Floor Statements

Madame President, as the junior Senator from the great State of South Carolina, it is my pleasure to honor the legacy and great work of the late Michael Del Priore from Folk Shoals, SC. Michael graduated from Columbia High School and began his career as an artist, which spanned more than 40 years. He first worked for J.B. White's Department Store as an advertising artist. In addition to this job, he produced art for ``The State'' newspaper and other local businesses.

Michael's natural talent led him to meeting Gian Cassone who introduced him to the techniques of painting portraits with oil and pastels. Michael was commissioned to paint his first portrait of an elected official for Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn to be displayed in the Dorn VA Hospital in Columbia.

Relocating to Charleston, SC, Michael became a student under Ray Goodbred at the Gibbes Museum of Art. Michael Del Priore continued to perfect his craft and was awarded the distinct opportunity to paint an official oil portrait for former Governor and then-U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond to honor his 50 years of public service.

Michael Del Priore served as the past chairman and a member of the board of directors for what is now known as the Portrait Society of America. Michael's talents inspired both at home and on a national level. In 2018, just 2 years before his passing, Governor Henry McMaster awarded him the ``Order of the Palmetto'' to recognize the great strides he made as an artist over his lifetime. Michael's portfolio includes portraits for President Reagan, former House Speaker John Boehner, various other Members of Congress, elected officials in South Carolina, and many others.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, last Saturday, October 7, we saw evil personified. We saw the deadliest attack on the Jewish state since the Yom Kippur War, over 1,400 dead Israelis. And, for context, think of that. If that were America, it would be over 40,000 dead Americans. On top of that, we have seen 30 Americans lose their lives because of the evil brought upon Israel. We saw Hamas--an evil, terrorist organization--launch an unprecedented, unprovoked, undeniably devastating attack on the Jewish state.

I can't think of anything more evil than the images that we saw coming out of Israel where grandmothers were taken captive, where babies were burned alive, and where babies were beheaded. For what reason? For what reason did we see the atrocities and the evil brought upon a people? Simply because they were Jews.

Hamas, their goal is to eliminate the Jewish state, but that is not where they stop. They want to annihilate every single Jewish person on the planet, with more than 6 million living here at home in America. But they go one step further. They despise Western democracy. They want the elimination, the annihilation, of our entire way of life.

Fighting that war with the single-minded focus is exactly what we should expect from the Jewish people, from the State of Israel, from the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Netanyahu. He needs to have a single-minded focus.

But that is not the case because we have seen, in the last 24 hours or so, the emergence of a different kind of war that they now must fight. It is the war of misinformation. The disinformation, the misinformation war could be just as deadly, if not more deadly, than the actual attack we saw last Saturday, October 7.

One might ask the question: Why would I say that? Well, I would say that because immediately what we have seen since the devastation in Israel was Prime Minister Netanyahu sending the signal that they were coming into Gaza, giving people, the Palestinians, a chance to find themselves out of harm's way.

But the misinformation campaign takes a different turn, a different spin,

a different direction. What it said was that the hospital strike was, in fact, carried out by Israel. That misinformation was carried in the New York Times, the AP, and other news outlets in America. That misinformation campaign caused a summit in Jordan to be canceled. It caused President Biden's meetings to be canceled. It caused protests at embassies around the globe. Our Embassies, around the world, felt the devastation of misinformation, of lies, signaling to the world that now Israel must fight a different kind of war at the exact same time that they have a proportional response, which is and should be wiping Hamas off the face of the map.

We saw, as a result of that misinformation war, Hezbollah mobilizing. We have seen very clearly an attempt to weaken Israel and their standing in the world. Devastation after devastation and then, on top of that, we see the emergence of another deadly encounter.

Rather than waiting for the facts, these outlets carried the Hamas narrative, carrying the narrative of an evil, lying terrorist organization.

On top of that and equally as devastating is to see the divide within the House of Representatives, where the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats stand firm with our ally Israel. But there are Members in the Squad who have decided to continue spreading the propaganda of Hamas. Congresswoman Tlaib has yet to delete the tweet that says ``Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that.''

