[Pages S5489-S5497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

LEGISLATIVE SESSION

______

ELIMINATE USELESS REPORTS ACT OF 2024

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will resume consideration of the House message to accompany S.
2073, which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

House message to accompany S. 2073, a bill to amend title
31, United States Code, to require agencies to include a list
of outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in annual
budget justifications, and for other purposes.

Pending:

Schumer motion to concur in the amendment of the House to
the bill, with Schumer amendment No. 3021 (to the House
amendment to the bill), in the nature of a substitute.
Schumer amendment No. 3022 (to amendment No. 3021), to add
an effective date.
Schumer motion to refer the message of the House on the
bill to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, with instructions, Schumer amendment No. 3023, to
add an effective date.
Schumer amendment No. 3024 (the instructions (amendment No.
3023) of the motion to refer), to add an effective date.
Schumer amendment No. 3025 (to amendment No. 3024), to add
an effective date.

Recognition of the Majority Leader

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.

S. 2073

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as we all know, social media has been
part of our lives for two decades. It has connected people in ways
previous generations never could have fathomed. But with the benefits
of social media also come the risks.
Many kids experience relentless online bullying. Kids' private,
personal data can be collected and used nefariously. Predators can
exploit or target kids. For kids who struggle with mental health,
social media can magnify their anguish.
It has been decades--it has been decades--since the Federal
Government has updated laws that protect our kids on the internet, but
today, historically, the Senate has a chance to start changing that
with bipartisan legislation.
This afternoon, the Senate will vote to advance two bipartisan bills:
the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, and an update to the Children and
Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.
KOSA and COPPA represent something very urgent: a first step to
keeping our kids safe on social media and other online platforms. I am
hopeful that we can act on these two bills swiftly. They have already
passed out of the Commerce Committee for the last 2 years, under the
careful guidance of Chairman Cantwell. KOSA has 68 cosponsors--
bipartisan--more than enough to pass this Chamber.
Getting here wasn't easy. I have worked for years with my colleagues
on both sides of the aisle to prepare these bills for the floor. I want
to

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thank Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn and Markey and Cassidy. They
have been a relentless and powerful force to get these bills moving. I
made sure everyone had a chance to offer their input, and we worked
together through any disagreements. Finalizing these safety bills has
been a long and winding and difficult road, but one thing I have known
from the start: It sure would be worth it.
We must remember that we could never have reached this point without
parents of children who tragically took their own lives because of what
happened to them on social media who came down here to relentlessly
lobby and tell their stories. Over the past few months, I have sat down
with these parents. I have listened to their stories. They are some of
the most painful but important meetings I have ever had. We cried
together. We looked at pictures of their kids--gone--and felt the deep
frustration that we must do more as a society to keep kids safe online.
Looking at these pictures made me think of my own children, now in
their thirties, and my grandkids--5, 2, and 1--Noah, Ellie, and Henry.
The thought of losing them is incomprehensible.
The message from these parents has been simple and consistent: It has
been long enough. The Senate must pass kids' online safety legislation
with all due haste.
So, today, as we begin voting on these bills, I want to thank the
parents who turned their grief into grace--the parents who turned their
grief into grace. I want to thank them and thank them again.
Nobody would blame these parents if they preferred to process their
pain in privacy, curse the darkness, but instead they have shared their
stories, pushed the Senate into action, lit a candle to make sure other
families won't suffer as they have been suffering and always will.

AI Deepfakes

Mr. President, now on AI deepfakes, it is an important bill, but it
has been a busy and frenzied week in Washington, so there has been a
lot of news about major speeches and congressional hearings. But this
also deserves attention even though it passed late Tuesday night after
most were gone.
This week, the Senate passed the DEFIANCE Act--a bill to combat the
spread of sexually explicit, AI-generated deepfakes--and we also passed
another act on fentanyl, which I will get to in a minute. These two
bills passed, as I said, late in the evening Tuesday but deserve
significant attention.
AI plays a bigger role in our lives than ever before, and while it
has many, many benefits, it is also easier than ever to create sexually
explicit deepfakes without a person's consent. These fake explicit
images can ruin a person's life, especially if you are a child or a
teenager. They can circulate online for years, if not forever, with no
or little recourse to hold abusers accountable.
Make no mistake about it, this is not a fringe problem. Ninety
percent of deepfake videos are nonconsensual, and 2023 saw more
deepfakes generated than every other year combined. Bad people--some
for mercenary purposes, some just kids who do bad things--have learned
about this, and the idea is spreading. No one is immune from it--not
kids in school; not Members of Congress; not even, as we have learned
recently, the most famous celebrities in the world.
The DEFIANCE Act will give these victims justice by allowing them to
take civil action against those who generate and distribute deepfakes
using AI and other technologies.
As I have said before, this DEFIANCE Act is one example of the AI
guardrails I often talk about. AI is remarkable technology. It can spur
incredible innovation. Maybe it will even cure cancer, things like
that. But at the same time, we must be vigilant and pass guardrails to
prevent its worst abuses from causing people great harm.
I am very hopeful that the House will pass this bill quickly. It got
broad support here in the Senate.
I want to thank Senator Durbin for leading the effort relentlessly on
the DEFIANCE Act. I have been proud to support this bill every step of
the way and encourage its passage. Tuesday night, we finally got it
done in the Senate.
House, move quickly. Save people from the scourge of this horrible,
horrible action.

Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act

Mr. President, on Tuesday night, we also passed, as I mentioned,
another significant bill, another crucial bill to combat the scourge of
drug trafficking: the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic
Drugs Act. This bill will get to the root of the financing behind
deadly and destructive drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.
I want to thank every Senator who supported this bill, particularly
our two amazing Senators from Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky
Rosen. They worked very hard to see that this bill passed.
This drug trafficking bill is the latest example of a concerted
effort in the Senate to combat America's drug crisis.
Last fall, I met with Chinese President Xi, along with my
colleagues--bipartisan--and we urged him and the Chinese Government to
do more to crack down on Chinese companies that make precursor
chemicals and send them to Mexico where the gangs turn them into
fentanyl.
A few months ago, I led the Senate in passing the national security
supplemental, which included the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
We are making good progress in the scourge of fentanyl, which had
tens of thousands of our young people die and some of our law
enforcement officers as well. So the American people should take note.
There have been some very important things happening in the Senate
recently to combat drug trafficking. This bill has already passed the
House. It should go to the President's desk and be signed quickly--
another marker, another action in our fight to end the horrible scourge
of fentanyl, which has taken so many young lives.

