to restore trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. this legislation will do just that. i believe with every fiber of my being, that law enforcement is necessary and that the overwhelming majority of men and women who serve in law enforcement are good and moral people. the police officers who i have had the privilege of working with over the years, had he they had to work every day and make great personal sacrifices to keep their communities safe from harm, rather than defunding the police, which will only make our communities less safe. we must work to increase transparency and accountability within policing. >> we are going to have to leave this briefing, which you can continue to watch on-line at c-span.org. the senate is about to come in and it's part of c-span's long time commitment to bring you live gavel to gavel coverage of congress. senators will continue debate of a public lands maintenance

bill with a final vote scheduled for this morning. they'll also work on the nomination of justin walker to serve on the u.s. court of appeals. live senate coverage here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. lord, god of heaven and earth, today teach our lawmakers to do things your way, embracing your precepts and walking in your path. lord, make them powerful

instruments for goodness in our nation and world. remind them at the narrow and difficult road leads to life and few find it. you honor those who honor you. as our senators receive guidance from you and following your leading, replace anxiety with calm and confusion with clarity. give them attentive hearts and open minds as they seek to find in the diversity of ideas what is best for our nation and

world. we pray in your great 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: madam president.

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa's recognized. mr. grassley: i ask to speak for one minute in morning business and if the leader doesn't come, i may ask for an additional three minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: yesterday i gave the details of an historic police reform that passed unanimously in both houses of the republican-controlled legislature and it passed unanimously. surely if democrats in iowa can work with republicans to find unanimity, we shouldn't have any problems here in the united states congress passing something unanimously as well. let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. this morning senator majority leader mcconnell, senator tim scott, and other members of the republican task force unveiled a piece of legistion that goes

by the title of justin unifying solutions to invigorate communities everywhere or the being a ri number justice for -- acronym just for short. i applaud their leadership on this. democrats should stop partisan attacks and instead spend their time with us working together to find solutions. so it's pretty simple for me. if the iowa legislature can do it in a bipartisan, unanimous way, we can do it here as well. madam president, while there are reports of plans to remove troops stationed in germany, i'm reluctant to comment on a proposal that i have not seen. what i can say, however, is that congress will have a say. and what i can also say that the

u.s. commitment to nato and our european allies is rock solid. that said, it is not in the american character to project power for power's sake. since world war ii we have reluctantly accepted the lesson that our geography and goodwill alone cannot protect us in the united states from being dragged into other things around the globe, and particularly conflicts. the u.s. military presence in europe since world war ii has preserved the freedom of half of europe and contributed to the eventual freedom of the other half of europe. yet, despite enjoying economic and security benefits, polls show our presence is unpopular with the -- with a large segment

of the german population. combined, the american public's reluctance to station troops abroad with a sense that they are not wanted or appreciated by their hosts and you can expect some second thoughts. but this isn't the whole story. i know many german political leaders who treasure the friendship between our two countries and their voices are needed now more than ever before. moreover, our bases in germany are not there just for the germans. they provide critical support to troops in harm's way in the middle east and are vital for nato deterrence. the people of poland and the baltic countries are among the most pro-american that you can find anywhere in the world. and the governments representing

them put their money where their mouth is when it comes to nato. armor presence in europe reduces the likelihood of russian aggression against these friends and a repeat of their past oppression. america will not abandon our allies, our credibility and national honor demand it. i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: on behalf of the entire kentucky delegation, all kentuckians and the entire united states congress, i must begin this morning by expressing our deepest condolences to our colleague, representative andy barr and his family. his lovely wife carol passed away suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday. she was only 39 years old.

she leaves behind her husband, their two beautiful young daughters, eleanor and mary clay, and an entire community that knew her, admired her and valued her many contributions. to meet carol bar was instantly to like her. her warm personality filled the room and uplifted everybody. her face, her -- her faith, her love of family and her dedication to her community were totally evident. through her own career and work with andy, she poured her time and talents to giving back to her neighbors in the sixth district. we're so very, very sorry for our colleague's loss. all of our prayers go out to andy, to their girls, and to the entire barr and level families at this tremendously difficult hour.

now, madam president, on an entirely different matter. breonna taylor, george floyd over the last several months our country has been shaken by the killings of more black americans at the hands of law enforcement. and the people of this country have called for change. the united states of america is not a fundamentally racist country. we're the greatest nation in world history, built on the promise of liberty and justice for all, but our founding promise was stained by the since of slavery and racial prejudice. generations of americans have spent more than a century working to remediate that stain. we fought a civil war. black americans led a movement that won historic supreme court wins and landmark federal

legislation. we've squeezed racist lives out of mainstream society and relegated them to a pathetic fringe. but the events of the last few weeks have reminded this country that the stain is not totally gone. we have a lot more work to do. while the far left has tried to exploit america's pain and anger to push insane policies like defunding or disbanning all police or nonsense claims like the insertion that enforcing laws is inherently racist, the rest of the country has been uniting around commonsense truths. when black americans tell us they do not feel safe in their own communities, we need to listen. when american citizens lack faith in our justice system from start to finish, we need to respond. when the equal protection of the laws feel to some americans like

a contingency of demographics and not a universal fact of life, we need to act. so that is what this senate republican majority is doing today. we are acting. sadly, the junior senator from south carolina is no stranger to this subject himself. senator scott has led the construction of a strong proposal that will increase transparency, grow accountability and advance the cause of police reform without lashing out at the lion's share of brave law enforcement officers who serve bravely and well. later today he will introduce this new legislation and it will be the very we consider here on the senate floor. we will be turning to this bill next week. senator scott's justice act provides solutions that are as sober, as serious, and as significant as this watershed moment demands. faced with the fact that

policing is primarily a local and state rather than a federal concern, our colleague has nevertheless found a variety of levers that will advance, incentivize and insist on the changes that we need to see. we need to encourage police departments across america to end choke holds, training their officers to de-escalate tense situations, and having prior disciplinary records play a greater role in hiring. b that. we need to increase accountability so bad officers are easy to spot and good officers' good names stay clear. this bill does that. it will get more body cameras on the streets, helping ensure their use and have better practices for discipline or dismissal when necessary. we need more transparency so communities have greater

visibility under local law enforcement. this bill does that too. we'll require full reporting to the f.b.i. when a local officers has used force or discharged his or her weapon. and in a subject that is tragically become a major focus for my hometown of louisville, kentucky, we address no-knock warrants as well. we will require new transparency and new reporting from state and local authorities so that surrounding communities and the federal government can all better understand how, when, and why this practice is used. these are just some of the major parts of our colleague's legislation. the justice act will also finally make lynching a federal crime. it will close the consent loophole by forbidding law enforcement from taking advantage of people in their custody. and more. this legislation is a substantial effort to help our

nation make major headway on substantial challenges. i'm grateful to senator school for his appreciate -- scott, and appreciate the work of senator capito, cornyn and sasse. the democrat-led house of representatives is, of course, out of town. they've had time to issue partisan attacks from long distance but have yet to take up any police former legislation since the weeks of the death of ms. taylor or mr. floyd. the action, madam president, is in the senate. the leadership is in the senate. now over the past several days some of our senate democratic colleagues have undertaken to attack this new legislation before they even read it. before it was even released, while it was still being compiled, as a matter of fact. let me make this perfectly clear. senate republicans are interested in making a law.

we want to enact needed reforms. we want to make policing in america better. we've just demonstrated on the cares act and once again on the great american outdoors act that we can act together and achieve bipartisan support. this, madam president, is another one of those issues that needs to be addressed, needs to be addressed now, and can only be addressed in the senate if both sides are willing to work together. needless to say, if we're going to make law on this issue in the senate, it will have to be a bipartisan effort. so i hope and expect there will be opportunities for amendments from both sides, so i hope we can step up, stand together, and work in good faith to turn this impressive starting point into law for our country. we'll have the chance next week, so let's don't waste it.

