Congressional Record, Senate, March 24, 2021 — PPP Extension Act of 2021 Cloture Vote
Summary
Congressional Record, Senate, page S1746, March 24, 2021. The page records Rollcall Vote No. 134, on the Levine nomination, with yeas 52 and nays 48, and the nomination was confirmed. Under the heading PPP Extension Act of 2021, the clerk reads the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 11, H.R. 1799, an act to amend the Small Business Act and the CARES Act to extend the covered period for the paycheck protection program. On that vote, the yeas are 96 and the nays are 4, and cloture was invoked. Later remarks in the Senate remember victims of a shooting in Colorado and call for action on gun violence.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Congressional Record, Senate, March 24, 2021 — PPP Extension Act of 2021 Cloture Vote.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-03-24-crec-2021-03-24-pt1-pgs1746-4-3475b0b728/
, SHA-256 7ba978aae8eb8b9c50a58fc0e93d5893862a90a98e4c5524ed072332b7aba212.Full text
S1746 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
no time to waste. We are going to need Grassley Marshall Scott (FL) Cornyn King Rubio
Hagerty McConnell Scott (SC) Cortez Masto Klobuchar Sanders
all the help we can get, particularly Hassan Menendez Shaheen Cotton Lankford Sasse
from experts like Dr. Murthy and Dr. Heinrich Merkley Shelby Cramer Leahy Schatz
Levine to get it done. Hickenlooper Moran Sinema Crapo Lee Schumer
I yield the floor. Hirono Murkowski Smith Daines Luján Scott (FL)
Hoeven Murphy Stabenow Duckworth Lummis Scott (SC)
VOTE ON LEVINE NOMINATION Hyde-Smith Murray Durbin Manchin Shaheen
Sullivan
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Inhofe Ossoff Ernst Markey Shelby
Tester
Johnson Padilla Feinstein Marshall Sinema
question is, Will the Senate advise and Kaine Peters
Thune
Fischer McConnell Smith
consent to the Levine nomination? Kelly Portman Tillis Gillibrand Menendez Stabenow
Toomey
Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and Kennedy Reed
Tuberville
Graham Merkley Sullivan
nays. King Risch Grassley Moran Tester
Klobuchar Romney Van Hollen Hagerty Murkowski Thune
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a Lankford Rosen Warner Hassan Murphy Tillis
sufficient second? Leahy Rounds Warnock Heinrich Murray Toomey
Lee Rubio Warren Hickenlooper Ossoff Tuberville
There appears to be a sufficient sec-
Luján Sanders Whitehouse Hirono Padilla Van Hollen
ond. Lummis Sasse Wicker Hoeven Peters Warner
The clerk will call the roll. Manchin Schatz Wyden Hyde-Smith Portman Warnock
The bill clerk called the roll. Markey Schumer Young Inhofe Reed Warren
The result was announced—yeas 52, Johnson Risch Whitehouse
NAYS—2 Kaine Romney Wicker
nays 48, as follows: Hawley Paul Kelly Rosen Wyden
[Rollcall Vote No. 134 Ex.] Kennedy Rounds Young
The nomination was confirmed.
YEAS—52 NAYS—4
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
Baldwin Hickenlooper Reed the previous order, the motions to re- Braun Hawley
Bennet Hirono Rosen Cruz Paul
Blumenthal Kaine Sanders consider are considered made and laid
Booker Kelly Schatz upon the table, and the President will The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
Brown King Schumer be immediately notified of the Senate’s OSSOFF). On this vote, the yeas are 96,
Cantwell Klobuchar Shaheen the nays are 4.
Cardin Leahy
action.
Sinema The motion is agreed to.
Carper Luján Smith f
Casey Manchin
Stabenow f
Collins Markey
Tester
Coons Menendez CLOTURE MOTION LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Cortez Masto Van Hollen
Merkley
Duckworth Murkowski Warner The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant ---
Durbin Murphy Warnock to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the
Feinstein Murray Warren PPP EXTENSION ACT OF 2021—
Whitehouse
Senate the pending cloture motion, MOTION TO PROCEED
Gillibrand Ossoff
Hassan Padilla Wyden which the clerk will state.
Heinrich Peters The legislative clerk read as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. Cloture
CLOTURE MOTION having been invoked, the Senate will
NAYS—48 resume legislative session and the mo-
Barrasso Graham Portman
We, the undersigned Senators, in accord-
ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the tion to proceed to H.R. 1799, which the
Blackburn Grassley Risch
Blunt Hagerty Romney Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby clerk will report.
Boozman Hawley Rounds move to bring to a close debate on the mo- The senior assistant legislative clerk
Braun Hoeven Rubio tion to proceed to Calendar No. 11, H.R. 1799, read as follows:
Burr Hyde-Smith Sasse a bill to amend the Small Business Act and
Capito Inhofe Scott (FL)
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 11, H.R.
the CARES Act to extend the covered period 1799, an act to amend the Small Business Act
Cassidy Johnson Scott (SC)
Cornyn Kennedy Shelby
for the paycheck protection program, and for and the CARES Act to extend the covered
Cotton Lankford Sullivan other purposes. period for the paycheck protection program,
Cramer Lee Thune Charles E. Schumer, Patrick J. Leahy, and for other purposes.
Crapo Lummis Tillis Brian Schatz, Debbie Stabenow, Patty
Cruz Marshall Toomey Murray, Martin Heinrich, Kirsten E. PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator
Daines McConnell Tuberville Gillibrand, Jon Ossoff, Jeanne Sha- from Connecticut.
Ernst Moran Wicker heen, Mark R. Warner, Kyrsten ORDER OF BUSINESS
Fischer Paul Young
Sinema, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tina Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I ask
The nomination was confirmed. Smith, Ron Wyden, Jacky Rosen, Ben- unanimous consent that following
VOTE ON TURK NOMINATION jamin L. Cardin.
morning business tomorrow, Thursday,
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- March 25, all postcloture time on the
SMITH). The question is, Will the Sen- imous consent, the mandatory quorum motion to proceed to Calendar No. 11,
ate advise and consent to the Turk call has been waived. H.R. 1799, the PPP Extension Act, be
nomination? The question is, Is it the sense of the considered expired and the motion to
Mr. PETERS. I ask for the yeas and Senate that debate on the motion to proceed be agreed to; that the only
nays. proceed to H.R. 1799, a bill to amend amendments in order be the following:
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a the Small Business Act and CARES Kennedy, No. 1401; Rubio, No. 1405; fur-
sufficient second? Act to extend the covered period for ther, that it be in order for Senator
There appears to be a sufficient sec- the paycheck protection program, and PAUL or his designee to raise a Budget
ond. for other purposes, be brought to a Act point of order; finally, that at 11
The clerk will call the roll. close? a.m. tomorrow, the Senate vote in rela-
The legislative clerk called the roll. The yeas and nays are mandatory tion to the amendments in the order
The result was announced—yeas 98, under the rule. listed and on the motion to waive, if
nays 2, as follows: The clerk will call the roll. made; that if the motion to waive is
[Rollcall Vote No. 135 Ex.] The senior assistant legislative clerk agreed to, the bill be considered read a
YEAS—98 proceeded to call the roll. third time and the Senate vote on pas-
The result was announced—yeas 96, sage of the bill as amended, if amend-
Baldwin Cantwell Cramer
nays 4, as follows:
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
Barrasso Capito Crapo ed, with 60 affirmative votes required
Bennet Cardin Cruz [Rollcall Vote No. 136 Ex.] for passage, all with no intervening ac-
Blackburn Carper Daines
Blumenthal Casey Duckworth
YEAS—96 tion or debate.
Blunt Cassidy Durbin Baldwin Booker Cardin The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
Booker Collins Ernst Barrasso Boozman Carper objection?
Boozman Coons Feinstein Bennet Brown Casey Without objection, it is so ordered.
Braun Cornyn Fischer Blackburn Burr Cassidy
Brown Cortez Masto Gillibrand Blumenthal Cantwell Collins The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Burr Cotton Graham Blunt Capito Coons ator from Colorado.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:45 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.043 S24MRPT1
March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1747
GUN VIOLENCE tired early to spend more time trav- Boulder will heal, but this scar will
Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, it is eling, skiing, and visiting his daughter always be there. My daughter’s genera-
hard to believe that I am on this floor Erika. tion will always bear the burden of a
again after losing 10 more people, this After learning of her father’s death, national government that did nothing
time in Boulder, CO, to another hor- Erica wrote: ‘‘My dad represents all to protect them. They and the children
rible mass shooting in our State. things Love. I am so thankful he could that I used to work for in the Denver
I am sure the Presiding Officer walk me down the aisle last summer.’’ Public Schools carry a burden that we
doesn’t remember that last week, after Lynn Murray, age 62. Lynn was a didn’t carry. They have grown up with
the events in Atlanta, I went over to mother of two and a retired photo di- a reasonable fear that they will be shot
his desk, and I said that we were so rector for prominent national maga- in their classrooms or in their schools
sorry in Colorado for what had hap- zines. or at a movie theater or in any public
pened in Atlanta, and then, just 3 or 4 Her husband John said: ‘‘I just want place.
days later, it happened again in Colo- her to be remembered as this amazing, I didn’t grow up in an America with
rado. amazing comet, spending 62 years fly- more gun-related deaths than virtually
I have spent the last day learning ing across the sky.’’ any country in this world, and we can’t
about the victims of this terrible Jody Waters, 65 years old. Jody accept it for their America. I am not
crime, and I want America to know owned a boutique clothing store named asking anybody here to show the cour-
what extraordinary human beings we Applause on Pearl Street Mall, where age that Officer Talley showed or the
have lost in my State. Here they are. she remembered all her customers and other men and women of law enforce-
Denny Stong, age 20. Denny was a their favorite brands. She was a moth- ment who constantly have to deal with
graduate of Fairview High School, an er of two and a grandmother who loved the inability of this place’s capacity to
introverted, smart kid who loved his- horses and hiking. A friend said: When deal with these issues. I am just asking
tory and model airplanes. Jody walked into the room, ‘‘she was a us to show an ounce of their courage by
He had been covering shifts at the breath of fresh air, a light.’’ doing whatever we can to keep weapons
Finally, Officer Eric Talley. He is 51 of war out of our community, to pass
King Soopers and took enormous pride
years old. He is a man of deep faith and universal background checks, to limit
in his role as an essential worker dur-
a devoted father of seven. After losing the size of magazines, and to address
ing this pandemic. He once posted on
a close friend to a DUI, he joined the the epidemic crisis of mental health in
Facebook, ‘‘I can’t stay home. I am a
police academy at age 40, just 11 years this country. It seems like that would
Grocery Store Worker.’’
ago, to give back to the community. be the least that we could do.
Neven Stanisic, age 23. Neven’s dad In 2013, he made headlines when he
said he was, ‘‘a really good boy, a good In the wake of one of these incidents,
helped rescue 11 ducklings from a I heard somebody say on a radio pro-
kid . . . a hard-working boy.’’ drainage ditch.
His parents are refugees from Bosnia, gram that this is just the price of free-
Eric’s father said: He ‘‘loved his kids dom, that these murders are the price
who left in the 1990s to escape the war. and family more than anything.’’ For
The reverend at their local church said: of freedom. What a shame that some-
their sake he was hoping to stay off the body would say that and mean it. What
‘‘His family fled the war . . . and ev- frontlines by learning to become a
erything they had was either left be- a surrender that represents to our chil-
drone operator. But when the bullets dren and to the victims of these
hind or destroyed. rang out, he rushed into action, first on
‘‘They left everything to save their crimes. What a sacrifice of their right
the scene, saving countless lives at the to be free from fear.
lives, and came here to have a new cost of his own.
start,’’ said the pastor. Who are we to insist that they live
Officer Talley and these other folks terrified in their own country? Nobody
They came to America to have a new represent the best of Colorado, and we
start, only to have their son’s life insisted that we live that way.
certainly owe Officer Talley a debt of But our failure to act has helped cre-
ended by this senseless act of violence. gratitude that we will never be able to ate these conditions, and we can’t wait
Rikki Olds was 25 years old. Rikki repay. any longer. The Senate needs to act.
had been working as a manager at King My heart goes out to all the families There is nobody else to act but the U.S.
