A joint resolution honoring the life of William "Billy" F. Graham, Jr.

Mr. President, as we close out Black History Month this week, I wanted to recognize a few people and initiatives that we are really excited about.

Yesterday, I joined Congressman Mark Walker, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee in the House, to host our Second Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fly In.

We hosted Presidents and Administrators from HBCUs throughout the country, including four from my home State of South Carolina--South Carolina State University, Claflin University, Allen University and Benedict College.

We were able to host some great panels on ensuring curricula are matched with the needs of the workforce, how to best encourage entrepreneurship among students, and what steps we are taking at the Federal level to help our HBCUs provide an invaluable education for students for generations to come.

Representatives from the HBCUs heard from Google, McDonalds, Starbucks, Bank of America the Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Center, John Deere, Wal-Mart, the Center for Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, and the Koch Foundation. I also want to thank my friends Senator Lankford and Congresswoman Terri Sewell for joining us on our member panel.

For decades, HBCUs provided Americans of color with educational opportunities they would not have otherwise had. For generations, they have given low-income students an education they could not otherwise afford.

We have stood by them with the restoration of year-round Pell Grants, a top legislative priority from last year's fly-in, which benefits more than one million students.

I joined a bipartisan group of members of Congress, including Representative Alma Adams, to ensure an increase in the Department of Defense's HBCU and PMI grant program, boosting funding for this important collaboration to $40M.

And earlier this month, we saw the Environmental Protection Agency renew its partnership with Bowie State University to provide professional experiences and advanced resources to Bowie State students.

We will continue to stand with our HBCUs, and help ensure they are providing the opportunities sought by so many people of color and low- income families from across the Nation.

I also want to talk about legislation my friend Senator Booker and I introduced today to help combat Sickle Cell Disease.

Our Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment Act will do exactly what the title suggests . . . aid in fighting sickle cell through research, surveillance, prevention and treatment.

Currently, we don't really know exactly how many people have Sickle Cell Disease. There's no real surveillance and reporting in place at the Federal level, and only a handful of states have a reporting process.

To best battle Sickle Cell, we have to know the universe of what we're fighting against. So, our bill establishes the National Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment program to collect data on the demographics and prevalence of Sickle Cell as well as identify and evaluate strategies for prevention and treatment.

We're also reauthorizing the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Program (SDTDP) for four years, making some smart reforms and expanding support services for kids and young adults making the transition to adult care.

If you've ever met someone with Sickle Cell Disease, you know the pain they go through. You see how hard it is on their families to watch them suffer.

The Medical University of South Carolina has put so much effort into finding a cure, and over the past few years I've gotten to know some of the patients. Their perseverance is amazing.

We have taken some great steps forward, but we have to keep that momentum going. I want to thank Senator Booker again for joining me in this effort, and I look forward to our colleagues supporting the Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment Act.

Mr. President, Black History Month allows us to not only study and learn from our past, but to see where we can go in the future. Our Nation has made amazing progress in the past 50 years.

Without a doubt, there are still challenges ahead of us, and by remembering the strength of folks like Dr. Martin Luther King, the Friendship Nine, Cleveland Sellers, and so many other civil rights heroes, I am heartened that despite those challenges, we will continue to make progress.

Madam President, I rise with my colleague from North Carolina, my colleagues in the U.S. Senate, and the American people to honor the life of a North Carolinian, Billy Graham--a man whose life has literally reached millions around the globe.

Reverend Graham's grace marker will be inscribed this way: ``Preacher of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.''

As the son of a minister myself, I am uniquely aware of the sacrifices and the responsibility that come with this calling. Indeed, this is a calling that Reverend Graham fulfilled honorably and nobly, bringing hope and comfort to millions around the globe. Reverend Graham was someone who was shaped by his roots on a North Carolina dairy farm, who committed his life to Jesus Christ at the age of 15, and who lived the commitment with faithfulness for the next 84 years.

He was married for 64 years to Ruth Bell Graham and was the father of 3 daughters, 2 sons, and now 19 grandchildren. As his casket was laid in honor in the Rotunda, all of a sudden, I realized that one of those grandchildren was a graduate of West Point, one of my nominees, and a soon-to-be lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. It was certainly good to see him.

