[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2785-S2787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Santa Fe High School Shooting

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, to my shock and surprise, 10 people were 
killed Friday in a little town outside of Houston known as Santa Fe, at 
Santa Fe High School, about 20 miles northwest of Galveston, TX. As we 
know now, a male student walked into an art class with a pistol and a 
shotgun that he got from his parents, perhaps without their knowledge. 
After stashing makeshift explosives elsewhere, he then engaged in a 
killing spree. The dead included eight students and two teachers. A 
brave police officer was among the 13 wounded.
  When I heard of the shooting, I made plans to immediately go to Santa 
Fe, where I met with Governor Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Patrick, 
Senator Cruz, and others, and we spoke to the Texas Department of 
Public Safety, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the FBI 
representatives, as well as the Santa Fe Independent School District 
officials to find out what happened. The families there, of course, 
remain in shock that something so terrible could happen in their small, 
tucked away little community--one that was recently shaken by Hurricane 
Harvey last fall and had previously seemed far removed from the 
violence that has touched other parts of the country.
  As I said last Friday, we have seen this before. Just last fall, we 
saw a similar story unfold in Sutherland Springs, outside of San 
Antonio, when a man opened fire at a Sunday church service. Then we saw 
it in Florida earlier this year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High 
School, in Parkland. Unfortunately, in recent years there have been 
plenty of examples--too many examples, actually--with too many lives 
lost and far too few solutions for families reeling from the aftermath.
  There are two things that strike me are clear, though. The first is 
that we need to better protect our students, secure our schools, and 
keep weapons out of the hands of those who are a danger to themselves 
and others. The second thing is to acknowledge that we haven't yet been 
able to do this effectively. Something is wrong, because these school 
shootings keep happening.
  It is no coincidence that these shootings mostly happen at public 
schools--or soft targets--and the shooters are usually male teenagers 
who attended these schools. These young people, I should add, are 
surrounded by a culture that condemns violence, on one hand, 
excoriating public officials for not doing more to prevent it, but 
celebrating violence on television, in movies, and in video games, 
which at least has the potential to desensitize especially vulnerable 
young people.
  Many proposals on how to address this pervasive problem focus on the 
guns themselves, not on the individuals who actually use them. They 
focus on restricting access to guns or banning specific firearm 
components for even law-abiding citizens. But any proposed fixes must 
also consider the root nature of the problem; that is, the deranged 
minds, the twisted rationalizations, and the tragic decisions of the 
people who commit these terrible acts of violence.
  These shooters are obviously incapable of self-regulating their own 
behavior. How could we possibly address that? That is part of what we 
need to be thinking about. A gun can kill someone only if a person--a 
very sick or a very bad person--pulls the trigger.
  So what have we done here in Congress to try to respond, as 
incompletely as I know we have? Well, last year, we introduced a bill 
called the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act, which was signed by 
President Obama in 2016. It is part of the answer. It provides more 
resources for communities and schools and mental health providers to 
deal with people before they become a danger to themselves or others. 
But there is more we can do, certainly in that space. The Texas Tech 
University Health Sciences Center has expanded the use of technology 
that can help us better utilize telemedicine to reach out to those in a 
mental health crisis and offer them an alternative course of treatment 
when they don't otherwise have access. We should consider that and 
other ideas in the days ahead.
  The parents that lost their sons and daughters at Santa Fe High 
School are obviously still grieving today, and we should be grieving as 
well, not only for the people who lost their lives but also for the 
state of our Nation--one that continues to watch its young people self-
destruct, engaging in violence that takes the lives of brothers, 
sisters, sons, daughters, friends, and classmates.
  We have been told in recent days that grief and prayers are not 
enough. I agree. It is not enough to send our condolences to 
communities like Santa Fe. We need to look the families of the victims 
in the eyes and say: Here are the concrete steps we have taken and 
intend to take to make sure something like this never happens again.
  I believe we did that earlier this year on a broad, bipartisan basis 
by passing legislation called the Fix NICS Act. Passing that bill was 
important because the last time I saw a major shooting in my State, it 
was at Sutherland Springs, where a man who had been discharged less 
than honorably from the Air Force for domestic violence convictions 
fell through the cracks of our background check system. He was able to 
lie and buy a firearm, even though, under existing law, he was 
disqualified and prohibited from doing so. But because of the broken 
background check system, he was able to get away with it. Our Fix NICS 
Act will help to fix that broken background check system. It was widely 
supported by Republicans and Democrats. We had 78 cosponsors in the 
Senate alone, demonstrating that solutions can enjoy broad bipartisan 
support if they actually make sense as opposed to engaging in 
ideological battles.
  I am glad Congress worked together also to pass the STOP School 
Violence Act earlier this year, which I was proud to cosponsor. This 
legislation will help to provide our schools with the tools and 
resources they need to prevent violence through better equipment, 
planning, training, safety infrastructure, and law enforcement presence 
on campus. In this year's appropriations bill, we were able to allocate 
$75 million to start getting this initiative off the ground.
  Now, people wonder: Can we possibly do this? Can we succeed in making 
our schools a safe place for mothers and fathers to send their children 
and where they are confident that everything humanly possible is being 
done to protect them? Well, I am not suggesting that we turn them into 
an airport, but my colleagues will recall that post-9/11, we have 
hardened our airports and our Nation's air travel in such a way as to 
make it virtually impervious to terrorist attacks. I think given the 
proper