Soopers for 6 years. Her family de- and the entire community of Boulder. Senate.
scribed her as a ‘‘firecracker’’ who lit We have endured too many tragedies in I want to end by thanking my col-
up a room with her infectious giggle. this State. So many other States are leagues from Connecticut, Senator
Her Aunt Lori said: ‘‘She had a beau- the same here. BLUMENTHAL and Senator MURPHY, for
tiful way of just being her. . . . When The shootings at Columbine High their incredibly steadfast leadership
you’re down, she just wanted to cheer School happened right before my oldest for long before they came to the Sen-
you up, just by being around.’’ daughter was born, Caroline. She is 21 ate. But I remember one of the darkest
Tralona Bartkowaik, age 49. She co- years old, and her entire generation moments of my Senate career, the
owned a clothing and accessory store, has grown up in the shadow of gun vio- votes that we took after Newtown,
Umba Love, with her sister, and was a lence—something none of us had to do. when that elementary school, Sandy
frequent presence in the Boulder arts I remember after a gunman in Las Hook, was shot up and 20 students were
and music scene. Vegas took the lives of 59 Americans. killed, and this Senate couldn’t even
She had a deep curiosity about the That Monday I came to work and real- pass universal background checks.
world that took her on travel from ized during the course of the day that They are here tonight to continue to
Nepal to Costa Rica. Her younger I was having meeting after meeting make the case that we need to act, and
brother remembers her as ‘‘a beam of after meeting, and nobody was men- I want to again thank them for their
light.’’ tioning the massacre of 59 Americans. I resilience and for caring about the peo-
Teri Leiker, age 51. She was a huge don’t know if it was two or three or ple who lived and died in Colorado. I
fan of the Buffalos at CU, a regular four of these events before that that we am extremely grateful for their exam-
face at the Pearl Street Stampede. A began to somehow accept this as nor- ple.
friend called Teri ‘‘the most selfless, mal—that we can lose that many peo- I yield the floor.
innocent, amazing person I have had ple and not have a conversation about The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
the honor of meeting.’’ what had happened, the headlines all ator from Connecticut.
Suzanne Fountain, 59 years old. She moving on to the next thing. Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I thank
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
worked for 15 years in the Boulder We can’t allow this to become nor- my friend Senator BENNET for those re-
Community Hospital. She loved gar- mal, and it is not just the mass shoot- marks, for honoring the memories of
dening and was passionate about music ings. It is the daily shootings. The Pre- those we have lost and commanding us
and theater. A friend described her as siding Officer and I talked about it last to action.
‘‘the cream of the crop and a good per- week, what happened in Atlanta over I remember getting a phone call from
son, a good soul.’’ the last couple of weekends, or on the MICHAEL BENNET that Friday morning
Kevin Mahoney, age 61. Kevin had West Side of Chicago. So we can’t move as Senator BLUMENTHAL and I were sit-
worked in the hotel business but re- on. ting at a firehouse in Sandy Hook, CT,
VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.048 S24MRPT1
S1748 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
learning what had happened just While we won’t have time to tell you wounded in a shooting in 2016, but he
around the corner at a schoolhouse. the story of all these people, as MI- had recovered.
I remember getting advice from MI- CHAEL did about those whom we lost in Kevin Jang was 26 years old. About a
CHAEL BENNET about what you do as an Boulder, at least we can make sure month and a half ago, in early Feb-
elected official in the midst of this that forever their name and a link to ruary, he was killed by gun violence.
tragedy because he had already been their story is in the CONGRESSIONAL He had moved to New Haven just 2
through it once before. Colorado had RECORD. years ago to pursue a master’s degree
already been through it more than Senator BENNET already talked about at the Yale School of the Environment.
once before. Lynn Murray and Suzanne Fountain, He was a west coast native. He had got-
I think about this macabre club that Teri Leiker, Kevin Mahoney, Tralona ten engaged 1 week before his death. He
an increasing number of Members of Bartkowiak, Rikki Olds, Neven had earned a degree. He was an Army
the Senate and House belong to in Stanisic, Denny Stong, Jody Waters, veteran. He was a present Army Na-
which we have this memory bank of and Eric Talley. Those are the victims tional Guard member.
what to do when a mass shooting hap- from Colorado. I am sorry if I didn’t He was shot outside his fiance’s
pens in your district or your State—a get the pronunciations perfectly. But apartment. His fiance said:
set of capacities that no Member of the we also lost, over the course of the first Kevin was . . . a gift from God. He was a
House or Senate, no Governor ever had 3 months of this year Patrice Lynette true and righteous man after God’s own
to think about or ever consider pos- Jones in Indiana; Kelvin Darnell from heart. Life is so precious and short. My only
sessing decades ago. Now, we call each Illinois; Kevon Dickerson from Ken- hope is that he is with his Heavenly Father
other when these things happen to im- tucky; Leah Brooke Hines from Ohio; now in perfect peace.
part advice as to how to be helpful to Linda McMurry in Tennessee; Michael ‘‘An extraordinary young man,’’ said
communities that are grieving. Uttley in Missouri; Jarrea Gardner in Yale University’s president.
I am thankful to have friends like Pennsylvania; Robert Randall Turner I mean, I have a stack of names, 20,
Senator BENNET, who can be with oth- III from Maryland; Maddox Jones in 25 per page. We don’t have enough time
ers at moments like this, but I hate the Georgia; Joseph Jackson in Florida. tonight to read into the RECORD the
fact that he knows all too well what On Monday, the same day as the number of victims of gun violence in
communities go through when some- shooting, in Boulder, Alessia Mesquita, 2021 alone—alone. There is Adam Todd
thing happens like happened earlier 28 years old, was shot and killed in New Saeed from South Carolina; Andrew
this week in Boulder. Haven, CT, with her 1-year-old daugh- Wesley from Ohio; Antonio Rowban
We thought about what to do to try ter sitting in the back seat of her car. Thompson from South Carolina;
to move this country and our col- She and her boyfriend were arguing in Artrell Conner, Louisiana; Beau Mi-
leagues to action after another spate of the car when he shot her to death. Ac- chael Wasmer, West Virginia; Brittany
mass shootings. This is a really old cording to her mother, Alessia had Wagoner-Moore in Ohio; Byron ‘‘B’’
chart that I brought down to the floor been trying to leave her boyfriend. Donnell Ross in Texas; Carolyn Ann
for years. These numbers are out of Alessia is described as a devoted Stephenson, North Carolina; Christian
date, unfortunately, because, well, in mother who loved her children with all Parra, New Jersey; Christopher Bess,
2019, we were losing 100 people a day of her heart. Many of her friends really Illinois; David Caballero, California;
from gun violence. That is not the relied on her for advice and guidance. David Prince, Illinois; Dean Wagstaff,
number from 2020 or 2021. We have seen They said she would give the shirt off Washington; Devin Dawkins, Missouri;
a dramatic increase in gun violence. her back to help a friend. Dolores Reyes, California; Eric Thomp-
While in 2020 we didn’t see the mass Her mom said: son, Tennessee; Glorida Dean
My heart has been shattered, and I don’t
shootings that we have been accus- Eddington Lewis, Ohio; Harold Edward
think I’m ever going to be right again.
tomed to in years prior, we are now Dennison, West Virginia; Javontae
seeing them once again pop up on our She was the second of eight children. Hendricks, Illinois; Jeffrey Gillespie,
TV screens in 2021. But the lack of She had two children of her own, and Mississippi; Justin Bartley Williams,
mass shootings masked the reality, her mother will now raise her two Texas; Keldrick Love, Louisiana; Kiron
which was a dramatic increase in the grandchildren. Golden, Alabama; Lesean Long, Illi-
Nobody heard about Alessia Mesquita
number of people who were felled by nois; Malcolm Fitts, Illinois; Marcel
being shot with her daughter in the
guns over the course of last year. We Tramon Pimpton, Texas; Mario Vines,
back seat in New Haven, CT, on Mon-
thought about what we could do to try Oklahoma; Melissa Marie Nease, Flor-
day. Her life isn’t less valuable than
to make more real for our colleagues ida; Nestor Gregorio, Texas; Pedro
any of those who were killed in mass
the scope of this epidemic, and we shootings. But this country’s attention Arturo Delgado Tagle, Texas; Rene
thought of maybe something simple, to the pandemic of gun violence, the Hernandez, Texas; Robert ‘‘Trey’’ Scott
you know, to make people understand epidemic of gun violence, seems to sur- III, Indiana; Ryan Abraham Whiteis-
that these aren’t really numbers. The face only when there is a mass shoot- Saks, Minnesota; Satnam Singh, Utah;
numbers are just a way to explain in ing. Shamso Gedi-Abdi, Minnesota; Teresa
aggregate who these people are, be- Benjamin Bagley was shot last week Ratliff, Ohio; Thomas ‘‘TJ’’ Carr, Ohio;
cause each one of them is an indi- in Bridgeport, CT. He was 22 years old. Timothy Alfred Nelson, Texas; Tim-
vidual. Each one of them led a life. He was remembered by friends and othy Dugar, Ohio; Tony Nichols, Mis-
Each one of them had people who loved family as somebody who always kept a souri; Tre’Veon D. Buckner; Victor
them. Each one of them loved people. smile on the faces of people who loved Zuniga; Xavier Crosby; Adam David-
So many of them, you can just see by him. He was a doting father. He was a Lawrence Arrambide; Bobby King;
these snapshots, were young. They had loving son and brother and always Brandon Chunko; Carol Tinsley; Cecilia
full lives ahead of them, businesses to made people smile. Apolo; Christian Joseph Jones; Chris-
start, and families to begin. None of His friends wrote: topher Benton McLeod; Cory McHaffie;
that happened for them because they He was taken from us far before his light Curtis Lee Upshaw; DeAndre Carter;
were shot, often at the beginning or was fully able to shine its brightest. Dominicko Howell; Donnell Hoskin;
the peak of their early life. He was one of six siblings, two broth- Grayson Babbs; Jamie Bull. It is two
So tonight I am hopeful that I will be ers and four sisters. He had two chil- pages. I have 20 more here. My col-
joined by a number of my colleagues to dren and one on the way. He was born leagues will hopefully join me on the
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
do something simple, just to read into and raised in Bridgeport. He was in- floor tonight to read some of these
the RECORD, the permanent CONGRES- volved in his church. names into the RECORD.
SIONAL RECORD, the names of those who His mom Michelle Brown said: This is as astonishing as it is heart-
have died just in 2021. Every single day, I had to kiss my son lying in a hospital bed breaking. This country allows for this
there are over 100 people dying right dead. I don’t wish this on nobody, not even to happen, allows these individuals to
now. I don’t think America has ever my worst enemy. effectively be nameless and to be anon-
seen this rate of gun violence, with the This wasn’t the first time Benjamin ymous. Tonight we are reading into the
exception of wartime, in our history. had been shot. He had been previously RECORD only the names of individuals
VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.050 S24MRPT1
March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1749
who died in this year, and the year His little girl, the youngest, always We don’t care about individual loss of
isn’t even 90 days old. How is it that we waited for him at the door when he was life like we care about the victims of
pay attention during the mass shoot- arriving. Well, he never showed up to mass shootings. That is a tragedy. We
ings but just sleep through the days in that door because he died that day. also don’t care about the loss of Black
which all of these people are stolen And his two little twin girls in that life. We don’t care about the people of
from us through an epidemic that is school at the same time that I was color who die in the same way that we
preventable? there, who might have been giggling as care when White people die in this
This doesn’t happen anywhere else in they took a break from instruction and country. That is just the truth.
the high-income world. No other nation the lights went off, and they got to So, tonight, my colleagues and I are
permits this level of gun violence. chat with their friends, didn’t know going to come to the floor—and I hope
Don’t tell me it is the price of admis- that they were never going to see their some will join me. I thank Senator
sion to America. Don’t tell me it is not father again. BLUMENTHAL for being here to start us
preventable. Don’t tell me it is inevi- Think about it, how the lives of those off—to read into the RECORD the names
table. It only happens here. It only children change when their dad van- of individuals who have been lost to
happens here, and it is really hard to ishes from the Earth just like that. gun violence in 2021 as a way to make
comprehend the impact this has on Think about how the lives of all the sure we recognize who they were and
people. children in that school change when the lives that they led, but also as a
I was in an elementary school in Bal- they have to contemplate the fact that last-gasp effort to try to convince our
timore, MD, about 2 years ago. I had their dads might not be home when colleagues to do something.
gone there to see an afterschool pro- they arrive next week or the week Tonight isn’t really going to be the
gram that I had heard was very suc- after, if it could happen to Mr. Dodd. night to go deep into policy. Senator
cessful. The school had started about Think about how the entire neighbor- BENNET talked about what we know we
an hour late that day because of a hood goes through trauma after trau- need to do. We can have that debate at
weather delay, and so when I was in- ma when that happens so routinely in a another time. Tonight is a night to
side the school, at about 10 o’clock, place like Baltimore. just recognize the scope of this epi-
kids were still just arriving. You can’t understand the scope of demic, how many people are being lost,
I went upstairs to join the young this epidemic by just reading off these how many lives are being impacted in
lady who ran this program, and we names. Adam Todd Saeed died. Jason
mass shootings and in individual acts
were about a half an hour into our con- Wilson died. Jath Burns died. Johnjairo
of violence, in homicides and suicides
versation when buzzers started going Brito died. Johnnie Clark died. Jona-
and domestic violence incidences. And
off, and the lights flickered, and the than Joseph died. Jose Medero died. Jo-
maybe, maybe by pounding into peo-
intercom system lit up with somebody seph Carney died. Justin Locklear died.
ple’s brains the human toll of this trag-
from the central office repeating over Justin Marshall died of gun violence.
edy in mass shootings and in other
and over again: Code green, code green, So did Kristen Slack and Latarous Har-
forms, we can inch this body a little bit
code green. ris and Lieutenant Justin Bedwell.