World Trade Center Health Program

Mr. President, I was just at a press conference on something else
that we had to do to make America better. That is the World Trade
Center Health Program.
We all know that in the aftermath of 9/11, many of our brave first
responders suffered severe health complications, lifelong injuries,
serious cancers. Many of them--far too many of them--are no longer with
us. I remember them as they trod the halls to try to pass this
legislation even though they were suffering from cancer.
My friend Ray Pfeifer, I think of him all the time. He is gone now,
looking down upon us, smiling that we are moving forward.
I fought hard to establish and fund the World Trade Center Health
Program and to help our 9/11 heroes get care at no cost to them or
their families. That program has struggled with funding. We had to
renew it year after year after year because there were some here in the
Senate, some in the House, who said: I don't want to fund it
permanently. But now we are attempting to fund it permanently.
Sadly, the program has struggled with funding over the years. But
today we have good news, very good news. I just returned from a press
conference with my colleague Senator Gillibrand and members, Democrat
and Republican, of the New York delegation in the House where we
announced legislation to permanently fund the World Trade Center
program. That is right--not coming back year after year and getting a
little more and a little more, but permanent. We need to fund it
permanently. There are people still getting cancers, first responders
and others, who rushed to the towers after 9/11. But their cancers
don't show up until 10 or 20 or 30 years later. We can't leave them
behind.
This funding will make sure everyone--everyone--who has been exposed
to the toxins after 9/11 will get the treatment they need. And because
the program screens early, we catch more people, we save more lives,
and, frankly, it costs less to keep them alive.
I am proud to have secured nearly $1.7 billion for this program over
the last 2 years--$1 billion 2 years ago, then $700 million--just to
keep extending the program because it was running out of money because
more people were getting these cancers and other illnesses. It was
clear to all of us we need to do more. By providing permanent funding
to this program, our legislation will make sure our 9/11 heroes

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never, ever have to worry again about getting the care that they need.
They won't have to constantly traipse down on subways from New York and
elsewhere to lobby Congress and go to those with somewhat hardened
hearts and show them why it is needed.
Let's pass this bill. Let's make it permanent. I promise to those
first responders, to Ray Pfeifer and all those who have been lost and
fought for this, that I will do all I can to make sure this permanent
bill becomes law by the end of the year.

President Biden

Mr. President, on President Biden, last night, the American people
saw why Joe Biden will go down as one of our Nation's most
consequential, most decent, most patriotic Presidents.
Over the last 3 years, he has amassed a record of accomplishment that
has few equals in the history of the Senate. We, in the Senate here--
many times bipartisan, sometimes not--worked hard with the President to
create one of the great legislative records in the year 2022.
When President Biden entered office, America was in crisis. But today
it is stronger, more prosperous, has a more hopeful future because of
his steadfastness, his strength, his vision.
So this morning, I wish to say yet again: Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you. You have shown what the world looks like to put our country
over self. You have restored dignity and honesty and integrity at the
White House. I think of the song in Hamilton, ``we're going to teach
them how to say goodbye,'' that George Washington sang in the play
about knowing when to stay and when to leave. Well, at this moment, Joe
Biden is standing right next to George Washington and showing America
he understood that message.
It has been an honor to work with the President to enact the most
ambitious legislative agenda since the Great Society. With President
Biden, we made tens of millions of Americans' lives better, and we will
keep working with him until his term is complete.

Tribute to LaVerne Allen

Mr. President, finally, as colleagues know, I rarely go anywhere
without my either famous or notorious--depending on your viewpoint--
flip phone. That means I will occasionally--just occasionally--forget
to leave my phone in the cloakroom, as the rules say, when I am here on
the Senate floor. And occasionally--just occasionally--it will ring in
the middle of my remarks. You have heard that happen. Whenever it
happens, the first thing I do is look up at LaVerne Allen, one of our
wonderful Senate doorkeepers, as she is staring at my phone and very
gently, but firmly, shaking her head as I quickly try to turn it off.
LaVerne is one of the people in the Senate who can readily put me in my
place.
But I am sad to say that after over 40 years--40 great years--
LaVerne's time with the Senate will be coming to an end next month. And
here, we often celebrate elected officials who dedicate their entire
careers to public service, but today, that light shines on LaVerne.
As a doorkeeper, she has helped maintain the order and decorum that
defined the Senate for over 200 years. We are all, on both sides of the
aisle--I am sure the Republican leader will attest--grateful for her
work.
But I am glad to hear LaVerne will be moving on to bigger and better
things. She will be spending more time with her son in Japan, where he
is stationed in the Navy.
LaVerne, from the bottom of my heart and the hearts of all my
colleagues, thank you, thank you, thank you. We will miss you. Best of
luck in your next journey.
I yield the floor.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is
recognized.

Tribute to LaVerne Allen

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this morning, as the majority leader
just pointed out, marks an important day for a longtime member of the
Senate family who will depart for greener pastures next month. After 41
years of service, LaVerne Allen, a familiar and friendly face to so
many of our colleagues past and present, is retiring from Senate
Doorkeepers.
LaVerne has seen the Senate from many different angles. She has worn
many different hats, from the card desk to the reception room. And for
years now, she has welcomed Senators, staff, and visitors right here to
the Senate Chamber.
Alongside the brave men and women of the Capitol Police, our
doorkeepers control access to this historic institution. Here on the
floor, they keep us safe. Up in the Galleries, they give citizens a
chance to watch democracy in action.
After more than four decades, LaVerne has certainly earned a break
from all of us. I understand that she is looking forward to some well-
deserved R&R and, eventually, some exciting international travel to
visit family.
So today, on behalf of the entire Senate, I want to congratulate
LaVerne on her retirement, thank her for her years of devotion and
service to this institution.