[[Page S2786]]

attention, the creative thinking, and the proper resources, we can also 
come together and make our schools impervious to this sort of attack in 
the future. If we can do it at our Nation's airports against terrorist 
attacks, we can do it in our communities and in our local high schools.
  Finally--and thank goodness--we have seen the Justice Department 
prioritize firearm prosecutions with the number of defendants charged 
with unlawful possession increasing significantly over the past few 
years. This is because of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has made 
this a priority, and thank goodness for that. It has long been overdue. 
U.S. attorneys are now focused on enforcing laws that criminalize gun 
buyers who lie on their Federal background check. Previously, somebody 
could come in and lie on the background check, get caught, and nothing 
would ever happen to them. Now, thanks to the Attorney General and the 
U.S. attorneys, people are being prosecuted for lying, acting as a 
further deterrent on people who are felons or otherwise disqualified 
from legally purchasing firearms. And vehicles like Project Safe 
Neighborhoods, which the Senate passed unanimously last week, would 
fund task forces that target serious firearm offenders and get them off 
the streets.
  All of this is a good start, but the shooting in Santa Fe shows we 
have a long way to go because every one of these shootings seems to be 
a little bit different.
  Obviously, in Sutherland Springs, the failure seemed to be a 
background check system which allowed the shooter to buy a firearm, lie 
on the background check system, and not get caught. In places like Las 
Vegas, the bump stock allowed the person to essentially turn a 
semiautomatic rifle into an automatic weapon, which was otherwise 
illegal. We all learned about bump stocks. As an avid shooter and 
hunter myself, I had never heard about it before. Now the President has 
taken care of that problem.
  We have acted in the wake of Parkland, FL, to try to ensure we get 
resources to our schools so they can better protect their students and 
deal with other aspects of this challenge, but we need to be more 
methodical in figuring out the solutions, then seeing what, if any, 
solutions would have actually prevented a shooting, and then look to 
see if those same proposals would have prevented other similar events.
  In the case of Santa Fe, we know the shooter was somewhat socially 
withdrawn, but he was also a high school athlete and involved in his 
church. He posted troubling pictures and statements on social media, 
but as Governor Abbott said, he was not your typical troubled youth who 
people guessed one day might snap.
  We also know Santa Fe High School had lockdown drills recently and 
that police officers were stationed on campus. Both of these likely 
prevented the event from becoming much worse; so good for them for the 
lockdown drills and having police officers on campus. We should be 
grateful for that, even in the wake of so much violence that leaves us 
with so many unanswered questions.
  One of the two officers who rushed in to stop the shooter was John 
Barnes, who was, himself, shot by the gunman. He is a former Houston 
police officer who now works for the Santa Fe Independent School 
District. I am told his heart stopped twice while doctors and 
paramedics were trying to stem his bleeding, but he is a fighter and he 
held on. He is now in critical but stable condition in Galveston. We, 
of course, appreciate him and all other first responders and the other 
officers who courageously confronted the shooter and saved other lives. 
We wish Officer Barnes and his entire family the best as he fully 
recovers from his injury.
  Another hero who has emerged, from accounts of the shooting, is 
Christopher Stone, a 17-year-old junior who, once the shooting started, 
blocked the classroom door, protecting his fellow students from the 
gunman. Tragically, when the gunman shot through the door, Christopher 
Stone was hit, and he did not survive, but we will remember him and all 
the other lives which were lost this week as we pledge to do better, to 
work harder, to work together, and to find new ways to protect our 
schools and our children from harm.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I rise to speak today in the wake of 
another tragic school shooting. This time, it was in Texas. Ten 
innocent people--eight students and two teachers--were gunned down 
Friday when a gunman walked into a high school in East Texas and opened 
fire.
  Tragedies such as this are becoming too common in our society. At 
some point, we have to say enough is enough. How many times have we 
said that? Just 3 months ago, I stood right here on the Senate floor 
after 17 people were killed at MSD High School in Parkland, FL. I 
pleaded with our colleagues to set aside partisan politics and work 
together to enact commonsense reforms that will help make what happened 
at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School a pivotal moment in our 
Nation's history--not because it was one of the deadliest school 
shootings, but because back then, 3 months ago, it was the last one. I 
hoped it would be the last one.
  I am so proud of the students who spoke out and the parents who spoke 
out, such as Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was gunned down as she was 
trying to flee at the other end of the hall. That bullet from that AR-
15 caught her right in the spinal cord just as she was about to exit 
the hall. I thank Fred and others who have been speaking out, 
especially the students--so eloquent, so bold.
  We all hoped that the shooting in Parkland was going to be the last 
one, but it was not. Here we go again. With the tragedy that took place 
in Parkland so fresh in our minds, here we go again. Our students 
deserve better. You have seen the articles since Friday's shooting 
about how students are frightened that their school will be next. Our 
schools and our communities deserve better. America deserves better 
than this. Our students certainly deserve better.
  Since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, this Congress has passed 
two bills into law--only two. While this Senator supported both of 
those, they alone are not nearly enough. We can and we must do more.
  You have heard me say over and over that we need to ban assault 
weapons and the long clips. We need to close the gun show loophole. We 
need a comprehensive, universal background check for the sale or the 
transfer of any firearm, regardless of where it is purchased.
  By the way, those comprehensive background checks would have picked 
up red flags on the shooter in Parkland, who had some real mental 
problems. They would have also picked up the shooter in the Orlando 
Pulse nightclub 2 years ago because he had been on the terrorist watch 
list and had been taken off. If those kinds of things are picked up in 
a comprehensive background search, then--when a person goes to buy a 
gun, those kinds of things will be picked up.
  We also need to do more to provide our students with access to the 
mental health professionals they need. Because of the NRA locking down 
their votes, if we are not going to get anything on assault weapons or 
the gun show loophole or a comprehensive background check, then surely 
we ought to be able to come together in a bipartisan way to do 
something about mental health.
  I have met with parents and teachers and students across the State of 
Florida, and the one topic that keeps coming up is the lack of mental 
health services available to our children. How true is that in society 
at large? We are talking about school violence perpetrated by other 
students.
  You will not like this statistic. Florida has 1 school psychologist 
for about every 2,000 students. That is according to a report from the 
Florida Association of School Psychologists. If you compare that to the 
nationally recommended ratio of 1 psychologist for every 500 to 700 
students, that means Florida only has about one-fourth of the number of 
school psychologists it needs to properly care for its students--one-
fourth, 25 percent. And that

