this landmark legislation more in the days ahead to supporting it here on the floor and urging

every one of my colleagues to join in. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h.r. 1957, which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 75, h.r. 1957, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous

consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, equal justice under law. those words are etched in stone above the doors of the supreme court, a bedrock principle of the american system. but these past few weeks have been a searing reminder of how that principle does not reflect the lived experience of many americans. for black americans, confrontations with the police are not the same as white americans. you could be standing on a street corner like eric garner or asleep in your bed like breonna taylor and have your life ended by police. george floyd's brutal death at the hands of a white police officer in minneapolis prompted peaceful protests across this country because as singular and tragic as the death of george floyd was, his experience was one that resonated with far too many black americans. that's why hundreds of thousands of americans have engaged in peaceful demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism. for los angeles -- from los

angeles to washington, d.c., from seattle to new york city where i joined shoulder to shoulder with my fellow new yorkers on saturday, americans from all walks of life have marched, sang, prayed, cried, spoken out that black lives matter. that our country promises justice for all, but too often only delivers it for some. the protests weren't confined to big cities. thousands turned out in allentown, pennsylvania, and fayetteville, fairmont, west virginia, and haver, montana. there were black lives protests in cities with troubled history with the k.k.k. and harvard, nebraska, a city with only 1,000 residents. remarkably, those these prefts concerned events within our borders, they sparked outrage far outside of them. the name george floyd was chanted in rome and paris and

london, in amsterdam, berlin, and mexico city. this is a rare moment for our nation's history. injustice stares us so plainly in the face that the great mass of our people are demanding change. the institutions of our government, our democracy have an obligation to answer. today we are taking the first of many necessary steps to respond to our national pain with bold action. this morning, i joined with speaker pelosi and several of our house colleagues, representative bass, clyburn, nadler and jeffries as well as my colleagues senators booker and harris to introduce the justice in policing act, a response to the recent protests of the failure to reform our police departments. the justice in policing act proposes crucial reforms to combat racial bias and excessive force by law enforcement. it would ban the use of choke holds and other tactics that have left black americans dead. it would limit the transfer of

military weaponry and equipment to police departments. it would change the legal standard to make it easier to hold police accountable for misconduct when they use deadly force on american citizens. and through increased data and transparency, as well as important modifications to training and practices, it would help prevent police misconduct in the first place. this has never been done before at the federal level, and it would encourage the same changes at the state and local level in order for those police departments to receive federal funds. in the senate, democrats are going to fight like hell to make this proposal a reality. americans who took to the streets have demanded change. with this legislation, democrats are heeding their call. now, now is the time for leader mcconnell to commit to putting police reform on the floor of the senate before july 4 to be debated and voted on. several republicans have

acknowledged the egregious wrongs, but too few have expressed a need for floor action. too many remain silent. maybe our republican friends are hoping the issue goes away. i promise them it will not. democrats won't let this go away, and we will not rest until we achieve real reforms. leader mcconnell, let's have the debate not just on tv and twitter, but on the floor of the united states senate, legislation, debate, a divided nation cannot wait for healing and for solutions. the republican majority must not continue to squander the senate's time on right-wing judges and conspiracy hearings. history will judge whether this chamber responds to the nation's pain with action or let's an old and terrible wound in our society continue to fester. because the poison of racism

affects more than our criminal justice system. it runs deeper than that. there are racial disparities in housing and health care, education, income and wealth and covid has only placed a magnifying glass on all these forms of inequality. there are now 18,000 confirmed deaths from covid in the united states. black americans have died at a disproportionate rate as hospitals and health care workers have scrambled to secure enough supplies and create enough space, those institutions that serve communities of color have been the most strained. and as our medical crisis led to a medical crisis, it is largely african americans and latinos who have seen their jobs go by. 15% of our country citizens are unemployed, not 20%. even though that figure, 15% is

higher than at any point during the great recession. the reason unemployment isn't as shockingly awful as it might have been was that congress leapt into action at the outset of the pandemic and passed a major bill, the cares act, to keep the country afloat. the bill that eventually passed was bipartisan but democrats had to push republicans almost every step of the way to get many of the improvements in the bill. much of the aid -- much of the aid the bill gave to the unemployment, to our health care systems and to truly small businesses was because democrats insisted. if the president and senate republicans declare victory too early, if they lull into complacency now. if they wait too long to pass another round of emergency relief, the economic conditions in our country will deteriorate. if we do nothing, more americans will lose their jobs. more americans will lose their health care.

more americans will struggle to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head and more americans will see the small businesses that they sweated so hard to create fail. i fear that the recent bump in the employment number caused in large part because of the stimulus money we pumped into the economy will create in republicans a sense of complacency and the economy will get even worse. the fact that we are confronted by so many challenges, so many challenges, can seem overwhelming. the fact and the consequences of republican inaction, the fact that they fall so heavily on black and brown americans is so confounding. but there is no reason that we cannot respond to this moment of national crisis with vigorous and sustained action, with purposeful action and bipartisan

effort on the covid pandemic and long-simmering issues of police violence and racial justice. we must do both. that is what the senate, supposedly the world's greatest deliberative body was designed to do. there are four remaining weeks before july 4. the time for waiting is gone. leader mcconnell, senate republicans commit to putting a police reform bill on the floor for debate and vote. commit to working with us on another emergency relief package. we have waited too long already. let me repeat. leader mcconnell and senate republicans, we must accomplish two things before july 4. police reform and covid relief. we can and must do both. do not stand in the way of a nation yearning for solutions, not for empty rhetoric, not for name calling, not for partisanship. before i yield the floor, i want

to mention one other issue. last week president trump was responsible for ordering federal officers to force peaceful protesters from lafayette square across the street from the white house in against the freedom of speech. it was deeply offensive and wrong and even more appalling was to clear a path for the president to stage a political stunt at the nearby church. today lafayette square, a place where americans gathered to freely exercise their constitutional rights remains blocked off by heavy fencing. the president converted this public park into something resembling a militarized zone. lafayette square should be a symbol of freedom and openness to the world, not a place behind where the president cowards

behind peaceful protesters crying out for justice. moments ago speak pelosi and i sent a letter to president trump urging him to open up lafayette square. president trump, tear down these walls. allow the public to gather in front of the white house for you and for all the world to hear their voices. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: mr. president, i rise to speak about the great american outdoors act that we may be debating this week. i'm hoping that we can find a responsible way to pay for the maintenance backlog of our national parks. our national parks are an important source of pride for our country. they are known internationally. we had the first national park

in the world with yellowstone park. unfortunately our parks are in the midst of a rising crisis that's been building over many years. they are in desperate need of repair and maintenance and fixing them will require billions of dollars. this week the senate is working on legislation to address this backlog and i believe it's vital that we address this issue both responsibly and permanently. this will help diswren rations to fix -- generations to fix problems in our park without having to put the cost on the nation's credit card. we can pay now or we can make our kids pay through reduced federal help and services that we're used to or we can figure out a way to have a small fee now. it should be a pretty easy choice.

unfortunately the great american outdoors act, as written, represents only a one-time fix and is neither responsible nor permanent. instead the bill adds over $17 billion to our national debt. moreover, the measure includes a permanent reauthorization of the land and water conservation fund program which will add even more future maintenance to our already backlogged systems without being paid for. after all of the spending we have just undertaken, we must be more vigilant in finding proper ways to ensure our government spending is paid for and fixing this bill can be an important place to start. without some changes, this legislation will force our country to borrow more money, burying us deeper in debt and only provide funding for five years. i'm also concerned that the bill tries to spend the same money

twice which is using a budget gimmick. we should always strive to be fiscally responsible and that's even more important now after congress has spent more than $2 trillion to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. to address the current parks backlog, it would cost nearly $12 billion, according to the nation park service. in comparison, last year the entire national budget for the national parks was $4.1 billion. let me repeat that. the cost would be $12 billion to take care of the backlog. their whole budget last year was just $4.1 billion. congress is already struggling to find funding for other worthwhile federal needs. that's why i worked on a fix. ill filed an amendment to this bill that addresses the maintenance issues responsibly

and permanently without adding to our debt. let me repeat thavment my amendment is -- that. my amendment is completely offset and provides a permanent solution. it has been ignored so far through this process. the way that my amendment works is by asking our foreign visitors who, as the numbers show are increasingly enjoying our parks, to pay $16 or $25 more when they enter the country as part of their visa fee. a part of it, not a big increase compared to that. according to a study by the u.s. travel association, nearly 40% of the people who come to the u.s. from abroad are visiting one of our national parks or more, that is nearly 15 million people who come from abroad and visit our national park. it is great that people from all over the world recognize the value of our national treasures, but this increased population is

adding to the backlog and it is only fair to maintain the national treasures. there's nothing novel about this concept. anyone who visited an attraction outside the u.s. has probably encountered such fees in one way or another. for example, foreign visitors to the taj mahal in india will pay an $18 fee, compared to only 56 cents for local visitors. at krueger national park in south africa, visitors from outside the country will pay $25 per day compared to $6.25 for local visitors. many european countries like spain, france, and italy charge a tourist tax on hotel rooms that's used to pay for tourism infrastructure. we also ask park visit tors to a -- visitors to assist with the

park backlog. no one likes to pay for things, especially during times like these, but to maintain our treasures, we either borrow money and put it on the national credit card or take steps to address the issue responsibly. kind of a pay as you go. my amendment only raises entrance fees by $20. so bringing a vehicle into the park would be cheaper than taking a family of four to a movie or visiting an amusement park for a day. it's a real bargain for that. we, as a nation, have seen the joy that our national parks bring to those who venture an visit -- and visit them. in wyoming and all across the country, america's national parks are something to be proud of and protect. we owe it to the parks and to the citizens and foreign visitors who partake of their wonders to keep them in good working order.