Prime Minister Netanyahu

Mr. President, on an entirely different matter, yesterday I was proud
to attend a joint meeting of Congress and listen to Prime Minister
Netanyahu's message from Israel to America. He reminded us of our
Nation's deep friendship, of the savagery of our shared enemies, of the
sacrifices brave Israelis are making to combat them on behalf of the
entire free world, and of the enduring importance of American
leadership.
It was a powerful address. I wish more of our colleagues had heard
it. But those who needed to hear it the most were otherwise occupied.
Vice President Harris was on the campaign trail. Most of the Hamas
apologists in Congress boycotted it. And, of course, a mob of far-left
terrorist sympathizers was too busy vandalizing our Nation's Capital to
tune in.
The lawless behavior of friendly radicals in our own country over the
past 36 hours only underscores the challenge facing the world's only
Jewish State.
When the Jewish people try to live in peace in their homeland, they
are murdered in their beds. When Jewish students try to go to class,
their classmates and professors lock arms to block their way. And when
the leader of Israel comes to Washington, the same useful idiots and
terrorist fifth columns clear their schedules to sow chaos.
On Tuesday night, criminals vandalized the hotel where Prime Minister
Netanyahu was staying, scattered crickets across hallways, covered a
dinner table with maggots, and pulled the fire alarm. Outside, unhinged
Hamasniks screamed: We're going to kill all of you.
Then, after vandalizing private property, radical organizers called
another play: vandalizing Federal property; tearing down and burning
the American flag that flew over Columbus Circle and Union Station;
defacing public monuments with terrorist screeds; and, unless someone
doubt their seriousness, burning the Prime Minister in effigy.
Mr. President, yesterday was the 26th anniversary of horrific
shootings of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective
John Gibson in the line of duty. That day will always be a sobering
reminder of the sacrifices of law enforcement and the price of
protecting this sacred institution.
It is an especially difficult day of reflection for the brave men and
women who follow in Officer Chestnut's and Detective Gibson's
footsteps. And yet, officers of the Capitol Police had to spend it
dispersing violent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic agitators.
I am grateful for the vigilance of the Capitol Police and partner
Agencies on the job yesterday. Law enforcement knows better than anyone
that, when it comes to radical attention-seekers, there is nothing new
under the sun: not their tactics, and certainly not the slap on wrist
they receive from soft-on-crime prosecutors.
This week, it is anti-Semites painting Hamas slogans on public
property. But last year, as our colleagues may recall, it was leftwing
climate protesters who took their cues from the Taliban and tried to
destroy priceless works of art over at the Smithsonian.
One such case was a woman who tried to destroy a one-of-a-kind French
sculpture in the National Gallery. She succeeded in damaging it and was
sentenced this spring to 60 days in prison. And thank goodness she got
that much. Prosecutors had only asked for 30

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days--never mind that the sentencing guidelines recommend 5 years,
given the gravity of her actions.
We know by now that street criminals aren't the only ones the Biden
administration and criminal prosecutors like to let off easy. It is the
wealthy ecoterrorists and the campus Marxists as well.
But I am still amazed at how allergic liberal prosecutors are to
exercising their authority with an even hand. The DOJ has been more
than willing to pursue maximum sentences for the Capitol rioters on
January 6--and rightly so. My view has always been that when extremists
aspire to sow chaos and violate our Nation's Capital, the prosecutor
should throw the book at them--throw the book at them--no matter their
motivation--no matter their politics.
But will they pursue the lawless radicals inspired by October 7 with
equal vigor? Will the District's own government exercise the authority
Congress has given it to maintain order and discourage lawless
behavior? Don't hold your breath.
In the meantime, as our country reflects with new attention on the
roots of political violence, I hope we will also reflect on our deep
friendship with the only pluralistic democracy in the Middle East and
support its fight against terror.
How do we show we are serious? By equipping our friends with more of
the tools they need to defeat aggression, by investing heavily in our
own arsenal and industrial capacity, and by getting off our hands and
passing the National Defense Authorization Act.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The Republican whip.

Protests

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, as I begin this morning, I want to take a
moment to address the events that transpired yesterday just a few short
blocks from where we are standing.
The summer months are busy tourist months here in our Nation's
Capital, and for some, the view from Union Station is the very first
sight they have of Washington, DC. Those who emerged from Union Station
yesterday afternoon, however, were confronted not with the beauty of
the historic station but with a scene of lawlessness. Violent
protesters tore down American flags that fly in front of Union Station,
lit at least one of them on fire, and raised Palestinian flags in their
place. Others defiled the monuments in front of the station with
messages, including ``Hamas is comin'' and ``Globalize the Intifada.''
Now imagine being a Jewish person walking to work past those slogans.
We have a proud tradition of public protest in the United States, but
there is a difference between exercising free speech rights and the
vandalism and violence that we saw yesterday.
In addition to what we saw in front of Union Station and elsewhere,
an anti-Israel protestor or protestors released hundreds of maggots and
mealworms into the hotel where the Prime Minister and a lot of other
people were staying. This is not part of the proud tradition of
American political discourse; this is thuggery--pure thuggery.
I am frankly appalled by how little we have heard in response from
Democrats. The President addressed the Nation last night. Could he not
have added a few words on this disturbing display? What about the Vice
President?
Every single public official and every single American should be
united in condemning this violence and vandalism as well as rhetoric
that elevates terrorism and foments anti-Semitism. We are better than
this, and it is time we started acting like it.