[[Page S2787]]

is just Florida. Nationally, 35 million children in this country have 
had at least 1 traumatic experience, and nearly two-thirds of children 
have been exposed to violence. That is why we have another piece of 
legislation that Senators cosponsored to provide better care to 
children and their families who have experienced trauma.
  We have finally done something with regard to PTSD and our veterans. 
Everybody understands that you don't actually have to get an injury to 
have PTSD. As a matter of fact, it can manifest itself years later. We 
are getting mental health counseling for our veterans, particularly 
those who have come home from a war zone.
  Are these children now experiencing a war zone? Is the trauma they 
are experiencing at ages 12 through 17, at that tender age, not 
comparable to some of the trauma our young soldiers are now 
experiencing?
  If we are going to be serious about curbing this type of violence 
that we are going to continue to see in children's schools--oh Lordy, 
we hoped that Parkland was the last one, but it was not, and there are 
going to be more. If we are going to be serious about this, we must 
hire more school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other 
mental health professionals to get ahead of the problem and ensure that 
any student who needs help is able to get it.
  Later this week, midweek, I will be introducing legislation aimed at 
doing exactly that--increasing the number of mental health 
professionals in our children's schools across the country. Kids 
suffering from trauma or depression or any other sort of mental 
problems shouldn't be denied the help they need because the school or 
the school district can't afford it.
  The bill I will file on Wednesday--I hope with a whole bunch of 
Senators sponsoring--will provide grants to colleges and universities 
that set up programs to train future school counselors, social workers, 
psychologists, and other mental health professionals in the school 
districts that need them the most. It will create a Federal student 
loan forgiveness program for mental health professionals who take jobs 
in the districts that need them. That has often been a problem--not 
only the supply but getting the supply in the school districts that 
need them. This is not unlike the loan forgiveness we give to 
government workers or to, for example, doctors who will serve, 
practice, in an underserved area, such as a rural area. We do it for 
those professionals; let's do it for the mental health workers who are 
desperately needed in underserved areas, such as--which is obviously 
becoming apparent--our schools.
  When we give our students the tools they need to succeed, such as 
access to mental health treatment, everyone is going to benefit. Our 
students know this. They have been asking for our help to make these 
services more available. Parents, teachers, and school administrators 
across the country know this, too, and they are pleading for Congress 
to act.
  Let's give our schools and our communities the help they need, the 
help they have been asking for. Let's start taking steps today to 
change the course in which the country finds itself with another school 
shooting last Friday. I hope many Senators cosponsor this legislation. 
We can't allow what happened in Parkland, FL, and in Santa Fe, TX, to 
become the new normal in this country. We have to do more to protect 
our kids in school and ensure that any student who needs mental health 
services is able to get those services.

  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moran). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.