now, on another matter, every year in kentucky, nearly 350,000 people take to the great outdoors to go hunting. more than a third of them on public lands. over half a million head to the commonwealth's lakes and rivers to fish. 1.3 million enjoy the open space and the magesty of our wildlife, looking for a glimpse of the bluegrass native species. and 120,000 kentuckians earn their living keeping these vibrant traditions of outdoor recreation up and running for everyone else. public lands are an important part of life across our state, from the cumberland gap to the land between the lakes, our parks, refuges, and historic sites form the backbone of local economies and welcome millions of visitors from across the country and around the world. and if you ask any of my colleagues, you would hear similar stories about the landmarks, wilderness and

history that made their own states unique. america's hundreds of millions of acres of public lands are the results of hundreds of years of expiration and conservation. today, the senate will act to ensure this inheritance will stand the test of time for generations of americans yet to come. the great american outdoors act will bring much-needed resources to the long-deferred maintenance and upkeep in parks and other public lands all across our country. and it will secure permanent support for the land and water conservation fund and its mission to expanding access to national treasures. this major legislation is only before us because of the persistent effort on the part of several of our colleagues. so one last time, i'd like to thank senator gardner and senator daines for their outstanding leadership, and senators portman, manchin, alexander, and warner, among other colleagues on both sides,

for all their work to bring this bipartisan project to completion. i hope following our action the house will take it up and pass it quickly. the president has already said he is eager to sign it. we should not let this historic opportunity pass us by, so i look forward to passing this monumental legislation later today. 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 h.r. 1957, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 75, 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. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: mr. thune: madam president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, it is. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, in the wake of recent tragic deaths of several african americans at the hands of police, our country has reaching a turning point. americans of every race, background, and political persuasion are calling for change. too many americans feel unsafe right now. too many americans live in fear that what happened to george floyd could happen to their own fathers and sons and brothers. too many americans see law enforcement officers as individuals to be feared rather than trusted. americans are ready for all of that to end. they want reform and increased accountability. they want to make sure that we are holding our law enforcement

officers to the highest standards. and they want their fellow americans to feel confident that what happened to george floyd, breonna taylor and too many others will not happen to their loved ones. madam president, members of congress have been listening. i have been listening. today i'm proud to rise in support of senator scott's policing reform bill which i am cosponsoring. senator scott's just and unifying solutions to reinvigorating communities everywhere, the justice act, is the result of years of great work. it addresses various aspects of policing reform. one important section of the bill, the george floyd and walter scott notification act which would direct deficiencies in law enforcement reporting of use of force incidents. right now, the f.b.i. national use of force data collection only receives data on about 40% of law enforcement officers. that needs to change. the only way we can understand the scope of the problems we're

facing is to have full and accurate data. a complete data picture will allow us to pinpoint problems, identify troubled police departments and develop best practices for use of force and de-escalation training. there are many police departments across our nation that are doing an exemplary job policing, that have excellent relationships with the community, and that are already implementing a lot of best practices, but there are also more troubled police departments, police departments that fail to train their officers properly or overlook officer misbehavior. and we need to identify those police departments and demand their reform. collecting full and accurate data on use of force incidents will help us do that. madam president, one policing measure that has been found to reduce both officers' use of force and complaints against police officers is body cameras. body-worn cameras record every officer interaction with the community, which encourages

appropriate behavior and helps to create an accurate record of events. these cameras keep both citizens and police officers safer, but implementing the use of these cameras can be costly, as can storing the copious data that accumulates. so the justice act will create a new grant program to help local police departments purchase body-worn cameras and associated data storage. funding eligibility will be conditional on the department's implementation of best practices for these cameras, and any department that fails to properly use the cameras that it has purchased using the grant program will face a reduction in federal funding. another important section of the justice act focuses on police de-escalation and duty to intervene training. sometimes police end up using force in situations where it could have been avoided simply because they lack the necessary training to de-escalate a situation without the use of force. it may be understandable that well-meaning but overwhelmed police officers in dangerous circumstances have sometimes

resorted to the use of force too quickly, but that's not a situation that we can accept. every police officer in this country should be given the kind of training that will ensure that use of force is restricted only to those situations where it is absolutely needed. madam president, i expect to see a lot of support for this bill from my republican colleagues here in the senate, and i wouldn't be surprised in this bill receives a lot of support from law enforcement as well, because, madam president, most of our nation's law enforcement officers want to implement policing best practices. they want to develop strong relationships with the communities that they protect. and they want to avoid use of force incidents that place both officers and suspects in jeopardy. i met with local law enforcement leaders in my home state of south dakota last friday. what i heard from them was a real desire to do everything they can to serve every member of their communities. they have already been participating in forums to be

listen to community concerns in the wake of george floyd's death, and they are supportive of justice act measures to help departments expand their minority hiring to improve de-escalation training to develop and promulgate best practices. so i wouldn't be surprised, madam president, if they and a lot of other law enforcement agencies end up backing this bill. i really hope the democrats will come to the table as well. senator scott has produced a bill that should have the support of every member of the senate, and i hope that it will. madam president, we have made a lot of progress as a nation when it comes to overcoming the sins of our past, but it would be a mistake to think that because we have made progress, our work is over. there is still much to be done, and many wounds to heal. and we must make those tasks a priority. we must continue to work toward a more perfect union, toward the full realization of our founding promise that all men are created

equal. for an america where there is truly liberty and justice for all. madam president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: mr. schumer: madam president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader is recognized. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, this morning is a tale of two chambers. the house of representatives is starting the consideration of the justice in policing act, led by senators booker and harris in the senate, and developed in conjunction with the congressional black caucus and house democrats. the bill represents comprehensive, strong, and enduring reform to police

departments, the most forceful set of change in decades. this morning in the senate, republicans have put forward a separate proposal, led by the senator from south carolina. we've only had the bill for a few hours and are reviewing it. but what's clear is that the senate republican proposal on policing does not rise to the moment. the democratic bill has a ban on no-knock warrants in federal drug cases while the republican bill only requiresata on no-knock warrants. the democratic bill has a publicly available nationwide database on misconduct so that abusive police officers who are fired can't simile go to another department in the country and get hired. the republican bill would keep such information almost entirely shielded from public view. the democratic bill bans choke holds and other tactics that have killed black americans. the republican bill purports to ban choke holds but only those

that restrict air flow and not blood flow and provides exceptions when deadly force is needed. who determines when deadly force is needed? usually the police themselves and the courts defer to their judgment. the republican bill is silent on racial profiling and militarization of local police departments. and perhaps the greatest flaw in the republican proposal is that it is missing real meaningful accountability for individual officers' misconduct. there are no reforms to qualified immunity or pattern-in-practice investigations. this is critically important. without accountability measures, we're merely exhorting police departments to do better, crossing our finks and hoping for the -- our fingers and hoping for the best. real change comes with accountability. as drafted, the republican bill doesn't provide t so we have a tale of two chambers, a glaring contrast between a strong,

comprehensive democratic bill in the house and a much narrower and much less effective republican bill in the senate. now i'm glad that leader mcconnell has listened to our demands to bring a police reform bill to the floor before july 4. i've been asking him to do this for three weeks, and he's filially acceded. i'm glad republicans have finally joined the debate and put a proposal forward, after much pressure from the public. but any final product must be strong and must make real and lasting changes. i would note that before we even get to the a police reform proposal, the republican leader wants to approve a circuitk -- k we're doing police reform -- corey wilson, who has a record of hostility towards voting rights, a nominee who advocated baseless claims of voter fraud and called the concern over

voter suppression and discrimination poppycock. this is sort the two-faced approach that we're seeing. on the one hand they're saying, let's do something on police reform. on the other hand, they put judges who come in exactly the opposite place and take away voting rights and other things that affect african americans, and particularly poor african americans. now, the senate is a place where you can only succeed if you convince a substantial majority of the chamber that you have good legislation. we expect our republican colleagues to work with us to make significant improvement to any legislation in order for it to pass. we take this very seriously. as we continue to review the republican legislation, i will be talking to my caucus about the best way to strengthen it. this bill will need dramatic improvement. let me be clear, this is not letting the perfect be the enemy

of the good. this is about making the ineffective the enemy of the effective. let me repeat that. this is not about letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. this is about replacing what's ineffective with what's effective, and we must have effective change. the question is whether legislation will bring back -- will bring the change we so desperately need or fail to make those necessary changes, fail to stop more black americans from dying at the hands of police. the the question is, will it work? and the republican bill has a long way to go to meet this moment. there's been a lot of talk from the republican leader about the real challenge of getting onto a bill. frankly, the real challenge is whether senate republicans will be able to step up to the plate and rise to the moment and vote for a bill that actually solves the problem. we democrats are going to try t.