S. 2073

Mr. President, I am pleased to say that during a summer in which
Democrats have focused on show votes, we are actually going to vote
this week on a substantial piece of legislation called the Kids Online
Safety Act. Senator Blackburn has done a tremendous amount of work to
deliver a bill that will take real steps to mitigate the harm that
social media can do to children, and I am grateful for her leadership
on this issue.
The package before us also includes legislation from Senator Cassidy
to update the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and I applaud
him for his work.
I am pleased also that my bipartisan Filter Bubble Transparency Act,
which I introduced with Senator Blackburn and others, has been included
in the final legislation. The Filter Bubble Transparency Act requires
social media companies and other internet platforms to notify users
that the content they are seeing has been selected for them by hidden
algorithms which create a unique universe of information for each
user--a phenomenon that is often referred to as the filter bubble.
Platforms would also be required to give users a choice to switch to a
version of the platform that is filter bubble-free. I am hopeful that,
along with the rest of the Kids Online Safety Act, this will provide a
meaningful way to address some of the more problematic aspects of the
internet.
As I said, it is good to be voting on something substantial here in
the Senate. We have done essentially nothing for 2 months other than
vote on guaranteed-to-fail legislation that Democrats hope will somehow
help them win votes in November.

National Defense Authorization Act

Mr. President, voting on the Kids Online Safety Act is not enough. We
have a lot more work we should be doing, starting with action on one of
the most important pieces of legislation we consider each year: the
National Defense Authorization Act.
The Israeli Prime Minister's speech in Congress yesterday--a speech
that a number of my Democrat colleagues and Vice President Harris chose
to boycott--was a timely reminder of the dangerous world we face: Iran-
backed terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis
fomenting terror and instability in the Middle East; an emboldened
Russia engaged in a ground war against Ukraine on the doorstep of our
NATO allies; an increasingly aggressive China and an increasingly
endangered Taiwan.
The unfortunate truth is that we are not as prepared as we should be
to confront these threats. We have service branches struggling with
recruitment. We have ships that can't sail and planes that can't fly
because of maintenance issues. We have shortages of munitions.
Our colleague Senator Wicker, the ranking member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, recently put forward a blueprint for rebuilding our
military. He points out that our defense budget as a share of the
economy has fallen to near historic lows--hardly in line with the
threats we face today--and he proposes increasing the defense budget
over the next few years alongside important reforms to put our military
in a position of strength not just now but well into the future. It is
a call we need to heed.
Last fall, the Strategic Posture Commission offered a disturbing
assessment:

Today the United States is on the cusp of having not one,
but two nuclear peer adversaries, each with ambitions to
change the international status quo, by force, if necessary:
a situation which the United States did not anticipate and
for which it is not prepared.
[A] situation which the United States did not anticipate
and for which it is not prepared.

That is a pretty disturbing analysis, and it underlines the absolute
imperative of addressing our military readiness today, which brings me
to this year's National Defense Authorization Act.
I am grateful that our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee
have put forward a bill that, while it does not authorize all the
investment our military needs, does take steps to address the
challenges we are facing. This year's NDAA authorizes full funding for
the European and Pacific Deterrence Initiatives and takes steps to
strengthen our partnerships to counter Russia and China. It takes
important steps to modernize our military and authorize financing for
the technologies and weapons of tomorrow. It authorizes the purchase of
new ships, combat vehicles, and aircraft to update our aging fleets.

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I am particularly pleased to report that this bill includes full
funding for the next steps of the B-21 mission, including necessary
support facilities.
The Air Force calls the B-21 Raider--its new long-range strategic
bomber--the future backbone of its bomber force, and I am incredibly
proud that this mission will be hosted at South Dakota's own Ellsworth
Air Force Base. One of my top priorities here in Congress is ensuring
that the Air Force--and Ellsworth in particular--has everything it
needs for this critical advancement in our Nation's readiness.
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed this year's National
Defense Authorization Act on June 13. Well over a month later, the
Democrat leader still hasn't found time for this critical legislation,
nor is there any indication of when he will. It says a lot about the
Democrats' priorities. But I hope that the Democrat leader will take a
moment to consider that while he puts our defense on the back burner,
our enemies are not delaying their ambitions or their aggressive
activities. I hope he will bring this important and consequential
legislation to the floor in the very near future.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lujan). The majority whip.

DEFIANCE Act

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, whether you are a parent or a grandparent
or just have children around you whom you dearly love, there is one
thing that is going on in every household that should give you
concern--genuine concern--about the safety of your kids. It is this.
Have you ever seen your kids staring into the screen and wondering what
they are doing? Are they speaking to a friend? Are they playing a game?
Are they looking up some information? You hope it is something that is
innocent, but you are never sure.
What we found in the Senate Judiciary Committee is that many kids are
lured into the programs and messages of these pieces of technology, and
their lives are changed for the worse.
This afternoon, we are going to vote on moving two measures which
move to protect kids from the abuses which happen on the internet. It
is long overdue.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has five bills that we reported out
with unanimous votes--that doesn't happen in the Senate Judiciary
Committee; unanimous votes, all the Democrats and all the Republicans--
to protect children from the abuses which occur.
I have a measure called Children's Sexual Abuse Material--CSAM--that
says basically that if your child was exploited by the internet and you
tell the social media platform that is broadcasting it to stop and
desist and they refuse to do it, they are liable in civil court; they
can be held liable by a lawsuit. That is a good way to enforce a
provision to protect the children. In the meantime, we are moving with
other measures, and I would like to speak about one that just passed
this week.
We made a significant step earlier this week to address the problem
of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes spreading online. Women
and girls from all walks of life--from Taylor Swift, to Megan Thee
Stallion, to high school girls in my home State of Illinois--have been
victims of this form of image-based sexual abuse. Sadly, none of them
have legal recourse against the perpetrators because the law is not
keeping up with the technology.
Now this is starting to change. This week, the Senate passed my
DEFIANCE Act, bipartisan legislation that will finally provide remedy
for victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes. You have
read about it in the newspapers when it comes to the celebrities, which
I mentioned earlier. It happens every day across America.
This landmark legislation cannot become law soon enough. This form of
image-based sexual abuse has skyrocketed in recent years. One
researcher found that the number of nonconsensual, pornographic,
deepfake videos available online has increased 900 percent since 2019.
Another found that over 24 million people visited a group of just 34
websites dedicated to nonconsensual, deepfake pornography in September
2023 alone. In total, nonconsensual, deepfake, pornographic videos have
been viewed almost 4 billion times--4 billion.