I didn’t know what a code green was. They all died of gunshot wounds just closer to doing the right thing.
in 2021, but they simply represent the I yield the floor.
The person I was meeting with, who
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
was just running this afterschool pro- surface. You scratch just a bit, and you
pore. The Senator from Connecticut.
gram, didn’t know what code green will find their kids and their moms and
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I
was. their dads and their neighbors who are
Luckily, the front office called up am honored to follow my colleagues
going through trauma right now be-
and told us that ‘‘code green’’ means Senators MURPHY and BENNET, two fel-
cause of their deaths.
there has been an active shooting Research tells us that often there are low champions of this cause.
20 people who experience definable Again, again, we have stood here so
somewhere in and around the school
and that everybody needs to turn the trauma when someone close to them many times to advocate for measures
lights off, lock the doors, and shut the dies. And so even the names that we that very simply would make Ameri-
blinds. So that is what we did. read into the record tonight don’t ac- cans safe.
It was 10:30 in the morning. After curately represent the scope of this And I don’t accept that it will be our
about 20 minutes, code green ended, trauma. Those kids’ lives will never last gasp. I don’t accept that we will
lights turned back on, and we contin- ever be the same in Sandtown, the ever go away, that we will ever aban-
ued our discussion. I was shaken. neighborhood of Baltimore in which don this cause, no matter how long and
This is a school I had never set foot this elementary school sits, neither how hard it is.
in. I had only been there about 20 min- will be the lives of those kids who go to Senator MURPHY and I were in Sandy
utes, and there was an active shooting that school. Hook the afternoon of that massacre.
within a handful of blocks. So I wanted And maybe what was so inexplicable We went through an excruciatingly
to know what happened. I stayed in to me was that I had to work really heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, stun-
touch with personnel at the school. I hard to find out anything about that ning experience, but nothing compared
read the Baltimore papers over the young man. It was barely a story the to the children who were taken out of
course of the next few days to find out next day that he had died bringing his the school. Nothing compared to the
what had happened, and here is what I daughters to school and then returning teachers who shepherded them. Noth-
found out. A young man by the name of home. Had there been six more people ing compared to anyone who lived
Corey Dodd, who lived just down the shot, maybe it would have made the through it or the emergency responders
street from the school, had told his papers. Maybe America would have who had to see the scene of carnage
wife—I believe her name is Marissa, if paid attention. that day and, of course, nothing ap-
I remember correctly—that he would But think of it this way: What if that proaching the trauma of parents and
drop their twins off at Matthew Henson same story played out not in Balti- loved ones.
Elementary School that morning. They more, MD, with an African-American So our club, as he called it, is one
had two other kids. She was busy with father and African-American girls, that pales in significance to the club of
them. He said: I will drop the kids off what if that story played out in West- survivors and victims. It is more than
this morning. port, CT, with a White father and two the names we read tonight. It is the
So he drove the kids to Matthew twin, blond-haired, White girls? Do we children who take cover when that
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
Henson Elementary School, the twin care less because Corey was African code is rung. It is the teachers who suf-
girls, and brought them into the build- American? You better believe it. You fer the apprehension of wondering
ing. I could have been in that lobby better believe that headline news whether that day will be the one when
with him that morning as I was coming would have been running stories about there is a shooter. It is the parents of
in and he was leaving. He got into his an affluent, White, suburban father all children who send their kids to
car. He drove a few blocks home, and in dropping his kids off at an affluent, school and wonder whether, at the end
between his car and the door, he was White, suburban school and being shot of the day, they will see them again. At
shot dead—10 o’clock in the morning. before he entered his suburban home. some level, maybe not all, maybe not
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.052 S24MRPT1
S1750 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
always, not every day, but that fear in Last week, eight lives were taken by to her job and dedicated to her fellow
the gut, that powerfully important ap- gun violence, and they should be re- employees. Her husband said:
prehension is there for many. membered and their lives counted. She donated and gave money to her em-
When I was in elementary school, the Delaina Ashley Yaun was a 33-year- ployees and treated them so well. She was al-
fear was of nuclear annihilation. And old newlywed and mother of two, in- ways celebrating their birthdays, doing good
the drills we did were to dive beneath cluding a daughter she gave birth to things for them.
our desks, as though somehow those this summer. She put her family above She was curious, hard-working, and
desks could be protected in the midst all else and cared for family members caring, always filled with joy. She
of a nuclear attack. Absurd as it seems and friends who needed help or a place worked long hours, every day, to give
looking back, every one of us, during to stay during tough times. her family a better life. Her daughter
those years, wondered would that be Her manager said: said that Xiao was her best friend and
the day. And on the days before the Her heart was so big. She loved people. that ‘‘[s]he did everything for me and
Cuban missile crisis, it became more He describes how she would feed din- the family. She provided everything.’’
real than ever. ers at the restaurant where she worked Yong Ae Yue, 63 years old. She was
And for that generation, it was the an amazing mother of two sons and
who were homeless and bring them
fear. For this generation, gun violence loved to cook Korean food. She came to
home to offer them showers and clean
is the fear that lurks constantly in the the United States in the 1970s, and
clothes.
heart, in the back of the mind, and al- after being laid off during the pan-
One friend described Delaina as ‘‘a
ways a presence. demic, she was excited to be back at
The names that we are going to read light. She just made everybody happy.
She loves to smile and joke and hang work. She enjoyed visiting friends,
tonight are a very partial list of the in- watching movies and soap operas, and
juries because we are reading the ones out with her kids and make sure they
always had fun. She was a happy per- reading. She always loved to read and
who died, but many others were injured have her dog at her side.
severely and horrifically: bones shat- son.’’
Hyun Jung Grant was 51 years old. Paul Andre Michels. He was a 54-
tered, flesh torn, futures changed for- year-old Army veteran, one of nine
ever, and, of course, the emotional She worked as a schoolteacher in
South Korea before immigrating to the children, and he had been married for
trauma of living through it. But we more than 20 years. He loved to fish
have to read these names because it is United States. She was a hard-working
and loving single mother of two, who and collect rare coins. He treated ev-
part of our responsibility to make eryone like he was their uncle and did
them real and to remind ourselves, as loved karaoke, dancing, and electronic
music, and made the world’s best what he could to help others.
much as anyone, that this issue is a One friend said of Paul that ‘‘[h]e
matter of life and death in the way kimchi stew.
One of her sons, Randy, wrote: would give you the shirt off his back.’’
that few others that we debate in this His younger brother, John, said:
Chamber evoke. She was a single mother who dedicated her
whole life to providing for my brother and I. He’d loan you money if you needed it
At the beginning of the Judiciary sometimes. You never went away from his
Committee hearing the other day, just It is only my brother and I in the United
States. . . . She was one of my best friends place hungry.
this week, we had a moment of silence. and the strongest influence on who we are My home State of Connecticut is not
But we cannot be silent. Yes, we will today. immune to gun violence. Sandy Hook
offer thoughts and prayers, but we can- is the best known of the tragedies, but
Daoyou Feng was 44 years old. What
not be silent, and we must do more there are others—many, many, many
we know about her from her friends is
than speak. We must act—honor with others—all around the State, in big cit-
that she was sweet and kind. That is
action. ies, in small towns, in rural areas, sub-
We cannot let these brave, wonderful how she was described by her cowork-
ers as well. urban.
souls go gently into this good night. Nobody is immune. Nobody is pro-
We must rage, rage against the dying Soon Chung Park was an active 74-
year-old mother and mother-in-law. tected against gun violence so long as
of the life. And that is what we are
She lived in Atlanta. She moved there the pipeline, the iron pipeline, even
doing by reading these names, remind-
several years ago to be closer to with Connecticut’s strong laws, draws
ing ourselves that we cannot accept
friends. And she was well on her way to guns across State borders.
these deaths as a normal. Even with Here are some of the names and sto-
the pandemic receding, we hope, the living past 100. Because of the pan-
demic, she missed chances to visit her ries of people whose lives have been
epidemic of gun violence continues.
family in the Northeast but was plan- taken in Connecticut:
A gun, a firearm, especially an as-
ning to move back this summer to be Jaqhawn Walters was killed on Sep-
sault weapon, makes fatal and irrevers-
closer to relatives and friends. tember 19, 2020, in Hartford. He was 24
ible some of the most serious problems.
Her son-in-law described that Soon years old. His mother Trician writes:
Whether it is domestic violence, sui-
‘‘just liked to work. It wasn’t for the There was an altercation with someone in-
cide, or simply a profoundly disturbed
money. She just wanted a little bit of side a store. The fight was broken up, but the
young man walking into a grocery other young man still shot him and then
store, or a racist and misogynist man work for her life.’’
stood over him a second time and shot him
going into a spa, the involvement of Suncha Kim, 69 years old. She was again.
guns and firearms makes those inci- married for more than 50 years, and she Jaqhawn was a college graduate. He was
dents deadly. was a fighter and a rock for her two known as a big basketball player for
The names that I will read will be of children and three grandchildren. She Albertus Magnus. He played overseas for two
all ethnicities and religions and back- was a hard worker and enjoyed line seasons before COVID hit.
grounds and races because firearms can dancing. My son saw a lot of gun violence growing
Suncha came to the United States up in the city, and he became victim to it
be an equal opportunity killer. But
even though he tried his best to beat all odds
Senator MURPHY is right that commu- around 1980. She spoke little English with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
nities of color suffer disproportion- and worked two to three jobs, putting He even played in Argentina as a profes-
ately. And in Atlanta, who can doubt her children first and always seeking sional basketball player, mentored kids
that a hate crime turned deadly, poten- to help others. She volunteered by through basketball. He got a proclamation
tially, because of that gun. cooking and fundraising. One of her for his work at the Parker Memorial Center
Dominick Boston, Brad Keel, Ildiko grandchildren wrote: and the Village, where he worked with trou-
bled kids.
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
Papp, James Ray Huddleston, Glenda My grandmother was an angel. . . . As an
Swain Toms, Kayla Marie Keatts, immigrant, all my grandmother ever wanted Jaqhawn’s coach at Albertus Magnus
Ethan Delicat, Paula Marie Booth, in life was to grow old with my grandfather described him as ‘‘the type of kid that
Raymond Robinson, Delaina Ashley and watch her children and grandchildren got along with everyone. His likability
Yaun, Hyun Jung Grant, Daoyou Feng, live the life she never got to live. crossed every age generation. When I
Soon Chung Park, Suncha Kim, Xiaojie Xiaojie Tan, killed that day, before ran camp, 8-year-old kids, instantly, he
Tan, Young Ae Yue, Paul Andre her 50th birthday. She was a dedicated was the guy. They’d all gravitate to-
Michels. wife, mother, friend. She was devoted ward him. Same thing with our team.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.053 S24MRPT1
March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1751
They loved him. Opponents loved him. have barred his having a firearm, but viduals were killed by gun violence.
I’ve gotten a lot of texts, and I got one at that point Connecticut law applied And just those names would be too
from a Northeast coach who said, ‘He only to permanent protective orders. many. Yet they represent a few and a
had that thing where he’d drop 30 She was killed by that man even heartbreakingly long list of victims,
[points] on you, and every opponent though he was under a protective families, and communities whose lives
not only respected him but genuinely order. She was 32 years old. She was a have been ripped apart by senseless gun
liked him.’ ’’ loving daughter and a mother of twins. violence just this year.