it's important that we get this right. the vast majority of americans from both political parties support far-reaching reforms. more than 75% want to allow victims of police misconduct to more easily sue police departments for damages. more than 80% want to ban choke holds and racial profiling. more than 90% support independent investigations of police departments that show patterns of misconduct. and more than 90% want a federal requirement that police wear body cameras. there is no reason to scribble our chaplains in the margins or nibble around the edges of this larges, persistent and difficult problem. the moment calls for bold action, and the american people are behind it. now yesterday we all got a good look at what window dressing looks like and what we must all strive to avoid. the president celebrated an

executive order that was supposedly about police reform but in reality was a bunch of vague incentives to suggest that police departments change on their own. the ban on choke holds wasn't a ban at all, even though even the databases proposed by the executive order are voluntary, not mandatory. befitting the seriousness of the topic, the president spent the majority of his press conference demonizing peaceful protesters, airing unjustified grievances against past administrations, and suggesting that the same scientific expertise that led to the aids vaq sierra leone lead -- aids vaccine will lead to a covid vaccine. now, this was the conference on police reform. unbelievable what he said at this serious moment. we have to do a much better job here in congress. the president isn't going to lead on these issues.

he is not going to the engage on the legislation or proposal effective reforms. he is too busy suing news organizations over unflattering polls. we have to take up the mantle. and i'm glad we would be returning to this subject next week. we must all set our sights on achieving real, strong, effective reforms to police departments in america. i yield the floor. mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the democratic whip is recognized. mr. durbin: thank you, madam president. there are moments in history when you think, this is going to make a difference. one of them was in a first-grade classroom in connecticut. a person walked into that classroom several years ago and opened fire on first grade students six years of age, seven years of age, their teachers and

assistants. they were killed at their desks at sandy hook. i thought that would make a difference. i thought that there would be a national conversation about gun safety in the member reconcile of those beautiful little children -- in the memory of those beautiful little children who died soencelessly because a person had a -- who died so senselessly because a person had a gun that killed them en masse. it didn't happen. then i thought when that gunman in the hotel in laspku vegas od fire in a gun that he had converted into an automatic weapon and killed those concertgoers at that country western concert, just shot at them at random, i thought, now that'll make a dips. that is -- make a difference. that is the moment when we can sit down and talk about gun safety in america. it was so graphic and it was so horrible.

at least we could come together for a bipartisan conversation about making america a safer place for first graders in connecticut, for concertgoers in nevirapine, and for all of the -- in nevada, and for all of the other gun tragedies that we've had in america. didn't happen. the president promised he'd do something. he didn't. what happened in the united states senate in terms of addressing this issue? nothing. nothing. not even an effort to keep guns out of the hands of people who have no business owning them -- convicted felons, people who are mentally unstable. and the types of guns which are for sale in the united states go far beyond any need for sport or hunting or in many cases even self-defense. yet we couldn't even open the conversation on gun safety in light of those horrible tragedies. and then several weeks ago, a

patrolman in minneapolis put his knee on the next of george floyd and america changed. you see, that video, which we've all seen over and over again, was so graphic, so real, so personal, you just could not escape it. here was this policeman in eight minutes and 46 seconds killing george floyd, and what was the charge that he was being accused of? perhaps passing a phony $20. $20 bill. and i think the image that still sticks with most of us in the eight minutes and 46 seconds as george floyd died were all of

the people begging the policeman to stop, imploring him, please -- floyd was crying out, i can't breathe, i can't breathe, mentioning his mother's name in those desperate final moments of his life. and that patrolman stared into that video camera with those cold, hard eyes. we cannot escape the reality of that video moment and the impact that it's had on america. and beyond. george floyd's image and name are now the subject of rallies, not just across america but around the world. in my own home state of illinois, it is understandable in it is like chicago -- in it is like chicago, diverse population, african americans who know what it's like to be the object of racial discrimination when it comes to law enforcement.

but what has amazed me in my home state and many other places for my colleagues is that this is just not a conversation in the big cities of america. this last sunday afternoon at 4:00 i went to jerseyville, illinois, for a black lives matter rally. what unlikely location. i don't know how many african american families live in jersey county or jerseyville, but there aren't many. it didn't stop 300 to 400 people from gathering on a courthouse lawn to make it clear that they wanted to see things changed when it came to policing in earthquake in. -- in america. and change they must. i want to salute my colleagues, particularly senators booker and harris. they came together and put a bill in place with the black caucus, karenass, congresswoman from california, a bicameral proposal that's been introduced now in the house and

in the senate. i'm proud to be a cosponsor. it is comprehensive, and it takings into consideration the and it takes into consideration reality that these opportunities come along very seldom and when they come, we need to seize them to make a difference in this great nation. let's not be halfhearted. let's be committed to doing things that make a difference. and that means a bipartisan effort. tim scott is my friend, republican senator from the state of south carolina. i like him. i respect him. he has done and said things which i think made a real impact on this nation. his observations as an african american senator from south carolina and what he's gone through, not just in his state but in his life and even in washington, d.c., they touch my

heart. i know that they're genuine and so is he. and when he was chosen on the republican side to lead the effort, to come up with some way of bringing justice to policing, i thought, that's a good choice -- and i still do. now we're off to a start in this conversation, but it's an unusual start. my colleagues, senators booker and harris put the legislative process justice in policing on the floor and described it in detail over the last several days. it's been there. for those who support it, as i do, and for those who are critical, weñ are obviously looking at this from a lot of perspectives. yesterday the senate judiciary committee held a lengthy hearing on police misconduct, and there were references throughout to the harris-booker bill as they both serve on the senate judiciary committee.

senate scott's bill we saw just a few hours ago and senator mcconnell came to the floor earlier and said we're moving to this bill, it will be the next item of business. i'm glad that senator mcconnell now feels a sense como reforming policing. now is the moment for us to work together to come up with a bipartisan bill that can pass the united states senate, but let us not miss this opportunity, this historic moment to do something that will make a difference. how many times, how many commissions, how many agencies, how many experts have issued reports on dealing with racism and law enforcement in america? scores of them, going back to the 1960's, a former governor of illinois, a commission that long ago, 60 years ago was considering the same issues, many of the same issues we're

considering today. the hearings yesterday brought in some talented people, expert people to talk to us in the senate judiciary committee about this measure, this challenge that we face, community leaders, civil rights act vis subject. i think senator graham, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee on the republican side would agree hearings are important and we should continue them, but they are never enough. we need to do something that the senate rarely, if ever, does. we need to legislate. and we ought to do it in a process that was established in this senate generations ago, bringing this matter to the floor for amendment and debate. i understand the numbers in the senate. as the whip on the democratic side, i think the skill that's necessary to succeed is to be able to count to 60. i learn that very early in my

