Government Accountability (Cong. Rec., May 19, 2020)
Summary
Page S2481 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Volume 166, No. 94, headed Government Accountability. The Senate met at 10 a.m., with a prayer from the Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black. A speaker says the Department of Homeland Security assessed that the Chinese Government intentionally hoarded supplies in early January, and that telling the truth about the Chinese Communist Party does not affect how the domestic response is analyzed, which is that speaker's view. Another speaker says steps are being taken to issue subpoenas to Obama administration officials, and a tribute praises a colleague named Mike.
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“Government Accountability (Cong. Rec., May 19, 2020).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-19-crec-2020-05-19-pt1-pgs2481-6-bcf4ecdfa3/
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Congressional Record
E PL
UR M
IB NU
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2020 No. 94
Senate
The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was supplies in early January while work- its lies and active coverup. Telling the
called to order by the President pro ing to prevent the World Health Orga- truth about the Chinese Communist
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). nization from sounding the alarm Party does not, as some have sug-
f about the virus pandemic. gested, have any bearing on how we
By analyzing international trade analyze our domestic response.
PRAYER data, the Department of Homeland Se- We should learn from democratic
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- curity assessed that the Chinese Gov- countries that have been successful in
fered the following prayer: ernment intentionally concealed the containing outbreaks, like Taiwan and
Let us pray. severity of COVID–19 from the world in South Korea. However, in going for-
God of our destiny, You have early January in order to stockpile ward, everyone around the world
watched over us from generation to medical supplies. Furthermore, the should have his eyes open about the
generation. May our lawmakers trust Chinese Communist Party Government true nature of the Chinese regime.
Your faithfulness during this chal- tried to hide its actions by denying I yield the floor.
lenging season of our Nation’s history. there were any export restrictions. f
Lord, inspire them to recall how You They even tried to obscure and delay RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY
have sustained this land we love in its trade data so it wouldn’t get LEADER
prosperity and adversity, in peace and caught.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma-
in war. Give our Senators the wisdom These acts are outrageous.
jority leader is recognized.
to believe that they can trust Your Even worse, the CIA and foreign in-
constancy and greatness as they cling telligence agencies have found evidence f
to Your promise to never leave or for- that China threatened the World GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
sake them. Believing in Your power, Health Organization to stop cooper- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
help us all to face fresh challenges with ating on efforts to combat COVID–19 if the coronavirus pandemic continues to
total confidence in You. the organization declared a global challenge our Nation, and the Senate is
And, Lord, we pray for the health and health emergency early on. So it was here working for the American people.
safety of all as communities begin the declared, and, hence, there was valu- Our committees have called in ex-
process of reopening businesses. able time lost in fighting the virus. perts like Dr. Fauci and leaders like
We pray in Your mighty Name. This is simply unacceptable behavior. Chairman Powell to discuss the CARES
Amen. The Chinese Communist Party ought Act and the path toward reopening. We
f to be held accountable for the count- are tracking the effects of the largest
less lives that have been lost around rescue package ever and are consid-
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE the globe due to its nontransparent, ering next steps, like strong legal pro-
The President pro tempore led the aggressive, inhumane behavior. tections so that doctors, small busi-
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: The World Health Organization is nesses, schoolteachers, and universities
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the composed of many honorable and dedi- do not face a second epidemic of frivo-
United States of America, and to the Repub- cated medical professionals who be- lous lawsuits.
