Floor Statements

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney) and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).

Mr. President, today I recognize Evan Firman, an intern in my Rapid City, SD, office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Evan is a graduate of the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity- Ramstein High School in Ramstein, Germany. Currently, he is attending the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD, where he is pursing degrees in economics and political science. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Evan for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Grayson Howes, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Grayson is a graduate of O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Currently, he is attending Fordham University in New York, NY, where he is pursuing a degree in global business. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Grayson for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Griffin Petersen, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Griffin is a graduate of Sully Buttes High School in Onida, SD. Currently, he is attending the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD, where he is pursuing a degree in political science. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Griffin for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Ricketts), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven) would have voted ``yea.''

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator from Wyoming (Ms. Lummis), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).

Futher, if present and voting, the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis) would have voted ``yea,'' the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall) would have voted ``yea,'' and the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, the attempted assassination of President Trump 11 days ago at a peaceful rally in Pennsylvania shook the Nation. I am very thankful that he was not seriously harmed. I am grateful also for the law enforcement personnel who rushed in to cover the President when the shooting started. But, as every American knows by now, the events of July 13 should never have happened.

There was not just one but a number of apparent security breakdowns-- notably, a failure to secure the roof before the rally. While we are grateful for the fact that President Trump was not killed, the security failures resulted in the death of one innocent American and serious injury to two others.

It is appropriate that the Secret Service Director resigned yesterday in the wake of this tragedy, but there is more work to be done. Multiple investigations are currently being conducted--several of them here in Congress--to identify everything that went wrong that Saturday and to explore ways to ensure that it never happens again.

Among other things, we obviously need to take a hard look at what needs to be done at the Secret Service. I have no doubt that there are many dedicated agents serving there, including those who heroically dived to cover President Trump when the shooting started, but the fact is that the Secret Service has been beset by problems for a number of years now, including staffing issues and a number of previous security failures. It is time to fix these problems once and for all and ensure that the Secret Service is fully prepared to fulfill its mission. We also need a new Secret Service Director committed to making reform of the Agency a priority.

Events like the ones of July 13 always horrify because they demonstrate the worst of which human beings are capable, but they also often give us a glimpse of the very best, and that was certainly true in Pennsylvania. There was Corey Comperatore, the volunteer firefighter who died protecting his family; the emergency room physician and others who attempted to render medical assistance; the everyday Americans who stepped in to help their fellow rally-goers.

If there is one thing we can take from the events of July 13 other than the immediate practical need of addressing security failures, it is a renewed determination to live our lives in such a way that we, too, at the time of our testing, would be among those whose responses were to help and protect their fellow man.

Soon after surviving the attempt on his life, President Trump said:

In this moment, it is more important than ever that we

stand United and show our True Character as Americans.

That is a call that we should all heed. That doesn't mean, of course, that our disagreements suddenly disappear, but it does mean that we recognize and remember that most Americans, regardless of where they land politically, want what is best for the country's future, and I hope that out of this tragedy can come a renewed sense of what unites us.

Amid the outpouring of shock and concern after the attempted assassination, there were those who actually made remarks lamenting that President Trump wasn't killed, and it is disturbing that our discourse and our regard for the value of human life have deteriorated to such an extent that there would actually be people wishing bodily harm on a political candidate simply because they don't like his politics. In the midst of our real and valid disagreements, I hope we can remember the people beneath the politics and emerge with a greater respect for our fellow Americans.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be with those injured on July 13 and with the families of the injured and deceased, and I pray--I pray-- that the events in Butler, PA, will never be repeated.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee) and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).