Delete the tweet. We cannot have Members of the U.S. Congress sending out and being an extension of the Hamas propaganda machine. It is despicable behavior from elected representatives of the greatest Nation on God's green Earth.

Those Members did not start their anti-Semitic comments on October 8. This started months and even years prior. There is a cancer that is metastasizing on the radical extreme left that has to be dealt with in America. I have said several times over the past several days that Psalm 122:6 is so important, that we should ``pray for the peace of Jerusalem,'' and those who do ``will prosper.''

There is no doubt in my heart, there is no doubt in my mind that we find ourselves living in dangerous times in this world. Conflicts in Eastern Europe, now conflicts in the Middle East, and real threats in the Indo-Pacific. We need American mettle. We need American leadership. And we need it to be strong, defiant, clear, and undeniably the strongest force for good on the planet.

It is one of the reasons why I made strong comments about the terrible decision--the unbelievable decision--to release $6 billion for hostages.

I said this during the Obama administration--that paying $400 million for hostages would make more Americans less safe abroad and raise the price on every head. Now with $6 billion being paid to Iran, with Iran being the chief funder of Hamas--after the attacks, Hamas thanked Iran for the help. We do not need an administration to be complicit with such challenging evil attacks on the Jewish State.

That is one of the reasons why I seek consent to pass my legislation, the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act. In 1996, we put in place sanctions on Iran. We did so in the sector of their energy sector, because we understood that causing pain--causing pain--would be an important and necessary component of keeping Iran in its place, to slow down, if not stop, the spread of terrorism.

I am thankful. I am thankful that in 1996 we did act, but that action is set to sunset. It is set to expire. We must keep those sanctions in place, without any question.

I look at the support. I look at the support for my legislation. This legislation predates the attacks on the nation of Israel. This bill has the support from both sides of the aisle. It is a commonsense step to make permanent the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, and support comes from both sides of the aisle, including the only Jewish mother in the Senate, Senator Rosen. These are one of the many steps we must take to restrain this regime from developing weapons that threaten the safety and security around the world.

I believe that if we want to respond to this brutality, if we want to respond to this evil, one of the ways that we can respond is by making permanent the sanctions on Iran.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1390 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Madam President, I am deeply disappointed that common sense seems to be harder to find in Washington, DC. It is just not common enough.

I certainly hope that we have an opportunity to see SISA--my bill-- make permanent the sanctions against Iran. It is critically important that we show progress sidelining the largest state supporter of terrorism in the world.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 944 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. President, my amendment is a very simple amendment. It directs the Treasury Department to provide transparency on the state of Chinese military donations to U.S. universities. Every year, undisclosed sources within the People's Republic of China sends millions of dollars in gifts, grants, and other financial means to U.S. colleges and universities, and the sad fact is we know too little about that. My amendment would be the first step in understanding their impact.

I ask unanimous consent that the 60-vote threshold with respect to this amendment be vitiated.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we do this by voice vote as well.

Madam President, as the junior Senator from South Carolina, it is my pleasure to honor George Fennell, who was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame. George became interested in solid waste disposal after a 6-year stint with Milliken & Company in Greenville, SC. In 1972, George returned to his hometown of Walterboro and began impacting the waste-hauling industry.

Mr. Fennell's drive for excellence pushed him to innovate and gave him a vision for the future of his business. The Colleton Environmental Services, later renamed the Fennell Container Company, was initially created by George and his wife Sandra, who built the modest business from a barn on a dirt lot to the largest privately owned waste management company in South Carolina. His entrepreneurial spirit paved the way to his American dream and has motivated his family, friends, and community. When hurricanes devastated South Carolina, George Fennell stepped up to support the American Red Cross' effort to bring the necessary aid to those affected by the storms. This only scratches the surface of who he is and how deeply he cares for his neighbors and friends.

Today, it is my pleasure to recognize Mr. George Fennell and his dedication to making a difference in his community and the lives of those around him. Congratulations on this incredible honor and a distinguished career.

