effort because we are all vulnerable and we are all in this together. and i think if we've learned anything, it is a moral necessity. it is a health imperative, it's an economic imperative. it is a matter of great urgency that none of us can afford to ignore and i hope by virtue of today's discussion, we've not only illuminated the topic, but it's moved us to greater action so i can't thank you enough and to our audience, thank you so much for joining us and the message to each of us is to do all this we can in all the ways we can every onward together. >> thank you so much, melanne. >> the u.s. senate is about to gavel in on this earth day, continuing work on anti-asian hate crimes legislation and

11:30 eastern will vote on three amendments to the bill before a vote on passage. next week lawmakers are expected to work on water infrastructure legislation. and now live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, nature speaks of your glory. with every sunrise and sunset, we are reminded of your power

and majesty. lord, we think of you when we watch the birds you guide through the boundless skies with flawless flight. we hear your voice and the patter of the falling rain and the shouts of the thunder, great and marvelous are your works. today, rule in the lives of our lawmakers with the sovereignty you hold over nature. guide our senators with your perfect and trustworthy precepts, bringing joy to their hearts because of your love. we pray in your mighty name. amen.

the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. 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.

rosen rosen mr. president -- ms. rosen: i note the absence of a quorum. president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: are we in a quorum? i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, after nearly two weeks of democrats and republicans working together, the senate is going to take a final vote on the anti-asian hate crimes bill later this morning. the vote today on the anti-asian hate crimes bill is proof that when the senate is given an opportunity to work, the senate can work to solve important issues. in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, asian americans across the country have been a victim of a scourge of discrimination and violence and bigotry. in new york i've attended rally after rally and heard one story after another about asian americans who were afraid to

ride the subway, afraid to go to work, afraid to walk down the streets having to adjust their daily lives for fear of being spat upon, glared at or even worse. this is not an occasional occurrence, it's occurring every day in just about every corner of america. racism has always existed in america unfortunately and the legacy of anti-asian sentiment goes back centuries to dark chapters in our history, like the chinese seclusion act and the internment of japanese citizens during world war ii. we've made great strides since those days, but the forces of hate and bigotry seem to have gained strength, toob often encouraged -- toob often encouraged by our former president. it's time to stand up. by passing this bill, the senate makes it very clear that hate and discrimination against any group has no place in america.

bigotry against one is bigotry against all. and i believe that passage of this bill will send two -- two very important messages. one important message to the asian american community. by passing this bill we say to the asian american community that the government is paying attention to them, has heard their concerns and will respond to protect them. and, second, by passing this bill we'll send a message to the country that should be all too obvious by now. hate crimes will not be tolerated and federal law enforcement will do everything in its power to detect, deter, and if necessary, prosecute crimes to the full extent of the law. so this bill has a one-two punch, to assure the asian american community that we're going after the bigotry against them and to tell the american people, particularly those big

ots, we're going -- bigots, we're going after you. now, yesterday, in a legal way, of course. now, yesterday, we reached an agreement to consider three more republican amendments to the bill before a final vote. the legislation, as is, already includes significant bipartisan input, including modifications from senator collins and bipartisan legislation called the no-hate act developed by senators moran and blumenthal and modified by senator scott of florida. senator warnock has also made sure the bill recognizes the recent tragedy in atlanta in which six women of asian descent were killed. through it all, senators durbin, duckworth, and especially the bill's sponsor, senator hirono, have demonstrated exceptional leadership. the same for representative meng in the house. over the past six years, we have had too few opportunities to work together on timely bipartisan legislation. let this be a reminder that when

senators of goodwill work with each other, at the end of the day, we can achieve a good result. we can do it again in the next few weeks with a bipartisan water infrastructure bill which will be on the floor next week and soon thereafter another bipartisan package of legislation concerning american competitiveness. let's continue the bipartisan momentum as we move into next week, but today i want to thank my colleagues who have worked together to bring this bill to the finish line. i look forward to seeing antiasian hate crimes bill passed by this chamber today and move one step closer to reaching the president's desk. on d.c. statehood, another matter. today the house of representatives will pass a bill granting the district of columbia official statehood. i applaud my house democratic colleagues for taking this important step towards recognizing the full citizenship of more than 700,000 residents

of the district of columbia. this is a matter of just representation. our system of government is designed to give everyone in our country a voice in forging their own destiny. most citizens do that by voting for members of congress and senators from their states to represent them in this temple of democracy. to advocate for their interests, to voice their concerns. the district of columbia has more residents than vermont and wyoming, and nearly the same as delaware, alaska, and several other states, and they bear the full responsibilities and duties of citizenship by presidents in all those other states. d.c. residents can be summoned for jury duty. they have served in every war since the american revolution. and they pay federal income taxes just like residents from every other state. you can learn from any license plate -- you can learn that from any license plate outside this building. and yet they are denied real representation in congress.

in the words d.c. borrowed from the founding fathers, taxation without representation. sadly, the debate over d.c. statehood has taken a rather dark turn. some of my colleagues on the other side, rather than fashion any argument on the merits, have taken to denigrating the base worth of residents of the district of columbia. a part of our country that's 47% african american. one member of the minority party went so far as to say lawmakers should be -- should, quote, go out where the real people are across the country and ask them what they think about d.c. statehood. get out to where the real people are. bigotry. bigotry. bigotry. i shouldn't have to remind my colleagues that it's shockingly inappropriate to imply that lives and occupations and rights of d.c. residents are somehow less than their fellow citizens in other, more real,

quote-unquote, and almost always more white parts of the country. we all know that the minority party opposes d.c. statehood because it fears giving political power and representation to american citizens that they might not vote for republicans. it smacks of the effort going on right now in republican legislatures all across the country to pass laws that are overwhelmingly make it harder for minorities, poor americans, and younger americans to vote. the far right, the hard right, which seems to be so dominant in the party on the other side, is so afraid of losing political power and so unwilling to appeal to anyone that doesn't already agree with them that their strategy has become to restrict voting rights and deny equal representation in congress to thousands of -- to hundreds of thousands of americans. so d.c. statehood, unfortunately, is part of a continuing thread of not allowing people their right to

vote, to representation. it seems to be growing in the republican party, particularly here in the senate and throughout -- and in legislatures throughout the country, unfortunately. self-government, voting rights, these are not democratic rights. these are not republican rights. they are american rights. they are issues of fairness and democracy. it's not about right and left. it's about right and wrong. d.c. statehood is an idea whose time has come. now, on climate. this year's celebration of earth day comes with an ambitious new goal from the biden administration. the united states should aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade. it's a great goal. i fully support it. not only is president biden finally returning the united states to a position of global leadership in the fight against cliemtion, but he is showing that america is ready to ramp up

our climate ambition beyond, beyond the paris agreement. now, it will take extraordinary action to meet the markers that president biden laid down, but he was exactly right to do it. if we need any reminders about what america can achieve when it puts its mind to something, president kennedy committed to landing on the moon over the course of a single decade. if america could reach that lofty goal in the name of ingenuity, in the name of exploration, surely we can achieve this goal in the name of saving the planet on which we live. now, i believe the best way to achieve this ambitious goal, the best way to achieve this ambitious goal is through bold action by this congress, through legislation, to reduce carbon pollution while creating millions of jobs and economic prosperity in a new clean energy economy.