This explosive growth has been driven by advances in technology;
namely, generative artificial intelligence. What used to take
technological expertise and a lot of time can now be done with the push
of a button. Countless apps can swap someone's face onto another
person's body or can digitally remove someone's clothing so they appear
to be nude.
Deepfake apps are often advertised as harmless entertainment, but
when explicit images are produced and shared without the consent of the
person depicted, the harm is very real. Imagine losing control over
your own likeness and identity--how powerless victims feel when they
can't remove the illicit content, can't prevent it from being
reproduced repeatedly, and can't prevent new images from being created.
My partner on this legislation is Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, who introduced a companion bill in the House. Like far too many
women, she has been the victim of nonconsensual, sexually explicit
deepfakes. She has described how this image-based sexual abuse has
resurfaced trauma and haunts her thoughts even to this day. Once these
deepfakes are seen, they cannot be unseen. As she put it, ``Deepfakes
are a way of digitizing violent humiliation against other people.''
The design and function of the internet amplify the scale and spread
of this type of exploitation. Survivors of nonconsensual, sexually
explicit deepfakes are often forced to relive their trauma and face
ongoing harm that increases exponentially over time due to the viral
flow of information on the internet and the difficulty of removing
harmful content.
Tragically, our laws have not kept pace with technology, leaving
victims with virtually no legal remedy. Time and again, victims are
told that nothing can be done to help them because existing laws simply
do not apply to deepfakes.
Thankfully, now the Senate has taken a step toward fixing this
blatant disregard for the trauma suffered by individuals who are
victimized by this crime. By passing this DEFIANCE Act, we have brought
victims one step closer to taking back some power over their identity
and giving them a day in court.
Our work is far from being done. I call on the House of
Representatives to move on this issue immediately, to follow the
Senate's lead and quickly take up and pass the DEFIANCE Act. In doing
so, Congress will reflect the will of the vast majority of Americans
who are demanding that Congress pass new laws to address nonconsensual,
sexually explicit deepfakes.
According to a recent survey conducted by the University of Maryland,
an overwhelming 85 percent of Republicans and 87 percent of Democrats
support prohibiting these nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes.
Our constituents are concerned about what is happening online.
Democrats and Republicans alike agree that Congress must establish
guardrails to protect society from these changes in technology.
I want to thank Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez for her leadership on
this issue and her courage in speaking up. She has been an
indispensable partner in crafting and advancing this bill.
I would like to thank the Senate cosponsors of this legislation,
including some of my Republican colleagues like Senator Graham, the
ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Democratic Majority Leader
Schumer, Senators Hawley, Klobuchar, King, and Lee.
This bill would not have come to fruition without the input of
survivor advocates, including the Sexual Violence Prevention
Association, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the National
Women's Law Center, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and
many others. Their lived experience and leadership have shaped this
bill and brought to it this stage of passage.
I also want to thank some of the other organizations that endorsed
the bill: the Center for Democracy and Technology, the National
Organization for Women, #MyImageMyChoice, RAINN, PACT, and
Rights4Girls.
When the DEFIANCE Act is signed into law--if it is brought up and
passed in the House--victims will finally--finally--have the ability to
hold liable

[[Page S5494]]

those who produce, disclose, solicit, or possess sexually explicit
deepfakes while knowingly or recklessly disregarding that the person
depicted did not consent to the conduct.
Congress has waited long enough. It is past time to give victims of
nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes the tools they need to fight
back.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor today, and I
congratulate the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for this important
legislation that has been passed out of the Judiciary Committee. I
encourage him to continue their efforts to hold large social media
companies accountable for the way that information is used against
American citizens, and I thank him for his good work.
I, too, want to come to the floor today and talk about the Kids
Online Safety and Privacy Act that I hope my colleagues will advance
today on a cloture motion so we can get on this legislation and
hopefully speedily pass it through the U.S. Senate.
It has been more than 3 years now where families from all across
America have come to the Nation's Capital and said that they have lost
children to suicide; they have had children harassed and bullied and
had to leave school and move to a different location. They have had the
safety and security of their children threatened, as my colleague just
mentioned, some of the bullying and activities that take place.
So today is about advancing forward on privacy legislation aimed at
protecting our children by giving new tools to the Federal Trade
Commission, with new authority to take up this cause and to clearly
outline what we in the U.S. Senate think needs to be done today to
better protect children.
I mentioned the 3 years and the number of families that have come to
the Nation's Capital because they have been here many times and walked
away many times discouraged because the same big media platforms have
then, after they have left, come here and tried to lobby Members on the
fact that they can't accept these ideas.
But today, hopefully we will be victorious in giving a few very
particular tools to help us, to help our families, and to help children
try to address this growing crisis.
As we have met with many of these families, it was very clear that we
needed to give them something that they can fight back with. So two
pieces of the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act include two important
pieces of legislation from the Commerce Committee.
The first is Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, led
by my colleagues Senator Markey and Senator Cassidy. I want to thank
them for their leadership on this important issue. It has really been a
long time in coming, particularly with Senator Markey who led on
original legislation to protect children under the age of 13 from
targeted advertising.
Many people will remember when we tried to say we were going to ban
advertising on TV specifically to kids; we have tried to follow that up
with the internet. And today, we are taking another step.
The three things that this important legislation does is that it
raises that age from 12 to 16 of those kids who will be protected so
that they cannot be targeted for advertising and it creates a new
knowledge standard. So many of these companies got away with saying,
``Well, you can't prove I knew they were kids. So, I could just keep
doing what I'm doing.''
We need more responsibility from the social media companies. And so,
we are changing that knowledge standard from actual knowledge, which
meant you had to prove--the FTC had to prove--that the company knew
that it was actually targeting kids. Monitoring their kids' privacy is
a tough task for parents who are trying to raise families, juggle jobs,
do all of these things.
So that knowledge standard now has changed to fairly implied based on
objective circumstances. So basically, it is saying to these social
media companies, you cannot get away with just saying, ``I didn't
know.''
You have to do a better job of understanding exactly where these
advertisers are coming from, who they are targeting, and if you are
helping to target these kids, but we are not going to let you target
kids 16 and under. This is such an important issue because spending on
digital advertising in the United States is expected to reach $740
billion this year--$740 billion.
It is a massive change in what has been revenue for our newspapers,
our broadcasters, media, and news organizations that have all had to
live by in a community, making sure that information was accurate,
making sure that it was not abusive, or basically trying to increase a
response by using more hate speech. No, no, no.
So all that advertising that went to our newspapers and TV stations
and it is basically pulling the plug out from under them, is now in
this massive online advertising world, in which, yes, there can be a
lot of misinformation and a lot of using your own information to target
you and to try to increase price.
Hopefully, we will get to legislation--comprehensive privacy
legislation--with my colleague Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers at
some point in time on this. But what we are seeing is that public
health showed that social media platforms earned nearly $11 billion of
that $740 billion, $11 billion targeting children.
We know that we don't like this. We know there is no reason for them
to do this. We know that it creates perplexing challenges, and that is
a staggering amount of money.
So, I so appreciate Senators Markey and Cassidy, for basically giving
us a new way to hold these social media companies accountable, saying
that you do know that you are targeting these kids and also to
basically raise the age to 16 and then allowing both attorneys general
and the Federal Trade Commission to enforce this legislation.
The second piece that is included here, and both of these bills were
passed out of the Commerce Committee, I think almost 2 years ago now.
So we are glad and we appreciate Senator Schumer bringing them to the
floor. So, we are glad that they are finally seeing floor action.
The kids' online safety bills, by Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn,
also very focused on giving parents tools to help fight back from
social media companies or just change things that their young teens or
parents want to change.
One of my constituents, a young girl from Bellingham, tried to set up
her TikTok account to stop showing her videos about eating disorders.
They find out, now, derived information about all of us, and if you
clicked on anything, they can just take that information and constantly
send you data.
In this case, she must have said something, did something, but all
they wanted to do was basically continue to harass her with eating
disorder videos.
Now, the Presiding Officer, the President, probably remembers we took
action in getting a better resolution. We don't want any foreign actors
creating malign actions against the United States through a platform,
and our Department of Justice has shown that is exactly what is
happening in some instances.
Those foreign actors could be pushing, or bots taking over, once that
foreign actor has put information out there, basically saying, yes,
let's just pummel the heck out of these teenagers with videos that will
make them doubt themselves, make them basically second-guess or feel
under the scrutiny of their colleagues and friends at school.
This legislation by Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal will hold
social media accountable for prioritizing their engagement in keeping
kids safe. It requires platforms to use tools so that parents can
control features. This helps either the parent or the child go in and
change that and say: I don't want to have any of these ads placed
towards my children. And it ensures that parents can report harms, and
it requires companies to respond to those harms.
Now, my frustration with where we are with the FTC is I am sure the
FTC has a big, fat file that has a lot of complaints about what has
been done to 12-year-olds online. We are now increasing this to a
higher age of up to 16 years old, but we need better enforcement by the
FTC to look at these accounts, and