Mr. President, yesterday on ABC's ``This Week,'' Senator Durbin asked Senator Booker and me to come back to the table and start talking about policing in America.

I never left the table, but it was Senator Durbin who filibustered my JUSTICE Act. It was Senator Durbin who called the effort to make deescalation training more available a ``token'' piece of legislation. It was indeed the Senator from Illinois who said that aspects of my JUSTICE Act which talked about the importance of the duty to intervene was a ``token'' piece of legislation.

In that legislation we had more resources for more training because we want only the best wearing the badge in every location, in every municipality, in every county, and in every State in this great Nation. But politics too often gets in the way in doing what every American knows is common sense, and here we find ourselves, again, having this same conversation with no action having happened so far.

I don't speak on this floor very often, but this is my 10th speech on policing

in America in 8 years--the 10th time I have asked for something that will make our officers better and safer and make our communities better and safer. It is another time I have asked for more resources for recruitment so that we can have only the best wearing the badge, but this legislative body--the greatest deliberative body in the world-- didn't act.

It was in 2015, shortly after the shooting of Walter Scott, who was shot in the back in my hometown of Charleston, SC, that I came to this floor to ask for more resources for body-worn cameras so that we capture what happens during those vital times, and not a single Democrat cosponsored that legislation.

I came back a year later, in 2016, and gave three speeches on the importance of policing in America.

In 2020, on June 17, I introduced the JUSTICE Act with more requests for what I believe is common sense. It was 70 percent of what the House Democrats were asking for. We, on our side of the aisle, said: This makes sense. Why don't we find common ground in that 70 percent, make it into a piece of legislation and show the American people that, yes, their elected officials can, at times, act with common sense--because my assumption was that common ground leads to common sense.

Imagine my disappointment when the duty to intervene, deescalation training, more resources, more reporting so that we have eyes around the country was filibustered in this Chamber with not enough votes to even extend the conversation on the important issue of policing in America.

I came back just a week later, on June 24, standing on this floor asking our body to take seriously our responsibility on the important topic of policing in America. What I said that day on June 24, 2020, was that ``there is trouble coming.'' I referred to the Good Book, the Bible, and reflected on Ezekiel 33:6 that says that when you see trouble coming and you say nothing, you do nothing, the blood that comes is on your hands. But if you shout from the mountaintops, if you warn the people that trouble is coming, it is not on your hands.

Mr. President, our Nation is reeling. People--Republicans, Democrats, Independents, nonaffiliates, Black folks, White folks, rich folks, poor folks, Southerners, Northerners, the west coast and the east coast--are sick and tired of politics as usual.

We, as a nation, deserve better. We should be able to build a coalition around the common ground of, yes, we need more training on deescalation; yes, we need more resources and training on the duty to intervene; yes, we need more grants; and yes, we need the best wearing the badge.

We should have simple legislation that we can agree upon that has been agreed upon in the past, but too often too many are too concerned with who gets the credit.

I know that when a conservative Republican starts talking about policing in America, some people seem to just turn the channel. That is wrong.

When I came to the floor and talked about my many unnecessary incidents with the police; when I came to the floor and talked about the man, Walter Scott, shot in my city; when I came to this floor on June 17 and talked about the massacre at Mother Emanuel Church in my hometown--I take the issue of policing in America seriously. I want our body to see it not as an issue of Republicans versus Democrats but as good people standing in the gap, elected to do a job that we all ran to do. Let's do our jobs.

We can make a difference in this Nation. Had the duty to intervene been law of the land on the Federal level, it could have made a difference in Memphis, TN. In Wisconsin, more deescalation training could make a difference.

I hope that when the dust settles and the issue is no longer on the front pages of our newspapers, no longer streaming across our TVs and our iPads and our computers, that we do something that says to the American people: We see your pain. We are willing to put our partisan labels and shirts and uniforms on the side so that we can do what needs to be done. That is what the people deserve.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, today, my CRA on public charter schools is a simple vote today. It is a vote for common sense; it is a vote for parents; and it is a vote for kids.