senate career. but we know what the numbers really are, there are 47 democrats and 53 republicans. so if you need 60 votes for most of the important procedural questions in any debate, it must be bipartisan. and if it's going to be bipartisan, it means that people have to sit down and be willing to listen to one another, be willing to compromise, and i think we can do that. i've seen it done. i can remember two years ago when the senate passed the first step act i started on this mission ten years ago after the passage of the effort of the drug crimes bill in the house of representatives over 20 years ago. it was clear that that bill was fatally flawed, that law resulted in unjust outcomes as well as ineffectiveness when it came to fighting drugs. and i started ten y change the

disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentencing guidelines. i managed to get some part of it done, but then when i took on a bigger issue of the mandatory minimum sentencing which was involved in this as well, i ran into a blockade by the name of chuck grassley. chuck, the senior senator from the state of iowa, didn't see eye to eye with my approach at all, and i realized i was going nowhere with my bill without him. he was chairman of the senate judiciary committee. and so we sat down and spent a year -- a year -- and we came up with a bill we both agreed on. it wasn't what i wanted. it wasn't my original bill by any means and it wasn't what found a good bill called -- he was the first cosponsor, it passed the house and senate, signed into law by the president

of the united states, donald trump. who would have guessed that donald trump would sign a bill on criminal justice reform, and he did and he bragged about it afterwards and continues to this day. i guess the lesson learned there is if the right people can sit down with the right goal in mind, we can achieve an important victory for the american people. i understand now, having been to these rallies on black lives matter, how -- how determined and desperate people are across the united states to see us change when it comes to racism in law enforcement. they are desperate primarily in our younger populations. it's interesting, even the largest rallies are being led by high school students who are bringing together hundreds and in some cases thousands of people to peacefully demonstrate on behalf of justice in law enforcement. the message is pretty clear.

they do not want to grow up and they don't want to raise their families in the shadow of racism. we have fought this issue in america for over 400 years. that's how long -- how long it's been since slavery came to our shores. and the racism followed from it was part of it is still very much alive in america and seen in video after video. and these younger people are telling us once and for all, change it, grownups. you're supposed to be in charge. you're supposed to have the authority. so what we say on the democratic side is we cannot waste this historic moment, this singular opportunity. let's not do something that is a token, half-hearted approach. let's focus instead on making a change that will make a difference in the future of america. when i take a look at the bill that we put together, the justice and policing act, and, again, i want to

booker and harris, we established standards for criminal police misconduct under the law, we talked about qualified immunity reform. allow me to say a word about this. that was the one thing that senator tim scott said on sunday was a major sticking point on the republican side, and we discussed it yesterday in the senate judiciary committee hearing. what does it mean? it means that if a policeman is guilty of misconduct, discriminatory misconduct against a person, they can be liable for civil damages. obvious case, someone is shot and killed and there's a belief that the policeman was guilty of misconduct in the process, that policeman could be found guilty in court and liable for civil damages to the family, much the same as wrongful death or personal injury.

but the problem is that the courts have taken this qualified immunity and basically said that if you cannot find an identical fact pattern for that policeman's can't pursue this civil recovery of damages for the family who lost the breadwinner, for example. now, the argument for that position has been made by some republicans that even if a patrolman or policeman has done something that is terribly wrong, you shouldn't take their home away from them to compensate that victim's family. and so the republicans have said we don't want to change the qualified immunity standard. let's move from that debate to the real world, and i know just a little bit about it. there was a sheriff in a downstate county in illinois who was sued many years ago and accused of misconduct for imprisoning and mistreating prisoners in his county jail. when he was sued in court, much

the same as the qualified immunity described earlier, he was defended in that court. who defended that sheriff for his misconduct and potential damages that he owed to his victim? i did. and i didn't do it as a u.s. attorney or a state's attorney or in any official public capacity. i did it representing an insurance company, dewitt county, which employed the sheriff had bought an insurance policy that said if there's wrongdoing by any of your county employees, the insurance company will pay whatever's owed. i represented the insurance company. we went forward with the the point i'm getting to is that sheriff was not going to los his home or car or motor vehicle. it was all about a lawsuit being brought to court for that

sheriff's responsibility in creating a loss to the plaintiff that merited damages from a court or jury. this argument that we cannot hold policemen responsible for misconduct on a civil basis for damages overlooks the obvious. 99% to 100% of any verdicts ever paid out are not paid out by the individual law enforcement official but usual by their insurance company. the company company indemnify's the defendant. it takes on the responsibility of defending them and paying out any verdict that is found or any settlement that is reached. why would we want to go ahead and allow this kind of civil recovery? because it's a lesson learned to that county when it comes to the conduct and training and of individuals. if they know that certain things are going to result in a liability, even through their insurance company, and higher

insurance premiums as a result, they will think twice about it, won't they? it's just human nature. the opposite is true. if the republicans have their way and don't touch qualified immunity, you have created a defense law for any potential defendant who is in law enforcement from civil liability and you have taken away the incentive of their employer or that department to improve the way they administer justice. i would think it's pretty obvious that if we want the right outcome here there should be a price to be paid for wrongdoing and there certainly should be compensation for a victim's family. so i don't understand the resistance on the republican side. we need to talk because we cannot move forward on this issue of police responsibility and say there is a whole area of immunity when it comes to the police being sued for civil damages in court.

we also need a pattern and practice investigation. what that means is there comes a moment when the department of justice needs to take a look at local police departments. i know about that. the shooting of laquan mcdonald in the city of chicago was an event which still has an impact on the people who live there. i joined with the attorney general lisa madigan in asking the department of justice to investigate that chicago police department after that shooting of laquan mcdonald. it wasn't a popular position with some people, but i thought it was the right thing to do. we will be better for it. the city of chicago had make things that that need to be made. and i'm sure there are more that need to be made in the future. but extending and advancing pattern and practice investigations by the department of justice is long -- overdue. under the obamacare 20 investigations were done, under

the trump administration, one. it is time for the department of justice to do its job and that is part of what we are setting out to do. we also have law enforcement trust and integrity act included in the booker-harris bill. police departments lack standards for best practices and human accountability. we call on t and the department of justice to move in the right direction of training and retraining when it comes to reducing the use of force and reducing the killings that are taking place that are unnecessary. we need to establish a national police misconduct registry, that is part of the booker-harris bill so that no policeman who loses his or her job because of misconduct can go to a nearby state and reverse the scrutiny of the his think they have because of the police department. we need states to report to the

department of justice when there is use of force against a civilian. i bet that 99% of americans believe there is an automatic reporting of the shooting of unarmed police. there isn't. the only source you can find is "the washington post" newspaper which decided in 2015 to collect that information by reading news outlets and information and putting it all together. let's get the data so that we understand if we are falling behind or making progress when it comes to the administration of justice. we also need to prohibit federal, state, and local law enforcement from racial, religious and discriminatory profiling. this is an issue i have been working on for years. others feel the same. profiling has to come to an end. we need real training on racial bias and a duty to intervene. this gets to the heart of

policing. policing runs parallel to our military in the standards and rules that they operate under. when we talk about peer intervention and when we ask ourselves why didn't the other three policemen in minneapolis see the knee on george floyd stop, you're killing him, they didn't because of -- of the so-called chain of command. we need to have peer scrutiny and peer intervention, particularly in life-or-death situations. we believe we should ban the no-knock warrants in drug cases. we know what happened in the city of louisville, and we want to make certain it doesn't happen again. we want a clear ban on choke holds and carotid holds. we want the police to exercise care with everyone, standard of reasonableness to prevent death and serious bodily injury. consider what happened in the wendy's parking lot in atlanta, and there were a number of

factors involved here. what was at the heart of the issue? at the heart of the issue was a man who drank too much and fell asleep in his car at the drive-in line at wendy's. that is what started the police call and everything that followed. at the end of 40 minutes, the man who fell asleep in his car was shot dead in that parking lot. when you try to bring and measure the response and the result against the original charge, it's like the $20 counterfeit bill. you think to yourself did that merit pulling a gun and killing a man because he fell asleep in his car? no, he shouldn't have been driving while intoxicated, but there was no evidence that he was involved in any accident, and there was certainly a better way to bring that to a conclusion other than the confrontation that led to his death. we also need camera accountability act requiring federal uniformed police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras and

make sure that they are operable. we also need to finally pass, finally pass the justice for victims of lynching act. i spoke on that yesterday, and i won't dwell on it today, but this is long, long, long overdue. one of the first bills, federals introduced after world war i by a republican congressman in st. louis named leonidis dyer. a world war i veteran, served in the army, came back, was a prosecutor for st. louis county. then on july 1, 1917, there was a horrendous race riot in my hometown of east st. louis, illinois. 7,000 african americans were rowfted out of their homes and forced to cross the bridges into the city of st. louis to escape death. the estimates of how much were killed were just that, but they

range in the hundreds of african americans who were lynched and murdered. as a result of that horrible experience in east st. louis and the race riot, congressman dyer, republican of st. louis, introduced the federal anti-lynching law. he passed it in the house of representatives. there among the negative v were four members of the house who went on to become speakers, but they all four voted against the dyer federal anti-lynching bill. it was sent to the senate where it died by design. a combination of those who opposed it, including southern democrats, stopped the bill from being considered. it faced a filibuster, end of storks, but not the end of lynching by any means. lynching is a blight on america's history. there is absolutely no reason why we should not include the federal anti-lynching statute which passed the house 410-4 in this package that is being considered.

i believe it may be part of senator scott's bill as well, and i hope that it will pass. i hope that the one senator on the other side of the aisle who has held it up can be convinced otherwise. this is -- history demands that we bring an end to this miserable, bloody chapter in american history which touches so many of our states. and so we have a job to do. we now have two bills, and we have seen the republican bill for the first time this morning. many of us believe it is a -- at least an indication of the urgency of the issue, but not as responsive as it should be. let us not escape this moment in history. let us not avoid it. let's face it. let's use it. we can make this a better nation. we can say to those young people, black, white, and brown, those young women and men who are leaving the -- leading the marches in my state and across the nation, we hear you. we understand you want to grow up in a different world, in a different nation.

we understand that you want to see discrimination and racial mistreatment come to an end in this country. in this generation, the ones who are elected to do something about it, will do just that. we will respond. i hope what senator mcconnell said this morning about opening this debate on the floor of the senate is not just a one and done, take it or leave it approach on the majority side of the aisle. let's have a real debate. let's have real effort to find common ground. i think it can work. senator grassley and i proved that with the first step act, a bipartisan bill signed by president trump that made a difference. thousands, literally thousands of federal inmates were released from prison who had been serving lengthy, impossible to explain sentences for nonviolent drug activity. they are home now. they are back out of prison now, as they should be. we did it on a bipartisan basis, and we compromised to reach it, but let us make sure that at the

end of the day, what we do pass makes a difference in the future of america, not just a quick press release but something that we can live with and be proud of for years to come. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: mr. president, i have eight requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and the minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. daines: mr. president, today we will make history in the united states senate. today we will vote on one of the most important conservation bills, not just in years but in decades. today we get one step closer to protecting our outdoor heritage for our children, our grandchildren, for future generations of montanans, and

for all americans, because today we will be casting the vote, the final vote on this historic bipartisan bill entitled the great american outdoors act. today for the first time ever in the united states senate, we will vote to make funding for a critical conservation program, the land and water conservation fund, full and mandatory. this funding will protect the program and provide some certainty for our land managers, for conservationists, for sports men and women. i have spoke with montanans across our state about the importance of this program. and what's interesting is no matter what the ideologies are, these ideologies across the board from left to right, they agree that this program will protect our outdoors for current and future generations. and as a u.s. senator from

montana, big sky run -- in fact, we like to call montana the last best place. i know just how important it is that we have access to our public lands and the opportunity to enjoy our outdoors. in fact, it's a major driver of our economy, the outdoor recreation economy. you see, the land and water conservation fund enabled better public access to our public lands. it's going to help create jobs in a time when we need them the most. it will help protect wildlife habitat. it will help improve land management. and it links conservation to a strong energy sector, and it costs the taxpayers nothing. because today by voting on the great american outdoors act, we will also provide a significant down payment to address the maintenance backlog that's facing our national parks and

our public lands. i chair the national parks subcommittee here in the united states senate, and as a fifth generation montanan who grew up going to our national parks -- i grew up in the shadows of yellowstone national park, just about an hour and a half from my home -- enjoying the outdoors with my family, this has been one of my top priorities. you see, our national parks and our public lands set us apart from the rest of the world, but our parks have seen an increase in visitation. in fact, record visitation for many of our parks. that's a really good thing, but our park infrastructure is at risk of being loved to death, leading to dilapidateed infrastructure that can compromise the visitor experience and safety. there is nearly $12 billion in maintenance backlog facing our national parks across the

nation, including over $700 million in glacier and yellowstone national parks, and an additional $34 million throughout other national parks in montana. and today we have a great opportunity to address this by getting this bipartisan bill done, the great american outdoors act and passed out of the u.s. senate and send it over to the house. as a kid who grew up in bozeman bozeman -- i went to kindergarten through college at bozeman. a bozeman hawk in high school. a proud montana state university bobcat. i know just how important it is to get this done for montana. i'm also fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy montana's outdoors with my sweet wife cindy and our four children and our granddaughter emma and soon to be new grandson in just a few months. you see, montana's public lands are part of our montana way of life. they're part of our heritage, who we are as montanans. i have been very fortunate to be

able to flyfish many of montana's rivers and their streams. in fact, my son took that picture of me up in the bear tooths a few years ago. i remember that distinctly. just around the corner of where that picture was taken, i was working my way up that stream, i caught a real nice cutthroat. in fact, cindy and i, we backtrack in the beartooths in the wilderness area every august. we take along two of our dogs, ruby and reagan. in fact, i took that picture of our son michael up in the high country of montana. you get to places like this, there is virtually no trails. this is wild country. it's unique to the world that we have places that are so pristine and still remain so relatively untouched. and my wife and i have instilled in our family the same passion and love for outdoors that we

shared for so long. here we are at a backpack again up in the bear tooths, not too far from granite peak, montana's highest point, and some of our best memories are spending time -- our son michael there, the dog, cindy and me there. and then i want to show you this next picture. that sums up probably who we are as a couple. we went back up to the highlight area south of bozeman a few years ago, that peak is highlight peak. back in 1986, that's where i asked cindy to marry me. we got engaged on that mountain peak, a peak over 10,000 feet high. so this is more than just some theoretical discussion that protecting ourday on the flo montana outdoor way of life. it's the very heart and soul of who we are as montanans.

in fact, since i came to congress, i have made it one of my highest priorities to protect and expand access to our public lands. so i'm proud to be today ready to vote on this historic conservation bill, and today i urge my colleagues, it doesn't matter whether youreo come together and pass this bipartisan bill that will benefit future generations. i think we're going to have a really strong vote today. my sense is it is going to be an overwhelming affirmation of this important legislation. and i look forward to seeing that. i look forward to passing the great american outdoors act today, working to get it out of the u.s. house as our next step and getting it on to president trump's desk, who i spoke with and he is excited to sign this historic piece of legislation into law. montana's ready. i am ready.