Reverend Graham preached to almost 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories on 6 continents. He prayed with soldiers on the battlefields of South Korea and Vietnam. He preached in poor villages and at Britain's Windsor Castle, and he provided counsel to every President from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. He also stood up for what was right--denouncing segregation and oppression and preaching jointly with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., in the 1950s. He lived a life of integrity and of honor.

He spoke words of comfort and hope at the National Cathedral following the September 11 terrorist attacks, reminding America: ``God is our refuge

and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.''

Reverend Graham will be deeply missed. I send my condolences to his children, his grandchildren, and his numerous great-grandchildren. Yet Graham himself said: ``My Home is in heaven, I am just passing through this World.'' Today, we honor the life that he lived, his faithfulness to the calling, and his impact on millions of individuals around the globe.

If I may take just another moment before my colleague from North Carolina speaks, I will read some remarks that were made by individuals who played important roles in American history.

President Bill Clinton said: ``Some were pressuring Graham to segregate his audiences by race but he refused.'' Clinton remarked: ``Graham would cancel the crusade rather than preach to a segregated audience'' because everyone deserved the chance to hear God's Word.

President Obama said this in his condolences: ``Billy Graham was a humble servant who prayed for so many--and who, with wisdom and grace, gave hope and guidance to generations of Americans'' and, I would say, Americans to come.

Lastly, Martin Luther King, Jr., said: ``Had it not been for the ministry of my good friend Dr. Billy Graham, my work in the civil rights movement would not have been as successful as it has been.''

The country mourns the loss of Dr. Graham, but the country understands the impact of his life--that life as a servant of God, to preach His Word to everyone he could find, and a career of 84 years. He exhausted the opportunities that were given to him and will proudly affect generations that have yet to be born by the work that he did as a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, on behalf of Senator Tillis and me, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S.J. Res. 53, introduced earlier today.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the joint resolution be considered read a third time and passed, the preamble be passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

I thank the Presiding Officer.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the introduction of the ``Age 21 Act'' by Senator Flake and myself.

Two weeks ago, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, our Nation experienced yet another horrific mass shooting that has shocked the conscience of us all.

The shooter--a 19-year old former student of the high school--used an AR-15 military-style assault rifle that he legally purchased at a gun store, to kill former classmates and educators. Along with 14 wounded, 17 beautiful lives were lost in this horrific attack. Many of them were children and young adults. Their whole lives were ahead of them.

The overwhelming agony so many victims and their loved ones are experiencing is all too familiar to gun violence victims and survivors all across America. This palpable agony and grief has emboldened students from Parkland and all across this Nation to speak out about gun violence and demand that we as lawmakers act. I am deeply inspired by the courage of these young people, and I hope my colleagues will join me in working with them.

The bill that Senator Flake and I are introducing is straightforward and simple--it raises the minimum age to purchase a military-style assault rifle and high capacity ammunition magazines to age 21. In so doing, this legislation closes the loophole in current law that allows teenagers to legally walk into a gun store and buy an AR-15. It further prohibits private individuals from selling or transferring AR-15s to teenagers under the age of 21. In this way, it brings the minimum age requirements for buying handguns and military-style assault weapons into parity.

It makes perfectly clear that in America, if a person is not old enough to buy a handgun--or, for that matter, old enough to buy a beer--they should not be able to purchase a military-style assault weapon. In my view, this bill is one small step in the right direction. It was developed following the attack in Parkland that had students asking ``why was this teenager able to legally walk into a gun store and buy an AR-15?'' In fact, one student named Samuel Zeif, who lost his best friend in the shooting, asked President Trump why a young person in America ``can still go in a store and buy a weapon of war?''

So we worked in the spirit of bipartisanship to let Samuel, and these students, know that as lawmakers we hear them. And we will work together to make sure that they feel safe in their schools and in their neighborhoods.