Another coach said: And her mother also was severely in- Sadly, my home State of Nevada has
Jaqhawn was very, very rooted in the Hart- jured. been no stranger to this pain. In Las
ford community, and he loved his town. So And her parents, with that same Vegas, on October 1, 2017, a gunman
he was always going to be one of those peo- grace and dignity and strength and opened fire on a crowd of thousands of
ple that came back and gave as much as he courage, have championed protection people at the Route 91 Harvest Music
was able. for domestic violence victims and sur- Festival. He killed 58 people that night.
Another coach said: vivors. Two more victims have since died from
He had such an impact. The guy had so She had so much to give—like Ethan, injuries they received that evening.
much more to give. like so many others. And hundreds, hundreds more were in-
That is the story of every one of And we remember Noah, Charlotte, jured—people who just wanted to enjoy
these victims: so much more to give; so Jack, Olivia, Dylan, Catherine, Avielle, an evening of celebration with their
much more to give back, whether to Jessica, James, Josephine, Caroline, friends and family.
Hartford or sons and daughters or par- Benjamin, Chase, Ana, Grace, Emilie, I know the fear and the trauma that
ents. Madeleine, Allison, Daniel, and Jesse— so many families experienced that day.
Ethan Song was killed in Guilford on 20 beautiful, innocent children taken at My niece was at that concert, and my
January 31, 2018, 12 days after his 15th Sandy Hook Elementary School in family and I are incredibly grateful
birthday, with an unsecured firearm in Newtown more than 8 years ago. that she made it home safely. But I
his neighbor’s house. He lived a life We remember them for bringing will never forget—never forget—on
filled with laughter, adventure, and bursts of light and laughter into the that Monday after the horrific shoot-
passion. He lived with adoring family lives of their family and friends, for ing that took place, sitting at the Rec-
members Kristin and Michael Song. bringing love into the lives of all who onciliation Center in Las Vegas with
Ethan loved to ski and hike and play knew them, and for their joy and the families, with the parents, the un-
spikeball too. He helped his mom Kris- boundless energy. Only 6 years old, but cles, the aunts, the siblings, who were
tin in finding homes for abandoned they had so much to give, and their waiting to find out what happened to
puppies. Ethan loved food. He and his lives cut short at Sandy Hook that day. their loved one.
dad Mike ventured to find the best lob- And we remember the heroism of Can you imagine? It is the most hor-
ster roll in New England. They sampled those brave, courageous educators that rific thing any family member could go
15 locations. December morning: Victoria, Lauren, through. You are waiting to hear what
He loved lacrosse, and he was good at Anne Marie, Rachel, Mary, and Dawn. happened to your family member—your
it, making the all-star team one sea- We remember their courage, some of child, your son, daughter, your niece,
son. He was always interested in his them physically shielding students your nephew, your father, your moth-
family’s history. He tried to learn all with their own bodies, running er—and you are hoping that as time
that he could about his grandmother’s and the clock ticks away, your child is
unhesitatingly toward danger, barri-
experience as a Holocaust survivor and not one that is in the backroom with a
cading classrooms, drawing on all their
coroner right now.
went so far as to divert a family trip to reserves of calm and professionalism to I cannot tell you how heartbreaking
the UK to see the Anne Frank house in protect and shield the children in their it was to be with those families and
the Netherlands. care. talking to them and the fear and the
Ethan was also fascinated by his We read these names, I feel, almost anxiety and the helplessness and the
grandfather’s experience as a decorated as a form of prayer. We cannot save hope that still they clung to that they
intelligence officer in the Korean war. any of these victims, but we know we would find out that their child or their
I am always so inspired by Kristin can save others. And that is our work. brother or their mother or sister was
and Michael Song and Ethan’s sister, As John F. Kennedy said in his inau- really safe somewhere in one of the
their strength and courage, their joy in gural speech, ‘‘here on earth God’s hospitals in Las Vegas.
life, and their unquenchable loyalty work must truly be our own.’’ Thank No one can imagine that, and no one
and love for Ethan. I have stood on the you. should have to imagine it. And no one
green in Guilford announcing my intro- I yield the floor. should ever have to go through that.
duction of Ethan’s Law, a safe storage The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- But that is what families and loved
law that they have championed with pore. The Senator from Nevada. ones have been going through over the
grace and dignity and power beyond Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, years because of the senseless gun vio-
words. I rise today to join my colleagues. At lence that is happening across this
And let’s say it out loud: This gun vi- this juncture, it is hard to find the country.
olence is every parent’s worst night- words. How many more shootings, how Every day, more than 100 families
mare, every parent’s worst fear—going many more individuals have to die be- lose a loved one to gun violence. Austin
to school, going to a neighbor’s house, fore we take action? And I rise because Cooper Meyer, age 24, from Sparks, NV;
going to a grocery store—wrong place the Senator—my colleague, the great Brennan Lee Stewart, age 30, from
at the wrong time: a neighbor’s house Senator from Connecticut—was identi- North Las Vegas; Cameron Lee Robin-
where a firearm was unsafely stored, fying these names as a form of prayer, son, age 28, from Las Vegas; Charleston
watching the emergency response team which I could not have said that better, Hartfield, age 34, from Henderson, NV,
pull to that neighbor’s house and because this is about recognizing those a police officer; Erick Steven Silva, age
knowing something is terribly, terribly we have lost in order to prevent future 21, from Las Vegas; Laura Ann Shipp,
wrong. Every parent’s worst night- loss of life. age 50, from Las Vegas; Neysa Chris-
mare. So I join them to recognize individ- tina Tonks, age 46, from Las Vegas;
And Lori Jackson’s parents know uals across the country and in my Quinton Joe Robbins, age 20, from Hen-
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
very graphically about that nightmare home State of Nevada who have lost derson—those are just 8 of the 60 Amer-
because their daughter, Lori Jackson, their lives: Vincent Brown of Colorado; icans who lost their lives during the
of Oxford, CT, came to their house Zaimier Bell of New Jersey; Anthony Route 91 Harvest festival shooting in
seeking refuge from an estranged hus- Stanley of Missouri; Bao Yang, Min- Las Vegas on October 1, and their
band. And that night, while her infant nesota; Daisy Navarrete of Texas; names and stories will stick with us
children slept, Lori Jackson was David Camacho, Rhode Island; Deonte forever.
gunned down by that husband, who was Minor, Washington, DC; Ronald B. Wil- But we also have to remember the
under a protective order which should liams from Indiana. All of these indi- loved ones they have left behind. So
VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:45 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.056 S24MRPT1
S1752 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
many of these names I know now not the lives we have lost, but it is about keep Americans safe. We owe it to our
just because of the horrific shooting the lives who are affected by gun vio- friends and families and all of the vic-
but because I have met their family lence. Reading that letter is just heart- tims who have already been irrev-
members whom they have left behind— breaking—and to think that her trau- ocably marked by gun violence to take
children who were left behind, children ma is experienced by so many other action.
who lost their parent to this horrific Americans from Las Vegas, from Park- Thank you.
gunfire, husbands and wives, mothers land, from Orlando, and from Boulder. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
and fathers. It just goes on and on and It is a stain on our Nation. pore. The Senator from Connecticut.
on. And I have, since that shooting, been Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I thank
In the next few minutes, I want to able to meet so many incredible sur- my friend Senator CORTEZ MASTO for
share some stories of Nevadans whose vivors of this shooting, including two that powerful testimony, for sharing
lives have been altered by gun vio- sisters, the Marano sisters, who were at some of these stories talking about the
lence. Many of these stories are heart- the concert that night and are still liv- impact on families in Las Vegas and
breaking, and they stem from the Octo- ing with the emotional scars from throughout her State, and to talk
ber 1 mass shooting that took place in being there in that horrific shooting. about what this means from a parent’s
Las Vegas. Geena Marano has learned to prepare perspective, to think that her own fam-
Before I talk about them, however, I herself for Independence Day and New ily had to wonder whether their loved
have to also recognize and praise the Year’s Eve, when the sounds of fire- one was going to come back from that
many heroes who stood up and worked works can sound eerily similar to gun- shooting that dominated the news, to
to protect our community that night. fire. But if a car backfires unexpect- think about how many lives were
After the bullets stopped raining edly, she has to start the process of re- changed.
down on the Las Vegas Strip, a former minding herself: ‘‘You’re safe. It’s OK. Senator BLUMENTHAL made a really
marine turned a truck into a makeshift Don’t worry.’’ important observation earlier and that
ambulance and drove more than two And her sister Marisa, who was also was that the numbers we are using
dozen people to one of our hospitals. A at the festival, says her own daughter here, 39,000 people dying a year, and
couple provided CPR to injured victims has picked up on the habit of reacting the names that we are reading into the
on the site. And hundreds of to loud noises. She said: ‘‘It breaks my RECORD, these are the names of the in-
concertgoers risked their lives car- heart because my trauma has [now] dividuals who have died, but what we
rying fellow concertgoers to safety. passed on to her.’’ know is there are hundreds of thou-
In fact, many younger attendees al- The fear resurfaces for these sisters sands of others who have survived gun-
ready had a sense of what to do to stop in so many situations: on anniver- shot wounds. The trauma is different,
the bleeding from bullet holes and saries, including of all the shootings but it is still serious and acute.
knew to run for safety in the breaks in since then; at high schools, where
between the sounds of gunshots be- When a loved one is shot, obviously,
Geena was doing outreach to students
cause of training they had received in that comes with a moral disruption to
and feared that she was putting herself
their schools and workplaces. the family that is hard to calculate.
at risk of another shooting; passing the
But after the shooting, I received a Often that injury has lifelong con-
Strip, eerily during the COVID pan-
letter from a constituent who survived sequences. The individual is bound to a
demic, like it was on the day of the fes-
the Las Vegas shooting, and she wrote: wheelchair, losing the use of legs and
tival, because the Strip was shut down.
arms. These are serious consequences
On October 1st, 2017, our life was forever Anywhere there is darkness and music,
changed. . . . My husband and I attended the that affect the rest of your life.
even on an evening out, the sisters still
Route 91 Harvest Festival. We were having feel the repercussions of that night at While today we are reading into the
the time of our lives, enjoying the different the concert. RECORD the names of those who have
bands we got to see and singing along with
And they are not alone. While the died, this stack represents, I think,
all our favorite songs. [My husband] and I just a fraction of those who have died
were so moved when [one of the bands] led tragedy of the Route 91 shooting may
be 3 years behind us, for many sur- in 2021. It could be four times as high if
the audience singing God Bless America. we had talked about those who have
Who would have known that just a few hours vivors a moment can bring it all roar-
later our lives would be changed forever? ing back, and many more live in fear been injured in episodes of gun vio-
When the shooting . . . started, I thought that it could happen again. lence.
it was firecrackers. We looked around and Telemachus Orfanos, a survivor of Other colleagues are going to join us
then there were more shots. My husband the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, here tonight on the floor. While they
pulled me to the ground, laying on top of me, do, let me just read into the RECORD a
shielding me from gunfire. He laid there
was killed when a gunman entered the
Borderline Bar & Grill and shot 12 in- handful of additional names: Carlesa
tense waiting to be shot while I laid there Taylor; Cleveland Sanders; Cortney
waiting for him to go limp. We prayed and nocent people on November 7, 2018.
told each other we loved [one] another. I What happened to Telemachus and Smith, Missouri; Corporal Martinus
prayed we would live to see our children other October 1 survivors in the res- Mitchum from Louisiana; Daniel
raise their children and I felt Jesus’ hands taurant that night was a uniquely Bonham from Georgia; Darrell
covering us. During a pause in the shooting, American phenomenon that we should Merriwether from Iowa; Devon Lon
my husband pulled me up to start running. I not be proud of. We keep having these Remmel from Minnesota; Diontaye
was terrified, [because] we could hear bullets Petty from Kentucky; Gregory
mass shootings in our country, and it
whizzing by and [we] could smell gun powder. Marchand from Missouri; Gwendolyn
There were three people, that I know of, who is past time that we acted. It is not
only what our Nation deserves. It is McMillan from Georgia; Irvinn Villalba
were shot right around us. The shooting con-
tinued for what felt like forever. We contin- what these families and these survivors from New Mexico; Jakob Lee Haines
ued running and ran across Las Vegas Boule- and those who lost their lives deserve. from Pennsylvania; Jonatan Jose Mar-
vard while the shooting continued. There The Nevadan who shared her October tinez, Pennsylvania; Julian Castro, Illi-
was so much confusion and we didn’t know if 1 experience with me ended her letter nois; Julie Lee Karvelis, Mississippi;
there were more shooters. by stating: Keith Hawkins, Arkansas; Lee Patrick
By the grace of God, my husband [and] I David, West Virginia; Manyari Smith,
are unharmed physically. Our emotional I am urging you to pass thoughtful, reason-
able controls that will enhance the safety of Illinois; Mario Turner, Illinois;
scars are still to be determined. Sleeping has
our society. It is time to take . . . action to Marquise Jones, Louisiana; Nazeer
been difficult. I have had periods of uncon-
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
trollable shaking. I have chronic stomach protect our mothers, fathers, sons, daugh- Defares, California; Nicolette Sheridan
pain and have . . . difficulty eating. All of ters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Law, Pennsylvania; Officer Dominic
this seems trivial compared to the families Please, do not sit back and do nothing. Jared Winum, Virginia; Peter
who have lost mothers, fathers, sons, and And she is right. We cannot sit back Vanvallis, Montana; Qualil Terrion
daughters and the hundreds of people still and do nothing. We must pass common- Young, Texas; Raymond William
suffering with physical injuries. sense gun legislation, like universal Nieman, Kansas; Reginald Copning,
Now, I read that letter because it is background checks that we have passed Louisiana; Reginald James, California;
not just, as I have said before, about in the State of Nevada. That will help Robert Bigger, Illinois.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.057 S24MRPT1
March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1753
I am sure some cynical viewer to- It just speaks to this immense, incal- policy change, but when you do start to
night may listen to a name they recog- culable trauma that families go explore interventions and causes, you
nize on this list and say: Oh, well, wait through when they lose a loved one, a will find that many of the same causes
a second. I know that guy. He had a trauma that you can’t truly under- for homicides cause suicides as well.