Here is the truth: Everywhere in America, except for Washington, DC, this is an 80-percent issue. Literally, 68 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of Independents, 68 percent of African-Americans, and 72 percent of Hispanics all agree with some form of school choice. This is simply a public charter school issue stopping the Biden administration from destroying one of the most important vehicles for human prosperity for the kids of our country. I urge my colleagues to vote yes.

I ask unanimous consent for another 30 seconds.

This issue is an issue of America's future and America's now. Today, our kids desperately need quality education from sea to shining sea. This CRA provides us more momentum in the direction of making sure the poorest kids in the poorest ZIP Codes have quality education. That is all this is about.

I urge my colleagues to vote yes.

The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read the third time.

Vote on S.J. Res. 60

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to modify the previous order so that the Senate remains in executive session until 5 p.m., with all provisions under the previous order remaining in effect.

Mr. President, tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to vote for students. Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to vote for parents. Tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to vote for common sense in the U.S. Senate. Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to vote for my resolution to stop the Biden Department of Education from destroying educational opportunities for millions of students and their parents.

During the pandemic, we saw the devastating impact of prolonged school closures on America's kids, especially kids living in low-income communities.

Big labor unions orchestrated these shutdowns, and blue city politicians fell in lockstep. They sided with union bosses over parents, over kids, and over plain old common sense.

Now we see the tragic consequences. The 2022 NAEP scorecard shows the largest drop in reading scores for 9-year-olds in more than 30 years and the first-ever--the first-ever--drop in math scores, a 7-percent decrease.

We warned them that this would happen. We said stop, stop letting labor bosses make decisions. Parents--parents--are the ones who know what is best for their kids. They need flexibility. They deserve choice.

One of those options should always be high-quality public charter schools. These charter schools continue to outkick their coverage. This year, charter schools only represent 12 percent--12 percent--of all public high schools, but they make up 22 percent of the top 100 public high schools in our amazing country. That is nearly one out of four amazing public schools is a charter school, even though only 12 percent of all schools, all high schools, are charter schools.

Think about this. In Colorado, 85 percent of charter school students met performance standards compared to only 66 percent of students in district-managed schools.

Despite their proven track record of success for students, for parents, and, of course, for common sense, the Biden administration continues to attack charter schools. He campaigned against them. And then as soon as he got in office, he directed the bureaucrats at the DOE--the Department of Education--to put new restrictions on charter schools desperately, desperately looking for funding. These restrictions are a slap in the face to parents who are turning to charter schools as a better alternative for their children.

Since the pandemic, charter schools have gained 7 percent--7 percent; that is, 240,000 more students have chosen charter schools because their parents are able to access common sense for their kids' education path. That means hundreds of thousand of students are better off today than they were before they had this option.

These are kids growing up in some of America's most devastated communities, some of America's poorest communities, some of America's most disadvantaged communities.

This is a game changer, not just for the students while they are enrolled in these schools, but this is a game changer for the rest of their lives. This is a game changer for them economically. This is the fastest path to the American dream, what we all hope to achieve one day. This is the game changer that we so often talk about.

We have seen the success of providing parents with more options right here in Washington, DC, since the creation of the bipartisan--and let me say that word one more time because sometimes here in Washington, we don't think anything happens in a bipartisan fashion. But the DC Opportunity Scholarship is a bipartisan coalition of Senators and Congress members who came together to make sure that DC kids, since 2004, have had opportunity for quality education through charter schools. Yes, 11,000 students, by the way--not 500, not 2,000, 11,000 students--from low-income families here in DC were able to receive scholarships to attend the school of their choice, scholarships that were provided by Republicans and Democrats in Congresses since 2004.

There is good news, by the way. The good news is that these students attending these remarkable public charter schools graduate 91 percent of the time--91 percent of the time. Compare that to students in the DC area who do not attend a public charter school who are in the public school system; they graduate only two out of three times, 66 percent. Wow.