[[Page S5495]]

hold these companies accountable, and call them when they have data and
information from parents about their not responding to help set up and
change these social media accounts so they can better protect their
children.
This is such an important piece of legislation before us today. It
can't save the lives of people we have already lost, but it can help
parents, and it can help all of us as a society rein in some of these
controls.
The final piece I want to mention, Mr. President, is Senator Thune's
Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which is also included. This is Senator
Thune's attempt to try to get at what we call a blackbox algorithm
where you don't even know what the algorithm is and what it is doing.
We had testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee by a Facebook
whistleblower who basically said that the algorithm that the company
chose to use was actually increasing hate speech online. And the reason
why is because then it got more viewers and then it sold more
advertising.
That was an important witness and whistleblower to come before the
committee because it told us that we have to now understand, in a more
important way, how much these kinds of ill effects can be targeted
toward individuals without us knowing exactly what is going on.
So I think this is an important step, including Senator Thune's
language in here on filter bubbles. As I mentioned earlier, we have to
do more, we have got to get a national privacy piece of legislation to
protect all of us against the misuse of our own personal data by
businesses and others who want to do us harm and put a stop to this
acceleration at all costs of using our data for some juggernaut
industry that probably hopes to reach $1 trillion. But what will it do
to us Americans in the meantime?
So I urge my colleagues to take these very prudent steps today to
pass these kids' online privacy bills, give parents better tools, give
all of us better protection, and upgrade these important aspects to the
Federal Trade Commission and to attorneys general so they can be good
policemen on the beat.
I thank the President, and I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be
permitted to speak for up to 15 minutes and that Senator Young be
recognized to speak after that for up to 5 minutes prior to the
scheduled vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

80th Anniversary of GI Bill

Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, good morning.
Last month, as some of us recall, marked the 80th year since
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's
Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the GI bill, into law--80
years.
In the eight decades since the GI bill was enacted, it has helped
millions of veterans, including myself, to pursue an education, to
become homeowners, and to live the full American dream. The GI bill
truly transformed not only our economy but a lot more than that.