criminal record. That individual was stand. For instance, there is a very clear
involved with some bad people. In Sandy Hook, one mother adopted correlation between poverty and gun
There is never a justification for a another curious but understandable homicide. There is a very clear correla-
gun homicide. No matter whether the habit in the years after Sandy Hook. tion between poverty and your risk of
individuals on these lists were perfect She would, during an afternoon on a suicide. There is a clear correlation be-
angels or individuals who had made Saturday or a Sunday, convince herself tween the ease of access to a firearm
mistakes, none of them deserved to die that her son who had been killed in and homicide as there is to suicide. In
in an episode of vigilante or random Sandy Hook was at a friend’s house. States that have universal background
justice. So to answer a hypothetical She would sort of create this fantasy, checks, there are generally lower rates
question, I haven’t vetted the names this fiction in her mind. She would find of homicide and there are generally
that I am reading because not a single it a little bit easier to go about clean- lower rates of suicide as well. We talk
person on this list deserved to go in the ing up the house or doing laundry or about suicides together.
way that they did. playing with her other children if, in People are paying attention today to
I remember talking to a woman who her mind, she could pretend just for a this epidemic because of what has hap-
has become a friend in Hartford, CT. half hour or an hour that her son was pened in Atlanta and what has hap-
She lost her son just about a month be- safe at a friend’s house. She was suc- pened in Colorado. I understand why
fore Sandy Hook. She remembers when cessful in contorting her mind to give we pay more attention to mass shoot-
Sandy Hook happened that she latched her that space for that short period of ings. There is something unique and
onto the number of children who were time. It is what she needed to do. frightening about large-scale, indis-
killed. Twenty kids were killed that It is something that you never ever criminate slaughter.
day in Sandy Hook. I asked Senator want to have to contemplate, creating But mass shootings are just not those
BENNET were there survivors from the these fictions in your minds to allow incidences where 10 people die; there
shooting in the supermarket in Boul- you to survive just for an hour at a are mass shootings where 3 or 4 people
der, and he said he had to check, and I time, shining bright lights on an empty are shot. That is still a significant
will check as well, but he wasn’t sure space near downtown Hartford, think- crime. So far, this year, there have
that there were individuals who were ing maybe that your son will show up. been 104 of those. There have been 104
seriously injured. If that is the case, These are contortions of action and mass shootings this year. You didn’t
there are parallels to Sandy Hook. thinking that nobody should have to know that, right? You thought there
The weapons that are being used in deal with. was just Atlanta and Boulder. No, not
these crimes are so lethal, so powerful Roshawn Tate from California; Shana true. There have been 104 mass shoot-
that, increasingly, it is hard to survive Lynn Williams from North Carolina; ings.
wounds when a bullet enters your body Stanley Taylor from Missouri; I believe most times mass shootings
at the speed that bullets are traveling Ty’Reece Thomas from Mississippi; Ty- are defined as when four or more people
when they come from an AR–15 or AR– rone Brown from Ohio; Tyrone Gregory are shot at the same time, not nec-
15-style weapon as was used in Sandy from Ohio; Anthony Collins from Geor- essarily killed but shot. There have
Hook. gia; Anthony Milian from Indiana; been 104 mass shootings this year and
In Sandy Hook, 20 kids were shot. All Antoine Jamil Johnson from Missouri; 191 deaths and injuries of children aged
20 of them died. The number 20 was Brad Rumfield from Texas; Brittany 11 and younger. Think about that. In
meaningful to my friend because her Dawn Scruggs from Texas; Bryan this year alone, almost 200 kids, aged
son was 20 years old when he was killed Fundora, Kentucky; Carlesa Taylor, 11 and younger, have been killed and
on October 20 of 2012, the year of Sandy Michigan; Curtis Smith, Oregon; 128 deaths and injuries of teenagers,
Hook. He was killed by a 20-year-old, Dae’Vion Pullum, Indiana; Detraio aged 12 to 17.
and he was the 20th victim of gun vio- Deshawn Whorton, Alabama; Enelrae In May 2020—think about this—there
lence that year in Hartford, CT. Collier Rubenstahl, North Carolina; were 61 mass shootings. Now, in May
She told this story about what her James Delgiorno, Florida; Jessica 2020, we were emotionally focused on
life was like after her son was killed, Morehouse, Missouri; Jordan Reen, the pandemic, and we were focused on
after Shane was killed. She said that New York; Joseph Marwan Brown, trying to get people well. The country
first she just didn’t want to leave the Michigan; Jovanne Hollman, Cali- was not talking about gun violence in
house ever. She didn’t want to see any- fornia; Kevin Neal, Georgia; Kimberly the way it normally would if there
body. She would always walk down the Marcum, Ohio; Lentavius Cortez Hall, were 61 mass shooting in 1 month. That
street to the corner bodega to pick up Louisiana; Leonne Kellam, Delaware; is the highest monthly total ever tal-
groceries. I think it was only a block Lovelle Laramore, New Jersey; Luis lied by the Gun Violence Archive,
or so away. She came to driving there Rafael Lopez, Arizona; Michael Vines, which is a nonprofit research group
so there was no chance that she would Michigan. where a lot of our data and names
have to meet people she knew along I apologize if I am mispronouncing come from. They began tracking data
the way. Her life became fundamen- some of these names. I am seeing many in 2013. Since they have been tracking
tally different. Her life ended, as she of them for the first time. But it is im- the data, May 2020 was the highest
described it, in so many ways when her portant for us to read these names into number of mass shootings, but you
only son disappeared from the Earth. the RECORD so that at least they live in didn’t hear about it because most of
She talked about this strange habit that space because the numbers aren’t those mass shootings were of 4 or 5 or
that came to dominate some of her eve- moving our colleagues to action. 6 people, not of 20 or 30 or 40, and, hon-
nings. She would get up in the middle So far this year, just 2021, there have estly, many of those mass shootings
of the night and she would get in her been 9,649 gun-related deaths. These in- were likely people of color, which don’t
car and she would drive to the site clude homicides and murders, acci- get as much attention either.
where Shane was shot. Shane was shot dental shootings, and suicides. Some Mushab Mohamud Ali, Minnesota;
about two blocks from my house where people take issue with the fact that Rasaan Mack, Illinois; RoCoby Rod-
I live in Hartford, CT. I drive by the when we talk about the gun violence gers, Missouri; Roxann Martinez, Colo-
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
site of Shane’s shooting almost every epidemic, that we are including sui- rado; Samuel Lee Pollard, Mississippi;
day when I am going back to our home. cides in these numbers. There have Steve Alphonso, North Carolina;
She would drive to that site. She would been thousands of suicides in the Terrance Armour, Michigan; Timothy
stop her car, and she would turn on her United States this year, but it is im- Swope, Illinois; Windy Lee Higgins,
high beams as if she were waiting for portant that we talk about these Florida; Xzavior Frost, Oklahoma;
Shane to show up, as if she were wait- deaths together. Anne-Marie Winters Wilson, Georgia;
ing for him to come back. She knew he Again, this evening is not going to be Audrey Isham, Indiana; Cameron Wat-
never was, but this became a habit. a time to go deep into the question of kins, Virginia.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.059 S24MRPT1
S1754 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
I am not even close to the 9,649 gun- boys with her, and she was holding this her in contact with older patients
related deaths in 2021 alone. little girl in a dress that was covered in whom she loved caring for because she
I am glad to be joined on the floor by stars. The last time that family had said, ‘‘They are at an age where they
my colleague Senator KLOBUCHAR, to been in that church was for the Nativ- say what they are thinking.’’ It is gut-
whom I will yield in a moment. I want ity play that the boys had been in. The wrenching and heartbreaking to think
to thank her for being a real steadfast dad had been sitting proudly in the that Lindsay won’t get to that age,
partner in these efforts and, in par- front row, and now they were at his fu- won’t get that happy freedom, won’t
ticular, on focusing, as she has, on the neral. That is what we are talking get to see her two children grow up and
crime of domestic violence. about with gun violence. graduate and have families of their
Senator KLOBUCHAR, earlier this I join my colleagues on the floor to own.
evening, I was describing a murder in honor Americans whose lives were cru- It has been reported that the shooter,
New Haven, CT, that happened on the elly and unjustly taken from us by gun whom some described as being a dis-
same day as Colorado’s, in which a violence, and I am going to read some gruntled patient, had previously made
young woman was sitting in a car with names of people who should never be threats against the clinic.
her boyfriend and with her 1-year-old forgotten. Although we don’t know whether this
in the backseat. They were in an argu- In Alabama, Chase Green; in Arizona, tragedy could have been prevented, in
ment, and she was trying to leave him, Isaias Garcia Tovar, Sr., Isaias Tovar, some way, we know it could have been.
and she shot him while in the car with Jr., and Delia Noriega; in Connecticut, We should be doing more to encourage
the child in the backseat. I was talking Dwaneia Turner; in Delaware, Demier States to pass commonsense laws and
about how little attention that got in Chambers; in Florida, Earnest Lee to pass laws right here in this body
Connecticut, never mind in the coun- ‘‘Bug’’ Riggs, Jr.; in Illinois, Brenda that allow family members or law en-
try, in how we pay attention to these Poss-Barnes, Greg Barnes, Sr., and forcement to get a court order to tem-
mass shootings—and for good reason— Daniel Kinney; in Indiana, Chanel porarily prevent a person from buying
and how every one of these individuals Neal; in Kentucky, Kenya Renee a gun who is in crisis.
has a story attached to them. She was Cunningham, Demontray Rhodes, and By the way—and Senator MURPHY
someone her friends relied on for coun- Katherine Bryan; in Missouri, Johnnie knows this—after Parkland, I was in
sel and for moral support, and it is how Jones; in Ohio, Alonzo Lewis; in Ten- the White House when Donald Trump
that death initiates so many other nessee, Kevin Niyibizi; in Virginia, was President. I was seated across from
traumas. Eddie Jenkins; in Wisconsin, Kevin him, and I was seated next to former
I was honored to be able to read her Kloth and Kevin Schneider. Vice President Pence. I was there be-
name into the RECORD tonight. She is Those are just 20 names out of the cause of the domestic violence bill that
one of many who will now find their thousands of people lost to gun vio- I lead, and I still have the piece of
names in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD so lence every year—an average of 100 gun paper on which I wrote the hashtags
that, at the very least, the RECORD of violence deaths each day. That is three when Donald Trump said that he was
our proceedings will remember her life classrooms of children. for universal background checks not
and think about what could have been We also know the communities where once, not twice, not three times, but
had we not been so cavalier with her mass shootings occur will never be the multiple times. When we talked about
life and her safety through our inac- same. Atlanta, GA, and Boulder, CO, this very issue—the idea of getting a
tion. are now part of the ever growing list of court order to temporarily prevent a
I yield the floor. cities and towns forever altered but person who is in crisis from buying a
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- never forgotten—Midland, Odessa, Day- gun, which is something that Vice
pore. The Senator from Minnesota. ton, El Paso, Virginia Beach, Pitts- President Pence supported because of
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I burgh, Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando, what had happened in Indiana, and
thank Senator MURPHY so much for Charleston, Newtown, to name a few— they had a similar law—President
those beautiful words. and I am greatly saddened that my Trump said he was for it, that he was
When you honor the victims as you home State of Minnesota also has com- for this stuff.