So I'm proud of this bipartisan piece of legislation and would urge that this body take it up and pass it immediately. However, I would be remiss not to mention that so much more remains to be done. Already this Congress, I have introduced legislation to ban bump stocks and assault weapons from our streets. I've also introduced legislation that would provide states with a legal framework for courts to issue gun violence restraining orders to prevent dangerous individuals from accessing firearms. Additionally, nearly 100 percent of Americans support legislation that would require universal background checks on all gun sales, something that ordinary Americans are shocked is not already the law.

I ask my colleagues to work with us on these common-sense, broadly supported proposals. I strongly believe that lives are at stake. We can't continue to watch our children get slaughtered.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that ``we are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late'' and ``we must move past indecision to action.''

Today, as students and communities all across our nation cry out for stronger gun laws, this message continues to ring true. Now is the time for us to act, and to show the American people that we can come together when they are looking for leadership.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I thank my friend and colleague, the senior Senator from North Carolina, for his words about Reverend Billy Graham. I will only add a few comments.

At one level, mine are very personal. I was telling someone just yesterday that I have two very distinct memories of times with my father. One of them was of watching Walter Cronkite, and the other one was of watching Billy Graham. I was talking to my mother earlier this week, and she talked about how much my father loved Billy Graham. I remember, vividly, sitting in front of that console TV with my father, watching him as he preached the Word of God.

This week is amazing because I find, when one loses somebody so precious like Reverend Graham, it is a very sad time, but in his case, America's pastor had brought so much joy to everyone's lives that it really is a celebration.

Earlier, Senator Burr and I had had an opportunity to offer our condolences to the Graham family. What was remarkable was that in the face of every one of them was, maybe, a hint of sorrow but, really, just a fullness of joy in knowing what their father did when he was on this Earth and now what he will do in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I think that today is a day we should all look back and ask ourselves: Could we actually come anywhere close to living the kind of life that this man lived? With his ministering in some 180 countries, with over 200 million people actually attending some of his unbelievable celebrations of the Gospel, and then his touching the lives of hundreds of millions of people--and billions of people like me who were watching on TV--the Graham legacy is something that is going to live on for generations.

I am happy to be a proud Senator from the State in which he was born. In fact, I live only about 20, 30 minutes from where he lived his early years. I look forward to going to the funeral on Friday to celebrate his life, to celebrate his legacy, and to celebrate the many lives that were changed because he had brought the Word of God to them wherever they may have been on this planet.

I thank the Presiding Officer for the opportunity to speak about America's pastor.

To the Graham family, all of them--the sons, the daughters, the children, the grandchildren--God bless you all. Thank you for sharing the gift of your family member with so many people across this great Nation and across this world.

I thank Senator Burr for his kind words. I thank him for his leadership and for moving forward with the resolution that honors Reverend Billy Graham's life and legacy.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, Vermont has a rich history of supporting vibrant arts in communities throughout our State and across the world. Local and foreign visiting artists alike make invaluable social and economic contributions to our communities. Today our complex, overloaded, and outdated immigration system often prevents foreign artists from coming to the United States and engaging in international cultural exchange.

That is why I am reintroducing the bipartisan Arts Require Timely Service, ARTS, Act with Senator Orrin Hatch. Our bill would assist nonprofit arts organizations in obtaining visas for foreign artists by ensuring enforcement of current statutory requirements. The O visa is available to individual foreign artists, while the P visa is available to groups of foreign artists. The Immigration and Nationality Act currently requires that O visa and P visa petitions be processed within 14 days. However, artists and nonprofit arts organizations routinely confront lengthy and uncertain wait times in the adjudication process. Many nonprofit arts organizations are unable to afford the exorbitant filing fee necessary for expedited processing of petitions.

The ARTS Act would require USCIS to provide premium processing services, without a fee, if an O visa or P visa is not adjudicated within the statutorily required 14-day timeframe and if the petition is filed by or on behalf of a nonprofit organization.

The many problems plaguing our immigration system demand responsible reforms. This bill is just one small piece. As we look ahead to comprehensive immigration reform, I hope that Congress will consider commonsense legislation like this that will help create permanent solutions. Foreign visiting artists provide an important public service and support our international diplomacy. It is time we start working to create results that can best help our communities as a whole.