we should not allow the maintenance and repairs to fester which erodes visitor experiences and costs billions to fix. are people going to the parks? yes, they are. yellowstone park has opened up now and i think it's at about 75% of capacity already. i read in the papers about this family from georgia that were planning on taking their family to florida to disney world but disney world is closed so they drove across the country to wyoming and went to yellowstone park. one of the adventures they got was to get to see a real wolf close and personal. got some good pictures of it too. but people will travel a long way to see these parks. they don't expect them to be an international bargain and neither do foreign visitors who are used to seeing us when we go

to their country pay a higher fee for national parks. we need to fix our national parks. the question is, will we pay as it's used or will we force our kids and grandkids to pay for something they maybe never got to enjoy. it will put a small addition on foreign visa fees or we can pass it on to our kids. let's do one amendment that will pay for parks in perpetuity not just gimmick spending for five years. fixing this bill will help ensure we no longer have to put our parks' current obligations on the backs of future generations. i know the amount at stake here won't end our fiscal crisis, but if we can't do something modest to start to address our spending addiction, then we're in greater

trouble than i ever thought. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. . mr. cornyn: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, over the last few months america has experienced a trifecta of crises which are reminiscent of some of the most difficult periods in our nation's history. in many ways it feels like we're learning what it was like to live through the spanish flu pandemic, the great depression, and the civil rights movement all at once. this period has challenged all of us physically, economically, emotionally, and while we still have a long way to go, we're seeing incremental signs of progress. last week new york city, once the epicenter of covid-19 cases, confirmed no coronavirus

deaths. that was the first time that it happened since march 11. our economy is experiencing positive improvement as well. friday's jobs reports show that unemployment rose by -- showed that employment rose by 2.5 million people in may, an absolutely astonishing and record-breaking figure. i think that's the first time that's happened since 1934. unemployment dropped to 13.3%, still way too high but a sharp contrast from the expectations and projections of economists. while we're seeing the needle move in the right direction in our fight to defeat the coronavirus and restore our economy, the third in this trio of crises is much more complex. the murder of george floyd has sparked passion and anger throughout our country and galvanized people of all skin colors, backgrounds, and ages to demand action.

in big cities and small towns alike we've seen peaceful marches and powerful demonstrations calling for an end to racial injustice that has existed sadly since our country's inception. one of the largest protests in the country happened last week in mr. floyd's hometown of houston, texas, where i was born and where he will be buried tomorrow. people gathered in his honor and demand justice. the first step in justice for george floyd and now that all four officers involved in his death have been arrested and charged, is for the criminal justice system to work. but these four arrests do not arrest the larger problems that exist in our society, the lack of trust, the sense that justice is not equal. in fact, they've only shined a brighter light on the systemic

problems that we need to do our best to try to address. making lasting changes will not be quick or easy. at the rally in houston, several of mr. floyd's family members spoke, and one said this is going to be more like a marathon. i think that's pretty realistic. it's going to take some time, and it will be the result of difficult discussions but necessary discussions that are happening in homes, workplaces and buildings like this all across the country. no one has all the answers, but there's a lot we can learn. first, by simply listening to one another. earlier today i was able to speak to george floyd's family and do just that -- listen. they have gone through unimaginable pain over these last two weeks, and i told them i'm committed to making sure that george floyd receives justice.

i said in my experience during times like this, the best comfort you can offer to someone who's lost a loved one is that their death will not be in vain vain, that something goodwill come out of it. we know some of the most important reforms that need to be made are in our criminal justice system. the tragic events of minneapolis, louisville, and a number of other cities across the country have renewed calls to transform policing practices and repair the divide that exists between some communities and the police. of course much of that will take place at the local and state level. it is in fact the city council and mayors who hire the police chief and make sure that they are running their programs and their departments with integrity and professionalism. that's where most of the important decisions about

day-to-day policing and procedures are made. one example in my state is the sandra bland act which governor abbott signed into law in 2017. the namesake of that bill was a black woman who was found dead in a county jail days after being arrested during a routine traffic stop. the law passed in her honor made a number of changes, including requiring deescalation training for law enforcement officials, much like we've done in the mental health space. the individual police departments are the ones that make decisions about specific practices, responsible, of course, to their city leadership, such as banning knee holds or choke holds. there are important conversations taking place in texas and across the country about how we can effectively promote and improve police practices and begin to repair the damaged relationship between

our minority communities and our police. and to strengthen that work, there are steps we can take here in washington, d.c., and i know many of us are engaged in active discusses about what's the best way to create real change, and i know it's a priority for members on both sides of the aisle. one proposal i mentioned is a bipartisan bill that i introduced with senator gary peters of michigan and chairman lindsey graham last year. this bill actually had 20 bipartisan cosponsors. it was endorsed not only by the urban league and the naacp, but the major police organizations in this country as well, and it passed unanimously in the senate. unfortunately we ran out of time in the house, so it did not actually become law. not yet. this legislation creates a national criminal justice

commission, much like the 9/11 commission, that would review our criminal justice system writ large from top to bottom, something that has not happened since 1965. in 18 months the commission would report back to us and make recommendations for changes that could be passed by, considered and passed by the congress. this would allow us to systemically look at what is working and what isn't, at what needs to be done to modernize our criminal justice system, including repairing the broken relationship between law enforcement and some of our minority communities. the review that took place in 1965 produced 200 specific recommendations, and it's past time to once again take stock of the successes and failures of are our criminal justice system. as i mentioned, the bill that passed the senate unanimously

had 20 bipartisan cosponsors and was supported by the national association of police organizations, major city chiefs associations, the national urban league. i believe this type of legislation would give us the basic framework for the lasting changes that we are all after. it would be an umbrella commission under which a lot of very specific and granular issues could be debated and voted on, and if meritorious passed and become part of the law. i hope it will become a part of our conversation that we're having in the coming days and weeks. rooting out racial injustice that has existed for generations will require long-term bipartisan commitment here in congress and in homes and institutions across the country. i do believe, madam president, it's simply wrong to paint all

police and all law enforcement as somehow racially biased. i think that's not deserved and i think it's just flat wrong and irresponsible. clearly when there are cases of abuse, where even a police officer crosses the line, they need to be held accountable, and we need to be focused on identifying those individuals not only in prosecuting them but sending a message that that sort of action will not be tolerated in a civilized society. and, yes, we need to regain the confidence for all of our people, of all colors, that the police are our friend and a necessary part of our ordered liberty. without order, you have anarchy only with order, fair, fair

laws justly administered on an equal basis can we enjoy the liberty that is part of our birthright here in america. so i'm committed to being part of the solution and i'm eager to roll up my sleeves with all of our colleagues and get to work. madam president, i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: i'm here on the floor today to talk about the historic opportunity that's before this body this evening and throughout the week to be able to help us get our national parks back on track. these were our treasured national parks that are such a great asset to our country, and right now they're in trouble.

one of the bills before us this week in what's called the great american outdoors act is the bipartisan restore our parks act. it directs federal funding from royalties on oil and gas leases and other energy leases to federal lands, it directs that funding to our national parks to take care of deferred maintenance. so why is this investment needed? well, thanks to the wisdom of teddy roosevelt who had the foresight to set aside and preserve some of our most spectacular land for public use and thanks to so many friends of the parks who have followed, america's national parks are without equal. the national park service and its system now comprises 84 million acres of land and historical sites that now attract 330 million visitors every year. in fact, from 2006 to 2017, annual visitation in our parks increased by about 58 million people, so they're popular. during the covid-19 pandemic,

it's clear that there is a lot of demand to be in the out of doors, and so i believe as we start to reopen our parks this summer, which we will do soon, americans will be all the more eager to go out to our parks and explore our country's natural beauty and explore its history. the problem is that when people head to the parks, they may be surprised that things are a little run down, and this isn't new. it's been happening to our parks for decades, actually. some of the trails will be closed. some of the bathrooms aren't going to be working. and in places, roads and bridges will be crumbling and visitor centers that have leaks in their roofs will be closed. it's a widespread problem of deferred maintenance. it's gradually grown to become a huge backlog of around $12 billion at our national park sites. that's $12 billion in deferred maintenance that has not been taken care of. the good news is that with my colleagues, senator warner, senator alexander, and senator king, we introduced this

commonsense solution a few years ago called the restore our parks act. this will address this backlog. to me, this is a debt unpaid. it would have been a lot smarter to pay it all along by the way, but our annual appropriations here in congress were never big enough, so what funds we had available went for things like park rangers for programming and frankly for applying band-aids to some of these maintenance problems. other funds also, of course, went to expanding our parks. let me make one thing clear. this bill before us today, restore our parks act, is all about stewardship. it's about taking better care of what we have. not a penny of it can be used for expansion. one of our challenges right now as a country, of course, coming out of the coronavirus pandemic is to figure out how to get people back to work. and it's a real challenge because although the jobs report on friday was encouraging in terms of some jobs being added in may, we still have one of the

highest unemployment rates we have ever had in this country. one place we have an opportunity to get people back to work is, of course, rebuilding our infrastructure. there is lots of discussion about that. well, this legislation does that. these are shovel-ready projects, infrastructure projects that are ready to go. last week, the national park service released a new study that found that the restore our parks act will support 100,000 new jobs as we rebuild our national park's -- national parks' infrastructure over the next five years. 40,000 direct jobs, about 60,000 indirect jobs, about 100,000 total new jobs. by the way, these are good jobs, jobs with good pay and good benefits. i first became involved in this issue with our national parks because i have grown to love the parks, as do so many americans, even those who don't have a chance to visit them very much are proud now of the fact we have this incredible system,

this true treasure for our country. when i was about 12 years old, my mom and dad took us to yellowstone park, and we went camping and we saw the geysers and we got to see things that i had never seen before. just this spectacular park in the west and amazing park system that we have in this country just continues to be something that i'm so proud of. so ever since i was 12 years old, i have been a parks fan. we have eight national parks in my home state of ohio. one of those is called the cuyahoga valley national park, which is our largest single park. it's actually the 13th most visited park in the country. you may not have heard of it, but it's an awesome park. it's kind of situated right between cleveland and akron. it's a place where you can go biking, you can go hiking, you can go fishing, you can go kayaking, you can take a scenic

railway through the park. it is a spectacular place, and it's accessed by a lot of people being so close to the suburbs and even so close to the cities. it's not typical park out in the rural area. it's a park that's really right up against the suburbs and close to the cities. i'm proud to be one of the 2.7 million visitors a year that goes out to the cuyahoga valley national park to take advantage of all those things i talked about. in addition to these larger parks, our park system also includes a lot of other sites. one in ohio, for example, in my hometown of cincinnati is the boyhood home of president william howard taft. he was both president and chief justice of the supreme court. like everyone else in -- everywhere else in our park system, all of these sites are getting run down. why does this happen? every year, we appropriate funding for operations of the park, for nature programs, for rangers, for day-to-day operations and activities, but we haven't provided enough money to provide for these maintenance

needs. think about it in terms of your own family or your own home or your own business. taking that big step and making those capital improvements is a big, big cost. we don't budget for that here very well. so we have allowed these maintenance projects to build up, meaning a lot of buildings, a lot of infrastructure, roads, bridges, water systems are deteriorating to the point that a lot of them are really completely unusable. i've seen this firsthand as i visited our ohio parks. here's a couple photos of some of the visits we have made. i go there to cuyahoga valley national park frequently, as i said. there is always a lot of school field trips, a lot of hikers, a lot of other visitors. it's a great park, but it needs about $50 million in repair, just that one park, cuyahoga valley national park. the railroad track is in such bad repair -- and it's behind me here -- that it's dangerous or would be soon to go on that scenic railroad, so we have got to fix the railroad tracks.