did, you honor all victims. What I have munities on that list. On average, Then what happened? We all know
found about these crimes, particularly someone is killed with a gun every 21 this. The next day or 2 days later, after
the crime of domestic violence, is, so hours in my State. That is 422 people this meeting that we had that was on
often, the victims have been hidden each year. TV, he met with the NRA, and he
from view. It is a crime that takes Tonight, I am going to focus on the backed down. We can’t keep backing
place in someone’s bedroom with the loss of two women from Minnesota, down, and we know we now have a
door closed. It is a crime that takes both of whom were healthcare workers President in Joe Biden who will not
place in a house, a crime that no one and both of whom were moms. For the back down.
ever sees. As you know, in a situation past year, frontline healthcare workers Here is another story.
like this, when there is a gun, it be- protected us from the pandemic, but Just days ago, we lost another moth-
comes deadly. for Lindsay Overbay and Bao Yang, we er of two, Ms. Bao Yang of St. Paul,
One of my memories is of years ago failed to protect them. MN. She worked hard to raise her sons,
when a police officer in a small town in In February, Lindsay was killed in a ages 21 and 11, as a single mom. She
Minnesota responded to a domestic vio- horrible shooting at the Allina Health held multiple jobs while she studied to
lence call. What a lot of people don’t Clinic in Buffalo, MN, where four of her be a nurse—graduating and getting her
know is that, oftentimes, those are the coworkers were also injured. This just license a few years ago.
most dangerous calls police officers happened last month. She was a med- According to her son, ‘‘all she ever
take. It was a victim—very young— ical assistant at the clinic, and she de- wanted was to raise my little brother
who had called the police, and it was of voted her life to healing others. She in the best life she could give him. I
someone who had severe mental illness had a wonderful laugh that would could see how much stress she carried
problems, her boyfriend. The police make a room spark to life. Her husband every day but still always managed to
went to the door, and the door was an- said that her laugh was so distinctive provide for’’ us.
swered, and the guy shot the police of- that, if you walked into the clinic and Bao’s sister said she was a sweet, lov-
ficer. He was wearing a bulletproof you heard her laughing, you knew ex- ing, caring, hard-working person who
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
vest, but he shot him in the head. I was actly who it was. only wanted the best for everyone.
at that funeral. The spark of her own life was her But a few days ago—right around the
It is a reminder that the crime of do- family—her husband of 10 years and time as what happened in Atlanta;
mestic violence isn’t just about one her beloved children, an 8-year-old boy these stories are both completely fresh;
victim; it is about an entire commu- and a 5-year-old girl. Friends said that they just happened—on Saturday
nity. she lived and breathed her kids and morning at 8:30, the police were called
As the widow walked down the aisle that she cherished every moment spent to her house, and they found that she
of the church, she had her two little with them. Her field of cardiology put had been shot. She died later that
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.069 S24MRPT1
March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1755
morning. According to her family, she the firehouse, waiting as, one by one, Earth—really, the most powerful Na-
was a victim of domestic violence, the kids would come in, and, pretty tion in the history of the human race—
turned deadly because of a gun. Her soon, they knew that they would never will that Nation once again surrender
killer was her former boyfriend. see their little boy again. to this problem because of inaction
Unfortunately, her story is far too And as she just broke down crying, here?
common. According to the Department remembering the last thing she had I know this is true in every State in
of Justice, nearly half of the women seen him do, which was point to the the Union, but I certainly know it is
who are killed by intimate partners are picture of the school aide on their re- true in Pennsylvania: The people of my
killed by current or former dating frigerator, and as she sat there, crum- home State and the people of America
partners. pled on the floor, crying, she thought expect us to act. They don’t expect us
Violence Free Minnesota, which is a of that aide and thought: She will to surrender once again to this prob-
statewide coalition of organizations never leave his side. And when they lem. They expect us to take action to
that provides services to victims of do- found them, shot in the school, that pass commonsense gun measures that
mestic abuse, said of her homicide that woman had her arms around that little will, at a minimum, reduce the likeli-
she was the eighth Minnesotan to die boy, and they were both shot to death. hood that we will have more mass
due to domestic violence this year. And we all had to look at those fami- shootings like we have experienced just
There were 29 domestic violence-re- lies and say: You had the courage to in the last week and over and over
lated deaths in Minnesota last year. come forward to fight for a bill that again over months and now years. And
Yet Federal law does not prohibit abu- wouldn’t have even prevented the kill- even—even now we are moving into
sive dating partners or convicted stalk- ing of children, but you knew it was decades of mass casualty events involv-
ers from buying a gun, which is a prob- the best thing to prevent violence ing guns.
lem I have been trying to fix since I got around the country, and that was back- So they expect us to act, not to genu-
to Washington. ground checks, but the Senate did not flect to the gun lobby. And tonight we
We had hearings on this bill. We had have the courage to pass it. That time have to ask that question again: Will
a hearing in the Judiciary Committee has come. The courage must be in all of the U.S. Senate surrender to this prob-
years ago where the Republican wit- us, and we must get this done. lem and, really, by implication, sur-
nesses agreed that we should close Thank you, Senator MURPHY. render and genuflect to the gun lobby?
what is called the ‘‘boyfriend loop- I yield the floor. Tonight, I know that my colleague
hole.’’ As one of the conservative sher- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- from Connecticut, Senator MURPHY,
iffs from Wisconsin testified, he said pore. The Senator from Pennsylvania. and others have read through some
that, basically, mean boyfriends shoot Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise, as names of victims of gun violence, and I
just as hard and hit just as hard as my colleagues have tonight, to talk will add to that list. It is about 20.
mean husbands. Yet that discrepancy about gun violence again. It seems that Just—just a fraction, a tiny fraction,
exists in a number of States. only a few months pass, and we are of those we lost just in the last couple
And what just happened just a few here over and over again, talking about of years from so many different States:
weeks ago? The Violence Against this uniquely American problem. Kortlin Williams from the State of
Women Act passed in the House of Rep- Tonight, we gather in grief—a lot of Missouri; Marcus Obrian Young from
resentatives, Senator MURPHY. It sadness throughout the country, people the State of North Carolina; Marquez
passed in the House of Representatives offering, as I do tonight, once again, Warden from Virginia; Marvin Scott
with 29 Republican votes, and that pro- condolences to the families in both the from Maryland; Melvin Porter from
vision is in there. That is now coming State of Georgia, the State of Colo- Georgia; Omar Mohamed Juma from
over to the U.S. Senate, and it has been rado, and so many others—so many Texas; Russell Jones, also from Texas;
one of the reasons this bill has been other families throughout the country Saveon Th’Marcus Washington from
stalled out. who have lost a loved one just in the the State of Alabama; Angela Thomp-
I do not know how after what we last week or month or within the last son from Oklahoma; Stephanie Lee
have seen with the numbers of domes- year. from Ohio; Tahjier Lafleur from Cali-
tic violence cases, after the story I just But we also, I think, tonight have to fornia; Teon Burwell from Virginia;
told of a woman we just lost this week- do more than just offer condolences Xavier Cancer from South Carolina;
end, and how after what happened in and offer support for the families. We Brenda Sue Strawser Sines, Maryland;
Atlanta, we cannot acknowledge this have to ask ourselves some basic ques- Tera’Lynn Cantrell from Arkansas;
violence against women and, in par- tions, and one question that keeps Teshundra Fortune from Mississippi;
ticular, against women of color. This is coming back every time we gather—at Quindarious Ford from Georgia;
one thing that we can do right now. We least for me it does and, I know, prob- Raemel Richardson from Louisiana;
literally can pass that bill as we work ably for a lot of Americans—is not sim- Sarah Larocca from Colorado; and, fi-
on background checks and all of the ply why are we not beginning to solve nally, Andre Odom from Ohio.
other things that we need to do. this problem, why aren’t we taking ac- I am not sure it is possible for any
I will end with this, Senator MURPHY, tion. They are obvious questions we all one of us who hasn’t been—whose fam-
that what happened in your State with ask. But one question that keeps com- ily has not been a victim of gun vio-
the Sandy Hook shooting is forever ing to me over and over again is a sim- lence to in any way not only under-
etched in all of our minds and memo- ple question about the U.S. Senate: stand but even to offer the appropriate
ries. When people ask, ‘‘What was your Will the U.S. Senate, once again, as it words that we try to offer to these fam-
best day in the Senate?’’ I talk about a has now we can say year after year— ilies on a night like this and on so
bill I passed—maybe little known to will the U.S. Senate surrender to gun many other days and nights.
some—involving a young girl who was violence? I always turn back to the words of
killed as a result of a swimming pool That is a question I have been asking others about what this might mean to
tragedy. We fixed that rule about pools myself. I have certainly asked it on those families. I just can’t even imag-
at least a few years ago, and no one has this floor. Will the Senate continue to ine what it would be like to lose a fam-
died since. surrender to gun violence? And, by ex- ily member to gun violence or to any
Then they ask about my saddest day. tension, therefore, the country is not violence, for that matter.
For me, it was when the bipartisan taking action when we don’t take ac- Remember the words of the great re-
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
background check went down, because tion. The only way that we can begin cording artist Bruce Springsteen. He
those parents whom Senator MURPHY to solve this problem over time is to wrote a song in the aftermath—the
knows so well were in my office, and I take action here in the Senate. horror of the aftermath of 9/11, and he
was one of the several Senators who The House has acted over and over was trying to capture in a series of
had to tell them ‘‘no’’ even though again, as we know, bill after bill. In a songs that he wrote and put in an
they had had the courage to come be- larger sense, we have to ask ourselves: album at the time capturing the loss,
fore the Senate. In particular, one Is it really true? Will it be true again the pain, the pain of the loss that so
woman told me that story of waiting in that the most powerful Nation on many American families felt at that
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.070 S24MRPT1
S1756 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
time. And I always thought it was ap- adult children in the old home they So while the victims of gun violence
plicable, that kind of loss, to what came from. are burdened by all the changes in
these families feel when a member of Azir continues to learn about how to their lives and the expense and the
their family is killed by gun violence. navigate his new life in a wheelchair, trauma they live through, while others
Springsteen’s refrain in that song— and the family continues to struggle to suffer through the consequence of los-
the name of the song is ‘‘You’re Miss- find ways to improve his quality of life. ing a loved one and feeling that sense
ing,’’ and he keeps using that refrain: Now they are searching for housing of missing someone every day, while
You’re missing when I shut out the lights. outside of the city so they might be all that is happening, the U.S. Senate
You’re missing when I close my eyes. able to find a home with a backyard for has been frozen in place for 8 years at
You’re missing when I see the sunrise. Azir to enjoy. least. We haven’t even voted on com-
That is the reality for these families. Azir and his family will never be able monsense measures.
Every moment of their day will be a to forget about this shooting—and he It is time for the Senate to act, not
time when they will be missing that was shot five times—because they live to genuflect to the gun lobby like so
family member for God only knows with the consequences of that violence many in this Chamber seem to want to
how long. every single day. They are just one of do year after year. It is time for the
So we are thinking of those families millions who struggle financially, who Senate to act, to pass commonsense
tonight who have loved and lost. struggle physically, who struggle emo- gun reform at long last.