let's get her done. thank you, mr. president. i yield back. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: mr. president, i come to join my colleagues to talk about the final passage of the great american outdoors act, and to discuss what it really means to all of us. obviously, the great outdoors means a lot to the state of washington. nobody probably needs that explained to them. although recently i read a quote from george vancouver when he was discovering the pacific northwest. he was -- even in his remarks, he was so astounded that this was such a beautiful place. so it tells you that it lasts for generations, and that's what this bill is about. it is making it last for generations beyond us. and so i want to thank the bipartisan effort of five democrats and five republicans who joined together to originally put the parks backlog and maintenance together with fully funding the land and water conservation fund. people should realize that the land and water conservation fund over its history -- and i

followed it pretty closely because scoop jackson, a long-time senator from the state of washington and the original sponsor of the land and water conservation fund, he understood that america was urbanizing and we needed to make an investment in open space, and that open space gives us park and recreational area, but it has literally provided five million acres of protected lands since its inception. so 5 million acres of land throughout the united states of america that we can identify in every state of the united states to give americans access to open space. i mentioned gaswork park in the state of washington and seattle because it's so iconic and people, i don't think, could think that, like, union would be the same without gasworks park. so what a great idea by the leaders of congress at the time to pass the act. so we've had a fight literally in the last 10 or 15 years of

people who didn't want to fully fund or even support the land and water conservation act. in fact, two years ago people -- we had let it expire and people were in an argument about how to reauthorize it. people then wanted to say, we don't really want to do new land. we just want to take care of the backlog. and so that debate went on for a time, and i think we really tried to emphasize the great economy related to the outdoors because not only taking this revenue from oil and gas off-shoring to putting it into land conservation has been a big win for the american people, not only do they get open space and be able to recreate, but it puts money back into our economy as well because the outdoor economy is a big juggernaut at $877 billion. and so the thing that we're doing is today really ending this debate, ending this paradigm that has existed, you know, between some members who've said, oh, yeah, i care

about the parks that are already there. and maybe we should take care of the backlog. but i don't want any new money or money going to the land and water conservation fund. the land and water conservation fund has dedicated across the united states five million acres to open space for all americans to enjoy. that is a big win. and ending this debate and ending this, i would say, a not-right directed discussion that tried to pit land against one another and basically people who didn't want more open space and public land, i think we're ending that debate o a very firm note today that says, the united states senate really believes that open space is a great driver of our economy. but, more important, an essential aspect of american lived and we're going to continue to invest in it. for us in the state of

washington, we have something like $700 million over the life of this project since the 1960's. and with this legislation today, basically making sure the land and water conservation dollars collected from offshore oil revenue is spent in the land and water conservation fund, we will receive hundreds of millions more between $200 million and $300 million more in land and water conservation investment. i can't wait to see what that does for us in the northwest. as i said, starting with george vancouver and everybody down today, everybody in the northwest knows that the environment is so precious for us. it is great for its restorative value but it's also great for the our economy. so we want to keep it and keep investing in it. the backlog in maintenance that we're talking about is phenomenal investment, and i encourage all my colleagues to visit mount rainier sometimes.

you have drive up to paradise and visit. but those roads, the facilities there, they naintenance. even several years ago we used the land and water conservation fund for the carbon river improvement on a road that kept washing out every year and now we moved it to higher3round, expanding the spark, so making it more beneficiary for people to go to that side of the mountain as well. so i'm reminded what teddy roosevelt said. the nation behaves well if it treats its national resources as an asset. we must in turn, turn that over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value. so that's what we're doingresids returning that value to the next generation. so i want to specifically thank senator manchin for his leadership on our side of the aisle on this, having sponsored this legislation myself two years ago with senator burr and getting it out of the committee, we were sad to see that it got stuck on the senate floor.

so we're glad that this coalition of five democrats and five lens, led by senator gardner, has -- five republicans, led by senator gardner, has led to get it to this point. and i also want to mention that senator burr, all the way back to 2010 where he fought to make sure that this land and water conservation legislation was reauthorized and that we -- and that we make this investment has played a pivotal role. so a huge day for public lands in the united states senate. a huge day to say that americans will be getting more open space and that our parks will be getting a little bit of a facelift, if you will, around the roads and bridges and facilities, their trails, a the management of our forest, the infrastructure that is entailed in giving public is being ssess to -- that is giving public

access to these facilities. i thank my colleague. i look forward toest going this rapidly through the house of representatives. i thank the president and i yeast. -- and i yield the floor. ms. cantwell: i suggest 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: are we in had a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. manchin: i would like to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding o: without objection. mr. manchin: in a famines we're going to be voting to pass

the great american outdoors act. before this bill crosses the finish line, i thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect on all the good work it took to get us to where we are today. this is a labor of love for all of us. whether you're a democrat or a republican, you love it. we all participate in it. we want to pass it on to our children and grandchildren and next generations to come. i'm proud to be joined by every member of the democratic caucus in supporting this the legislation to permanently fund the land and water conservation fund and put money towards the maintenance backlogs and our treasured public lands. i am proud to be working with our republican friends for joining us to support the great american outdoors act. it the truly has been a bipartisanship at its best, and it's something we need so much more of. passing permanent land and water conservation fund authorization last year was an important step. but securing a permanent, dedicated funding source for the

conservation programs funded by the lwcf has been the ultimate goal of the democratic leaders of the senate energy and natural resources committee all the way back to senator jeff bingaman. so it goes back quite a ways. and many other of the senators, democrat and republican, members of the house and both retired and here today have been champions for the lwcf and helped to pave the way to where we are today. within striking distance of realizing a goal of permanent mandatory funding, something we haven't seen the full funding twice in 55 years, and to have it now where it's going to be permanent. and the $21 billion that went down the black hole, that will no longer happen. we'll be able to make sure that the projects in all of our states and in i think almost every county in the country is going to benefit. it's on a personal basis. it truly is a long hard-fought

caucus achievement. i am proud as the ranking member of the senate energy natural resources committee and one of the lead democrats on this bill to be part of getting this legislation done. i have my good friend be, the senator from new mexico, who's worked so hard, senator heinrich, and then we have senator cantwell and we've had senator ron wyden and all who have been former chairs of the committee, ranking members, and on the republican said, all my colleagues there would be speaking on behalf of bringing so many people together. that for so many years it was hard and so it's time has come. it's a testament to the importance of the legislation that has brought so many of us together in support. but something this impactful doesn't happen overnight and it takes time and hard work. i'd like to recognize the work of my colleagues and thank them again. it's been, we had a lot of votes. we had a lot of votes that we

had t to make sure that everybody understood how important and how historic and the timing of something to be able to say that you were in the body, you were able to vote and participate on a piece of legislation that our country, the united states of america, is going to be able to share with every inhabitant we have and all the visitors who come from around the world for years and years and generations to come, that's pretty historic. and to have that happen, i think, is one of the most important things we've done in the conservation world in the last 50 years. so we're very proud of that. 60 of my senate colleagues have cosponsored the great american outdoors act and 20 more joined us last week resulting in strong bipartisan votes to begin consideration of the historic bill. the beauty of our nation's great outdoors truly brings people together. all of us have been able to speak and show you pictures of

our wonderful, beautiful states. this is some of my beautiful pictures from my beautiful state of west virginia. this is the chief river canyon here. anybody who has rafted it, hiked it or been on top and looked down into the beautiful vistas, it's truly as rugged as it looks right here, but it's something gorgeous when you pass through on a raft. really unbelievable. so i appreciate and i would invite everybody to come and visit. we're only a five-hour drive from about half of the population of the united states right here in west virginia. on this is beautiful, this is what we call bear rocks. i have a little, little place right down in the valley area here which i intend to be there this weekend with my family. this is something we enjoy. this is an unbelievable vista here. and again, it's only three hours d.c. by

drive. so we invite you all in west virginia. we love everybody to come visit and enjoy what sometimes we take for granted. but when you have these types of views you can never take that for granted what the good lord gave us all and every one of us have so much to offer. this is an opportunity for us to pass down a legacy for our kids and grandkids and of course generations to come. i believe this will be the most impactful nationwide conservation legislation since the land and water conservation fund was first created over 50 years ago. and what we've seen from the votes over the last week and a half i anticipate we'll see again today. it's a shining example of democrats and republicans coming together to put politics aside to do what is best for the great nation's natural resources. so i would like to say thank you to all of them. i would like to also enter into the record, i have a list of all of my staff that has worked

on this, and i'm sure my friends on the republican side will do the same because there's been a lot of effort put forth. people have worked long nights and long weekends to make this happen. and i've had, i've got david brooks who has been on the committee for over 30 years, who probably knows more about this process. i know he's fretting over, is every word right, every comma in the right place, every dot in the right place. we have confidence in you and sam and renee doing a great job with the committee on the ranking member's side. but every one of them have worked so hard, thank you. god bless each and every one of you for a job well done, it's something we can all take pride in. someone said how was your work in the capitol? we had a great week and today is going to be a culmination of that great week. i want to thank you, mr. puesident, for allowing me to make the comments. i want to make sure we get into the record all the people who deserve the credit. i want to thank my colleagues for being here also.