any legislation without a serious and bold climate component will make it much, much harder to achieve president biden's goal, and we must work to have a strong green climate component in the american jobs plan. the democratic majority here in the senate is eager to get to work. one of the very first things i did when democrats took the majority was to instruct every committee chair, the new committee chairs, to hold hearings on the climate crisis, to begin preparing for landmark legislation. i repeat once again that any infrastructure bill we consider here in the senate must include green infrastructure, create green jobs, and make significant progress towards the reduction of greenhouse gases. and luckily, madam president, the senate will have an opportunity to address another serious climate-related issue next week. the senate will consider a congressional review act bill

before the end of the work period to reimpose critical regulations concerning the relief of methane into our atmosphere. methane gets less attention than its big, bad brother carbon dioxide, but in truth methane is like carbon dioxide on steroids. over 20 years, a ton of methane will warm the atmosphere more than 86 times as much as a ton of carbon dioxide. but because it breaks down much faster than carbon dioxide, the gains we make in the reduction of methane emissions can reduce global warming even faster. many of the things we need to do to reduce methane emissions are fairly cheap and cost-effective, like plugging leaks in fossil fuel infrastructure. so this makes common sense especially when our globe is at risk and the bomtion had instituted these commonsense rules of the road to encourage that sort of activity. it was widely supported even by

industry. the trump administration, so typically and so unfortunately reversed those rules in an act of pure idiocy. the senate democratic majority will soon put a bill on the floor to revert back to the original policy which should never have been tampered with in the first place. reducing methane emissions will be only the first of many actions this senate will take to combat climate change. and one final issue, madam president. it's come to my attention that president biden intends to have the united states formally recognize the armenian genocide, becoming the first sitting u.s. president to do so. great news. it's a long time coming and a step that i have called on presidents of both parties to take. each year, i gather with armenian americans in times square to commemorate the annual anniversary of this atrocity, and every year, my heartbreaks for the victims of the genocide and their descendants.

there are very few left but some very elderly people are sitting in the audience each year reminding us how painful and how real that genocide was. the turkish government's idea of saying there was no genocide just defies history. i've seen the victims. i've talked to the victims. and so saturday, which marks the 106th anniversary of the armenian genocide, and i am so relieved, grateful, and moved that we can finally commemorate the anniversary with the knowledge that the government of the united states, led by president joe self robinette biden, has recognized the truth of the armenian genocide at last. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: madam president, yesterday i mentioned that the d.n.a. of the far-left green new deal is all over president biden's spending bills. it wasn't just my opinion. it was the verdict of our colleague, the junior senator from massachusetts. today the president is scheduled to meet virtually with a group of the world's leaders on

climate policy. his agenda reportedly is to encourage them to expand their country's paris climate agreement commitments to meet even more ambitious emissions goals. the problem, of course, which our colleagues no doubt remember is the hollowed commitments the countries made back in 2015 carry no serious means for enforcement. under the last administration, even from outside this agreement, the u.s. economy proved more than capable of meaningfully reducing co2 emissions. but many of the signatories within the supposed deal have largely ignored their stated commitments and continue to emit with reckless abandon. as the biden administration climate envoy john kerry once lamented, quote, most countries are not getting the job done and living up to paris, end quote.

china, for example, has just kept emitting more and done it shamelessly. their share of greenhouse gas emissions is now nearly double, double that of the united st states. on a recent trip to shanghai, kerry tried to echo president biden's encouragement on emissions reduction. but the kid gloves approach didn't seem too successful. china's vitaminster for foreign affairs said, quote, i'm afraid that is not very realistic. a direct quote from the chinese government. democrat zeal for imposing costly environmental agendas on our own country is not something our biggest competitors seem to share. if that's true, our colleagues could inflict as many painful policies on american workers and american industries as they want and still not achieve a significant change in worldwide elitions -- emissions or global

temperatures. the cost of these misplaced pray yrts -- priorities is already hitting americans hard. remember, revoking permitting for the keystone xl pipeline and killing thousands of jobs was a day one priority for this new administration. now their so-called infrastructure plan would aim at completely decarbonizing our electric grid which means hurting our coal and natural gas industries and putting good-paying american jobs into the shredder. borrowing money in order to kill jobs. now there's a concept. meanwhile, a mountain of red tape would keep public works projects smothered, literally smothered in endless environmental reviews. and their plan would thrust the west coast obsession with electric vehicles on to the entire nation. on to rural school districts, on to industries, whether they like

it or not. next week president biden is set to address the joint session of congress for the first time. i expect we'll hear more claims like the ones that have been debunked by fact-checkers that all this green new deal d.n.a. would actually create a lot of american jobs. fact-checkers are debunking that claim. but even the most favorable analysis, even the administration's favorite projections suggest the president's plan would be terrible, just terrible at creating jobs. the rosiest numbers you could come up with suggest it might cost american taxpayers more than $800,000 for every job it might create. more than $800,000 per job. and i believe economists have calculated the plan's long-term effects on g.d.p., capital stocks and hourly wages would

all be negative. so let me say that again. these multiple trillions ever dollars would buy us less g.d.p., less investment, and lower wages. it almost takes talent to craft something that completely disastrous. so this is quite a one-two punch. requests of our foreign adversaries and maximum pain for american citizens. now, on another matter, earlier this week, the democratic leadership of the judiciary committee convened a hearing with the embarrassing title of jim crow 2021. it was the latest effort to use shocking rhetoric to distract from the specific details of actual voting laws in states like georgia. amazingly, one of our democratic colleagues testified before the committee that people actually shouldn't bother combing through

the specifics of the law. don't bother reading the actual law. he subjected that, quote, narrow analysis only obscures the larger unmistakable picture. put another way, the facts deflate the narrative. misrepresentations of georgia's election law have been debunked by fact-checkers. the real unmistakable picture is that the bill would expand early voting and make no changes to current election-day hours, none. ironically, democrats' own star witness at this week's hearing once sponsored and supported an earlier effort that would have cut early voting days in georgia in half. the facts puncture the left's big lie. much of this overheated rhetoric seems like simple projection. because there is indeed a piece of legislation that would create a stunning one-party takeover of voting laws and elections in our