some of the trails have been falling apart because of erosion an $11 million budget is the annual budget for that park, cuyahoga valley national park. again, the 13th most visited park in the country. and yet they have got a $50 million backlog, $50 million backlog. so it's just not sustainable. i also visited the perry monument a couple of times in the last couple of years, including last summer. perry's victory international peace memorial is on the shores of lake erie. it honors those who fought in the battle of lake erie in the war of 1812, which was such a critically important battle to our victory. it also celebrates the long-lasting peace between the u.k., canada, and the united states, so it's an important historical marker. there i saw some of the $48 million in long-delayed maintenance needs at that site, which includes millions in needed repairs to a concrete seawall. here's the seawall. you can see some of the damage to it. there is also sinkholes behind

me here. we have to remayor that seawall -- repair that seawall, but boy it's a big cost. if you don't repair it, you continue to have other damage, including to the road behind me, and obviously, people are not permitted to go near the lake there. so $48 million, that's a lot for that small memorial, small national park. the visitors' center there also needs upgrades. it needs to be made a.d.a. accessible, for example, americans with disabilities act. again, the budget for that park is minuscule, but the needs, the maintenance needs are huge. and it's not just our outdoor spaces that need work. the past two years, i have visited the taft home in cincinnati where president william howard taft was born and raised. the house is still in pretty good condition but there are infrastructure updates that have to be made, repairing the roofs, repairing some of the woodwork. you can see some of the roof here and some of the mold. when you don't repair the roof, what happens? the roof leaks and the walls get

moldy, and the floor begins to couple. so whether it's your house or whether it's our national parks, that's what's happening. we've got to do this in order to ensure that the costs don't expand even further, which is what happened, again, in your own home if you don't fix that roof, you have just all kinds of other problems. they compound. the compounding problem in our national parks is not just $12 billion. if we don't address it, it will grow to be much greater than that. the longer we wait, the more expensive it gets. the same story is true with all of our parks all around our country. it's time for us to fix it. by the way, people have asked me, well, how do you know what the most urgent needs are? because we require the parks to keep it. we require them to tem the united states congress every year what are their highest priority needs, spell it out, and in specific terms, what would be needed, what the cost is, what the repairs -- how long they would take and so on. this is why i say that they are

shovel ready because we know what these projects are. here is the deferred maintenance costs in ohio, as an example, just for ohio. again, totaling $114 million. here's the perry's victory memorial at $48 million. here is the cuyahoga valley national park at almost $52 million. again, some of our bigger parks around the country, the costs are even higher. so this is an opportunity for us to do the right thing by these treasures that we have, to make sure they don't continue to deteriorate. this is where our restore our parks act is so important to pass. as i said earlier, it's going to support more than 100,000 jobs and cut into that maintenance backlog. what's even better about this legislation is taxpayers aren't the ones footing the bill. instead, the bill creates what's called the legacy restoration fund which will provide $1.9 billion per year for five years from 50% of the unobligated on and offshore energy revenue. again, this comes from on and

offshore oil, gas, other energy projects. this means we will have $9.5 billion to be divided across the national national pae and other federal land management agencies. it won't fund every needed repair, but the $6.5 billion our parks are going to get will address all of the high-priority items, so $6.5 billion out of $12 billion, roughly half, a little more than half of those projects, but it does comprise all of the high-priority items through our national parks. it's a win-win, especially right now. it enables us to restore our parks and public lands, these great national treasures. it supports jobs at a time when people are anxious to get back to work, and it does all this by taking this funding that comes from the leases, oil, natural gas, and other energy projects. it's good for our economy. we need to get people back to work again. it's an example of how congress can pass laws that both create jobs and serve the public's interests. it's particularly good news that we're voting on it this week,

because the quicker we act, the better. and i want to thank majority leader mitch mcconnell for allowing us to bring this to the floor. i want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have worked so hard on this legislation, specifically i want to thank senator warner who came up with this great idea of shifting the funding from the oil, gas, and other energy projects, some of these royalty moneys into this particular project. i worked for years on parks. i was the author of the centennial act which helps to get public-private partnerships support. that helps, but it's not enough money. we need to do more and that's what this legislation does. i want to thank senator alexander, senator king for their work on this national parks legislation. i want to thank my other colleagues who have been involved in this broader package. that would be senator gardner,

senator daines. this is the right thing to do for our country at right time. i want to also say that the trump administration strongly supports this legislation and that's been really important too to get it in the budget to be sure that the office of management and budget where i used to serve is on board because the funding here is not our typical appropriations funding and i thank them for that. i thank president trump for helping us to ensure that this can come to the floor today and can actually get passed by the united states congress and then signed into law. let's do it on a bipartisan basis. let's do something positive this week to move our country forward, to create more jobs, and to ensure that our wonderful national parks are there for future generations. thank you, madam chair, and i yield back.

mr. portman: madam president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: madam president -- the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call. mr. manchin: i'd like to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. manchin: madam president, today the senate will take the first step toward passing the great american outdoors act with a vote to invoke cloture to proceed to the house bill that will be used as the underlying

legislative vehicle. the majority of my senate colleagues have cosponsored this bill and we have an opportunity to enact this important legislation. i would be remiss if i did not acknowledge that our nation is in turmoil and hurting. we are very much in the midst of a health and economic crisis and this weekend we saw millions of people join peaceful demonstrations in communities across the country. it is so important that we in congress take action and i am so pleased we have returned to legislating. there is no shortage of important businesses for us to address as a body. the great american outdoors act will create jobs while protecting expanding access to the great outdoors for our country for everyone, whether it's hunting, fishing or hiking whether it's in my state of west virginia to give a few examples. this is a legacy we can all pass down to our grandchildren and

generations to come, and it's been a long time coming. i want to thank my good friend senator lisa murk murkowski for working with us, and senators warner, daines, king, alexander, and heinrich for working on the land water conservation fund and the deferred maintenance funds joined together. lwcf, this bill would realize a goal that so many of us in this body have fought hard to attain for so long to provide permanent, mandatory funding for the land, water conservation fund at its fully authorized level of $900 million annually. last year the senate passed a public lands package by an overwhelming vote of 92-8 that permanently authorized the lwcf, the most successful land conservation program in our

nation's history. a vote that is bipartisan is unfortunately unheard of today and speaks to the overwhelming popularity of conservation programs in every state in the country. the day after we secured permanent authorization of lwcf, made it clear our next hurdle was achieving mandatory full funding. the great american outdoors act includes the mandatory funding bill i introduced, along with a lot of help from my friends on the democratic and republican side many we had strong bipartisan support for mandatory lwcf funding with a majority of the senate cosponsoring the bill and a strong vote out of the committee. we need to secure this funding because the lwcf was established 55 years ago, over $22 billion -- think about that -- over $22 billion have been deposited in the lwcf fund but was never appropriated and went into the treasury.

and although every state, territory and almost every county has benefited from lwcf it has only been fully funded twice in the 55-year history. only twice have we gotten full funding. think what we could have done with that $22 billion. despite that the lwcf has been able to do wonderful things with the funds that have been appropriated which in recent years have been at half the authorized funding level and in previous years less than that. just imagine what we can achieve for our country with this full funding. the lwcf is the primary conservation funding tool that provides public access for hunting, fishing an recreational use of public lands. it helps fund state and local parks and maintain local forests. it protects historic battlefields through the american battlefield protection program and it helps landowners voluntarily protect habitat for

endangered species. permanent lwcf funding will improve access to public lands improving access to hunting and fishing opportunities and ensure the program remains an important contributor to a strong and growing outdoor recollection economy that will benefit state and local economies throughout our nation. a recent analysis from boston university shows that at full funding of $900 million a year, the lwcf could support approximately 15,000 to 28,000 jobs at at time when our country needs it the most. passing permanent lwcf funding authorize r authorization last year was an important step and we are so close to realizing the ultimate goal of fully fulfilling the original intent of the lwcf program and securitying a permanent, dedicated funding source for the multiple conservation programs funded by the lwcf.

the great american outdoors act was also includes $9.5 billion for deferred maintenance projects on federal lands with 70% dedicated to the national parks. senators portman, warner, alexander, and king and many others have worked so hard on that original legislation, and i was proud to cosponsor and support it as it went through the senate energy and natural resource committee. the legislation will be the most significant reduction ever in eliminating a major portion of the deferred maintenance backlog on our national parks and public lands. the impact of failing to fund parks is so clear. last year i visited pearl harbor with my family and i was incredibly disappointed to see the state of disrepair it was in with faded and torn signs and lights not working, it was an embarrassment. the infrastructure projects that will be funded through this bill

will be critical to protect our national treasures and the lwcf funding will provide a significant benefit to the national outdoor recreation economy. investing in national deferred projects will create 40,000 jobs and over 100,000 total jobs and that's just for deferred maintenance projects at our national parks. this bill includes funding for national projects at the indian schools. the great american outdoors act will help us to be good stewards of our public lands while at the same time creating thousands of new jobs, a bipartisan win-win, which we should have more of. we have broad bamp support with 60 senators signing on which is representative of how important these bills are to every state and every county in every state.

we have support from the administration and unwavering support from over 850 conservation and sportsmen groups throughout the nation. it is a shinning example of democrats and republicans coming together to put politics aside to do what is best for conserving the natural resource of this great nation. passage of this bill will be an historic achievement and i believe this will be one of the most significant conservation bills ever enacted into law enforcement what a legacy all of us can walk away with and look at our children and grandchildren to come and thinking we are a part of in this great. i ask all of my colleagues to join me in voting yes on cloture this evening and begin consideration of the great american outdoors act. thank you, madam president. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee.

mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. this weekend i was thinking about the toll that the recent loss of fellowship has really taken on the american people. i think everyone would agree that over the past few months we've really felt levels of loneliness, anger, frustration that we have never experienced in our lives. for most of it -- us it has been a long time since we've been together with friends and family or go to a church service. this isolation has brought to the surface conflict that has been brewing for a very long time. for many years powerful forces in politics and popular culture have insisted that there is nothing we can't learn from interacting with one another online. technology has brought the world together under the premise of this false intimacy and convinced millions of people that what they see on their

screen is all they need to know about the world. madam president, there are many things that americans can rightfully disagree about, especially during an election year, but contrary to what our social media time lines would lead us to believe, most americans have held on to the lessons we all should have learned when we were mere children. when we were little, we learned as americans that we have a duty to fight hatred wherever we find it. be kind to one another. practice the golden rule. instead of giving into stereo types and assumptions, we should reject our own biases and instead meet people where they are with open arms and listening ears and loving hearts and truly

listen to what they have to say. there are destructive forces at work in this country that want the american people to forget these lessons and instead make a false choice between putting their beliefs into practice and protecting the institutions and symbols that define our republic. they want to convince you that this nation is broken beyond repair. that's their goal. to undermine what you believe. and that the path forward must be forged at the expense of faith, hope, and free speech. free expression. this is a lie and, worse, it is an obvious lie to anyone who has studied our nation's precious history.

for hundreds of years, the american people have persevered in spite of conflict and more, civil unrest, economic downturns and neighborly disagreements. and that is what we are going to do now here in washington and back at home in tennessee and in our communities. instead of allowing congress to come to a standstill, we will make and encourage strong policies that protect the american people. even though the mainstream media has temporarily forgotten that we are in the midst of a global pandemic, the senate has not forgotten that. we will continue to monitor the progress of business owners as they slowly repair the damage done to our economy by extended lockdowns and do everything we can to make sure our scientists had the resources they need to

develop a vaccine for covid-19. our relationship with china has changed forever, and we must pass legislation to reflect that. our supply chains that provide pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, critical national resources are all vulnerable to manipulation by beijing. we should pass legislation to incentivize domestic manufacturing, starting with the sam sam-c bill that senator menendez and i have supported in this chamber. we must also continue working with big tech to create responsible privacy guidelines and protect consumer data from chinese hackers. last week in judiciary we heard testimony that confirmed a history of corruption at the highest levels of the obama-led

justice department. there are many. even in this -- there are many, even in this chamber, who would rather that the talk about that, but we must press forward with this investigation. madam president, we have to get to the bottom of what happened at the department of justice and with the f.b.i. during operation hurricane, and we will do all of this. we will do the job that we were elected to do while maintaining law and order and insisting that those enforcing the law are accountable to the citizens that they are sworn to serve and protect. to those who insist that we, as a nation, are irreparably broken, i want you to know that i and the american people have taken note of your words and now

i hope that you will take note of mine. this country is strong. our people are resilient. over the course of just a few months, many of them have lost everything. they've lost lives of family members. they are lost their livelihoods. their lives and their futures, every waking moment of every day, is filled with uncertainty. but they still hold tight to those lessons they learned when they were a child. they know that they were endowed by their -- endowed by their create with the liberties that make america special and that no force on earth has the power to separate them from their faith in god, in their country, and in one another. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: madam president, i rise today to speak about the historic vote to advance public lands promises that are going to be voted on shortly called the great american outdoor act, and i urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation. first, i'd like to thank everyone who's been involved in this legislation -- senator gardner, the senator who just joined us on the floor, senator manchin who spoke earlier, senator daines, warner, portman, who also spoke earlier, senator alexander, senator king, senator burr, and then several other senators i know are going to be participating tomorrow in a group of senators speaking -- senators tester, bennet, and heinrich, who have been

stalwarts on this legislation, and so many more. this coalition has -- of lwcf and saying we should spend the money within the commission for lwcf, combining that with the parks' backlogs. so i also want to thank senators portman and alexander, senators king and warner, and my house colleagues, representative kilmer, for working so diligently on the parks backlog. i want to thank senator alexander specifically. he's been one of the champions of the parks backlog. and i remember just a few years ago i asked him, lamar, do you think we're really going to get $6.5 billion spent on the backlog? and he said, we're going to try our harn best. we will, apparently, lamar alexander's darn best today is a success in helping us move in forward. so again i want to thank the

prime sponsors of the bill, senator gardner and senator manchin, for their steadfast work on lwcf and parks backlog. i wanted to also thank senator burr, who is a steadfast champion of the land and water conservation fund and helped sponsor with me the permanent reauthorization of the fund and also trying to get the funds spent. this is the effort that has been continued over many decades by many colleagues, including two former senators, senator bingaman and baucus, who were both giants in all of this. so i just thank everybody for their important efforts over the years to get us to this point where we are today. so why are we here? a lot of people would say, why are we in the middle of a pandemic, and economic crisis, a big struggle to energize the need for civil rights and equality, why are we here on the senate floor talking about a public lands bill? well, we're here because, as i said, there's been a lot of

history behind the outdoor economy and the economy itself of the activities that generate economic return from having public lands has been a juggernaut for us. it's $88 billion in consumer spending -- it's $887 billion in consumer spending every year. so while some are probably staying saying, how did we get to have this coalition of bipartisan senators come together on the one hand public lands and public land investment, why can't we take that same magic and make it happen in other places, well, i encourage my colleagues not only to get this legislation done and think about how we did get it done together and also to think about how special public lands are for the united states of america. they're part of our history. they're part of what we've invested in on behalf of the citizens of the united states, to say that you have a place to

recreate, to hunt, to fish, to find solace, to find recovery, to find enjoyment, to find amazement when you see the wonderful places, particularly in the state of washington, and because lwcf is paid for by royalties from oil companies drilling off our shores, these investments don't cost the taxpayers a dime. or do they add to our deficit. so this bill will be injecting money into our economy, creating more jobs, and fixing the repairs that we need to our lands and lands infrastructure. over the last half a century, the land and water conservation fund has supported over 42,000 state and local projects and included investment of $725 million in the state of washington. it helped us expand access to clean rivers, hunting lands, forestlands and improve our national parks. it has been a critical

protection tool for heritage areas in augmenting wildlife refuge across our state. in fact, the lwcf fund has supported 98% of the counties across the united states of america with a park funded by lwcf. so 98force of the counties across this -- so 98% of the counties across this country have at one time used the land and water conservation fund. it has helped us establish iconic places like the bridge creek trail that winds through vancouver or the warren g. magnuson park. it has been used for conservation easiments and used on popular forest legacy programs which partner with timber owners to support sustainable forestry. so the great american outdoors act really has helped us with

making a decision that has been long debated and long disputed. david brooks from the energy and natural resources committee can tell you how many times we've had to debate both the backlog issue and lwcf and how people wanted to spend those dollars. so it has been a very, very challenging issue for years. so the bill also, besides saying that we're going to take money and put it forward for permanently funding lwcf, it also says that we're going to tackle the backlog and maintenance. i mentioned the $6.5 billion infusion for maintenance. for us in the state of washington with many national parks, this is helping us with a $262 million in deferred maintenance costs at olympic park including repairs to the water treatment system, it can help us with maintenance at mt. rainier, it can help us with

miles of trails and access to campgrounds, and it can help us in very important areas of expanding access. it also means that there are other projects in the state of washington that sometimes when we don't take care of our backlog in maintenance don't get the dollars because they go to the larger parks. so it helps us with making sure we're not ignoring that crumbling infrastructure or deteriorating hiking trails or age visitor centers. but it also helps us with other projects throughout the state which are things that could be everything from the $28 million needed for lake roosevelt national recreation area, $2.6 million for the whitman mission national historic site, $43 million for -- that is needed for fort vancouver's national historic site in southwest washington, $18 million for the

north cascades park in washington, $5 million for the san juan island national historic park in the north part of our state. so as you can see, the state of washington is definitely in the outdoor industry business, and we have a lot. we've been very blessed with a beautiful environment. and we've been very blessed with an economy that is based on that beautiful outdoors. so we're very happy today that our colleagues have joined in this bipartisan effort to say that public lands really do mean a lot to our nation. that they deserve an upgrade, a face liftlift, an invest and a commitment to keep funding the things that will allow us to expand public access to them. it is the legislation that we need to pass, even in this unbelievable time of so many other critical issues. i believe now more than ever our local parks and our urban green space can give solace to

americans who need refuge from all of the issues we're dealing with. now more than ever, we need to promote access to the shared public lands so that every american can get access. and the american people have had an incredibly difficult several few months. let's give theming to think about their future -- let's give them something to think about their fused and the access to the great outdoors that will help all of us in the future. thank you, and i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i have two requests for committees to meet during todayst session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. gardner: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i want to thank the senator from washington for her leadership on our great public lands and the bill, the great american outdoors act, that we will be voting on this week and debating into next week. what an historic occasion for

the united states senate. we don't often have the chance to make history. this week we do. so thank you to the senator from washington. june is of course the great outdoors month. since 1998 when president clinton started with one week of great outdoors weeks, it has since expanded and been observed every year beginning with those great american outdoor weeks in 1998 to the entire month of june, celebrating that we do today. this week we're debating land noreika legislation, the great american outdoors act that brings two ideas together that have been worked on by so many of my colleagues in this chamber for so long. i introduced this legislation with senator manchin along with so many other bipartisan champions for the outdoors and our great public lands and spaces. the great american outdoors act combines $1.9 billion a year for five years for deferred maintenance at the national park

service, the united states forest service, the fish and wildlife service, the bureau of land management headquartered in grand junction colorado, and the bureau of indian education schools and pemple -- permanent fund, the crown jewel, at $900 million per year. let's revisit how we arrived at this historic moment. last year the senate came together in bipartisan fashion and passed the most significant conservation measure in over a decade. the john d. dingell jr. conservation management and recreation act, among other things, included the permanent authorization of the land and water conservation sunday. congress established the lwcf in 1965 with the idea of using revenue generated from offshore energy development to fund improvements on public lands at no cost to the taxpayer. i'll repeat that again, at no cost to the taxpayer. the lwcf has increased access

for americans everywhere to hunt, to fish, to camp and enjoy recreation activities on their public lands, the land that we own and hold as a country. it has protected and expanded access for conservation in all 50 states, the territories, and in nearly every county. lwcf is the crown jewel, as i said, of our nation's conservation programs. it has broad bipartisan support. yet for decades short-term authorizations and uncertain funding levels hampered the ability of the conservation community to come up with the long-term plans that we need to protect our most cherished landscapes. the john d. dingell conservation management and recreation act took care of one of those problems. we actually managed to solve a problem, but it was just half of the picture. the permanent reauthorization of the program guaranteed the full $900 million authorization would be set aside every year going forward. we won that fight together, we