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, lieve in the WHO’s mission. If any of The Senate is also staying on top of
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. them were privy to what was going on other threats that predated COVID–19—
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. by the Chinese Communist Party, he the meddling of Putin’s Russia, the
HYDE-SMITH). The Senator from Iowa. ought to step forward and shine light brutal Chinese Communist Party,
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I on any misdeeds by the organization’s rogue states like Iran and North Korea,
ask unanimous consent to speak for 3 leadership. foreign terrorists such as ISIS.
minutes as in morning business. Whistleblowers are necessary to pre- Two weeks ago, we overwhelmingly
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without vent corruption within any institution, confirmed an impressive leader for the
objection, it is so ordered. which is why I have a longstanding rep- National Counterintelligence and Secu-
f utation of protecting whistleblowers. rity Center, whom Acting DNI Grenell
The world deserves to know what the has announced will play a central role
CHINA AND THE WORLD HEALTH World Health Organization’s leaders in briefing candidates and campaigns
ORGANIZATION knew and when they knew it. The evi- on foreign threats against our elec-
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I dence is quickly becoming crystal tions.
am deeply concerned about reports clear—that China is responsible for tre- Today, our colleagues on the Intel-
that China began hoarding medical mendous suffering worldwide through ligence Committee, now led by Acting
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
S2481
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S2482 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2020
Chairman RUBIO, will report out the This is just one of the realities that relationship to the abuses I have just
President’s nominee to be the next Di- President Trump’s Democratic critics laid out. The American people deserve
rector of National Intelligence, and, spent years calling conspiracy theories answers about how such abuses could
last week, we reauthorized essential or inventions of the President’s mind. happen, and we intend to get those an-
tools that our intelligence community Yet here it is in black and white from swers.
needs to defend our homeland, track exactly the kind of independent inspec- I have been a strong supporter of law
our enemies, and protect Americans. tor general the Democrats rushed to enforcement and the intelligence com-
But we didn’t stop there. embrace when convenient. munity during my career. The Amer-
Over the last several years, we have Sadly, this was no isolated incident. ican people sleep safer because dedi-
been painfully reminded that our Na- Just recently, Attorney General Barr cated people are protecting our coun-
tion and our liberties are not only has had to take the incredible step of try and bringing our foes to justice. It
threatened from without. The fabric of unwinding the DOJ prosecution of an- is precisely because I support these
our country is also hurt when tools and other former Trump adviser because missions that I feel so strongly this
capabilities that are meant to keep us the government’s case against him was malpractice cannot be tolerated and
safe are abused in ways that are, at unfair and distorted as well. must never be repeated.
best, reckless, sloppy, and unaccount- It was largely on the basis of these f
able—or, worse, polluted by political proceedings that the Democrats and
bias. TRIBUTE TO MIKE DISILVESTRO
the media spent years being fixated on
In 2016, the FBI embarked on a coun- wild theories of Russian collusion, but Mr. MCCONNELL. Now, Madam
terintelligence investigation against upon investigation, the Mueller inves- President, on another matter, it is my
Donald Trump’s campaign for the Pres- honor to help bid farewell to a distin-
tigation—remember that one?—it is
idency. Federal law enforcement used guished staff leader, who has himself
those wild allegations that collapsed
taxpayer money to scrutinize a polit- handled sensitive security matters
along with the credibility of several of
ical campaign in the middle of a demo- with great care and dedication.
these investigations that helped to cre- For more than 30 years, this body has
cratic election. You would have
ate the cloud of suspicion in the first functioned more safely and smoothly
thought such a radical step must have
place. because Mike DiSilvestro was on the
sprung from an air-tight justification.
In the words of our distinguished At- clock as Director of the Office of Sen-
Certainly, you would think the out-
torney General: ate Security. Mike D.’s job is tough to
going Obama administration should
The proper investigative and prosecutorial describe. That is partially because long
only have used the awesome power of
standards of the Department of Justice were tenured all-stars like Mike have a way
the Federal Government to pry into abused. . . . We saw two different standards
their political rivals if they had had a of justice emerge, one that applied to Presi-
of carving out their own niche, but it is
slam-dunk basis for doing so, but that dent Trump and his associates and the other mostly because his work is literally
is not what they had. that applied to everybody else. We can’t classified. Mike has been in charge of
In one instance, the FBI got permis- allow this ever to happen again. the Office of Senate Security almost as
sion to surveil a Trump associate by That is from the Attorney General. long as I have been in the Senate.