I was glad to recently lead a bipartisan resolution recognizing the
importance of this legislation with Senator Jerry Moran, Senator Jon
Tester, and Senator John Boozman. As I have shared here many times
before, the GI bill is often called the greatest legislation ever
enacted in the history of the United States, including here in this
Chamber.
First, the GI bill successfully enabled millions of servicemembers,
including myself, to transition back to civilian life after serving our
country at home and, in many cases, abroad.
Second, it uplifted millions of American families, and it
reinvigorated our economy.
Third, it allowed for benefits awarded to our veterans to be passed
on to their family members.
Fourth, it has paved the way for subsequent critical legislation that
serves those who have served our country in times of war and in times
of peace.
The effects of all four of these achievements are felt to this day,
and I would like to take a few minutes, if I may at this time, to
elaborate on the impact of each of those four.
First and foremost, the GI bill helped my parents' generation return
to civilian life following World War II. This generation was well
acquainted with hard times. Many of these folks had been raised during
the previous world war and were just starting to rebuild their lives
when the Great Depression ravaged the American economy, leaving one of
every four Americans jobless. But despite hardship at home, these brave
Americans answered the call to serve our Nation in World War II. One of
those brave Americans was my father.
My father had been a chief petty officer in the Navy--a high school
graduate from a West Virginia coal mining town. He and his brother and
my brothers-in-law all served in World War II--several as chief petty
officers in the Navy and others as sergeants in the Army or in the
Marine Corps.
When the war was over, my dad came back to West Virginia and used the
GI bill to learn how to fix wrecked cars. Most people don't think of
the GI bill as something to be used to fix wrecked cars, but he did.
That turned into a job for him in a place back in a West Virginia coal
mining town. He fixed wrecked cars at Burleson Oldsmobile.
One day when he was working at Burleson Oldsmobile, having learned
how to fix wrecked cars and do bodywork through the GI bill, he was
visited by a claims adjuster from Nationwide Insurance. Nationwide, it
turned out, had insured the wrecked car that my dad was working on that
day at Burleson Oldsmobile. The fellow from Nationwide Insurance
engaged my father in conversation about how was the progress coming
along in terms of repairing the wrecked car.
And they talked for a bit, and at the end of the conversation, he
said to my dad: You know, you seem to have a lot on the ball for a guy
who's fixing wrecked cars here at Burleson Oldsmobile. My dad went on
to explain how he had been a chief petty officer in the Navy. For those
who know the military, the top noncommissioned officer in the Navy is a
chief petty officer. That is what my dad was and several of my uncles
as well. That conversation with the claims adjuster from Nationwide
Insurance that day actually led to a job where my dad became a claims
adjuster for Nationwide Insurance.
Years later, my dad helped to run the national training program for
claims adjusters for Nationwide Insurance--a guy with a high school
degree who had a chance to serve in World War II and to benefit from
the GI bill--to have a great career and to be able to provide for his
family along with literally hundreds of thousands of other veterans.
But my dad is just one example of millions of Americans whom this
legislation helped to set on paths to success.
My dad also illustrates the second reason the GI bill is among the
greatest pieces of legislation ever passed: It has lifted up millions
of hard-working Americans and helped build the middle class as we know
it in this country today.
With a stroke of a pen, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed
into law one of America's most ambitious investments in our workforce
in our Nation's history. It has paid dividends to generations past and
will, for decades to come, to generations in the future.
Among other things, the original GI bill provided a college education
to add--listen to this--450,000 engineers, 240,000 accountants, 238,000
teachers, 122,000 dentists, 91,000 scientists, 67,000 doctors, and 1 or
2 folks who could fix wrecked cars at a place like Burleson Oldsmobile
back in West Virginia.
Just like my dad, countless others used their GI benefits to learn a
trade or to learn a skill, and it enabled them to lift themselves and
their families up firmly into the middle class. It was clear then, as
it is now, that the GI bill is, perhaps, one of the most worthwhile
economic investments in our Nation's history.
According to a 1988 report from the Joint Economic Committee, it was
estimated that, for every dollar that the United States has invested in
our veterans through the GI bill over the years, roughly $7 has been
returned in economic growth for our Nation.
Almost never do we see legislation have the power to singlehandedly
transform our economy and continue to do so not just for a couple of
years but for decades. The GI bill exceeded and continues to exceed all
expectations.

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As many of my colleagues know, I have personally benefited from the
opportunities provided by the GI bill. I would not be standing here
today in this place, speaking on this floor, without the benefits
provided me as a Vietnam veteran coming back from my third tour in
Southeast Asia and eventually moving to Delaware and enrolling in
business school at the University of Delaware. That education, along
with my time as a Navy ROTC midshipman through Ohio State earlier in
time, has enabled me to serve Delaware as their treasurer, as their
Congressman--Congressman-at-large--as their Governor, and now, for the
last 23 years, as their U.S. Senator.
The third reason the GI bill is truly extraordinary is that this
legislation and subsequent legislation, like the current Post-9/11 GI
Bill, allows for benefits to be passed on to family members of veterans
who do not use or need the benefits themselves.
For my generation, when we came back from Southeast Asia during the
Vietnam war, if we took advantage of the GI bill, that was fine. I did.
But if we had a spouse, a spouse could not take advantage of it. If we
had children--dependent children--they could not take advantage of the
GI bill. That has all changed.
And for a GI who doesn't use the GI benefit today, if they have a
spouse, their spouse can use it. Spouses can use it. If they have
children, their children can use the GI bill. What a benefit--what a
benefit not just for the GI but also for the spouse and their family
members.
Today's GI bill allows countless veterans across our country to take
advantage of these generous educational benefits or pass them down to
their families.
Moreover, the Post-9/11 GI Bill includes a program called the Fry
Scholarship--``Fry'' is spelled F-R-Y--that ensures surviving spouses
and children of fallen servicemembers have access to the hard-earned
benefits of their family member who served and made the ultimate
sacrifice for our country.
We have seen the impact of this legislation firsthand in my home
State of Delaware, with families like those of the late-SSgt
Christopher Slutman, a Marine veteran. A native Delawarean, Staff
Sergeant Slutman bravely served as a New York firefighter and as a U.S.
marine in Afghanistan. However, 5 years ago, he was tragically killed
in combat, leaving behind his wife and their three daughters: McKenna,
Kenley, and Weslynn.
Thanks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which extended the benefits of the
GI bill to veterans who served after September 11, 2001, Staff Sergeant
Slutman was entitled to a wide range of educational benefits. And after
his tragic passing, Staff Sergeant Slutman's GI bill benefits were
ultimately allowed to be passed down to his three daughters, thanks to
the Fry Scholarship, which was one of the provisions I was proud to
support in the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Last, but certainly not least, the GI bill is among the ``greatest
legislation'' ever enacted because it has served as an excellent model
for how we can continue to provide resources for our Nation's veterans.
Throughout my years in the Senate--and it has been quite a few years,
almost 24--I have worked to advance critical legislation that delivers
on the promise to serve those who have served our Nation.
In addition to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Forever GI Bill, I was
proud to lead passage of a bipartisan amendment that finally closed
something called the 90/10 loophole. For those who may not know, this
loophole allowed bad actors in the for-profit college sector to take
advantage of veterans' hard-earned GI benefits.
One veteran misled or mistreated is one too many, and I was proud
that my Senate colleagues and I came together unanimously to pass the
amendment that Senator Moran and I authored to close this loophole. And
we did.
We must also be on guard to root out the bad actors who try to take
advantage of our veterans. That is why, just this week, I cohosted our
annual veterans summit in Delaware with Senator Chris Coons and
Representative Blunt Rochester, joined by Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Denis McDonough, to raise awareness of the deceptive marketing tactics
deployed by those we know as ``claim sharks.''
Claim sharks are unaccredited lawyers and consultants who try to take
advantage of vulnerable veterans by offering to help them file claims
with the Veterans Benefits Administration and then go on to take a
significant percentage of the benefit that the veteran should have
received.
At our summit a week ago, we spoke with dozens of veterans about the
free resources--free resources--available to them through the VA to
help them avoid falling for scams and ensure that they know about the
full range of benefits they are entitled to.
More recently, I cosponsored bipartisan legislation to impose
penalties on these ``sharks'' so that we can further protect our
veterans. After all, our commitment to care for our veterans, including
safeguarding their hard-earned benefits, is a sacred obligation and one
that I worked hard with many of our colleagues--Democrat and
Republican--to fulfill.
In closing, it is clear that without the foundation of the original
GI bill, our ambition to craft and pass generations of subsequent
legislation to help our veterans might not have been possible. For all
of these reasons, the lasting legacy of the GI bill leaves no doubt
that it is truly the ``greatest legislation'' ever passed, in this
Chamber and in this Congress, in the history of our Nation.
From my family and me to the veterans of today in the Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and all of our branches, I am honored
to lead this celebration of the 80th anniversary of the original GI
bill. Here is to another 80 years and, hopefully, many more.
I will close with one thing. I used to think it was in the Bible that
if you give a person a fish, you feed them for today; if you teach a
person to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. As it turns out, that is
not in the Bible. That is not in the Scriptures. For years I said it
was.
Finally, I used that line in a speech back in Delaware. I said at the
end of my speech that--I talked about our obligation to try to make
sure that people have the ability to feed themselves and their
families. As it turned out, there was a preacher in the audience when I
said those words. He spoke to me after my speech, after the program was
over. He said: Those words are not in the Scriptures. Those words are
not in the Scriptures--the idea that we have an obligation to teach a
person to fish so they can feed themselves and their families and all.
He said: That is really not in the Bible.
I said: Well, it ought to be. It ought to be.
We have an obligation to help people, not just to give people
something. But if they are hungry and they need help, we have an
obligation to help. But the real obligation we have is to make sure
that, ultimately, they can help themselves; that we can help them help
themselves.
One of the great things about the GI bill is that it enables our
service men and women to help themselves as they go forward in the
future with their lives and to help their families.
It is a great piece of legislation, and we celebrate it here today
for the 80th year since its original enactment in this Chamber.
With that, I am going to yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.