with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presin mr. gardner: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank my colleague from the great state of west virginia and his work on this over the past many, many years as we have worked on individually the land and water conservation fund and the restore our parks act, his leadership on the energy and natural resources committee, i am grateful to senator manchin for his leadership and friendship. but so many people worked on this torgt. senator burr and the work he did on the land and water conservation fund. senator heinrich, senator warner, senator alexander on the restore our parks act crucial to the success this bill will see today. senator king, cantwell. senators across both sides of the aisle coming together for what one newspaper in colorado described as the holy grail of conservation legislation p. but it's the staff as well. i start with senator daines and

his leadership on the land and water conservation fund restore our parks act, hisff, jason tielman, holly henahosa, mike barber. incredible work by staff members and senator king's office, we were greatly added by morgan cashwell. senator alexander's great team of david cleary, allison martin and anna newton. senator cantwell, mitt ronan. and obviously for the floor time i'm very grateful to senator mcconnell for bringing us to the floor to allow this debate to take place over the last week and a half. and the work that we did to achieve and secure the president's support for the great american outdoors act. senator heinrich, maya herman.

senator burr's staff, in a at -- natasha hickman. on my staff, the outstanding work, ashley higgins, jennifer lorraine and curtis swagger, grateful to of all of them for their work and support. the great american outdoors act is the combination of two things that have congress a long time to be able to pass. in fact, we tried last congress to get it out of the house and we couldn't do it alone on the restore our parks act. we tried and got pieces of the land and water conservation fund done but couldn't get the whole thing until we brought these two bills together. senator manchin, senator burr, senator daines, the whole group of people i mentioned working bipartisan across the aisle to make this happen. the two bills together will help create significant opportunity for all of america. this isn't a bill that just benefits the east or the west. this isn't a bill that just benefits the coastal states or the interior states.

this is a chart that shows the states that benefit from the great american outdoors act, the states that are in green and benefit -- the states that are in green show the benefit of the great american outdoors act. the state in orange are the states that do not get the benefit from the great american outdoors act. there are no states in orange. the entire country from alaska and hawaii to florida and maine, everywhere in between benefits from the great american outdoors act. we know this is going to create jobs across the country. $495 million a year in the land and water conservation fund, for every $1 million invested in the land and water conservation fund supports between 16 and 30 jobs and this bill will assure permanent funding of the fund, $9 million a year, the opportunity to create between 16 and 30 jobs for every $1 million spent. on national parks, you think about the national park economic benefits, in 2018, economic

benefits from national park, visitors spending increased by over $2 billion. if you look at the number of just in colorado alone, we had 7.6 million national park visitors. we had those visitors helped to create 7,000, over 7,000 jobs paying over $258 million in income. and overall we know in bill on the park side alone will over 100,000 jobs, 100,000 jobs in the communities hardest hit by the first waves of the coronavirus, communities that saw their ski areas shut down, their outfitters canceled. this will create jobs and opportunity in colorado, thousands of jobs will be created by this portion of the bill alone. it's been said by some of our greatest advocates that within our national parks is room, glorious room in which to find ourselves, in which to think

and hope, to dream and plan, to rest and resolve. in 1893 katherine visited colorado springs and climbed up pikes peak. looking out over the land, she wrote a poem that we all know very well. she wrote the words beautiful,"s skies and amber waves of grain. she talked about purple mountain majesties. our lands define who we are. our struggleses and triumphs, our homes and futures. from the solemnity of the redwoods, the vastness of the everglades, they inspire us and give us space to dream. in hawaii these lands crack del. in pennsylvania they bear the blood of a nation on the hallowed grounds of gettysburg and flight 93. in colorado they are a testament to prairie and peak, to plateau

and pioneer. from sea to shining sea, our public lands are the story of america. all of these lands, every single acre tell the story of a nation formed out of hope for fairness, justice, equality and freedom. acre after acre that shows our nation's continued struggle to form a more perfect union, a nation never content but committed to learn from the mistakes of the past, to become a better place tomorrow than we are today, and to assure the nation's greatest treasure, our youth, have these lands to learn from, to live with, to prosper on for generations to come. and long after this congress adjourns they will give life to america, these great and wild places. in just a few minutes we will take a vote on a very historic piece of legislation, and i hope that my colleagues will find it within them to vote yes

on this important piece of legislation for generations to come. i know we have another colleague that wishes to speak, and i will yield the floor to him, mr. president. mr. heinrich: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i want to thank my colleague from colorado, and i really want to thank my colleague from west virginia and the incredible team work that has played out here on the united states senate floor. this is a time in our country when we don't always have that kind of teamwork. let's be honest, this has been a year when much of the country has been divided, and yet we've been able to come together around the one thing that truly unites us. and certainly having lived through the last it three months when many people were shuttered in their homes for weeks and weeks at a time, i think it really drove home for many of uw joined by my colleague from

montana as well who did great work on this, that the outdoors is not just a luxury. it's something we need. it also drives home the fact that nothing around here gets done by one single individual or one party. it gets done when we come together. i want to take just a moment and thank senator jeff bingaman who held my seat before i did, who made this a centerpiece of his work while in the senate and plowed the ground that we walk on today. i want to thank all of my staff, especially my herman and leo berarra for their good work. i want to thank senator gardner for recognizing all of our staff, all the good people who made this happen. in new mexico, we have protected such incredible landscapes with the land and

water conservation fund. the area known as new mexico's yellowstone for its hot springs, enormous volcanic plach mountain that would not be in the public trust were it not for the land and water conservation fund. i was proud to work with senator lamar alexander on a bill called every kid outdoors. this is a bill that is going to allow us to make sure that every kid is within walking distance of a neighborhood park. so, mr. president, i'm going to yield back the remainder of my time, but i just hope that all of our colleagues can find it in their heart to support this legislation today and send a strong message to the house of representatives to take this legislation up quickly. i yield back. the presiding officer: under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired.

the clerk will read the title of the bill for the third time. the clerk: calendar number 75, h.r. 1957, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 and so forth. the presiding officer: the question occurs on passage of the bill as amended. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: (

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to change their vote? on this vote, the yeas are 73, the nays are 25. the bill as amended is passed. the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the title amendment

1618 be considered and agreed to and that a motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. 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 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of justin reed walker of kentucky to be united states circuit judge for the district of columbia circuit, signed by 17 senators. 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 nomination of justin reed walker of kentucky to be united states circuit court judge for the district of columbia circuit shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: c