country. and that would be washington democrats' darling h.r. 1. this is a bill that was first introduced back in 2019 with many democrats still in denial that a republican had won the white house in 2016. it was marketed at that time as a wholesome transformation designed to salvage a broken democracy. but now that democrats got an election outcome they liked better in 2020, what is essentially a xerox copy of the same overhaul is now being marketed, oh, as a modest step, just a modest step to maintain the status quo. the first sales pitch was actually more honest. this 800-plus-page takeover would give washington democrats unprecedented control over 50 states' election laws, over a newly -- listen to this -- a

newly partisan federal election commission, over policing america's political speech. that's what it would do. now, democrats know that the same senate rules they happily used for the last six years will not make it easy to launch this awful proposal. so this is another important piece in their plan. they're aiming the same wild rhetoric at the senate's own rules, that our rules -- at our rules here in the senate. the legislative filibuster which senior democrats have loudly and proudly defended in the past which democrats used repeatedly in recent years all of a sudden has become an offensive and outdated relic overnight. isn't it amazing how this new awakening only happened when democrats felt they had a chance to retake the majority. the american people can see right through this. nobody is fooled. nobody is fooled by their

desperation to rewrite 50 states' election laws or the campaign to pack the supreme court or the attempt to pack the senate with new blue states. rewriting the rules of american politics to exclusively benefit one side, their side. that was democrats' false charge in georgia, but it's exactly what they're trying to do in this capitol on a national scale. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is now closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of s. 937 which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 13, s. 937, a bill to facilitate the expedited review of covid-19 hate crimes and for other

purposes. mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the order be executed with respect to the reporting of the three amendments under the consent agreement. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the amendments by number. the clerk: the senator from texas, mr. cruz, opposes -- poses an amendment 1456 to amendment numbered 1445. the senator from kentucky mr. mcconnell for mr. lee proposes an amendment numbered 1425 to amendment number 1445. mrs. blackburn proposes an amendment numbered 1458 to amendment numbered 1445. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. durbin: madam president.

the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: i ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: today is earth day, our nation's annual largest civic event, more than one billion people and 192 nations are expected to participate in activities to draw attention to the urgency of climate crisis and environmental degradation. from the south side of chicago to south america and south asia, ordinary citizens, school children, scientists, environmental activists, business and government leaders and others are calling for help to our ailing planet. this year the most important earth day gathering is just 14 blocks from where we meet at the white house today. president biden is hosting a two-day virtual summit of leaders from 40 nations. leaders from the highest emitting countries, china,

india, russia, as well as leaders from countries that suffer the worst consequences, bangladesh and kenya. the leaders are coming together after a year of staggering pandemic hardship and climate-related crises to renew their commitment to save our planet from irreversible climate catastrophe. with this earth day's leader summit, president biden is sending the world a clear message. the united states is back and is ready to be a leader again in combating climate change. the white house leader's summit is to encourage countries to make strong commitments under the paris agreement to reduce the global temperature from one and a half celsius above preindustrial levels. it sounds technical and dry and wonky. here's what it means, at one and

a half degree celsius warming, there will be sea-level rise that swallows coastlines, leaves millions of homes under water and produces climate catastrophe. hundreds of millions of people will be pushed into poverty because of this. and climate-related famine and conflicts would trigger a global refugee crisis, worse than anything we've ever seen. that's the future if we do nothing. that is something we must avoid. and the united states needs to show leadership. president biden does that today with this meeting. one of his first official acts as president on the first full day in office was starting the process of recommitting the united states to join every nation in the world in the paris agreement. if you will remember, the previous president decided that america would step away from

that. at the white house leaders' summit, the president will announce a new goal to reduce u.s. gas emissions by 50% by the year 2030. the biden administration's leadership stands in sharp contrast to what we've seen over the last four years. we saw a president withdraw from the paris agreement, ridicule science at every opportunity, continue the existence of a growing climate threat and even censor the remarks of government scientists that might suggest otherwise. fortunately the disengagement by the previous administration didn't prevent the american people, scientists, real business leaders and entrepreneurs, cities and states from ignoring president trump and moving ahead. there's no substitute, though, for leadership at the top. the american jobs plan, which president biden plans to pass,

and i hope there's support, is a plan to support global economic leadership, strengthen america's working families and build the infrastructure of the future we can count on. the american jobs plan, of course, will rebuild america's crumbling raillines, roads, bridges, port systems, strengthen america's power grid and invest in 5g broadband. the previous president promised it, didn't deliver. this president wants to deliver with our help. i heard those on the floor who then criticized that part of the american jobs plan which goes further. the president -- president biden also wants to invest in green energy, wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. to hear that described by some of his republican critics, it's just pure socialism. socialism. it's a realistic response to the

21st century challenge of climate change. he includes billions of dollars to retrain any workers who are dislocated if they work in the fossil fuel industry and to find better, well-paying jobs with a future in clean energy and other fields. just this week the president of the united mine workers of america, a sixth generation west virginian coal miner announced that his union would support president biden's american jobs plan in exchange for training his coal miners and how they can be effective and also have good jobs and a cleaner energy future. that union understands clean energy. most americans do. i hope senators on both sides of the aisle will. american business gets it. i've introduced two bills that would bring efficiency and innovation of the marketplace and the federal clout of the

federal government to create a more sustainable economy that works for the people and the planet. my bills are called the america's clean future fund act and the climate change resiliency for america fund act. we talked about investing in america infrastructure so we could tackle climate change and create new jobs and the industries of the future. but i want to make it clear, our highest priority is to create those jobs right here in america. i hope my colleagues will work with us and won't filibuster the president's efforts to move our economy forward in a dramatic way. we can't afford denial, defeatism, and we can't afford people who say it's too late to do anything about the climate disaster. we owe it to our children, grandchildren, and future generations to do everything in our power to save this planet from what is obviously coming our way.

safe, effective vaccines have brought us so far in fighting this pandemic. we've developed in the short period of time under this president not only the vaccines but also their delivery and administration to the people of our country at a rate no one ever expected. the research that led to this was good scientific research, technology was developed called messenger r.n.a. and it worked. the basic science that led to the discovery of r.n.a. was largely funded by american taxpayers by local programs and a -- applied to the private industry with great success. because of our belief in science, people's lives are being saved in the united states and around the world. imagine solutions we can find to power provide ant public partnerships to address climate change.

the first earth day was 51 years ago. it was proposed by a senator from wisconsin named gaylord nelson. it brought 20 million americans together at the time, put preservation of our planet on the national agenda and ushered in a decade of remarkable environmental progress. that decade saw the creation of some of our most important protections of clean air and water. ten years later gaylord nelson looked back on that first earth day and the decade that followed. his words bear repeating today and this is what he said. so long as the human species inhabits the earth, proper management of its resources will be the most fundamental issue we face. our very survival will depend on whether or not we're able to preserve, defend and protect our environment. madam president, we're not free to decide about whether or not our environment matters. it does matter.

