June 17, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 112 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page S3026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              JUSTICE ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on an entirely different matter, 
Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Over the last several months, our 
country has been shaken by the killings of more Black Americans at the 
hands of law enforcement. The people of this country have called for 
change.
  The United States of America is not a fundamentally racist country. 
We are the greatest Nation in world history built on the promise of 
liberty and justice for all, but our founding promise was stained by 
the sins of slavery and racial prejudice. Generations of Americans have 
spent more than a century working to remediate that stain. We fought a 
Civil War. Black Americans led a movement that won historic Supreme 
Court wins and landmark Federal legislation. We have squeezed racist 
lies out of mainstream society and relegated them to a pathetic fringe.
  But the events of the last few weeks have reminded this country that 
the stain is not totally gone. We have a lot more work to do. While the 
far left has tried to exploit America's pain and anger to push insane 
policies like defunding or disbanding all police or nonsense claims 
like the assertion that enforcing laws is inherently racist, the rest 
of the country has been busy uniting around some commonsense truths.
  When Black Americans tell us they do not feel safe in their own 
communities, we need to listen. When American citizens lack faith in 
our justice system from start to finish, we need to respond. When the 
equal protection of the laws feel to some Americans like a contingency 
of demographics and not a universal fact of life, we need to act. That 
is what this Senate Republican majority is doing today. We are acting.
  Sadly, the junior Senator from South Carolina is no stranger to this 
subject himself. Senator Scott has led the construction of a strong 
proposal that will increase transparency, grow accountability, and 
advance the cause of police reform without lashing out at the lion's 
share of brave law enforcement officers who serve bravely and well.
  Later today, he will introduce this new legislation, and it will be 
the very next bill we consider here on the Senate floor. We will be 
turning to this bill next week. Senator Scott's JUSTICE Act provides 
solutions that are as sober, as serious, and as significant as this 
watershed moment demands.
  Faced with the fact that policing is primarily a local and State, 
rather than a Federal, concern, our colleague has nevertheless found a 
variety of levers that Congress can pull to advance and incentivize and 
insist on the changes that we need to see. We need to encourage police 
departments across America to implement practical reforms like ending 
choke holds, training their officers to deescalate tense situations, 
and having prior disciplinary records play a greater role in hiring. 
His bill does that
  We need to increase accountability so that bad officers are easy to 
spot and good officers' good names stay clear. This bill does that. It 
will get more body cameras on the streets, help ensure they are used 
properly, and disseminate new best practices for discipline, 
suspension, or dismissal when necessary. We also need more transparency 
so communities have greater visibility into local law enforcement. This 
bill does that too. We will require full reporting to the FBI when a 
local officer has used force or discharged his or her weapon.
  In a subject that has tragically become a major focus for my hometown 
of Louisville, KY, we address no-knock warrants as well. We will 
require new transparency and new reporting from State and local 
authorities so surrounding communities and the Federal Government can 
all better understand how, when, and why this practice is used.
  These are just some of the major parts of our colleague's 
legislation. The JUSTICE Act will also finally make lynching a Federal 
crime. It will close the consent loophole by forbidding law enforcement 
from taking advantage of people in their custody and more.
  This legislation is a substantial effort to help our Nation make 
major headway on substantial challenges. I am grateful to Senator Scott 
for his leadership. I appreciate the contributions of Chairman Lindsey 
Graham, Senators Capito, Cornyn, Lankford, and Sasse.
  The Democratic-led House of Representatives is, of course, out of 
town. They have had time to issue partisan attacks from long distance 
but have yet to take up any police reform legislation in the weeks 
since the deaths of Ms. Taylor and Mr. Floyd.
  The action is in the Senate. The leadership is in the Senate. Now, 
over the past several days, some of our Senate Democratic colleagues 
have undertaken to attack this new legislation before they have even 
read it and before it was even released--while it was still being 
compiled, as a matter of fact. Let me make this perfectly clear. Senate 
Republicans are interested in making a law. We want to enact needed 
reforms. We want to make policing in America better.
  We have just demonstrated on the CARES Act and, once again, on the 
Great American Outdoors Act, that we can act together and achieve 
bipartisan support. This is another one of those issues that needs to 
be addressed--needs to be addressed now and can only be addressed in 
the Senate if both sides are willing to work together.
  Needless to say, if we are going to make law on this issue in the 
Senate, it will have to be a bipartisan effort. I hope and expect that 
there will be opportunities for amendments from both sides. I hope we 
can step up, stand together, and work in good faith to turn this 
impressive starting point into law for our country. We will have the 
chance next week, so let's don't waste it.

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