telling half-truths, blurring evidence, Oh, and by the way, as if this debacle He came on board as Acting Director
and citing sketchy sources like a dos- needed even more shocking behavior, I in 1987. He took over a brandnew office
sier of partisan opposition research understand a Federal judge may try to with incredibly important and sen-
that had been funded by the Hillary sitive functions. The details are not for
continue prosecuting one of these cases
Clinton campaign and the DNC. public consumption, but let’s say there
even though the prosecution itself
Here is how even the New York were two main missions.
wants to drop it. The judge has taken First, Mike has managed, modern-
Times explained the recent findings of it upon himself to go browsing for
the Justice Department’s inspector ized, and expanded the secure facilities
other hostile parties. Obviously, that and systems that provide classified in-
general: ‘‘The FBI had cherry-picked subverts our constitutional order in
and misstated evidence about the formation in the Capitol to Senators
which the executive alone decides and committees as we govern the coun-
Trump adviser . . . when seeking per- whether to prosecute cases.
mission to wiretap him.’’ try. He has simultaneously been a dip-
So, look, no matter what some Wash- lomatic liaison to the executive branch
That was from the New York Times. ington Democrats may try to claim,
So an American citizen’s campaign and has advocated for the Senate’s pre-
you are not crazy or a conspiracy theo- rogative, and he has been a skillful
for the American Presidency was treat- rist if you see a pattern of institutional
ed like a hostile foreign power by our manager of people and logistics, who
unfairness toward this President. You has made sure our secrets stay secret
own law enforcement, in part, because would have to be blind not to see one.
the Democratic-led executive branch once they arrive here.
All of this is why the Senate passed Second, Mike has been one of our top
manipulated documents, hid contrary important FISA reforms in last week’s
evidence, and made a DNC-funded dos- leaders on the security of the Senate
bill—to help bring accountability and itself. He helps to plan for contin-
sier a launch pad for an investigation. transparency into that flawed proc-
The inspector general counted seven gencies and guard every facet of our in-
ess—and we aren’t nearly finished. stitution, its people, and its systems
significant inaccuracies and omissions. As soon as possible, the full Senate
Here is his report: from outside actors with bad inten-
will vote on Mr. RATCLIFFE’s nomina- tions.
We identified multiple instances in which
factual assertions relied upon in the [FBI’s]
tion. The President will have a Senate- These are tall orders—even for a fel-
FISA application were inaccurate, incom- confirmed DNI who can pursue the low graduate of the University of Lou-
plete, or unsupported by appropriate docu- vital national security work of our isville. Consider how much has changed
mentation based upon information the FBI tireless intelligence community while in the 37 years since Mike first came to
had in its possession at the time the applica- he can also ensure that the IC stays the Senate and in the 32 years he has
tion was filed. out of politics and out of the papers. held this job: major wars, terrorist
Did you catch that last part? It was Just yesterday, Chairman GRAHAM strikes on the homeland, anthrax in
based upon information the FBI had in announced the Committee on the Judi- the Hart Building, countless techno-
its possession at the time the applica- ciary will vote on a serious new set of logical advances that have made his
tion was filed. So we are either talking subpoenas so the Senate can hear di- task radically more complex. Imagine
about gross incompetence or inten- rectly from key players like James guarding some of the Nation’s most
tional bias. Does any Senator think it Comey, Andrew McCabe, Loretta closely held secrets, planning for pos-
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
is acceptable for any Federal warrant Lynch, and many others to continue sible attacks on the institution, and
application to include seven significant getting to the bottom of this. Let me still being unanimously described by
inaccuracies and omissions? But this say that again. The Senate Repub- your colleagues as calm, cool, and
wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill warrant; licans are taking steps to issue sub- even-keeled.
it was a FISA warrant to snoop on a poenas to a wide variety of Obama ad- Mike is no cheap people pleaser. His
Presidential campaign. ministration officials who have some duties don’t permit it. When you see
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