passed that legislation. the fight for fully funding the program continued, and while i'm appreciative of the ever increasing levels of funding we have successfully fought to secure, in fact we've seen some of the highest funding over the last year or two years we've seen in over 15 years, we've successfully fought to secure in the senate, it's still not what was agreed to, not what was agreed to when this program was created in 1965. the great american outdoor act fixes this issue. it guarantees that the full $900 million that is sent in to the lwcf trust fund are spent every year and not diverted for other purposes. i'd like to share some of the landscapes in my home state that lwcf preserved for the public and generations to come. you can see this picture, this incredible, awesome, majestic landscape of the great sand dunes national park and preserving located in the approximately 10 -- 122 san

luis valley, the tallest dunes in north america. right now tourists are in medno creek. it is the closest thing we see to beach front property every spring at the sand dunes. as you can imagine, the ecosystem in this area is incredibly delicate. the sand dunes are here because of basically the hydro static charge created from the groundwater when it comes to the sand particles. it's that water that forms around the sand that holds the sand dunes in place without the water underneath it, the sand dunes just blow away, and they're not there. the sand dunes sit next to what are some of the important wetlands in the state of colorado. lwcf funds were used to protect those wetlands and to facilitate a transfer to an existing refuge

while protecting the dunes. lwcf was able to protect the lands that protected the water that keeps the dunes in place. in northwestern colorado a ranch sits along the banks of the yampa river which flows into cross mountain canyon to dinosaur national monument. if you have been to dinosaur national monument you know it straddles into utah. it is one of the best whitewater rafting trips in the state. if it's one of the best whitewater rafting trips in the state you can guarantee it makes it one of the best in the country because of what we have to offer in colorado. there is also a very healthy elk population that facilitates seasonal hunting and obviously the fishing is great as well. throughout this area of public land, through both the monument and lands under the bureau of land management and private land, access to our public lands is difficult for those that travel to this area of colorado, from all over the world, to hunt, to fish, to

raft, and more. with a small amount of lwcf funding through the forest legacy program, which we also fund through lwcf, the ranch on the banks of the yampa river was able to enter into a conservation eevment. -- easement. this protected tens of thousands of federal lands. we not only have the opportunity to continue protecting our public lands, but there's public lands that we don't have access to because you can't get to it. so utilizing a program like the land and water conservation funds help the american people have access to what they already hold. none of the southwest colorado we'll go to another successful forest legacy project that protected vital wildlife habitats. the saw tooth ranch is one of the most spectacular places on god's earth, one of 31 designated seenic all-american

roads, also be visible from mount snuffles. outdoor recreation of every kind takes place in the area next to the ranch to support the local economy and the protection of the ranch has helped facilitate even greater opportunities. federal lands like the ones i've shown you are incredibly popular destinations for tourists from all over the world as well as recreation enthusiasts. in 2019 rocky mountain national park was the third most visited national park in the country. 4.9 million people visited the park last year setting a new record. a decade prior to that, that was 4.9 million people in just the last year, in 2009 that visitation number was only 2.8 million a year. the explosion in visitation numbers is not contained just to the lands maintained by the national park service, the entire federal land system is supporting a recreation economy that has become a major economic powerhouse because as more people go to places like sawtooth ranch, as more people

go to places like rocky mountain national park they're pushed out to other areas, the north sand dunes, b.l.m. lands and more use and more opportunity. but federal investment in the infrastructure that supports these great landscapes and the recreation economies they facilitate has not kept pace, and we know that, has not kept pace with the use of the lands. in colorado, that translates to the third most visited national park in the country which saw 4.9 visitors last year having an $84 million maintenance backlog. in total, colorado's units managed by the national park system have a $247 million backlog, backlog of deferred maintenance needs. the forest service in colorado has an astonishing $325 million maintenance backlog. when you think about that pattern repeated on federal lands and in our parks across 49 other states, you begin to understand how we arrived at a

system-wide $20 billion backlog. the great american outdoors act will provide an annual funding level of $1.9 billion over the next five years to a restoration fund for which money can be used solely for those deferred maintenance projects. and this is all paid for, it's all paid for by remps associates associated with onshore and offshore energy development, this will allow land management agenciess to address high priority the projects to bring our outdoor recreation economy into the 21st century for the enjoyment of the 22nd, the 2 23rd and 24th centuries of this great nation. the 21st century of course is where it needs to be and where we start. according to the bough -- bureau of economic analysis, other outdoor recreation activities contribute to a total of $778 billion annually to the economy and support 5.2 million american jobs. this sector accounts for 2.2% of

the u.s. gross domestic product, each year our federal lands, our federal public lands contribute nearly $60 billion to the american economy and support more than 400,000 jobs. now is the time to invest in our recreation infrastructure. now is the time to invest in this job opportunity. you know, prior to the pandemic, we were living in the midst of one of the greatest economies the world has ever seen. unemployment was at record lows, wages were growing, and people were spending their hard-earned dollars in our communities supporting local economies, fishing, hiking and enjoying the great outdoors after spending three months in the great indoors. mountain towns and gateway communities were hit hard by covid-19, the first wave decimated economies in our western slope in colorado. the ski season ended early, restaurants closed and hotels emptied. the jobs created and sustained by this bill as we recover from the pandemic will be a vital component of our overall economic recovery as americans get back to work and back to

playing after they've worked so hard. working hard and playing hard, two great american values. and so i hope as we have this vote tonight on cloture, i hope my colleagues will support this motion tonight to support our public lands and the communities that sustain them by supporting the great american outdoors act. and i'll leave it with this. enis mills, one of the fathers of rocky mountain national park, once said this about our public lands, the trail compels you to know yourself and to be yourself and puts you in harmony with the universe. it makes you glad to be living. it gives you health, hope, and courage. and it extends that touch of nature which tends to make you kind. i can think of no better piece of legislation on our public lands than to work our way to find a little bit more kindness, a little bit more hope, a little bit more strength, and a great deal of

opportunity. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president, for the recognition, and i thank senator gardner for his hard work on this excellent piece of legislation. mr. president, today our nation is in pain. it is the pain of centuries of deeply embedded racial injustice. this nation has watched in horror as the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of george floyd's life were cruelly and needlessly taken from him by a police officer.

our nation grieves for the families of breonna taylor, ahmaud arbery, and so many other innocent black men and women violently taken from their families and loved ones. this is a pain all too familiar for too many black americans. and this is a moment of reckoning for our nation. black americans have borne the brunt of this systemic racism, as have hispanic and native american communities in new mexico and across the nation. so many of our officers protect and serve with honor and integrity, but we cannot continue to sweep police brutality and racial inequality under the rug, ignoring these painful legacies until the next tragedy. there are thousands of americans

of every political stripe across the nation who have come out in peaceful protest demanding change. now we know there are a few, a very small few, who are exploiting our nation's pain and using violence to disrupt. we unequivocally condemn all acts of violence and call for nonviolent but urgent action. by calling for the u.s. military to quell protests as the president and some in this body have done, that crosses a line between civilian and military rule that is an -- antithetical to american traditions. instead of calling for american soldiers to repress their fellow citizens exercising their first amendment rights, i'm calling

for actions of this body. today senators booker and harris introduced the justice in policing act, a bill i'm proud to cosponsor. this landmark bill holds police misconduct accountable in courts of law, shines a light on the police practices required -- requiring transparency, and ends racial profiling and mandates racial bias training. bans choke holds and requires body cams and makes lynching a federal crime. this is a moment of reckoning for our nation. i call upon the senate majority to join with us to pass this long overdue legislation as soon as possible. and i would ask, mr. president,

that my speech that i'm going to talk have consent to put it someplace else in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i'd now like to turn to the bill before us, the great american outdoors act. our country's public lands are at the very core of our national identity. they protect our natural heritage, our lands and waters, our wildlife for future generations. our national parks, monuments, and wildlife refugees are irreplaceable treasures, sources of beauty, of solitude, of recreation, and of renewal. from the grand canyon to stonewall national monument to the city park in our neighborhood, our public lands sustain our people. and we owe it to these special places and to ourselves and to our children to sustain them for

the future. so today, mr. president, i stand here in strong support of the great american outdoors act. legislation that at long last fully and permanently funds the land and water conservation fund and invests in our public lands for the future. the land and water conservation fund was passed in 1964. my father, stewart udall, was secretary of the interior at the time, and i'm proud he helped establish the lwcf. as secretary, he was troubled by how difficult it was to expand public lands. at that time, the federal government would redesignate existing federal lands to create a new national park or a new wildlife refuge or rely on private donations to expand, but the congress itself resisted

appropriating funds to create new public lands. at a wilderness conference in 1963, my father bluntly said, and i quote here, the path of land conservation that our government has used for more than half a century is running into a dead end. but he had conceived of a new path forward, an entirely new watershed in the history of the conservation movement in the united states, he told them. just three weeks ago the conference, president kennedy had sent congress a new piece of legislation called the land and water conservation fund act. my father and others conceived of a federal fund that would both generate money to acquire new federal lands and provide states with funding to expand recreational opportunities. the bill passed congress the

next year. the lwcf has been called our nation's most successful conservation program. it's wildly popular with the american people and has touched every corner of our nation. in rural and urban areas with parks, forests, wildlife refuges, trails, wild and scenic river corridors, historic monuments, and cultural sites. lwcf has funded 42,000 stateside projects. in my home state alone, it has helped over 1,200 such projects found in every one of our 33 counties. after the lwcf was enacted, it became clear that the initial funding sources were too limited. my father persuaded president johnson to support using federal revenues from oil and gas leases in the outer continental shelf

to fund the program. his plan converted revenue from a nonrenewable source into a permanent protection for our renewable natural world. and while congress amended the act to include this funding source and later authorized the fund to actually accrue $900 million, the full promise of lwcf was not yet fulfilled. throughout my career, i have championed increases to the lwcf, but it deserves the dedicateed funding my father and many others envisioned. last year, congress finally permanently authorized the fund, a historic victory for conservation. it is los angeles past time we take the next step and