I can't imagine a world where my friends across the aisle who stood with me to protect DC Opportunity Scholarships would not stand with us today to protect more education options for kids all across America.

By voting for the administration's restrictions, my friends across the aisle are telling these hard-working parents that labor union bosses and bureaucrats know what is best for their kids better than the parents themselves. That is plain wrong.

Here is what I know: The greatest difference between the haves and the have-nots, it is not the color of your skin, it is not the neighborhood you live in, it is not the income of your parents, the biggest difference between the haves and the have-nots in our country will not be solved by playing politics and putting labor unions in front of your kids. The way that we close that gap, the biggest difference between the two sides--the haves and have-nots--my friend from Indiana, is education, quality education. It changes lives. It sets poor kids on the right path.

I want to do for the kids today what was done for me when I was a kid. I want to make sure that everybody understands that education is the closest thing to magic in America, and I do mean a good education.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. President, in this underlying bill, there is $87 billion for the IRS. The Democrats want to make the IRS-- the three

letters you never want to see in your mailbox--bigger than the Pentagon, the State Department, the FBI, and the Border Patrol combined.

Instead, what my motion does is that it would take $45 billion from enforcement and give it to parents so that they can help their kids make up for the learning loss that occurred during the pandemic.

And oh, by the way, when you think about the size of the IRS and when you think about the enforcement, realize that according to the CBO, 90 percent of the targeting would be on household incomes under $200,000.

I urge my colleagues to support my motion.

Mr. President, how much time do I have left?

Two seconds or 22 seconds?

Mr. President, what we know already is that 9.1 percent of inflation is already ravaging middle-income Americans. I cannot believe that we will not take the time and do what is best for the American people, and especially those making under $200,000.

Vote on Motion to Commit

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I would like to congratulate and honor the city of Greenville in South Carolina for their opening of Unity Park on May 19, 2022.

Harlan Kelsey, a nationally known landscape artist commissioned by the Municipal League of Greenville, published recommendations for improvements to Greenville more than a century ago in 1907. His recommendations identified what is now the site for Unity Park. The transformative 60-acre park will help bring people together to celebrate the diversity of the Greenville community.

The park comes after 22 months of construction, nearly $13 million in private donations, and countless hours of community engagement. With this addition, the city has committed to bringing more affordable housing to nine acres near the park, created a location to celebrate the community, built a place to continue highlighting the rich history of Greenville, and is transforming one of our State's designated Opportunity Zones: Unity Park will feature playgrounds and splashpads, a welcome center, numerous trails and bridges, and an observation tower.

I commend the city of Greenville on the park's opening and their commitment to growth, success, and community.

I call up my motion to instruct conferees, which is at the desk.

Madam President, this should be simple. The last 20 years, China's emissions have gone from 13 percent globally to 28 percent. At the same time, our emissions have gone from 25 percent down to 14 percent.

I will start over.

The last 20 years, China's emissions have doubled--13 percent to 28 percent. At the exact same time, ours has gone from 25 percent to 14 percent.

Why would we cripple our economy to make it easier for China to prosper? This should be a simple one. Gas in DC is $5 a gallon. We are destroying America's economy, and we are crippling our Nation's energy security. This should be simple.

I yield back the rest of my time.

I have great respect for Senator Carper. I think he is a man of integrity. I will simply say that China can't hear the music he is talking about. Our emissions have been going down while theirs is going up.

Clean energy in this footprint is produced cleaner in America than it is in China. So if you care about the environment, produce it here at home. If you care about national security, produce it here at home.

(Applause.)

That is all I am suggesting.

I will reclaim the last 10 seconds of my time.

Vote on Motion

Madam President, for the last 4 years I have worked hard with my friends across the aisle on antilynching legislation, legislation that has failed in this body 200 times. We passed it in 2019 under Republican leadership in this Senate, only for it to fall apart in the House.

Well, after more than a century of failed attempts, both Chambers of Congress have finally passed this historic piece of legislation. I am proud to say we did the right thing not for Republicans or Democrats, but for Americans who have watched their government fall short too many times.