apart from politics, it is fundamental to survival. we disregard the needs of our ecosystem at our mortal peril. that was the lesson of earth day and it should never be forgotten. madam president, i ask that the following statement be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, this morning we're going to take up the covid-19 hate crimes act that senator hirono and senator duckworth bring before us. in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, we have unfortunately witnessed an appalling rise in hate incidents targeting the asian american or pacific islander community. the numbers are shocking. between march 2020 and february february 2021, the stop aapi hate initiative documented 3,800 hate incidents in the united states and a recent analysis by

the center for the study of hate and extremism. found that while hate crimes in 16 of the largest american cities decreased overall by 7% in 2020, those targeting asian americans increased by nearly 150%. our friends and neighbors in the aapi community are facing an urgent, imminent threat. it's time to do something about it. that's why i'm proud to support the covid-19 hate crimes act supported by -- this will provide state and local law enforcement with guidance and tools to track and address hate crimes an hate incidents. i'm grateful for the bipartisan support which senator collins and others have brought to the bill to strengthen it. these efforts include senator -- critical legislation that will

improve hate crime reporting and expand assistance and resources for victims of hate crime. there's so much more we can do and should do to address the broader issue of domestic terrorism, identified by the director of the f.b.i. as one of the gravest threats to security in our country. that's why i introduced the domestic prevention terrorism act this year and i will continue with my efforts to they stand legislation to the president's desk. today we have an opportunity to come together, democrats and republicans, americans, and support our friends, our siblings and our fellow americans in the aapi community. millions of americans count on us to do that. let's show them that we can. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i'm honored to follow our

distinguished judiciary committee chairman and whip, senator durbin, who has fought so hard for the principles and values that are embody in the -- embodied in the no-hate bill which is part of the legislation and it is, indeed, bipartisan that hopefully we will pass today. the fact is that this august marks two excruciatingly sad anniversaries. it will be four years since heather hyer was killed when a white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of peaceful protest he's and five years since colleague jabara was shot and killed on his own front porch by his neighbor an avowed racist. the temptation is to get lost in

the numbers and statistics about hate crimes. and make no mistake, these statistics are horrifying, especially the surge in hate crimes directed against asian americans and pacific islanders. the f.b.i. reported just over 7,300 hate crimes in 2019. the department of justice's bureau of justice statistics estimate that there were an average of 198,000 hate crimes in 2017. hate crimes are baffling. one of the objectives of the no-hate bill is to spur greater reporting so we know the horrifying dimension, the magnitude of this problem, and we can better fashion solutions

to fight them. but what is most important to remember about each of these 198,000 incidents is that they involve real people, real community, lives torn apart, communities torn asunder, in the most heartbreaking cases, they involve real lives that are lost forever, real families who will never see their loved ones again. the no-hate bill that the senate is considering today is named for two of he those people, heather heyer and khalid jabara. in just a few moments, i'd like to spend this time on the senate floor honoring them and their families. we are here because of them. heather heyer was

counterprotesting the unite the right rally in charlottesville, virginia, on august 12, 2019, when she was murdered by a white supremacist who purposefully ran his car into a crowd of protesters, also injuring 19 other people. heather is remembered as a young woman with a big heart. she devoted her life for the fight for justice and equality. the foundation named in her honor notes that, quote, heather was a young woman deeply involved in taking a stand against injustice when she didn't have to do so, who spoke passionately about what she believed in. she was just 32 years old when she was murdered.

khalid jabara was shot on the steps of his own home, his family's home in tulsa, oklahoma, by a neighbor who had been harassing the jabara family for months. that family had come to america to flee civil war and religious persecution in lebanon, only to be terrorized here hardaway their racist, murderous next-door neighbor. khalid is remembered for his sense of humor and unfailing devotion to his family. quote, he cared for our entire family, our friends, and people he didn't even know. he created every jabara family joke and filled their lives with love and laughter, end quote. jabara was 37 years old when he was murdered.

today's vote honors the memory of those two individuals. and the thousands of other individuals who have been victims of similar hate crimes, un-american, abhorrent, unacceptable. today we make a statement that we will not accept those kinds of hate crimes in america, and i'm grateful to the entire jabara family and to susan breaux, heather's mother, for their unfailing devotion to ending hate and their courageous advocacy in support of the no-hate act. and i will also want to thank my partner in this legislation, senator moran of kansas. we would not be here today without his support and bipartisan opposition on this bill. there will always be hateful

people who want to lash out violently at the world. they will lash out at muslims, at jews, at african americans, at asian americans, at pacific islanders. america is above it. america is better than they are, and we owe heather heyer, khalid jabara and every other victim of hate crimes from the orlando nightclub massacre to the shooting in el paso this kind of action that we are taking today. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: today we are wrapping up consideration of the covid-19 hate crimes act. next week, the majority leader has indicated the senate will take up the drinking water and waste water infrastructure act

of 2021. these are both bipartisan pieces of legislation. the covid-19 hate crimes act was an initially partisan bill that has now been improved by input from republicans and i expect will receive strong bipartisan support on final passage. the drinking water and waste water infrastructure act has been 100% bipartisan from the very beginning. senators duckworth and capito developed this legislation along with democrat senators carper and cardin and republican senators lummis and cramer. the legislation went through regular committee consideration, was reported out of the environment and public works committee with the full senate with a unanimous vote. it's a model of how we should work here in the senate. mr. president, after a very partisan start to this congress, the democrats and the president steam rolling through a massive partisan covid bill packed with non-covid-related priorities, it's encouraging to see the senate working the way it should. senators from both parties

talking, negotiating, coming together to work out legislation that both parties can support. it's particularly encouraging to see the drinking water and waste water bill, a bipartisan effort from start to finish, and a too-rare example of legislation that went through the committee process which should be our goal for most bills in the senate. mr. president, i hope this trend will continue. democrats want to take up the infrastructure legislation in the future, a goal that republicans support. what we don't support is democrats will have to shove through another massive partisan bill, this time on infrastructure, using reconciliation rules to ensure republicans don't have a voice in the legislation. the senate was designed to promote moderation and census. it was intended to be a check on the more partisan or as the founders would put it factious house of representatives. and the senate fulfills its constitutional role best when it engages in serious bipartisan