permanently direct the full $900 million to the fund every year. not only has lwcf met its conservation mission 100 times over, it's helped fuel the outdoor recreation economy, support local economies, especially in rural areas throughout the nation. since the creation of the found, the outdoor industry has grown tremendously. it is now an $887 billion industry that powers 7.6 million jobs. that includes nearly 100,000 direct jobs in new mexico, driving $2.8 billion in wages and nearly $10 billion in consumer spending. fully and permanently funding lwcf will translate directly into economic growth. and we need to energize our economy now more than ever as we

work our way out of the financial crisis created by covid-19. throughout our history, we have been investing in public lands that energize both our economy and our national spirit. conservation must be a centerpiece of our coronavirus at this challenging time for our nation. indeed, the economic benefits of the lwcf are great but the human benefits to ourselves, our families, and our communities may be greater. one of the most recent lwcf projects in new mexico is the via del oro national wildlife refuge, the first urban wildlife refuge in the southwest. here is a photograph of our state's newest refuge. the rio grande runs along this refuge, which boasts an amazing

array of wild birds, including sand hill cranes which you see here, the greater road runner and the american kestral. the $6 million contribution from the land and water conservation fund helped make the vision of this urban oasis a reality. via del oro is special to me because it introduces young people, often hispanic young people with limited means and access to nature to their first outdoor experience. it introduces kids to a world of wonder and a lifetime of connection to nature. and it's just down the street. as richard louve discussed so elegantly in his seminal book "last child in the woods" and backed up with peer-reviewed study after study, our children need nature, and we suffer spiritually and physically when

that bond is lost. so as we take this historic action to add to our national heritage, i am glad we are also addressing the $19 million worth of deferred maintenance on our existing public lands. like the other days of the civilian conservation corps, this work is especially timely and will help our economic recovery at a time of historic unemployment. it's good news that use of our public lands has increased so dramatically over time, more than one billion visitors enjoy our federal public lands each year. the infrastructure on these public lands are roads, bridges, and trails, are campgrounds, our marine as, our drinking water and -- marinas and drinking water and sewer systems are worn

out. trails and bridges can't be used. water lines and sewer systems don't function. the list is long. $19 billion long. in new mexico alone, we have $121 million worth of deferred maintenance needed at iconic places like carlsbad caverns, white sands national park, chaco cultural natural historic park, the helick cliff dwellings and bandelier national monument. this act represents a substantial down payment towards maintaining, repairing, and renovating the infrastructure on our public lands, allocating up to $1.9 billion annually for five years. this represents congress' most significant commitment to date to the long-term future of our public lands. the american people own these precious resources.

we need to maintain the american people's public spaces so that all of us can continue to safely and enjoyably visit these special places. how we take care of these public places says a lot about our nation. mr. president, our nation's conservation heritage is unique ly american. the bill before us strengthens our nation's commitment to conservation, to protecting our wild places, to preserving our history and cultures, and to nurturing our bonds with nature and the great outdoors. i urge every member here to wholeheartedly support our heritage and vote in favor of this bill. mr. president, i -- mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent i be allowed to finish my remarks prior to the vote.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, today we have the opportunity to make history in the united states senate. together we can move forward to passing one of the most important conservation bills in decades. in fact, standing here today, i can tell you something. there are not many issues that bring republicans and democrats together, but something actually does that, and that's protecting our public lands. if you remember, about a year and a half ago, we passed a major bipartisan lands package where we permanently authorized a conservation program, something we're here to talk about today, and that's the land and water conservation fund. today we have the opportunity to move forward on this bipartisan great american outdoors act, a conservation bill that will provide full and permanent funding for the land and water conservation fund and finally tackle this massive maintenance backlog that's plaguing our public lands, including our

national parks. and how we got here today isn't by chance. in fact, on february 27, i sat down with my colleague, senator cory gardner of colorado, leader mcconnell, and president trump in the white house. we were in the roosevelt room, in fact, to pitch a simple idea. let's set aside political gridlock and let's pass the most important conservation law in decades. in fact, i showed the president of the united states, president trump, pictures of land and water conservation projects in montana. the tender foot creek and the falls creek projects. we talked about the importance of this program in places like montana. and as a fifth generation montanan, i know just how important our montana lands are to protecting and preserving our montana way of life. from fishing on the yellowstone river to summiting granite peak, which i did back in college. in fact, the week after that i

summited the grand teton down in wyoming. or backpacking to bear tooth which we do virtually every summer, i have enjoyed the great outdoors. this is an appreciation of something that cindy and i have passed on to our four children. i proposed to my sweet wife on highlight peak, a peak just over 10,000 feet just south of bozeman in july, 1986. montana is a place you can still go down to walmart and buy an elk tag or deer tag over the counter and literally in minutes have access to our public lands to hunt and fish. as montana's voice in the u.s. senate, i have made it one of my highest priorities to protect and expand access to our public lands. in the land and water conservation fund is a critical tool for accomplishing that. think about this for a moment. over 70% of the fishing accesses across montana are funded through this conservation program. sportsmen, conservationists and

outdoor enthusiasts will agree that this program is critical for conservation and important for protecting our great outdoor heritage and our montana way of life. this conservation program is important to creating and protecting jobs for outdoor economy. and it is important for land managers and agencies. we see that in montana and addressing that checkerboard ownership makes a lot of sense. over one and a half million acres sit entirely landlocked. in many cases specific land and water conservation projects consolidate landownership that can make overall landscape management less complicated and easier for agencies. the land and water conservation was passed with the intent to be funded at $900 million a year. and every single year $900 million goes into the trust

account but nowhere close to it is appropriated. if congress wanted to, they don't have to fund the program. twice, since 1965, has it been funded at the $900 million mark. it gets raid bid congress and millions of dollars are spent on other programs. mandatory funding would create certainty for land managers at the full -- that the full $900 million goes to that program every year. we must support and preserve our country's beloved national parks. our national parks set us apart from the rest of the world. i like to think of them of our office of first impressions and we need to do a better job of taking care of them, be better stewards. with increased visitation each year, park infrastructure has inevitably experienced ware and -- wear and tear and led to significant maintenance backlog. there is $12 million backlog

facing our national parks including $700 million in the glacier and yellowstone and little big field battlefield. the bill also addresses the backlog in our forest service, b.l.m. and fish and wild life service land and our forests are critical for outdoor recreation. we must protect access to the lands for future generations because if is unique to any other country in the world. montanans were brought up with a love for the outdoors an sense of responsibility to conserve as well as maintain them and to us protecting our public lands is about preserving a way of life unique to our western frontier heritage. it is an honor to serve the people of montana in the united states senate and to bring this vote, a vote decades in the

making before the u.s. senate today. i urge my senate colleagues to stand with me to pass this bipartisan great american outdoors act. i'm ready to get this done for montana, future generations are counting on our vote today and i believe truly it is a conservative principle to conserve. the founders vision for america was a frontier nation, a wild nation, what made it distinct from industrial europe and all the other countries in the world was our outdoors. what is america without louis and clark. and i will leave you with this last spot from teddy roosevelt and i quote and this was in the context of thinking about our national parks and our public lands. we have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received and each one must dos his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.

thank you, mr. president. i yield back. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 75, h.r. 1957, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to h.r. 1957, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to modernize and improve the internal revenue service, and for other purposes, shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory

under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

knesset rel. knesset rel. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: does any senator wish to change their vote? .

the presiding officer: does any senator wish to change their vote? does any -- has any senator not voted? on this vote the yeas are 80, the nays are 17. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having

voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.

mr. lankford: race relations in america. i was asked to talk a little bit about what happened in tulsa in 1981 when the worst race massacre happened in tulsa in may 1921, it was may 21 overnight into june 1. as it was described how white rye otters -- rioters, called

black wall street, killed up to 300 people there and set greenwood on fire, destroying homes and businesses. as i'm talking, and many people at home don't know this, but everyone in this chamber does, as i'm talking i'm talking to a camera lens. i can't tell what's on tv at the time. but as i'm talking there were pictures of a town in the united states currently on fire while i'm describing a race massacre 99 years ago that weekend. we've come a long way on the issue of race in america, but we clearly have a very long way to go. we have four centuries of racial inequality stacked on top of each other. while we break through those things step by step, we have things that we can do. i've been on the phone for days with friends and people that i know from all over oklahoma, all

over backgrounds to talk about race rips and -- relationships and where we go as a nation. everyone has an idea, but everyone wants the situation to get better. the dialogue about protesters and riotes and police officers. i don't judge protesters and rioters the same. some throw them in one group. i do not. there are people out standing in the streets just wanting to be heard, just wanting finally administration in america to change, for america to fulfill her promise of equal justice under the law in every area in every community. they are peaceful, they are sometimes loud and brash, but they are frustrated and they want to be heard. there's another group that breaks through the middle at times of those protesters

smashing windows, stealing shoes an electronics from stores, spray painting and destroying property just from their own anger. i don't treat protesters and riouters the -- rioters the same. are there some rioters mixed in with protesters, yes. are there police officers that need to be confronted for their racial views? yes. is that all of them? by far, no. every person should be judged by their own character, every person. and when we as americans lump every group of americans, and say they are like that, we are divided. someone stopped someone because of their race. you couldn't pull someone over

because of their race. most police departments in oklahoma don't allow a choke hold. i spoke with officers who were told not to do that. so what's happened in other areas and other places is not happening in my state the same way but i still have friends of mine that are african american that still catch me and tell me the number of times they've been pulled over for driving while black. in places and neighborhoods i've never been pulled over in. but they have. multiple times. we still have a long way to go. this legislative body can talk about it. we can share empathy. we can listen but we're also called to act. so i bring to this body just a few ideas, some things we can do to be able to engage. things like greater

transparency. how can we oppose just getting information out? simple things that we're not currently doing like gathering a federal database of use of lethal force by law enforcement that whatever police department and whatever place uses lethal force, all of that data should be collected and sent to a federal database so there is a tracking of where lethal force, what race of the police officer, what race of the person where the force was used, how was the investigation handled, what was the result of that investigation? basic details. city councils, city leaders, city leaders should not be afraid to look at the data and ask hard questions. we should not be afraid to look at the data and be able to ask hard questions. most every community has oversight boards that are citizen boards. good. are they empowered to actually

engage? are they involved in the hiring process? are they involved in the oversight. do they get a chance to be table to look over their shoulders to evaluate what is happening? do they know when there are reports on the same police officer over and over again. are those advisory panels empowered? are there body cameras? not just body cameras, are they on? that is our second challenge. the body camera is the ability to have information so law enforcement can see and citizens can see what is happening. law enforcement officers are in difficult situations every day and when they leave their house each morning, their family gives them a hug and hopes they come back that night because every day they face challenges. i have great compassion for those folks, but body cameras help everybody, provide clarity