While we cannot erase our Nation's past, today, we have taken a significant step toward a better future for all. This long overdue piece of legislation sends a clear message: We will not tolerate hatred and violence against our fellow Americans.

Madam President, this week President

Biden's State of the Union speech addressed an issue I have long worked on. It is the issue of police reform. After years--and I do mean years--of Democrats' touting unpopular ``defund the police'' policies, they have finally seen the light--maybe it is the light on their sinking polling numbers--and are now voicing support for funding our men and women in uniform.

Crime is one of the top issues people across this country are facing. Homicides are up 44 percent in major cities since 2019, and minority communities that have been impacted the most are crying out for help.

Eighty-five percent--85 percent--is the number of the increase from 2019 to 2020 in the murders and the violent crimes in Black and Hispanic communities. In addition, last year was one of the most dangerous, deadliest years for law enforcement on record, with the most officers being shot in the line of duty since they began tracking the numbers. That is nearly a 70-percent increase in officers being shot while simply trying to do their duty, take care of the community, and return to their families.

So this is not an issue between law enforcement or the minority community; this is an issue of both. Today, 80 percent of African Americans all over the country want the same level of policing or higher levels of policing. They want their neighborhoods safe because they understand more than anyone else--with the 85-percent increase, they understand the importance of the presence of character-driven law enforcement officers patrolling our communities.

The numbers simply do not lie.

That is why we must increase funding for police departments so they can have the training and the equipment, the resources necessary to do their jobs, keeping themselves safe and the neighborhoods that they patrol safe at the exact same time.

In his speech this week, President Biden named things I have been working on and supporting for years along with my Republican colleagues. We have literally been supporting the issues he raised for the last 2 or 3 years.

My legislation, the JUSTICE Act, was filibustered on this very floor by Senate Democrats in 2020. It contained hundreds of millions of dollars for the very things President Biden, under duress and in an election year for so many Democrats, is now advocating for.

In my bill, as an example, we funded training; we funded storage; and we funded the purchase of more body-worn cameras for our officers because the polling and the stats are undeniable. When violent crime against our officers goes down, violent crime against the community goes down.

We funded training on alternatives for the use of force. We funded deescalation training. We addressed the issues of behavioral health. We funded efforts to ensure law enforcement officers come from diverse backgrounds that reflect the communities that they serve, but Democrats refused to support those efforts.

Fast-forward to 2021. The legislation that I was negotiating over the last year would ban choke holds, with the only exception being the life of the officer. We took a strong stance on no-knock warrants. We worked to provide support for officers who were experiencing PTSD, and we supported providing co-responders to scenes where there was a mental health episode happening.

The truth is, we were almost there--getting a bill done--when my negotiating partners left the table.

In this election year, I am glad to hear that President Biden and Democrats are now, suddenly, talking positively about an issue that every community around the country has been talking about for the last 2 years.

I want more than talk. I want to see action. I am still at the table. I am still waiting for anyone, from anywhere, at any time, to show up at this table and take care of our police officers so they can continue to take care of our communities. I look forward to reintroducing legislation very quickly to refund the police after so many efforts to defund the police have succeeded in cities across our great Nation.

I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to come back to the negotiating table, which I never left, so that we can ensure the proper level of funding for our officers, who provide great levels of safety for our communities.

Also, for the last 3 years, I have worked really hard with my friends across the aisle on lynching legislation--lynching legislation that has failed in this body 200 times--and we passed it. We passed it twice under Republican leadership, in this Senate, only for it to fall apart in the House. Well, the House has taken up that legislation, and they have renamed it. That is a good thing if they will pass it. If it takes a new name and minor tweaks to get this legislation signed into law-- legislation that has failed 200 times--I welcome a new name; I welcome some technical changes. I think we are almost there on this, too.

This is the year, and now is the time that we do the right thing, not for Republicans or Democrats but for Americans, who have watched with bewildered eyes and confused hearts the government fall short on issues of importance to them again and again and again. Let this year be the year we put politics to the side, and we get it done.