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? on this vote, the yeas are 52, the nays are 46. the motion is disagreed to. cloture havinsenate will proceee session to consider the

following nomination, which the clerk will report. cleric nomination, the -- the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. justin reed walker of kentucky to be united states circuit judge senator the district of columbia circuit. mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, this morning the senate narrowly invoked cloture on the nomination of justin walker to the d.c. circuit. and within the week, the senate is expected to confirm by the thinnest of margins both judge walker and a separate nominee, cory wilson, to the fifth circuit. that fills the final two available seats is on our circuit court. in one case there isn't a vacancy yet, but it's preemptively filling it. and this will complete leader mcconnell's rush to pack our

appellate courts with president trump's nominees. now, i want to speak about this because i've had more experience only because of tenure, on nominations than anybody else in this body. and i note that both judge walker and judge wilson are partisan ideologues who have given no indication that they will leave area that politics outside the courtroom. and this has become par for the course under this president, choosing nominees not for their judicial qualifications, and in spite of any political leanings but because of those partisan leanings. extreme partisanship has become a qualifier, not a disqualifier. it's a prerequisite. now my republican friends may

consider these nominations a -- confirmations a great achievement, however i feel the damage left in the wake of their effort to the courts, to the senate, and to the country is going to remain with us for years to come after most of us have probably left this body. let us consider the backdrop in which we considered these nominees. we are in the throes of a global pandemic. it has taken almost 120,000 american lives, it's plunged our economy into a deep recession, it deprived nearly 45 million americans of their jobs. something i've never seen in my years here in the senate. are we here today considering legislation to further assist americans struggling during this pandemic? absolutely not. indeed, we've done nothing to

respond to covid-19 for months even though the house passed $3 trillion in further assistance last month. and the senate today is not working today to find bipartisan meaning ways to address the playings of -- praition of racial and social inequality, despite the fact that there are age, cedes and colors that flood our streets and protest in the wake of the murder of george floyd. what are we doing to respond as a body? we're busy processing and confirming an endless stream of partisan deletion like justin walker an cory wilson to our federal -- and cory wilson to our federal courts. and i think it has to be noted again that judge walker, who is

a prot shea of senator mcconnell -- protege of senator mcconnell has been nominated to a seat that isn't even vacant until september. it would be one thing if we were coming together in the senate across party lines to confirm mainstream nominees, something we've done so many times in years past, but nothing about judge walker and judge wilson is mainstream. judge walker is not shy about his overt partisanship. he's openly hostile to the affordable care act even though the affordable care act has provided a critical lifeline to millions of americans during this pandemic. he's dangerously suggested that the f.b.i. director, whom we provide with a ten-year term to avoid politicalization must think of himself as an agent of

the president. well, when president trump is is interested in a nominee like him and why people should worry about somebody who would want an f.b.i. director who's supposed to treat everybody the same and just uphold the law should be instead an instrument of whoever is president. and even if we ignore his hyper partisan writings and cable news appearances before he became a district court judge, and that was just last fall, a few months ago, he's already shown he doesn't leave politics at the door when he puts on his robe. even his -- could have been a lead in for the trump campaign rally where he said -- in fear

of losing our courts and country to his critics. these may be the words of judge walker, but they are not the words of any other judge i've ever known, republican, democrat, independent. but this judge wears his partisanship as a badge of honor knowing he will only appeal to a president who knows nothing of the federal judiciary and sadly knowing it will not deter this united states senate from confirming him. judge cory wilson is no better. again, i spoke of the affordable care act which has provided help to millions during the coronavirus epidemic. what does he call it? he calls the affordable care act perverse and illegitimate. golly, how would he vote on that? i wonder if those americans,

republicans and democrats alike, were receiving lifesaving care through the a.c.a. call the law perverse. he has attacked president obama in ugly personal terms, berating him as a fit-throwing teenager, shrill, dishonest and intellectually bankrupt. it's a good attitude to hold when you come to the senate as a federal judge where you're supposed to be impartial. such baseless accusations were laughable when they made them, they are beyond parity today. but judge wilson has a long record underminding minority rights and voter suppression which we saw during the primary

elections, he dismisses that as phony, even though everybody when they are watching the news from right to left see it happening. so what message do these nominees of president trump send to the country in this moment? well, it says that the republicans in the united states senate are fast-tracking nominees who are eager to overturn the affordable care act in the midst of a public health pandemic. they are fast-tracking nominees who are dismissive of racial injustices in the midst of a national reckoning on racial injustices. now, the senate has a constitutional duty to provide advice and consent to a president's nominee. when i came to the senate that meant something. it meant something under both republican leadership and democratic leadership. it meant something to both republican and democratic

presidents. but under this president, that constitutional duty has meant little more than serving as a mindless conveyor belt to elect nominees however extreme and however inappropriate at the moment. and you couldn't have two more inappropriate at a time when we need health care because of coronavirus or so inappropriate at a time when we're trying to do away with the racial tensions and address the racial tensions of our country. and what it says is that we don't believe in our standing as a coequal branch of government in the united states senate -- and the united states senate is willing to have that position as a coqawl branch of government -- coequal branch of government

diminished. the senate has now reshaped our federal courts, especially our appellate courts to resemble an extreme partisan arm of the republican party. for generations americans have valued our judiciary for its independence, a place for all americans of any political party or background, race or belief believe they could obtain fair and impartial justice. that's changing every day under president trump. when i tried cases before federal courts at the district level or the appellate level and the same at state courts at the trial level and the appellate level, i never worried that i come before that court in my political beliefs would in any way affect the outcome or if i thought -- what i thought would affect the outcome would be the facts and the law.

i would see federal courts of appeals i have appeared before, most of the time i had no idea what the political position of -- or political party of the judge is. but today anybody who comes in trying a case or appealing a case has to say no matter what my facts are or no matter what the law is, i have to face a partisan ideology with a judge who is supposed to be nonpartisan. we've seen fair and impartial justice, as i said, changing every day under president trump. but i have to hope that the senate can rediscover its better angles. i hope we can reassert ourselves

as a crucible in which the great issues of the day are debated heatedly or resolved amickably across party lines. i hope the senate will again serve as the conscience of the nation as it has during so many moments of upheaval and uncertainty in our history. today when more than any other time since i've been here when we should be the conscience of the nation, we are keeping that conscience locked up behind closed doors. and i hope that one day soon the senate will again demand, as it has under republican and democrat leadership in the past, demand that a president's judicial nominees are deserving of a lifetime appointment to our

federal courts, possessing the qualifications in temperament, until now, were rarely in question. but now time and time again are in question. i'd ask my colleagues, let's go back to being the united states senate. we owe it to ourselves. we owe it to the constitution. most of all, we owe it to the american people. let the united states senate once again be the conscience of the nation as it should be. i look also at the policing bill that senator scott announced today and senator mcconnell will proceed to next week. i'm still reviewing the text. from the description i heard, the bill may be well intentioned but falls far short of the reforms we need. it mails to meet this moment. that -- fails to meet this moment. it doesn't mean we can't come

together and make it meet this moment. we need more than a rose garden signing of an executive order that has no authority, does nothing except looks good. but millions of americans in both parties are demanding real change. this moment doesn't call for a handful of studies and some grant programs. it calls for fundamental reforms that will ensure accountability and restore trust. it requires a thoughtful debate -- a real debate where we have a real amendment process. let senators stand up and vote yes or no on amendments. let the american people know where they stand. let them take a position. and if our republican leadership won't commit to such a real

debate and such real votes on amendments, a real amendment process, they fail the american people at a critical, critical time. they fail them in favor of partisan politics. each one of us have to cast votes on this floor. some are very routine and easy to do, but so many are monumental where we have to speak to our conscience. we have to speak to our background. we have to speak to who we are. i look at my background as a former prosecutor, i look at my background as one who has served as chairman of the senate judiciary committee, and i look add my background who has listened to democrats and republicans alike in my state. but then i'll call upon my conscience to vote for what is best. don't fail the american people

by having something that feels good and says nice things but doesn't make any change. if there is ever a time america needs changes, we have two crises we see. one is the covid and we're not addressing that. the other is once again every american of all races has to look at racism and policing. we're better than that. and most of our police departments want to be better than that. let us stand up. let the united states senate be the conscience of the nation. again, mr. president, i note we have been in the past.

wouldn't it be nice to be so in the present. 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:

quorum call:

quorum call: