Floor Statements

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

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.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and the Senator from California (Mr. Padilla) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the Senator from California (Mr. Padilla), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business.

Mr. President, some events in our lives make such an impression that we can recall exactly where we were and what we were doing when we reflect on learning about them. On November 22, 1963, I was a sophomore at Georgetown University here in Washington, DC, when the news broke that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas, TX. I was in the library, and the news spread through that quiet room like wildfire. We all stopped what we were doing and went outside and stood in the street and listened to the car radio's report of the news that was just tragic news, of course, that President Kennedy had given his life.

It has been more than 60 years since the assassination of President Kennedy and 43 years since President Reagan was shot. A week and a half ago, Americans were shocked to witness on live television an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump as well as the murder of Corey Comperatore at a Pennsylvania political rally.

We should all take a moment to reflect on Mr. Comperatore's family loss. His wife reported that when shots were ringing out, he shielded his wife and children with his body. It is an amazing scene to think that at that moment--that emergency moment--he thought of others to protect them. They have been in my thoughts since the tragic events of that Saturday afternoon.

We have a responsibility in Congress to learn how the Secret Service failed to protect former President Trump on July 13. We need to do this on a bipartisan basis; keep politics out of it.

The Judiciary Committee, which I chair, has jurisdiction over the Secret Service. Tomorrow morning, the Judiciary Committee, along with the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees, will receive a classified briefing on the shooting. I hope that we learn more since the hearings that occurred in the House of Representatives.

Next Tuesday morning, the Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee will hold a joint, bipartisan hearing on the assassination attempt, where we hope to learn more from the FBI and the Secret Service.

We need to ask probing and important questions and do it in a responsible way that avoids the kind of incendiary language that has become all too common in our country. It is irresponsible for a Member of Congress to accuse the opposing political party of being ``flat out evil and . . . [trying] to murder President Trump,'' but a Member of Congress actually said that. Another Member said, ``Joe Biden sent the orders.'' Can you imagine? Those kinds of statements are so irresponsible, mean-spirited. They don't belong as part of the national debate.

As a country, we have become desensitized to toxic and violent rhetoric that some politicians have embraced as standard fare. We should all be disturbed by the April poll from Marist which found that ``one in 5 U.S. adults believe Americans have to resort to violence to get their country back on track.''

I have said this repeatedly, and it bears repeating: Political violence is never acceptable. It is never the answer. Political parties should not elevate leaders who say these things that are so irresponsible.

Candidates should encourage Americans to exercise their constitutional right to speak and vote, not open a rally with an official declaring: If we lose this election, it is going to take a civil war to save this country.

As the most powerful democracy in the world, the eyes of our allies and rivals are always on us. Our political discourse should reflect our solemn responsibility to encourage free and fair elections not just abroad but at home because, in the land of the free, everyone should feel safe expressing their political views and participating in this country's most sacred and fought-for legacy, a free and fair democracy.

I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Kaine), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren), are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) is necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. President, first, I ask unanimous consent that the senior Senator from Georgia be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions from July 23, 2024, to July 24, 2024.

Mr. President, I heard the remarks a few minutes ago of the Republican leader of the Senate, and I wanted to respond because he referred to our Senate Judiciary Committee. What happened in Butler, PA, the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, was shocking and unacceptable conduct on the part of those who were authorized and responsible for his safety.

There is no question in my mind that there is a bipartisan feeling that we may have our differences on issues and other matters, but when it comes to the protection of all elected officials, particularly in this case a former President of the United States, we should all put the resources necessary and strategy necessary to keep them safe at all times. Thank God Donald Trump, whom I disagree with on many issues, survived that experience. It would have been horrible for this Nation and for his family if the wind had changed a little bit. He was 1 inch away from losing his life. Let's be honest about it.

How in the world did that happen? With all of the law enforcement and all of the Federal officials present, what went wrong? Well, the former Director, who resigned today, said that there was a failure, and she accepted responsibility for it. I think we have to get more information as this case develops, but we want to do it in an orderly fashion.

The House hearing yesterday was the beginning; 5 hours of testimony that revealed some things, but clearly not enough when it comes to what happened on that day. And the decision at the Senate level has been the subject of bipartisan cooperation from the start.

There is nothing partisan about this issue. There shouldn't be. And for anyone to suggest that we are not responding to the needs of the Nation to learn valuable information, Senator McConnell is just wrong. And I invite him to reach out to the Republican leaders and the committees affected--the HSGAC committee as well as the Judiciary Committee--and he will learn that we have been working on a hearing for next week, which is the last week we are in session before the Democratic National Convention. And we are going to do our best to get the witnesses there who will produce the information so we learn more about it.

This has been a bipartisan effort from the start, and it should be. It should be all the way. There is no partisanship involved in the security and safety of elected officials. It is a bipartisan, nonpartisan issue, and we have to do everything in our power to keep people safe. So I am hoping that Senator McConnell will reach out to the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the HSGAC committee, to realize that we are working on that hearing next week as we should.

Mr. President, students of history know that our Nation has been shaped not only by those who choose to seek higher office but many times by those who choose not to. In 1796, George Washington announced that he would not run for a third term as President in his Farewell Address to America.

Although the two-term limit would not be enshrined in law until almost 200 years later, George Washington's actions--choosing not to run for President, largely in response to the Nation's heated political climate--set a precedent, a valuable one.

In the years since then, Washington's voluntary decision to decline a third term has shaped our Nation's conceptions of political power and the Presidency. On Sunday, President Joe Biden's decision to decline the Democratic Party nomination was certainly in the spirit of that tradition.

I have known Joe Biden for almost 30 years. A passionate policymaker, a committed representative, and an all-around good man, President Biden represents the best of us in public life. And what can never be in doubt is his fierce dedication to our Nation.

Throughout his entire public career, President Biden put our country first. Through immense personal tragedy, through setbacks and obstacles, President Biden held steadfast in his faith with America.

Joe Biden was a Senator-elect from Delaware when he learned that his wife and three children had been involved in a car accident, and, tragically, his wife and a daughter lost their lives. Though living with the pain, which he later described as unbearable, 2 weeks later, as Joe Biden stood by the hospital bed of his two little boys, he was sworn in as Senator of the United States.

Every day he decided to take the Amtrak train from Washington back to Delaware and went back and forth between Washington and Delaware every night to be home with his boys. The moniker we have all become familiar with, ``Amtrak Joe,'' was born with that experience.

Then, 40 years later, while serving as President Obama's Vice President, Joe Biden's son Beau died of brain cancer. And again, through personal devastation, Joe Biden continued to faithfully serve America because when our Nation needed him, when we needed him most, he was always there.

Mr. President, 4 years ago, we faced an election that asked us all to face the reality of what we are as Americans. Joe Biden was determined to beat Donald Trump 4 years ago to bring decency, rationality, and empathy back to the White House, to put our country back on track and restore the soul of our Nation. He did just that.

In the past 4 years under President Biden's leadership, America has seen incredible growth, recovery, and progress. Thanks to Joe Biden, we recovered from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of Americans were vaccinated. We passed the American Rescue Plan and financially supported working families, addressed the public health crisis, rescued the economy. Normalcy, slowly but surely, returned to America.

Thanks to President Biden, we have created nearly 16 million jobs. The unemployment rate has been at or below 4 percent for 30 consecutive months. That is the longest stretch in half a century of those good news statistics.

Thanks to President Biden, infrastructure week went from being a broken promise by former President Trump to a reality. We passed a bipartisan infrastructure law that is replacing our aging infrastructure, expanded access to clean drinking water, high-speed internet, and better prepared ourselves to address the climate crisis we are facing.

Speaking of the climate, thanks to President Biden, we took historic action to address the climate crisis through the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant investment in clean energy sustainability and climate resilience in the history of America.

And we laid the groundwork for American leadership in sectors of the future with the CHIPS and Science Act, bolstering American competitiveness for generations to come.

Because of Biden's leadership, we were able to enact the most significant gun safety legislation passed in nearly 30 years, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Thanks to President Biden, nearly $170 billion in student loan debt has been forgiven for nearly 5 million Americans. Prescription drug prices are lower too. We made historic health insurance coverage gains, and the fight for reproductive rights remains central.

And as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am proud to say we have confirmed 202 article III judges and counting, adding to the Federal bench--and keeping Joe Biden's promise--the first black woman in the history of the United States to serve on the Supreme Court.

And that is only domestically. On a global stage, President Joe Biden has restored faith in America as a trustworthy ally and a world power, global leader, there when the world needs us.

For the past 4 years, we have been competing more aggressively with China, rebuilding and expanding NATO, and standing up for democracy and countering the threats of autocrats like Vladimir Putin.

The legacy President Biden will leave behind is nothing short of remarkable. A grateful Nation thanks him for his dedication to each and every American. History will remember him as one of the most successful modern presidents. He acted in the tradition of great Americans such as George Washington. He put the interest of his country and his political party over his personal interest. His decision could not have been easy, but it is the mark of a true statesman. I am honored to call Joe Biden a colleague, a friend, and a fellow American.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.

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.

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.