consideration and negotiation, ensures that members of both parties are heard. this is the framework we should adopt for infrastructure. i'm encouraged by president biden's decision to meet with republicans to discuss infrastructure legislation. republicans have now met with the president at least twice and more meetings are expected. i anticipate meeting with the president and other senators soon to discuss broadband infrastructure priorities. i hope we can reach bipartisan agreement on priorities in this area, including closing the digital divide by increasing broadband access in rural america and removing obstacles to digital infrastructure deployment. i know it can be done. when i served as chairman of the commerce committee, for example, we passed bipartisan legislation that reduced the red tape associated with building broadband networks. i introduced bipartisan legislation to accelerate 5g infrastructure deployment. there was a lot of bipartisan

agreement to be found on infrastructure in general. congress has a history of bipartisan collaboration on infrastructure legislation. our last major infrastructure bill, the fast act, went through regular order in several committees, including the one i led at the time, and was supported by both democrats and republicans. and it was a remarkably successful bill. not long thereafter, our committee spearheaded enactment of the largest reauthorization of the f.a.a. since the early 1980's. including critical programs to improve airport infrastructure. last congress, the environment and public works committee here in the senate developed bipartisan infrastructure legislation, and there is no reason, mr. president, that we shouldn't reach bipartisan agreement on another substantial piece of infrastructure legislation. senator capito and other republicans will be releasing a republican proposal today that

will indicate a lot of bipartisan infrastructure priorities. i hope after she releases this proposal, democrats and republicans will be able to sit down and engage in serious negotiation on our two plans. mr. president, our founders established a democratic republic instead of a pure democracy because they wanted to balance majority rule with protection for minority rights. they knew that majorities could be tyrants and so they wove protection for minority rights into our system of government. and the senate, mr. president, was one of those protections. that's why we should be preserving rules like the filibuster which ensures that the minority party and the many americans it represents has a voice in legislation. so it's always important that the minority party's voice be heard and the senate engage in bipartisan negotiation and discussion. but it should be especially

obvious that into 50-50 senate, any major legislation should be bipartisan. one thing is for sure. it's that a 50-50 senate is not a mandate for one side to force through its agenda unchecked. it is absurd for senate democrats or house democrats to pretend they have a mandate for a partisan revolution. and you yet much of the legislan that they have been pushing since taking office appears to have been drafted by members of the extreme left left wing of their party. mr. president, in his inauguration address, president biden appeared to recognize the bipartisan character of his mandate and his obligation to work with members of both parties and promote unity in the country. unfortunately, to date, his administration has not delivered on that promise of bipartisan leadership. but as i said, i'm encouraged that it appears he may be changing that when it comes to

infrastructure, and i hope senate and house democrats will follow his lead. the ball is in democrats' court. we can pass a substantial bipartisan infrastructure bill. or democrats can continue down the extremely partisan path that they have been pursuing for the sake of our country, mr. president, i hope they will choose bipartisanship. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: thank you. i thank my colleagues who have worked diligently to enhance the legislation that we are considering here on the floor this morning. i commend them for their work that they put into this effort. i had an amendment that has been included in a vote that we're going to take here momentarily.

a no-hate amendment. i'd like to speak just a few minutes about this topic. i will limit my remarks to speaking in support of the amendment's language which simply seeks to collect better data on hate crimes under existing statutes. we know that crimes committed against specific groups have increased in recent years. anti-semitic attacks, for example, hit a record high in 2019. but there are gaps in the knowledge, our knowledge of how prevalent these crimes truly are. the language included in this amendment based on the no-hate act introduced by senator blumenthal has bipartisan support in this chamber and for its companion in the house. it would establish incentives for state and local law enforcement to submit credible and complete hate crime reports, create grants for state-run hate crime hotlines, require the department of justice to collect and analyze data on hate crimes and allow judges to require community service or educational programs for individuals convicted under existing statutes.

i'd also take a moment to express my gratitude to senator rick scott for working to help improve the text, and that improvement is also found in this amendment. kansans kansans have been personally touched by incidents during my time in the senate n. 2014 a neo-nazi killed three at the jewish community center? greater kansas city and a jewish retirement home, both in oakland park. in late 2016, the f.b.i. thwarted a bomb plot against an apartment complex housing somalia immigrants in garden city. and the following year, a man shot two indian immigrants killing one at a restaurant in kansas after shouting, get out of my country. these were high profile, well publicized incidents of hate. it is important that the incidents which do not gain broad attention nevertheless recorded properly so the department of justice can properly analyze the data. a bipartisan group of attorney generals for 35 states and territories, including kansas

attorney genderric smith have endorsed the no hate act. it's backed by the national district attorneys association. no statute utes are -- statutes are expanded. it will allow for state and local entities to voluntarily seek grants to better provide data on specific crimes in their jurisdictions and give judges flexibility in sentencing violent offenders. i condemn the recent attacks on asian americans and assaults on minorities are an assault on our nation's creed of e pluribus unum e pluribus unum, out of one -- e pluribus unum, out of many, one. that is what our country is, out of many, one. tit tears at the fabric of our nation but out of many crimes, it is time we speak as one. to condemn the perpetrators and their ideology, to support the communities that live in fear despite all -- that all of us, all of us are made in god's own

image. committed to unifying principles our diversity is our country's strength. we continue to strive to make a more perfect union. this amendment is about a -- is but a small step in that direction. i urge my colleagues to support the amendment. i yield. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. kaine: mr. president, i rise because it is a historic day. it's a historic day because the house is scheduled to pass h.r. 51, the washington, d.c. admissions act and my original intent was to speak about that. but before i do, i want to honor my colleagues who have worked very hard on the hate crimes legislation that we will tackle later today. i want to thank senators hirono and duckworth and senator collins for working with them. i want to thank senators blumenthal and moran and all of the senators who have worked to get us at the threshold where we will do something bipartisan that will send comfort to people around the country who are

worried about being targeted because of who they are. and in honor of my colleagues who've worked hard, i just want to tell you a story about heather heyer, for whom the act was partially named. she was culled 32 -- killed, 32 years old. i went to heather's funeral. and let me tell you this amazing story about heather heyer. heather was a waitress and she saw an ad in the newspaper to apply to be a paralegal at a local law firm specializing in bankruptcy. charlottesville attorney, african american man had a bankruptcy firm, needed a paralegal, put an ad in the paper, got a lot of applications. and he got this application from heather heyer. the other applicants had paralegal degrees. heather heyer was a way tret who didn't have a paralegal degree but something about the letter made him think he at least lad

to talk to this person. he better viewed the paralegals and then heather heyer. he was struck by her personality. he said look, i'm interviewing for people to be a paralegal. you don't have a break ground this this. why do you think you can do this job? she said because i'm a waitress, i listen to people all day long. i want to tell but some of my customers, the elderly widower who comes in every tuesday for lunch. i know his order and i know how to converse him to lighten his mood. she went on to describe some of the people in the restaurant that she had served for years. and then she looked at this attorney and said, you're a bankruptcy lawyer. the people who come to you are hurting. they need to be listened to. they're worried about losing everything. i think you couldn't do better than to hire somebody who has made a specialist out of listening to other people. he said, well, you may not have a degree but you've answered that in a wonderful way and i'm going to hire you. he hired heather.