in what is going on. but they are not effective if they are not on. and we've had several situations lately where it seems conveniently body cameras were not on. that's a problem. and that's an area that we should address. mental health training is an area that has come up over and over again. not just recently. it's come up a long time. this body, the house, and the president signed legislation to increase dramatically the funding for mental health around the country but state and local areas have to engaining in -- engage in this as well. in my state, law enforcement is responsible to transport an individual across the state for mental health or substance abuse. well, my state really does need to determine a better, more xash dmat way -- compassionate way to transport someone for mental

health better than the back seed seat of a police car. whenever that happens, law enforcement is taken off the street for an entire day because they are transporting someone when someone else could have done that in a more compassionate, less obvious way than in the back of a police car. we've got to find a better way to do that. every time one of our law enforcement folks transitions across the state, they lose their time that they could have used for training, for getting out of their car to meet neighbors, to hear the story, to earn trust, to heal relationships. every city -- every city across america of any size has boards and commissions. but those boards and commissions often have the same people that just shuffle around from the same board and commission. they get off one board and move to another board. i find just by asking around many of those boards and

commissions do not match the diversity of their community. there are a group of wealthy leaders or activists that are there but it doesn't match the diversity and the leadership of those boards and commissions certainly don't rotate enough to able to allow the leaders of the boards and commissions that the city uses to have diversity. we put out every year community development block grants every year from this house and senate. why don't we just add into the community development block grants that cities and communities can get access to these community development block grants to help improve their situation if they're also improving access to individuals within the community having the opportunity to also lead in that community. if your boards and commissions don't reflect the diversity of the community, there's a problem with that city and the way that they're actually designing the leadership structure and how decisions are made with federal dollars. that's not a hard way to be able to raise up new leaders that get

their voice heard at city hall and get their voice heard on how funds are actually done. big-city police departments oftentimes don't share the same racial diversity of the city itself. why don't we allow some of the grant money that we have that we already dedicate to law enforcement to be given to recruiters so that they could recruit from the same diversity of their community and actually help pay the salary of people that are stepping in in the earliest days in the police academy and as their starting into the force. that way the diversity in our big-city police departments also matches the diversity of the community itself. and if they have a difficult time recruiting, we allow them to be able to use those funds for recruiters. you see, i really do believe there are things that we can do that make a practical difference. but i also firmly believe that

racism is not a legislative issue. it is a heart issuement -- it is a heart issue and it is a family issue. and one of the big of the things that we can challenge as individuals is with the bully pulpit that we have pushing back on individuals and doing, quite frankly, whatever you can to be able to push this. what i started five years ago is asking people a simple question -- has your family ever invited a family of another race into your home for dinner? just a simple question. i've been amazed at the number of people that i've talked to in my state of all races that when i asked them has your family every invited a family of another race for dinner, they responded back to me, i have friends of another race. i small back at them and said, that's not what i asked. has your family everrenvited a family of another race to your home for a meal?

just for two families to be able to sit together and visit like neighbors would do. and i am astounding at the number of people that one of the thresholds of race is the threshold of their own home. why would that barrier be there? how do we break that barrier? a friend of mine raised an interesting question to me this past weekend. he slipped in a couple years ago to the museum of african american history as a law enforcement officer and found out that for metro police here in the d.c. metro area, they go over to the museum of african american history and they get a tour guided through that facility to help new police officers get an understanding of african american history from a law enforcement perspective and to be able to see what's happened in law enforcement and relationships between law

enforcement and african americans over the centuries. he joined into that tour and his statement to me was, i wish every police department could get that kind of training, could get to that museum and could get that kind of context. my statement back to him was, we do that from the holocaust museum. the holocaust museum does tours and is currently designing a curriculum that we can then train trainers that curriculum and work on anti-semitism across the country. that body helped get that done. why don't we do that with the museum of african american history in law enforcement? challenge them to take the program they already have, turn it into a curriculum, train the trainers and then to be able to get that out across the entire country and to multiply that out. why couldn't we do that? why couldn't police week every year, when police week occurs, to have a large contingency of

law enforcement go through the museum of african american history and to be able to get that training there and then to be able to take that training back home? why couldn't that happen? it could. if this body having had to step up and to do some pragmatic things to be able to engage on actually finding practical ways to continue the work that our nation is doing. see, we're not at the beginning on race. we're four centuries into this conversation. what i remind everyone is, we're actually trying. there are many places of the world that they're not working on race relations at all in their country. if you're not the dominant acres you are still excluded from the courts, from education, from access. we as a country are trying. but for those that think we're

done, you're wrong. we're not done. we're not done with the journey. i love pointing out to people, watch the beginning of the olympics when all the countries march in. almost every delegation under every flag, everyone marching under that flag looks alike -- until the united states marches in. when you see this great diversity of our athletes. and it reminds us again, we're trying. the past ten days should also remind us, we're not done. so let's continue doing the heart work that needs to be done with our own families. let's continue to do the legislative work that needs to be done to make progress. but let's keep going.

until its done. my friend said to me last weekend, our founding documents are great founding documents. we've just never actually fully lived them out. -- lived them out for everybody. but i can't wait for us to continue to work in this body towards becoming a more perfect union. with that, i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, at 2:15 on tuesday, june 9, the senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following

nomination -- executive calendar 657, and i further ask consent that the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask the chair to lay before the senate the message to accompany s. 3084. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a message from the house. the clerk: resolved that the bill from the senate, s. 3084, an act to amend title 38, united states code to modify the limitation of pay on certain high-level employees an officers at the department of veterans air fairs do pass with an amendment. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until ten a.m., tuesday, june 9, further, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. further, following leader remarks the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar number 75, h.r. 1957. further, that the senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. for the weekly conference meetings. finally all time during adjournment, leader remarks count postcloture on the motion to proceed to h.r. 1957. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the

on once is officially on the floor for debate all week. >> with the recent protests unfolding across the country watch our live unfiltered coverage of the corona response with briefings in the white house of congress and campaign 2020. join in the conversation every day with our live call-in program with the "washington journal", watch any time on demand at c-span.org or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app.

tonight, on the communicators. >> we are at the very beginning of building out a smart city. we have been fortunate early on to convert our old telephone booth infrastructure to wi-fi kiosks. they are strategically located across the city of new york. that in and of itself provides a means of communicating that sets out sort of a predicate for what can be done with census technology how can we regulate the lighting system there so much that can be done just from that platform alone. stomach new york democratic congresswoman yvette clarke on the communicator tonight on cspan2. >> joining is now is robert woodson he t is the founder and president of the woodson center. thank you for your time sir. >> pleased to be here.le

>> remind us what it is who funded him with his purpose? >> i founded the center about 38 years ago its purpose is to serve low income people with risksk health we go around the country with drug infested neighborhoods and we find grassroots leaders who are solving the problems internally. they are like social entrepreneurs. once we find them, we help them with access to money, trading, so if they help 50 people we will help them to expand to 500. we have -- we served about 2500 low income people of all races and 39 states throughout the country. >> host: who funds and baxter organization if i may ask? stomach primarily private donors and got a large grant from the chevron corporation, amoco in addition to the

bradley foundation just a number of individuals occasionally a government grant to help, but primarily private donations of individuals. >> host: mr. woodson you've probably heard about is mentioned as anyone about the effort to defund the police are in the partial amount of their budget. they want to turn that money around and put into communities what you think of that idea? >> guest: that is the worst idea i e have ever heard. the people n in his name it's being done will be the ones most injured. there have been several studies that demonstrate that when there is police notification, when the police and they withdraw from vigorously enforcing laws, and areas the consequences of increased and the amount of deaths in those increase.

for instance last spring in st. louis in a period of less than four months, 16 young people, children under the age of 14 were shot and killed. only one arrest. that same pattern occurs throughout the country. we talk about withdrawing the police itpp would have the opposite effect it will increasef the number of deaths occurring in those communities. but the people who are advocating this, don't have to live with the consequence of their actions. i would like to see some those who are advocating to defund the police give them, give us their zip codes and then demand that the police not come into their communities to enforce the laws. let's just see what happens there. someone says many make an enemy of the police, then you have to make friends with criminals. stu went mr. woodson you

recently wrote about what was goingbo on you talk about this idea of ferguson effect. and you wrote this the devastation will likely continue after the ashes cool and the remains of shops and other businesses are swept away. the pattern known as a ferguson effect has emerge from cities wrecked by anti- police protests in recent years can you expand on that? >> guest: the ferguson effect is what i said, some years ago i first observed in cincinnati, ohio when the police officer shot a young black man and all the civil rights people came into cincinnati, they organize a citywidede boycott. and so what has happened was the police said wellll were going to be accused of racism we're not gonna gonna be enforcing the laws in those areas the result was there was a traumatic increase in the number of deaths and that high crime area.

but sharpton, the pastors the people of cincinnati suffer the consequence of that. also those with the boycott or hurt most were waiters, cooks, black folks driving taxicabs. they were the ones most hurt by this advocacy. i saw this trend in cincinnati ten years ago in his bed documented in a study that in a course of a year when police refused to be aggressive in enforcing laws in those areas, there's about 800 deaths that occur consequence every year with notification, they ought to be asking what we plan to do with the woodson center we want to hold those communities and asked the people in their mother they think we should be pulling back and defunding the

police. >> host: again for the gas it 202-74-8000 and if you remember -- if you're a member of law enforcement called to her to 8000 and text your thoughts as well. we need to take a short pause in just a few minutes in this conversation with mr. woodson. you've a been a longtime advocate involved in civil rights for many years. how do these protests of late compared to what you've seen earlier? >> first about the civil rights movement i have faced racial discrimination firsthand in the 50s i was stationed in mississippi and in florida. i sawi it firsthand. in fact i went to jail twice because i raise civil rights

issues and the police had a local relationship with the local place i got arrested. from three years for my discharge whenever police lights would change in my rearview mirror my heart would race i remember the days when i thought ob going to jail and it's a nasty dirty place. i have experienced it firsthand. so what we fought for in the civil rights movement was an opportunity to demonstrate our ability to achieve. we havead specific goals in mind. but today, they don't have any specific goals in mind. all they are talking about is what they are against in the civil rights movement at least we fought for what we are trying to achieve. there seems to be confusion right now and also, as doctor king said the way you restore an enemy as you make them your friend.