Remembering Jim Morris

Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the life and legacy
of Jim Morris. Jim Morris is one of the most influential civic leaders
in Indiana's history, and he passed away earlier this month.
I first met Jim Morris about 20 years ago. It was when I returned
home to Indiana, after spending time in the military and after a brief
stint as a staffer here on Capitol Hill. The only thing I remember
about that initial meeting was that it wasn't particularly memorable.
Jim Morris wasn't the kind of man who would bowl you over with his
charisma or his magnetism. This wasn't his style. It was never about
him. But, over time, the weight of continuous heartfelt interactions
with Jim could change a person. Indeed, you might say they changed an
entire city.
Jim Morris died July 12. He was 81. He had a 60-year career of
service, all

[[Page S5497]]

told, to the city of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, and even to
the world.
Though Jim would bark at the title ``model,'' in my mind he was, in
many ways, a model American citizen.
Jim grew up in Terre Haute. He attended Indiana University. It was
there that he fell in love twice, once with the school itself and once
with his beloved wife Jackie. And that endured.
In 1967, not long after graduation, he became chief of staff to a
young mayor of Indianapolis named Richard Lugar. Since that moment,
almost nothing great in our capital city happened without Jim's
involvement. He helped launch a university in downtown Indianapolis,
until recently known as IUPUI. He was involved with the building of the
Indianapolis Zoo, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Indiana Pacers. They
all had Jim's fingerprints on them.
Jim understood that the key to healthy organizations and healthy
communities was to connect and empower others and ensure that
seriousness of purpose was met with civil discourse.
In 2002, Jim took that approach global when he was appointed to lead
the United Nations World Food Programme. He served as executive
director of the program for 5 years, caring for and delivering aid to
men, women, and children around the world who experienced a level of
poverty that is difficult for us to imagine.
These monumental headline-grabbing accomplishments were only a part
of who Jim Morris was, though. Indeed, his true legacy was far deeper,
more personal, and, I dare say, more beautiful.
He always counseled friends to expand their work to its widest
possible sphere of impact, to help more people, or--as he sometimes put
it--to find someone who could use a boost.
He practiced what he preached. Indeed, countless Hoosiers have been
affected by the small acts of altruism: funding local food banks,
building neighborhood basketball courts, and similar generosities that
we will never know about.
His servant's heart, no doubt, stemmed from his deep and abiding
faith in God. He was an active member in the Second Presbyterian Church
in Indianapolis. He didn't boast about many of his accomplishments.
Instead, he lived a life worthy of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20:
``Whoever wants to become great among you, must be a servant''--a
servant.
I think about our ``forgettable'' first meeting often. I could be
wrong, but Jim probably would have made a poor candidate for public
office today. But, you see, that was a choice.
For me, Reverend Henry summed it up at Second Presbyterian, last
Friday, in his memorial meditation to Jim. He said that Jim Morris
chose--he chose--hope over despair, connection over division,
gentleness over meanness, courtesy over discourtesy.
There is power in that choice. Jim Morris chose to be a decent man.
He knew, and we must never forget, that no man can truly be great if he
is not good. Now, more than ever, we need good men and women like Jim
Morris in every corner of our Nation--men and women who become great
through selfless service to their communities and endeavor to make life
better for the rest of us.
I yield the floor.

____________________