she ended up as he described at her funeral service kind of becoming like the office den mother, manager, et cetera, who was so good dealing with clients who were so very worried when they came to see him. one night after she had been working with him for a while, she worked late and left the office. as they left the office, heather's relatively new boyfriend was waiting outside. heather introduced him to her boss. the next day the attorney noticed that heather wasn't her normal, talkative self. she wasn't in a very good mood. at the end of the day, he said to her, heather, is something wrong? and she said yes, i broke up with my boyfriend last night. and he said, well, i just met him last night outside the office. he seemed like a wonderful guy. and she said, well, i thought he was a wonderful guy. but when he saw that i was working for a black man, he started to criticize me for t that. and i had no choice but to break

up with him. that is heather heyer. that's the woman that we're honoring in passing the no hate amendment as part of the hate crimes bill today. and i appreciate my colleagues for including her in the no hate amendment that will be part of this bill. our colleagues in the house today are acting on h.r. 51, and there's an equivalent bill s. 51, the washington, d.c. admissions act. and as somebody who represents a state just a few miles from d.c., i didn't want to let this historic day pass without saying a word about it. the bill would, as everyone knows, make washington, d.c. the nation's 51st state. i'm proud to serve as an original cosponsor of the senate version led by my colleague senator carper. the bill was introduced earlier this year after many previous efforts with a record number of cosponsors, and i'm proud to say that statehood for d.c. is enjoying the largest support in years. the right to vote is the

cornerstone of our american democratic society through free and fair elections, ordinary citizens choose the leaders and direction of our country yet some 712,000 residents of the nation's capital do not enjoy the right fully. for too long virginia neighbors in d.c. have been denied their civil rights and subject to taxation without full representation in congress, which is a founding principle of our nation. virginians love history. so on may 29, 1765, patrick henry gave his famous speech before the virginia house of burgesses encouraging the passage of the five resolutions commonly referred to as the virginia resolves to address the stamp act. the act that was passed the following day included four of his resolves. everybody remembers the stamp act of 1765 levied an unfair tax on american colonies on paper goods, newspapers, pamphlets,

legal documents. the crown was worried about the content of those documents. so they levied the tax. with his first resolve, henry declared that virginians should be entitled to, quote, all the liberties, privileges, franchise, and immunities, close quote, that other british subjects enjoyed. he wanted for virginians the same rights enjoyed by people living in britain, thousands of miles away. well, mr. president, i can't help but notice the pair rel -- pair rel -- parell. we are not thousands of miles away. just across the potomac river or just over the border in maryland, hundreds of thousands of american citizens don't enjoy the same, quote, liberties, privileges, franchises, and immunities as those in virginia, maryland, or other states. in his third resolve, patrick henry stated, quote, the

taxation of the people by themselves or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them who can only know what taxes the people can bear or the easiest method of raising them and must make themselves be affected by every tax laid upon the people is the only security against burdensome taxation and the distinguishing characteristic of british freedom without which the ancient constitution cannot exist. to date, d.c. pays more in federal taxes per capita than any state. its residents pay more in federal taxes per capita than any state and more total federal taxes than 22 states yet for more than 200 years the people of washington, d.c. have been denied what patrick henry urged on the virginia house of burgesses as a reason for american independence. d.c. not only pays more capital federal taxes than any state, it's also subject to a higher degree of congressional

regulation of its internal affairs than any other state. so it is both taxed and overregulated without representation. d.c. meepts the two criteria that have always been the test of admission to the union. population and demonstrated desire by the population for statehood. congress used to establish minimum required populations for statehood. the in order west ordinance of 1787 for example incorporated territories into the united states and the upper midwest and allowed that they could become states once their population exceeded 60,000. well, there's no statutory minimum today. all would acknowledge that d.c. because it has a larger population in both -- than both wyoming and vermont and is close to the population of the two dakotas is sufficiently sizable to be a state. and d.c. has demonstrated its desire to be a state over and over again by popular referendum, most recently in 2016, a statehood referendum was

supported by 86% of d.c. residents. so d.c. meets the traditional test for statehood. its people are both taxed and regulated by a congress that does not include representatives who can advocate on their behalf. finally, mr. president, i support adding a 51st start to -- star to the american flag because it would show we're still a thriving nation. we haven't added a state in nearly 70 years. this is the longest period in american history without adding a state. adding d.c. as a state will show the world that america is still a confident and growing nation with our best days ahead of us, not a fixed inward and static nation with our best days behind us. so with that i stand here today to call on my colleagues in the senate to give full and fair consideration to h.r. 51 which will pass today and s. 51 and provide the more than 700,000 residents of our nation's capital the full and equal citizenship that patrick henry demanded in 1775 and that the

rest of the country enjoys today. with that, mr. president, i yield. ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to speak for five minutes as well as senators hirono and cotton for five minutes each prior to the order for 11:30 a.m. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise to speak in support of senate amendment 1445 that senator hirono and i have introduced. i want to begin by thanking my colleague from hawaii for working with me on this amendment and acknowledge her leadership. i also want to thank senators

grassley, blumenthal, moran, and warnock for their contributions as well. mr. president, crimes motivated by bias against race, national origin, or other characteristics simply cannot be tolerated. our amendment both denounces these acts and marshals additional resources toward addressing and stopping these despicable crimes. the amendment that the senator from hawaii and i are offering today will improve the underlying bill in a number of key ways while it affirms our steadfast commitment to stand with the asian american pacific islander community against all forms of violence and

harassment. first our amendment strongly condemns the hate crimes targeting the aapi community. in the past year stop aapi hate reported nearly 3,800 cases after anti-asian discrimination. the center for the study of hate and extremism found that reporting of anti-asian hate crimes increased by 145% in 16 major cities, even though hate crimes declined in these cities overall. racially motivated discrimination and violence should never be tolerated. i want to thank senator grassley and senator warnock for their contributions to this section of our amendment. second, the hirono-collins

amendment directs the attorney general to assign a point person at the department of justice to expedite the review of these hate crimes and requires the attorney general to issue guidance to state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners about how to address them. our amendment would also improve data collection and expand public awareness about hate crimes in ways -- and ways to support victims. with better information, we can help prevent these crimes before they occur and assist law enforcement in bringing the perpetrators to justice. third, our amendment incorporates the jabara-heyer no-hate act authored by senators blumenthal and moran. this bipartisan bill, which i cosponsored, provides state and

local and law enforcement agencies with additional tools and resources to understand, identify and report hate crimes. it provides grants to state and local governments through training and for using the f.b.i.'s national hate crimes database to create reporting hotlines and to support community engagement around prevention and services for victims. this is important because far too many hate crimes go unreported. and without data, it's difficult to investigate and prosecute them. again, let me thank the senator from hawaii for her leadership on this amendment. i enjoyed working with her to strengthen and improve the bill and i urge my colleagues to support it. in doing so, we can send an

unmistakably strong signal that crimes targeting asian americans and pacific islanders in our country will not be tolerated. thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: our nation is in the midst of an historic crime wave that's affecting americans every background and walk of life. this surge of violence includes a rise of hate crimes against our fellow citizens of asian descent. last year hate crimes dropped by 7% but they surged by nearly 150% against asian americans. often these hate crimes target the elderly and the frail, people who can't fight back against their vicious assailants. just last month a 65-year-old asian american woman was knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked in broad daylight on the

streets of new york city while her attacker shouted anti-asian slurs. we later learned that her attacker was a convicted murder out on -- murderer out on parole thanks to criminal lease enzis. -- lean enzi. being weak on crime doesn't reduce crime. it invites more crime. a civilized society can't ignore attacks on our innocent citizens. we have to get tough on violent hate crimes. unfortunately in response to this terrible rise in anti-asian hate crimes, democrats introduced an extremely partisan bill intended to score political points. the flawed piece of legislation that the senator from hawaii had provisions tailored made to

muzzle free speech. it would have had the department of justice to tell americans how they were supposed to talk about this virus. i voted against proceeding to this bill in part because of this crazy, radical idea to impose a speech code on how americans can talk about this virus. now, some say how could you vote against it? very simple, i will never support a speech code imposed on the american people on how they can exercise their first amendment rights to talk about this pandemic. this whole idea is deeply concerning, especially because some in the media and some of our democratic friends believe even pointing out the virus came from china is somehow inciting violence. that is foolish as well as dangerous. calling this virus, which, yes, came from wuhan, china, is not racist and does not incite violence. journalists from such esteemled

outlets as cnn, reuters, the post, and "the new york times" all used the terms, chinese virus, chinese coronavirus. were they racist? they practiced -- it wasn't anti-spanish to call the influence enzia outbreak the spanish flu. it is not anti-ashurn to usual that term. what about the virus from brazil, great britain, we use those terms. is that somehow going to have to be banned from polite society's lexicon as well? second, i want to point out the democrats' original bill supposedly about violence against asian americans, did not use the terms asian americans. it had a mysterious term call covid-19 hate crime.

this could upset a precedent for wider suppression of free speech against citizens who have no animus towards asians. citizens concerned about the spread of coronavirus due to the surge of illegal immigration at the border. if you ask a question about the unvaccinated and untested persons in our country at the border every day, you're somehow bigoted. this original formulation of the bill could have resulted in individuals opposed in illegal immigration many reported for expressing the opinion. i'm happy to report that this process, which had a bitter partisan beginning will soon have a rather uplifting and unifying end. thanks to the diligent work of one of the hardest-working sernts in -- senators in the united states senate, the senator from maine. these offensive provisions of the democrats' original bill

have been removed. the senator from maine has helped turn what was a bitter partisan piece of legislation into something that now members of both parties can hopefully support. thanks to her efforts, this legislation is focused on the crisis at hand and will improve reporting of anti-asian hate crimes. we will vote on a series of amendments from fellow senators to improve this legislation even further. i look forward to voting on those amendments, for the substitute amendment and for the bill, as amended. so today this chamber will take a step forward in fighting the rise in anti-asian violence. i hope we continue to continue to make progress so every victim gets justice and further attacks are deterred. ms. hirono: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, as the author of this bill, i totally disagree with

characterizing this bill as a bitter partisan beginning, as having a bitter partisan beginning, but my colleague is exercising her free speech rights, so there you go. mr. president, after two weeks of hard work and bipartisan collaboration, the united states senate is poised to take real action to confront the wave of anti-asian hate sweeping our country. although we still have some damaging amendments to defeat, i'm confident in a few hours the senate will pass the covid-19 hate crimes act, as amended, with the substitute hirono-collins amendment. we will send a solid message of solidarity that the senate will not be a bystander as anti-asian violence surges in our country. over the past years hate crimes targeting aapi has risen 150%, as noted. more than 3,800 incidents have

been reported across all 50 states and the district of columbia. these statistics paint a disturbing picture of what's happening in our country but they only quantify part of the problem. why? because hate crimes and other incidents are notoriously underrepresented. these attacks have not ceased in the two weeks since the senate began debating this bill. last sunday an 80-year-old woman and her 79-year-old husband, both of korean descent, were taking an evening walk in a local park near their home in southern california. suddenly, without warning, an assailant approached the couple and punched them in their faces. that same assailant is also suspected of threatening a japanese american olympic karate athlete, who incidentally, was born in hawaii.

these unprovoked random attacks and incidents are happening in supermarkets, on our streets and take-out restaurants. basically wherever we are. these disturbing be and who horrifying attacks are in many ways a predictable and foreseeable consequence of the use of racist and inflammatory language like chinese virus to describe the pandemic. i have been heartened by the steps that president biden has taken to denounce this language and confront this epidemic of hate. under his leadership, the executive branch is doing its part and in a few short hours, congress will do ours by passing the covid-19 hate crimes act. mr. president, this is not a controversial bill. it focuses federal leadership to investigate and report hate crimes and other incidents and provides resources for our communities to come together to take a stand against intolerance

and hate. over the past two weeks, i've worked with senators in both parties to make changes that broaden support for this bill while we taining its -- retaining its original purpose. in particular, i want to acknowledge an thank senator collins for her good-faith efforts to amend this bill and build support for it in the republican caucus. i also want to thank senator duckworth for her leadership on this issue. senators blumenthal and moran, whose no-hate act is now included in our legislation. and senators warnock and grassley who contributed important findings to this bill. this moment would not have been possible without the determined efforts of leader of leader schumer and senator durbin and congresswoman grace ming. ours is is not the only community suffering right now.

earlier this week, a jury in minneapolis delivered justice and accountability for the murder of george floyd. one conviction will not erase the enduring legacy of systemic racism and disparate racism. it is my hope to -- sustain this -- and pass the george floyd justice in policing act and i understand that bipartisan talks are under way. we are in this together. we are in this together. senator collins, i really appreciate your work on this bill. we would not be here without your support. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the

previous order, there will now be four mirns of debate -- minutes of debate equally divided prior to amendments 1456. who yields time?