we weren't out to vilify white people. racism wasn't there, doctor king said because it is being practiced by white people. racism was there because itse was evil and he recruited black and white people to combat evil. >> we have a few massive rf take our break if that's the case, what you do and that cases of the bad police what reforms are neededre in your mind? >> guest: police have the authority of the state they should be held to a higher standard than anyone. and police was happening in this case with them they should be rigorously punished, i believe one of the things we ought to do is to insist the police if they witness a fellow officer committing a crime violating the the law, they should arrest them. because i really think the rule of law should prevail

over loyalty to fellow officers. if we were to institute that practice, that would help in this situation. if those officers came a civilian with any on someone's neck, they would have affected an arrest. will the same should apply if they see a fellow officer doing the same. there needs to be reformed. we shouldd also, we don't want people to profile the blacks. because some blacks commit crimes. we don't want us to generalize and we don't toge generalize about thehe police. in there course of a year, there are 1000 people who are shot by the police, many of them shooting at the police. there 270 blacks killed. only 27 are killed -- check blacks are killed by white police officers who are unarmed. for every one of those 27

that's creating the outrageat that you see there are 270 blacks who are killing other blacks. so yes i think we should hold the police accountable. but black folksks should hold themselves accountable as well. the black lives only matter when it's taken by aye person? i think that we should be outraged at the kind of 911 that occurs every year in black america. that was someone says if black people don't thinkck black lives matter why should whites or anyone else? these are difficult issues that we must atis least be able to debate and discuss them without somebody being called a name or someone losing their job because they don't subscribe to the new orthodoxies is to say institutional racism are you for or against it.

if you challenge it in any way, people lose their jobs i think this is a dangerous trend that i'm witnessing in america. only can't even sit down and logically discuss and deal with some facts not emotions. the one again are conversations with robert woodson he is the founder and president here to talk about issues related the last couple of weeks. the first call for robert is from leo in oklahoma, leo go ahead. >> caller: how are you today it's good to see you again i am half native american half whites, i'm 72 years old i was there in 64, 65 and 66. we have come a long way in this country. it looks like we have not come far enough and there's still more work to do. i represent a group of retired professionals, mostly racial we are approaching this

problem from a different perspective and that based on -- we studied i can't say killings, three of the takedowns across the country that are most prevalent and one of them took place just north of me in oklahoma a few yearsor ago. and a gentleman was taken down. and he died. but the five off-duty officers were cleared. there's been discussion on that this was brought up and on the group at the library i was amazed that my three sons had the benefit my grandfather was a chief of police. he taught me to it drive when i was 15 and a half. he discussed what would happen when you came in contact with law enforcement.o it was startling what he said. he said to me, when you come in contact with law enforcement, he said you are

in a life or death situation and you will determine whether you will live or whether you will die based on your actions. >> host: okay leo thank you mr. woodson. >> guest: i don't know what his point is but i think all of us need to take control of our situation. but my point is when law enforcement has the authority ofof the states, they must be held to a higher standard. they should be held accountable. but i think it is wrong to exaggerate the number of cases like this as if this is systemic that somehow actions of these lawless officerses reflect the entire system to the point where there are calls for these bodies of police and there are restaurants for the staff refuses to serve police officers to show solidarity what is that all about why is

there outrage i did not fight struggle with the civil rights movement just in the name of justice we discriminate against another group of people called police officers. that's the moral inconsistency of what we are addressing today. >> guest: from vanessa and illinois you are next. >> caller: hi good morning thank you for taking my call. i just want to applaud mr. woodson for being very commonsensical and everything that he said. he is one of the most commonsensical persons i have listened to hear. and i would love to sit down and have a conversation. i think it's more than what we can all solve. a few seconds. i guess my question is, as i look at the police and they have the hardest job in america, in the world.

if i try to put myself in the place of all people i can't because i am not there. i see the things they have to deal with and how can any human person be in that type of situation and always be a certain type of person not be affected by what happens the same as the person is on the other side, may be the criminal who feels his life is a certain way and he reacts to the same problem. it is not a good situation i really feel of course we need to keep our police and obviously changes, but change s&m both sides. >> guest: apologies for that so sorry mr. woodson go ahead. >> guest: your bar right change has to be both sides. but we are doing at the woodson center we are going to

convene a webinar where we are going to go around the country and identify communities where there is positive black community and police interaction and see what is that they are doing that the restou of the country can learn from. we ought to be studying success instead of always highlighting the injuries to be avoided. when victories are possible based where jon ponder in las vegas, nevada, for 12 years has operated a program in cooperation with the police to help over 3000 people who are in prison to return and be successful citizens 46% of his mentors are police officers. their mentoring some of the people they used to arrest. this is the kind of innovation we should be examining and learning from and rather than

always pointing the accusing finger at the police and exempt ourselves from any responsibility. >> guest: henry and de soto, texas. good morning. >> caller: in this day and age i think we are adept at trying to label people as liberal and conservative. with that said, i will say this. this idea of defending the police, i do not believe that is going to go away. especially during the pandemic it has been noted that tax revenues are low. asey a result, where will money come from to fund other things if it doesn't come from cutting certain things. with that said, the idea to maybe say there might be a liberal idea or something, think again about people whoho talk about government and shrinking government.

this is an economic issue its economics. i know the thing about race and all like that, common denominator is money, the people who have always have don't won'tle who with that said even if the police is defunded, there will be places protected by police, it just won't be those areas that are less fortunate. thank you. >> guest: you are absolutely right. and that's my point particularly hollywood celebrities are pouring $20 million to bailing out writers and protesters are not making any distinction, because they live in gated communities where there is sprivate security. many of them have armed securityme everywhere they go. some of the people who are advocating and i believe a live in protected communities and so the moral inconsistency and that's why the people at

the woodson center represents low income people. we need to give them a voice and what they have for themselves and not assume those people you see on television are qualified to speak to people in this disadvantage communities. we must give voice to people to determine their own destiny and not always make its patronizing to make a decision for somebody else when you don't have to live with the consequence of that decision. >> host: this is maxine from michigan, hello. >> caller: good morning and thank you for taking myy call. i first of all what to thank and congratulate mr. woodson for the work he is doing. and hope the black community will listen to him and stop listening to these black leaders who are in it for self gratification and what they can make off of this. i do agree with mr. woodson completely.

thank you. >> guest: will thank you. trying to get some honest discussion into this when we are talking about -- when you see these demonstrations there's institutional racism, systemic racism. i don't know what that is. i wish them a tell me what that is. they used demographics about inequities in the black communities that exist, high unemployment rate and whatnot. they assume the problems that exist on black on black crime, low achievement, they are saying to some of them this is the legacy of slavery and discrimination. that is just not true because the reality is between 1940 and 1960, when we were in

segregation and blacks had a much lower income, we did not have black on black crime that we have now. in the 1930s and 1940s during the depression, blacks were higher than any other group in the nation. elderly people could walk safely in those communities without fear of being mugged by their grandchildren. and so the question is, one of the promises of the civil rights movement if you let black officials and they would treat their people better. rate the question is why do we witness the kind of decline in last 30 to 50 years in these cities that are controlled by black elected officials? sofa race with a single issue, the question that gets avoided is why our black children in school systems and other

foster care systems why are they failing and systems run by their own people? if a racism where the culprit? that we discussed institutional racism and the presence of an equity today as if the civil rights movement never happened. as if blacks were never voted to run the system for the most complaints that something we need to discuss in this country. >> host: we have a view off of twitter who said the blacks had full and employment since slavery but since freedom there typically unemployed. >> guest: that'sr not true in durham, north carolina there are examples where it's called black wall street, durham, north carolina we have our own we had 100 businesses, 600 residents had her own insurance companies the income for blacks in durham was comparable to the median

income of whites nationally. you talk about education and equities. there were five high schools in america between 1899, sdunbar high school in washington frederick douglass in alaska booker t. washington and other schools, even though we have mark crowding, use texas, half the money whites had. outperformed all of the white schools in that district. so at a time when white people were at their worst, blacks ulwere at their best. so if we could achieve excellence at a time during segregation where we have no political representation, why can't we learn from the examples of what we achieved under worse conditions and apply them today? so it is just not true that we are always defined by what the

opposition was. >> host: from gerald in maryland. go ahead you're on. >> caller: hi good morning, are youoodson how this is gerald. i just i wanted to say that is been a pleasure working with mr. woodson and the late '90s i worked with him as he was doing gang intervention and all of the other work that was done with the gang problem here in d.c. in the late 1990s.s. he had a system of what works and why. i am still doing the work. the thing i learned at the woodson center in the 1990s, we incubated a program there. the young man brought in an idea. we are still doing it. we've had to postpone a few things because what's happening, but the point is we

tell hundreds of young people they could be the model that we are using, i say the people i'm working with is the model i learned from the woodson center in the late 1990s. >> host: okay thank you gerald. >> guest: and that's my point. we need to concentrate onndt celeste trip success and solutions and not finding enemies uses scapegoats. what troubles me about the current dialogue about institutional racism in black livesna matter is that it really is communicating to blacks that whatever problems you have whether it's out of wedlock births, drug addiction poor eating habits it's not your fault. nothing is more lethal than communicating to a people they are exempt from any personal responsibility. that if you killing a child it's not your fault. if you're being this educated it's not your fault you are the victim of institutional

racism. what that does is not only exempts the person from their responsibility, it really puts the power and control in the hands of white people and says my destiny is determined by what white people do and do not do. that is was troubling. we are demanding more from white people liberate us from self-destruction. that is a recipe for failure. now it is insulting it is patronizing. >> guest: i want to go back to the conversation we had before the break on police reform efforts andly specifically when it came to george floyd. review suggesting self policing within the police department is the best way to going out weeding out the bad cops from the good? >> guest: that is a one strategy sure there are others. i'm saying when police officers, when we can make a loyalty to the rule of law, make that prevail over loyalty to one officer yes i think

that will go a long way to help the police, give them the expectation, create the expectation you got to penetrate that police culture and i think insist that the police themselves, and hold themselves to the same standards they hold civilians. i think that was one strategy we ought to be pushing. >> host: you think the police officers themselves would bond together in order to keep that from happening? >> guest: they may or may not. i used a volunteer with the national black police association in the 70s and 80s. and even when there were fewer black officers. many of them would not respond in civilian clothes to a crime inog progress because they did not want to showw up with a gun and have white police come and shoot them thinking they were the perpetrator. but they used to do is