We are also remembering—and this is tionally because of the trauma of gun I yield the floor.
another area where we have not taken violence that has ravaged our commu- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
action—we are also remembering fami- nities, our schools, our churches, and pore. The Senator from Connecticut.
lies that had a member of their family our businesses. Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I
become a victim of gun violence, but So the U.S. Senate has an obligation want to thank Senator CASEY for his
they survived, but their life is changed on this part of the problem as well. We very powerful remarks and all of my
can’t surrender to gun violence, and we colleagues for coming to the floor to-
unalterably. The life of that individual
can’t surrender to the question of what night in this event that Senator MUR-
has changed. The life of his or her fam-
we are going to do to help those who PHY and I are helping to lead.
ily changes and so many burdens they
survive. Now I recognize Senator VAN HOLLEN
have to carry, having survived gun vio- We certainly have to pass common- of Maryland, a great friend and col-
lence. sense gun measures, as I mentioned be- league who knows a lot about this
We know that 100 are killed each fore—something as simple and as over- topic.
day—more than 40,000 across the coun- whelmingly popular as universal back- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
try in our country. But we also know ground checks. And at the same time, pore. The Senator from Maryland.
numbers about those who have sur- we can pass a number of other com- Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I
vived: 230 people sustain a nonfatal gun monsense measures, including a bill want to thank Senator BLUMENTHAL,
injury every day, and it is estimated that I am leading here in the Senate Senator MURPHY, and everybody who
that about 10 million Americans have and paired up with U.S. Representative has been brought together by this trag-
been shot and injured during their life- DWIGHT EVANS in the House, a great edy that we witnessed in our country—
time—10 million Americans. leader in our State from the city of first a few days ago in Atlanta and
We also know that gun violence inju- Philadelphia. This bill is the Resources then Boulder.
ries are more likely to occur in young- for Victims of Gun Violence, and The tragedy is that these are not iso-
er people. Each year, approximately DWIGHT EVANS and I are working to get lated events; these are the kinds of
15,600 children and teenagers are shot it passed. tragedies we see all too often and, in-
and injured. Black children and teen- The bill would create an interagency deed, every day in neighborhoods and
agers are 14 times more likely than advisory council with experts from streets around our country. So it is im-
their White peers to die by gun homi- Federal Agencies, victims of gun vio- portant that we come together to talk
cide. lence, and victim assistance profes- about the horror of the daily toll of
Those who survive—those huge num- sionals. Among other things, this coun- gun violence and also highlight the
bers who survive—have their lives cil would make it easier for victims of horror of the fact that this body and
changed forever. The role that that vic- gun violence to access resources by as- the Federal Government have not
tim plays in the family is made expo- sessing, gathering, and disseminating taken action to stop those daily hor-
nentially more different. information about different benefits rors.
I will talk about one of those individ- and programs that could assist the vic- Mr. President, I want to begin by
uals tonight. His name is Azir Harris. tims—the victims of gun violence, like joining my colleagues in reading out
Azir Harris was 17 years old in Feb- Azir and his family. loud the names of 20 of our fellow
ruary of 2018—February 15, to be exact. But I come back to where I started as Americans who have perished from gun
It was the day after the Parkland I conclude my remarks. We have to ask violence just this year, 15 from across
shooting in Florida. Azir was shot five that question: Will the U.S. Senate the country and 5 from my home State
times on his way to grab something to once again surrender to gun violence, of Maryland. This is just this year, and
eat with two of his friends in South do nothing about the tragic loss of life this is just a few of those who have
Philadelphia. that we have seen just in the last week, been shot down through gun violence:
He was paralyzed from the waist surrender to the carnage that we see Caleb Day of Ohio, age 19; Cody Nichols
down, caught in the crossfire of gun vi- not just this week and last week and Campbell of Indiana, age 27; Alex Jack-
olence as an innocent bystander. Azir’s month after month but now literally son of New Mexico, age 15; Gregory
life and his family’s lives were turned decade after decade? Dewayne Lynn Chandler of Texas, age
upside down in seconds. Their house There hasn’t been on the floor of the 32; Debra Derrick of New Jersey, age
was just blocks away from where he al- U.S. Senate a significant, substantial 63; Jason B. West, of North Carolina,
most lost his life—again, as I said, shot debate on gun violence in I don’t know age 36; Jeremiah Lowery of Louisiana,
five times. how long; I guess since maybe 2013—8 age 17; Caleb Martin of South Carolina,
To navigate their two-story home, years. There has been 8 years of vir- age 18; Lavontae Sharron Johnson of
Azir’s father would carry him up and tually no debate and 8 years of not vot- Virginia, age 23; Holly Elizabeth Beard
down the stairs in their home. They ing, not even passing a vote on these Montana of Alabama, March 11, 2021,
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
searched desperately to relocate but commonsense gun measures, because age 51; Jessica Ruiz of Texas, age 20;
were having trouble finding housing, the gun lobby has created a blockade. Najeebat Sule of Pennsylvania, age 24;
which is often nearly impossible for So the Senate was not even permitted, Ricardo M. Lopez of New York, age 37;
victims of gun violence. I guess, under their rules—the rules of Richard Douglas Sloane of Kentucky,
The family was eventually able to re- the gun lobby and the rules of the ma- age 33; and Tyree Riley of Indiana, age
locate into a home in North Philadel- jority until recently—prohibited from 18.
phia, but in the process, they were even debating, let alone voting on com- In Maryland, my State of Maryland,
forced to leave behind some of their monsense measures. just this year: April Renee Lawson, age
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.071 S24MRPT1
March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1757
18; Genesis Garrett, age 22; Terry Wil- we see these mass shootings, and it If you look at guns that were used in
liams, age 18; Ken Gerstley, age 50; and comes back and again when Carole Maryland in crimes, 54 percent of them
Guy Thomas, age 52. Price reads about another boy or girl come from outside of the State of
We read these names tonight and re- or another person who died from gun Maryland, from States that do not
member these lives because it is impor- violence in their home. Again, we see it have those kinds of commonsense gun
tant to pay tribute to those whom we on a daily basis. laws that make people safe.
have lost, but it is also to make sure The reason it is so important that we So, Maryland, like so many other
that tonight is not the end of their come together and focus on this is that States, is calling upon our brothers and
story and that we dedicate ourselves to there are some, I think, in our country sisters from across the Union to help
turning words into action here in the who have lost the capacity to be sur- us take action, and we know that the
Senate. prised. I know we were all shocked and public believes and understands that
Our country is now experiencing an surprised after Columbine, after Sandy too. Some of my colleagues have said
upswing in gun violence, the largest in- Hook, after the Pulse nightclub and 90 percent of the American public sup-
crease in gun violence since 1960. Be- the Mother Emanuel AME shootings, ports basic background checks for peo-
tween the years 2019 and 2020, we have maybe the shooting in Las Vegas. We ple purchasing guns.
seen that big jump, and it should hor- were shocked at some point in the past I want to tell my colleagues about
rify everyone and give us pause and that people would indiscriminately Michael Derrick Baughan, who was
cause us to reflect. take the lives of others. We were born March 18, 1983, excelled in school
I have been texting back and forth in shocked at the daily toll of gun vio- throughout his life. He went to college
the last few days after the shootings in lence. Even if it was in a place like in Maryland, and then he moved to
Atlanta and Boulder with a friend of Baltimore or another city in Maryland Delaware. His mother Cheryl remem-
mine whom I first met two decades and it didn’t make the national news, bers picking up the phone one day and
ago. Her name is Carole Price. I met it still was a shocking thing that some- hearing her son at other end of the line
her under the most tragic of cir- body would just gun down a fellow saying: Mom, I went to Walmart and
cumstances. Carole and her husband human being. But now when we see it got a gun in 15 minutes. I can’t get a
John lost their beloved 13-year-old son happen time and again, mass shootings driver’s license that fast, but I got a
John to gun violence. Their beautiful and the daily toll, nobody can claim gun because I am feeling pain, and I
13-year-old boy John went next door to surprise. What is surprising is that, as have a gun to my head.
play at a neighbor’s house. There was a a nation, we haven’t summoned the Cheryl and Michael spoke on the
loose gun, and it was an accidental will to do something about it the same phone for 2 hours before Michael agreed
shooting. John died. He was 13 years way we have worked to summon the to take the bullets out of his gun. But
old. will to defeat the coronavirus pan- that wasn’t the last time he made an
Like so many other parents or loved demic. attempt, and Michael died of suicide,
ones of victims of shooting deaths, Car- In 2019, 757 Marylanders died from gunshot, February 2014.
ole had the courage to take her pain, gun violence. In fact, it has become so Whether it is the ease of getting a
take her tragedy, and work to try to routine that by this time tomorrow, on gun to commit suicide or the ease of
make sure that kind of pain and trag- the current trajectory, 2 more—2 more getting a gun to shoot down others,
edy didn’t happen to another family in Marylanders will have died from gun what we have in the country today is
the State of Maryland or in the coun- violence. That is 1 State out of our 50 simply unacceptable. As Daniel Web-
try. She did what was within her States. This is something that tears at ster, who is a public health researcher
power. the fabric of communities in our coun- at Johns Hopkins University of Mary-
At the time, I was in the Maryland try. It has had a disproportionate im- land, said: Gun violence is not inevi-
Legislature, and she came and im- pact and pain on communities of color. table. It is very preventable.
plored the Maryland Legislature to do I want to tell my colleagues about We know that. We know there are
something—something to prevent this Denise Reid, who knows what it is like things we can do to prevent gun vio-
kind of horrible tragedy from being ex- to carry the burden and pain of losing lence. I am not going to go into a lit-
perienced by other Maryland families, loved ones to gun violence. Denise grew any of legislation that we could pass to
and the legislature acted. Maryland be- up in Baltimore. She lost her uncle to make things better. I do want to point
came the first State in the country at gun violence. She lost her cousin to out, though, that we have an organiza-
that time to require that guns sold in gun violence. She lost her cousin’s tion, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
our State have embedded trigger locks, girlfriend to gun violence. Her mother Firearms and Explosives—the ATF, as
safety locks, so that if they were left was shot standing in the doorway of it is commonly referred to—whose job
lying around, it would be less likely their Baltimore home. Thankfully, she it is, who is charged with protecting
that some 13-year-old boy or girl would survived. In October 2006, Denise’s son the public from the illegal use of traf-
pick it up and shoot their friend. That Tavon was shot and gravely wounded, ficking of firearms. And yet, while we
bill saved lives in Maryland, and that paralyzed from the neck down. He sur- give them that charge, we give them
is because of Carole Price. vived his injury for 3 years but passed that responsibility, the House and the
Think of what is happening today in away after that. Senate, over the years, have tied their
our country. The pandemic hit. What So tonight, I ask all of us to pay trib- hands. We have handcuffed them. We
did we do? We worked to follow the ad- ute to Denise and to her son Tavon made it very difficult for them to do
vice of public health experts—social Terrell Water, Sr., who was gone too their job. We prevent them from shar-
distance, wear masks—and we went soon, but I want to tell you about ing trace crime gun data on firearms
into overdrive. We went into overdrive Denise because she is an inspiration to with the public and on people doing re-
to develop a vaccine to stop the deaths. us all. She still lives in Baltimore. She search into the gun violence epidemic.
When it comes to the epidemic of gun works as the chaplain with the Balti- We bar the ATF from legally requiring
violence, we see no such actions being more City Police, working every day to gun dealers to keep accurate inven-
taken here at the Federal level. The serve her community and give back to tories of their guns and report lost or
normal thing to do would be to do what the city she loves but wants to make stolen firearms. Simple things like
the Maryland State Legislature did in better and safer. that that we say they can’t do.
response to that tragedy Carole Price My State of Maryland has thankfully I want to end by talking about an
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
went through—try to take some action joined Denise and Carole Price and all initiative of the mayor of Baltimore
to prevent other families from experi- those who have lost someone to gun vi- City, Mayor Brandon Scott, who has
encing that tragedy. olence by passing commonsense meas- worked with Everytown, the organiza-
When Carole texted me the other ures in our State of Maryland. But the tion, to create a cutting-edge internal
day, it was just another reminder that State of Maryland, like every other system to help law enforcement track
the pain of losing a loved one to gun vi- State, is not an island. We can’t do it and understand and disrupt the stream
olence never goes away. In fact, that alone. We need for the Congress to take of firearms entering the city of Balti-
pain comes back again and again when action. more. They have worked hard to try to
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.073 S24MRPT1
S1758 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 24, 2021
overcome these obstacles that we put killed in Portland, OR. Say their Jimmy Wright, a police officer from
in the way of ATF. But that is a chal- names. Say their names. Say their those buildings who—he is a beautiful
lenge, and it shouldn’t be so hard. names. man, and he was shaken. They killed
We had a program in the city of Bal- Cobe Hilliard, 19, killed in Temple, Shahad on my block, where I live as a
timore—still do. It is called Safe TX. April Williams, 21, and her mom U.S. Senator, at the top of my block,
Streets. It is headed by a person called Tammy Briggs, 46, killed in Augusta, and I will never forget how Jimmy de-
Dante Barksdale. He went by the name GA. Say their names. Say their names. scribed it. He said: CORY, I talked to
of ‘‘Tater.’’ He was known throughout Christine Ruffin, age 61, was killed the police officer. He was killed with
Baltimore as the smiling face of Safe with a gun in Palm City, FL. Delquan an assault rifle. And he said: CORY, the
Streets, which was a gun violence pre- Daniels, 23 years old, was killed with a police officer told me his head ex-
vention program. gun in Rochester, NY. Say their names. ploded.