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, i rise in support of amendment numbered 1456, which i introduced along with senator kennedy from louisiana. i ask unanimous consent that senator hagerty be added as a cosponsor to the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: this amendment is straightforward. it targets the ongoing discrimination that is being directed against asian americans by colleges and universities across the country, including preeminent institutions such as yale and harvard, which are denying admission to qualified asian american applicants in favor of underrepresented minority groups. the u.s. department of justice was suing yale for its discrimination against asian americans until the biden administration dismissed that law enforcement. -- that lawsuit. my amendment would prohibit institutions of higher indication from -- education

from receiving any federal funding if they have a policy or engage in discrimination against asian americans during recruitment or admissions. i urge the adoption of the amendment and i yield the balance of my time to senator kennedy. mr. kennedy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: mr. president, in 2021, the year of our lord 2021, we have major universities in this country that are discriminating in admissions against asian americans. now, i know they think they know how to discriminate in the right way. discrimination is discrimination. at one of these universities, in 2013, harvard admitted that it had admitted asian americans purely on the basis of academic achievement, it would have double the number of asian americans. now, this is wrong, it is

contemptible, it is odious. this amendment doesn't go nearly far enough. it's a baby step, but at least it's a step. the presiding officer: who yields time? ms. hirono: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. discrimination against asian american students or any students on the basis of race is already prohibited by federal law. this amendment is a transparent and cynical attack on long-standing admission policies that serve to increase diversity and provide opportunity to students of color in our institutions of higher learning. this amendment also threatens colleges and universities with the loss of all federal funding for pursuing or using policies that are -- that our courts have upheld repeatedly.

i urge everyone to reject this amendment. mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas seeks recognition. mr. cornyn: i would ask unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor of this amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hirono: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i yield back the remainder of my time. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 49, the nays are 48. under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is not agreed to. under the previous order, there will now be four minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to amendment numbered 1425. mr. cruz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. the senate will be in order. mr. cruz: mr. president, i rise to speak in support of senator lee's amendment, number 1425. despite the protections of the first amendment, over the course of the pandemic, many states have placed heavy-handed restrictions that have limited americans' freedom to gather for

worship, to meet in smaller groups for religious purposes, or even to sing, praise, and worship. at first, many americans accepted these restrictions. our nation was grappling with a new and deadly virus, and the restrictions were only supposed to be temporary. but as the weeks and months dragged on, states lifted restrictions on restaurants, on casinos, on museums, while keeping tight restrictions in place for synagogues, for churches, for temples, for mosques, and other religious gatherings. senator lee's amendment requires the department of justice to investigate whether the government applied the same rules to religious groups that were applied to similar nonreligious organizations and businesses and whether those restrictions complied with the first amendment. and, mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that senator lee's written remarks on his amendment be inserted into the

record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: i urge adoption of the amendment. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: if you believe the hate crimes act is a good piece of legislation -- and obviously over 90 senators voted to move to proceed to this bill -- then you can't vote for the lee amendment, because the first thing he does before he puts out his own idea of what we should consider instead is to strike key sections of the hate crimes act that require us to establish online reporting of hate crime incidents, collect data on hate crime incidents, expand public education in campaigns. the lee amendment strikes that. he doesn't want us to do that. he wants to assign the attorney general the responsibility in the next 180 days to survey every covid-19 restriction in every state in the union. i urge a vote against the lee amendment. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote is the yeas are 49, the nays are 48. under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is not agreed to. senate will be in order. mrs. blackburn: mr. president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will now be four minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to amendment number

1458. mrs. blackburn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. president. i rise in support of amendment 1458, which i introduced. it will narrow the scope of the tangled web of regulatory guidance that the bill calls for and keep politics out of the process of reporting and addressing hate crimes against asian americans. it addresses crimes, not incidences. i don't think it's out of line to introduce a little precision to the process and make sure that agency officials who will be responsible for running this program know what they're supposed to be looking for and what they're supposed to be doing with all that information. i can guarantee my colleagues that support of this change will result in a stronger bill that will fulfill its purpose to

protect victims and potential victims of hate crimes, and it will stop their attackers. i urge adoption of the amendment. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from concop. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment because it essentially shreds are the bill. it removes core provisions. it would prevent the department of justice from tracking hate crimes incident that don't rise to the level of criminal unanimous consent can. that provision is contrary to the policy of the international associations of chiefs of police. it would eliminate a provision from the no hate act that i have advocated that funds creation of state-run hotlines so we know more about these hate crimes. it would eliminate a judge's ability to order that a person convicted of hate crimes undertake educational classes and provide that kind of remedy

as a condition for supervised release. in short, it eliminates some of the very most important provisions of this bill. i strongly urge opposition to this amendment. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. mrs. blackburn: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 46, the nays are 51. under the previous order, requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is not agreed to. under the previous order, amendment number 1445 is agreed to. the clerk will read the title of the bill for the third time. the clerk: calendar number s. 937. the presiding officer: the question is on passage of the bill, as amended. ms. collins: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for maine. ms. collins: mr. president, the senate's passage of this legislation -- the senate's passage of this legislation

affirms our commitment to stand with the asian american and paisk islander -- pacific islander community against hate crimes. i urge a yes vote and i would ask that the remainder of my remarks be submitted for the record. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hirono: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for ohio. ms. hirono: mr. president, in just a few moments, the senate will take a strong stand against anti-asian hate in our crime, passing this legislation sends a clear and unmistakable message to -- of solidarity to the aapi community and this would not be possible without the efforts of so many people, including, my republican colleagues, one person in particular to just spoke before me. but i especially want to thank majority leader schumer for making this bill a priority for senate and working closely with

us to shepherd its passage. i also want to thank my colleagues in the house, especially congresswoman grace meng as well as members of the asian-american caucus, i urge all of my colleagues to vote for this legislation. i yield back. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: thank you, and i thank my colleague from maine and my colleague from hawaii as well as my colleague from illinois and so many others who have led on this issue. in a moment -- can we have order, mr. president? thank you. in a moment the senate will vote on final passage of the anti-asian hate crimes bill. this long overdue bill sends two messages to our asian americans we will not tolerate bigotry against you. and to those perpetrating anti-asian bigotry, we will pursue you to the fullest extent

of the law. we cannot -- we cannot allow the recent tide of bigotry and tolerance and prejudice against asian americans go unchecked, a bedrock value of our multicultural society is that an attack on one group is an attack on all of us. by passing this bill, we tell our law enforcement agencies to prioritize anti-asian violence and wield the sword to detect, deter, and prosecute hate crimes of all variety. we send a clear message, a unified message that hate has no place in america, and so by passing this bill, we recommit ourselves to the most american of creeds -- e pluribus unum -- out of many, one. i urge a unanimous yes vote on this legislation, and i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

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