Dante was committed to the mission. Say their names. And I—I had to hold onto something
He helped others learn to put down Gerson Aleman Velasquez, 19, was because most of those kids from that
their guns. Dante was shot to death on killed with a gun in Myrtle Beach, SC. lobby, the children I watched grow up
January 17 of this year. In that mo- Lionel Darling, age 39, and Rayneesha in my 8 years living in those projects,
ment, Maryland lost a son, a mentor, a Dotson, age 30, were both killed with in those buildings, Black boys in a
hero, and as Mayor Scott called him, a guns—killed with guns. Say their world where there is so much assault—
man who saved thousands of lives in name. Say their name. the first of them to die.
our city, thousands of lives, and yet his Maritza Remijio Paniagua, age 20, In 2005, I would come home at night.
was taken by gun violence—gun vio- was killed with a gun in Los Angeles. I was chasing my dream to be the
lence that is preventable. Merlyn McCallister, age 51, was killed mayor of the largest city in my State.
I yield the floor. with a gun in Chicago. Mishealia Marie I was getting ready to run for office,
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Meredith, age 19, was killed with a gun and I came home and I smelled mari-
pore. The Senator from New Jersey. in Eldorado, IL. Victor Brooks, age 20, juana in the lobby.
Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, Member was killed with a gun in Phoenix, AZ. Now, we live in a country where it is
after Member has come down tonight Ronald Jeffery Laroy Jones, Jr., age 25, a lot different watching kids at Stan-
to speak, and the conversation, as we was killed with a gun in Columbus, OH. ford, Yale smoke pot and have no wor-
all have come down here, was to come Say their names. Say their names. ries. But for inner city Black kids, I
do something that I think is extraor- This is the question of our country. will tell you right now, they have no
dinarily poignant. What is the quality of our mercy? How margins for experimentation. And I
This is the floor where policy is de- courageous is our empathy? How des- said to myself: Oh, I have to intervene
bated and where ideas of governance titute is our compassion? How anemic here. So I started asking them: Let’s
are discussed. It is a deliberative body, is our love for one another that this get out of this lobby. Let’s go do some-
but we are in a democracy, and we rep- many Americans are dying hour after thing. Let’s go to the movies. Let’s eat.
resent people. So, tonight, the idea was hour, day after day, month after And I will never forget. I made a mis-
that we would come down here and month, year after year? Carnage in our take, y’all. I said: You guys choose a
talk about people, but the pain is that country like never before seen in hu- movie. That was a mistake because
they are not alive; that we would dis- manity, and we do nothing as a society they took me to something called
cuss the deceased, the dead, the mur- and a government that was formed for ‘‘Saw II.’’ Do not see that movie.
dered, the killed. a more perfect Union, for domestic And we went out to dinner at a diner,
I believe that if America has not bro- tranquility, and for justice. At the top Andrew’s Diner. I remember the con-
ken your heart, then you don’t love her of our Federal Government’s Constitu- versations with them. I asked them
enough. Name after name tonight has tion is the very ideal that we are for what their dreams were. And this
been spoken by colleague after col- the common defense. Say their names. moved me because their dreams, they
league, and, dear God, every single Do we honor them? Do we love their were humble dreams.
name is a son or daughter. It is a survivors? Love is not sentimentality. And I said that I would connect them
brother or sister. It is a family mem- It is not words. It demands something. with mentors, and I had all these plans
ber. They are a person, part of a com- It necessitates sacrifice. And I can tell about how to help these young men get
munity, and they are dead. you I am one of those folks who, serv- out of the danger zone. Then I got too
But this is not just any limited list. ing in an American city, would have busy with my campaign. And I remem-
It seems to grow like a cancer on the my police officers show me the films of ber feeling a little guilty that I was too
soul of our country. You take my age, murders from our cameras—human busy to follow through on the commit-
51 years old. Well, in just the time of beings being shot and killed. How could ments I had made. And I consoled my-
my life, the death in our country has it not shake the core of your soul? How self that I was running for mayor:
been something like has never before could it not rip open wounds that can- When I become mayor, God, I will be
been seen in even a country at war be- not be healed? able to help all children in the city. I
cause the people who have died, the My colleagues reading names of peo- will step up then. Let me just get
human beings who have been lost, the ple, children lost, kids lost to suicide, through the campaign.
family members who have been slain, bodies mangled, people paralyzed, how Well, I would still come home at
their total number, in just my lifetime, could it not call to your conscience? night, and the boys weren’t mad at me
add up to more than all of the Ameri- How could it not demand from all of us or anything like that. They would still
cans who have died in every single war not to sit idly by and watch and wit- greet me and cheer me on when I came
from the Revolution to our current ness? We are wounded as a society. We into the lobby, Shahad and Hassan. It
wars in the Middle East. are hurting. There is pain that is was amazing. They would lift me up.
So my friends and my colleagues unspoken, and that is so dangerous. One day they had lawn signs, my
have read name after name after name, In 2018, Shahad Smith, I knew him lawn signs, waving them, and formed a
but the painful, heartbreaking reality well. I used to live in high-rise projects parade line. And I walked out and
is we could have taken hour after hour at the top of my block. There was a waved and got in the elevator until I
over days after days to name the total group of boys there, led by this young realized, where did they get those lawn
who have died in my lifetime. And the man named Hassan Washington. Has- signs from? They are kind of expensive.
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
heartbreaking stories have to stagger san was brilliant. He was funny. He had I ended up winning. And I had death
you when you hear the testimony. On a sharp wit. He had charisma. Shahad threats on me. And when you are elect-
March 1, Kaiden Alex Peak, who was 4 was one of the young men in high ed to office, get death threats, you
years old, and his brother, Mayson school who hung out with him in the have security. And next thing you
Paul Peak, who was 3 years old, were lobby of my building. I would come know, I had police officers stationed in
gunned down, killed in Warsaw, MO. home and I would see them there. the lobby, and the boys weren’t there
Jennifer Garcia, 21 years of age, and And I tell you, in 2018, I make it to anymore. They didn’t want to hang out
Charlie Borbon Lopez, 20 years, both the U.S. Senate, and I get a call from where the police officers were.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.075 S24MRPT1
March 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1759
And I didn’t think too much about it What a morbid thing we have been change and to begin that process in the
because I was running at full speed as doing here tonight, reading the names wake of the shootings in Boulder and
a new mayor. I was 36, 37 years old. The of dead people killed in our country, Atlanta by making sure that every-
violent crime in our city was peaking. hoping that somehow—somehow we body hears the names of those who
There were too many shooters in that could change. Well, I will tell you this have died.
hot summer. I will never forget. And I right now: We are in a distraught mo- I yield to Senator BLUMENTHAL to
would run to every street corner I ment in our Nation, where most of us wrap up for the evening.
could where there was a shooting in agree on solid steps. It won’t solve all The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
our city. And I would stand there, and the problems, but it would make a dif- pore. The Senator from Connecticut.
I would say: This is not who we are. ference. It would save a Hassan. It Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President,
This is not America. This is not New- would save a Shahad. It would save the there is no last word tonight. There is
ark. We are going to overcome this. 3- and 4-year-olds, the names I have no final saying here. There are no final
And I would give street-level sermons read. names. Nora Beller, Tito Roman,
telling people about the vision for our The question is, How courageous are Aaliyah Eubanks, Dominick Boston,
city. And, God, we would eventually we? How much do we truly love one an- Brad Keel, James Ray Huddelston—we
turn down the violence. other? What will we do? This is a mo- could be here a long time. But the trag-
But in those early days, a month into ment in American history that could edy is there will be more names, 100
my office, I show up on a street corner, be the inflection point. If we act now, more, at this time tomorrow night.
and there is a body covered by a sheet we could end some of this nightmare. If And every one of these names is a fu-
and another one being loaded on the we fail to do anything, we will be back ture cut short. Every one of them is a
back of an ambulance. And I barely here again. The list of the dead will be life that could have given so much,
paid attention to the humanity on the longer. The heartache and the pain and bringing more light and joy, pride,
street. I didn’t even ask for the names. the wounds and the grief and the sor- grace, dignity.
I was too busy ministering to the liv- row and the shame will be deeper in My colleagues have come to the floor
ing. America, the world’s greatest country. with great eloquence. I want to thank
I get home that night to steal a cou- We must demand of each other a them. But the most eloquent part to-
ple hours of sleep in my early days as greater love. We must end the poverty night is the names. And we should take
mayor. And I will never forget sitting of empathy. We must free ourselves inspiration from the courage of their
in my bedroom with my BlackBerry, from this prison, from this dungeon. families, the strength of the survivors,
going through it, and I saw the name We must release ourselves from these advocates, and activists who are form-
on the homicide report. At that mo- chains. We must demand that this Na- ing a political movement that is cre-
ment in my life, something broke in tion be the Nation we want it to be, be ating ripples turning into waves that
me that will never fix. It wasn’t an the Nation we hope it should be, be the will overcome. They will overcome the
anonymous name that I didn’t know. It Nation that those in military uniform intransigence and cowardice of col-
wasn’t just a cold issuance of another died for—a nation where we make real leagues who fail to heed the American
crime in a big city. The name was Has- the greatest principles of humanity, public, and they will be held account-
san Washington. Four floors below me the greatest calling of every faith that able.
he lived with his grandma, a kid I there is—not words, but real, true, Thank you.
promised to help with his dreams. manifestation of the principle and the I yield the floor.
I will never forget his funeral for as call. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
long as I live. Perry’s Funeral Home— Will we be silent? Will we be igno- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
God bless them, those professionals. I rant? Will we avoid? Will we do noth- pore. The clerk will call the roll.
entered that funeral home as the newly ing? Will we be passive? Or will we The legislative clerk proceeded to
minted mayor. And I was so upset when truly be a nation that loves one an- call the roll.
I saw it was in their basement room be- other? Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I ask
cause going in that room was like de- I yield the floor. unanimous consent that the order for
scending into the bowel of a ship, a The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the quorum call be rescinded.
narrow staircase. And I get into this pore. The Senator from Connecticut. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
room. We were piled in on top of each Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, Marcia pore. Without objection, it is so or-
other like we were chained together in Reitman Currie from New York; Mitch- dered.
grief, and people were crying. Every- ell Wright, Jr., from Missouri; Nicholas f
body was showing up. Everybody was Tarpley from Pennsylvania; Reuben
there for what is an American tradi- Lewis III from California; Rhyce MORNING BUSINESS
tion: almost every day, another boy, Wingate-Bey, Maryland; Robert ---
another Black boy in a box killed by a Crochiere, Massachusetts; Samuel La-
mont Smith-Williams, Tennessee; WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
gun.
And I wish I could tell you that I was Spencer Wilcox, Oregon; Anthony Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the
strong in that moment. I wish I could Castillo, New York—we didn’t come clock struck 12, and the chaos of whis-
tell you that I was mayoral, that I was close to finishing this list tonight. We tles, bells, and sirens echoed down
a leader and the father of a city, but I didn’t make a dent in the list of those Michigan Avenue. All across Chicago,
wasn’t. I felt shame. I felt hurt. I felt names of the people who have died you could hear—feel—the jubilance
embarrassment. from gun violence in 2021 alone, a year erupting in the streets. Women of all
I tried to lean on other people in that in which almost 10,000 people have died ages sat on the hoods of Studebakers
room. There were folk I had known for in less than 3 months in suicides and and Model Ts, waving American flags
years, but, finally, I had enough. I had homicides and accidental shootings. as they rode through The Loop in cele-
to run. I left there. I jumped in my It is a choice. None of this is inevi- bration.
SUV, drove to my new office in City table. Almost all of it is preventable. It A decades-long fight for equality had
Hall. And for the first time—not the only happens here in the United States finally come to an end. Just days ear-
last but for the first time as the mayor of America because other countries lier, on August 26, 1920, U.S. Secretary
of New Jersey’s great and largest city, make different choices. of State Bainbridge Colby had issued a
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE
I sat in that office, and I wept over a Congress goes the next 2 weeks on a proclamation. The 19th Amendment
dead boy. And all I could think about district work period. We wanted to had been ratified, and women in Amer-
was climbing through the feelings of come to the floor tonight to make ica had secured the right to vote, once
shame and hurt and pain. All I could clear that we are not going to forget and for all. And though this victory
think about was that funeral in that those who have died through the inac- was monumental, America still had a
basement room, packed full of people. tion of this body, their national lead- long way to go.
All of us were there for his death, but ers; that we are going to renew our Nearly a century later, on the morn-
where were we for his life? commitment to be better and to ing of Saturday, November 7, 2020,
VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:45 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24MR6.077 S24MRPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2021-03-24_crec-2021-03-24-pt1-pgs1746-4.pdf
- Size
- 373,072 bytes
- SHA-256
- 7ba978aae8eb8b9c50a58fc0e93d5893862a90a98e4c5524ed072332b7aba212
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov