[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 116 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4800-S4802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Criminal Justice

  Mr. President, on criminal justice, the Department of Justice has 
aggressively rolled back its use of consent decrees, like the one put 
in place in Baltimore under the Obama administration after Freddie Gray 
died in police custody.
  It is interesting. Since that episode, we have had Members of 
Congress, along with city officials, ask the Federal Government to do a 
pattern-or-practice investigation on what led to the consent order 
because we knew we had a problem in Baltimore's policing.
  The Baltimore consent decree is a perfect example of a joint local-
Federal partnership that will help overhaul the police department and 
provide long-overdue constitutional policing to the citizens of 
Baltimore.
  This Federal civil rights role is critically important--especially 
after a series of officer-involved shootings of African-American 
residents--as we try to rebuild trust between the police and the 
communities they serve.
  In terms of free press, President Trump has consistently attacked the 
free press, notwithstanding the First Amendment's protections, and 
particularly has labeled critical news stories as ``fake news'' in an 
effort to undermine any critical coverage of his administration. He has 
shown callous disregard for protecting journalists and the free press 
both at home and abroad.
  As Thomas Jefferson famously wrote, ``The basis of our governments 
being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to 
keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should 
have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a 
government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
  In terms of LGBTQ rights, the Trump administration has consistently 
argued that businesses and government contractors have a right to 
discriminate against customers based on their sexual orientation or 
gender identity. He has nominated judges who want to turn back the 
clock on equality and force transgender individuals from the ranks of 
our military.
  Our Nation and form of government are founded on ``We the People of 
the United States.'' Yet this President is doing all he can to lessen 
the power and squelch the voices of perceived opposition.
  As we approach the second anniversary of the deadly protests in 
Charlottesville, VA, I will never forget how President Trump used his 
bully pulpit to further divide our Nation by equating those who 
espoused White supremacy with those who were protesting against such 
White supremacist views.
  Let us remember the great civil rights leaders in our history who 
have struggled to help our Nation form a more perfect union, establish 
justice, and secure the blessings of liberty, as promised by our 
Constitution. The deadly violence that occurred nearly 2 years ago must 
never be permitted to happen again.
  I strongly condemn all acts of intolerance and remain certain that 
the moral arc of history, although long, bends toward justice. What is 
good and just in America is stronger than hate and will prevail.
  The Trump administration's attack on women's healthcare is 
unconscionable. Women's rights are human rights.
  The President has taken action to undermine the Patient Protection 
and Affordable Care Act, the ACA, finalized administrative rules that 
allow discriminatory practices to domestic and global family planning 
providers, as well as women seeking reproductive healthcare.
  One of the first actions President Trump took in office was to impose 
an expansion of the global gag rule, which

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forces global health providers eligible for U.S. assistance to choose 
between receiving U.S. funds and providing comprehensive healthcare and 
family planning services to their patients. What a horrible choice. You 
need the money, but you have to provide the services.
  Trump's global gag rule restricts virtually all global health 
assistance provided by the U.S. Federal Government, including from the 
Department of State, USAID, and the Department of Defense, impacting 
$8.8 billion in financial support for global health programs. Where is 
the U.S. leadership on global health? The rule has eliminated access to 
contraceptive services and supplies for almost 26 million women and 
girls around the world. This hurt women in conflict zones and rural 
areas, as well as refugees, women with disabilities, and indigenous 
women.
  President Trump has also imposed the domestic gag rule, which 
restricts physicians from providing complete information to patients 
about their healthcare options and providing appropriate referrals for 
care.
  The new rule guts title X, the Nation's only Federal grant program 
dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family and 
related preventive health services.
  Women make up more than half the population of this Nation. It is 
outrageous that President Trump continuously implements policies that 
discriminate against women's healthcare. We cannot allow women to be 
treated this way here in the United States or anywhere around the 
world.
  ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created 
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable 
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of 
Happiness.'' This has been the American ideal and a guiding principle 
for our Nation since our founding. All men and women are created equal. 
Each one of us on this Earth deserves freedom, respect, and dignity.
  For generations, the United States has stood as the sentinel, 
defending these universal rights. I would think Republicans and 
Democrats alike agree with that statement. The outlier is President 
Trump. This President has done everything in his power within the 
borders of our Nation and overseas to diminish human rights and 
disregard the rule of law. He continues to embrace dictators, opening 
the doors of the Oval Office to men who deserve prosecution more than a 
welcome embrace by the leader of the free world.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to uphold their oath 
to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States and to work 
together to restore America's role as the defender of universal human 
rights.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Braun). The Senator from Ohio.


                  50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I am here on the floor this afternoon to 
talk about a landmark moment in human history that occurred 50 years 
ago next week--the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first person on 
the Moon.
  Today, 50 years after that incredible feat, we sometimes take for 
granted that we explored the Moon. But think for a moment about the 
generations of men and women from the beginning of time until July 20, 
1969, who looked up at the Moon's pale light in wonder at what secrets 
and insights may lay on its surface. Think about the countless 
paintings and poems depicting the Moon as an unchanging and unknowable 
presence in the sky. Think about how, after hundreds of thousands of 
years of such mystery and reverence, we actually went there.
  On July 20, 1969, the world watched in breathless awe as grainy 
footage came in of the Moon landing. It was beamed in from the lunar 
surface 289,000 miles away to millions of TV screens all around the 
globe. As a 13-year-old teenager, I saw two figures clad in bulky 
spacesuits bounce across the screen against the stark black-and-white 
landscape.
  As anyone who witnessed it can remember and tell you about, there was 
a great sense of pride as Americans--Americans who broke the earthly 
bonds that had tethered our ancestors for eons, to set foot on the 
surface of a body we only saw in the distant night sky. I also felt 
pride as our pristine American flag was unfurled and planted on the 
Moon's surface, forever marking our country's trailblazing spirit. I 
felt pride in being from Ohio, as my fellow Buckeye, Neil Armstrong, 
was the very first man to step onto the Moon, continuing our legacy in 
the State of Ohio as a pioneer in flight and in aerospace.
  In 2003, actually, Congress officially designated Ohio the 
``Birthplace of Flight'' due to the Wright brothers. They were born and 
raised in Dayton, OH, and it was in their bicycle shop that they 
dreamed up and researched the first fixed-wing aircraft anywhere. But 
for such a lofty title, Ohio has played an even greater role in the 
story of mankind's progress in the skies and beyond--even beyond the 
Wright brothers. In fact, one of my predecessors in this seat here in 
the Senate was John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth. In 
all, two dozen astronauts to date are natives of Ohio--more than any 
other State--and I am proud to say that many more call it home today.
  Our legacy of flight in Ohio continues today. In Dayton, OH, we have 
the National Air Force Museum, which houses more than 300 historic 
aircraft. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base--one of the largest in the 
country--trains not only our pilots in our Air Force, but those of our 
allies all around the world.
  Just last month, I had the honor of announcing, with Neil Armstrong's 
widow, Carol Armstrong, that the Smithsonian will be bringing a special 
exhibit on the Apollo 11 mission entitled ``Destination Moon'' to 
Cincinnati's own Museum Center.
  On that day in 1969, Neil Armstrong became all of our heroes, and it 
was at a time when our country was deeply divided over the war in 
Vietnam and other social and cultural issues. At a time when we were 
yearning for heroes, Neil Armstrong inspired us and brought us together 
as a country.
  I have one story I would like to share that I thought about while 
walking over this afternoon. It is about how Neil Armstrong inspired a 
particularly important group of Americans.
  In 2011, the year before Neil Armstrong died, he came here to the 
U.S. Capitol at my request to join my wife Jane and me at our swearing-
in ceremony. I was elected in 2010, and the swearing-in was early in 
2011. As we walked into the Capitol, we looked up on the left and saw a 
mural, and it is a mural that is still down on the first floor of this 
Capitol on the Senate side, and it is of Neil Armstrong on the face of 
the Moon. I pointed it out to Neil and his wife Carol--his wonderful 
wife Carol who was with us. Neil's comment was, that is interesting. 
The 30 or 40 people who were with us walking into the Capitol that 
day--they didn't think it was interesting; they thought it was amazing.
  I later found out that Neil Armstrong was the only American living to 
have a mural painted of him in the U.S. Capitol.
  That night at dinner, one of my other friends, Col. Tom Moe, came to 
me and asked if he could speak with Neil Armstrong and whether I would 
introduce him to Neil. I said: Of course.
  Col. Tom Moe is a hero in his own right, an Air Force pilot who was 
shot down over North Vietnam. He spent many years in the prison called 
the Hanoi Hilton with our former colleague John McCain--a true hero.
  When we went over to see Neil Armstrong, Col. Tom Moe shared a story 
with him. He said that the prison guards in the North Vietnamese prison 
were intent upon telling the prisoners that America was falling apart, 
that there were protests on the streets, which was true, that the 
country was deeply divided, and that America was going backward. He 
said in particular they didn't want the prisoners to know that America 
had accomplished what President Jack Kennedy had laid out as an 
ambitious vow, which was to go to the Moon by the end of the decade. 
They had kept that from them. Then one day, the prison guards somehow 
let a letter go to one of the prisoners from his mom, and that letter 
included a postage stamp, of course. Guess what was on the postage 
stamp. A photograph of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the Moon.
  Colonel Moe told Neil Armstrong that it was incredibly inspiring. It 
lifted the spirits of all the prisoners. Immediately they went to the 
pipes and they tapped out what had happened, which was the way they 
communicated with one another in the Hanoi Hilton. Through the pipes 
and the tapping, he

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said you could just feel the momentum building and the morale improve.
  Neil Armstrong was not a very emotional guy, but when he heard that 
story, he became very emotional, as did Colonel Moe.
  That is just one more example of where Neil Armstrong inspired all of 
us--in this case, a group of Americans who richly deserved and badly 
needed that inspiration.
  Over the years, my family and I have come to know the Armstrong 
family. Carol Armstrong is still in Cincinnati, a dear friend. We were 
his neighbors in Cincinnati.
  As we have shared stories in the lead-in to the 50th anniversary of 
the Moon landing, I have been reminded of how extraordinary it was that 
this towering figure had truly been such a modest, unassuming man 
despite all the notoriety.
  In my view, how he handled the spotlight into which he was thrust 
said as much about Neil Armstrong as the time he spent on the Moon a 
half century ago. He was a true hero, but even before he blazed trails 
through the cosmos, Neil was already contributing to Ohio's rich legacy 
of pushing the boundaries of flight. He had already served his Nation 
with bravery and skill on Gemini 8. As a test pilot pushing the 
envelope, he had strapped himself into terrifying-looking contraptions 
with gigantic flame-belching engines tied onto huge fuel tanks.
  Before he was a test pilot, he distinguished himself through his 
service to his country as a naval aviator--among other things, flying 
78 combat missions over the Korean Peninsula. In one such mission, in 
fact, he was forced to eject from his plane into enemy territory, 
holding out long enough, thank God, for the U.S. Marines to locate him 
and escort him to safety.
  For all of these accomplishments, this son of Ohio received the 
highest honors a grateful nation could bestow: the Presidential Medal 
of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Congressional Space 
Medal of Honor.
  God smiled upon Neil Armstrong throughout his extraordinary life. 
Neil returned the favor by living his life with honor and dignity.
  In 2012, Neil returned to the heavens above, this time venturing into 
the Kingdom of Heaven. I had the honor of being among those who 
delivered the eulogy at his funeral. Then, as today, I remembered him 
as a hero and as a friend. He was a humble Midwesterner and a proud 
Ohioan who believed that the honor of serving his country and meeting 
great challenges in his own stoic way was all the reward he deserved. 
He was a refreshing counterweight to the celebrity culture we too often 
embrace today.
  The Apollo mission was many things to many people. To the world, it 
was mankind's greatest journey to date, a daring sojourn to the crown 
jewels in the night sky. For Americans, it was an affirmation of 
America's exceptionalism, that we could beat the Soviets and respond to 
their Sputnik Program by following through on President Kennedy's bold 
vow to land a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s.
  For me, and for thousands of other young boys and girls across Ohio, 
it was simply the next act in our State's leadership in aviation, done 
with that quintessential Midwestern resolve and humility.
  As Neil once so eloquently said, ``The important achievement of 
Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this 
planet and our visions go rather further than that, and our 
opportunities are unlimited.''
  Fifty years on, as we look ahead to chart our next voyage to the 
stars, let us always remember the bravery and patriotism and the 
humility of Neil, also of his other astronauts--Michael Collins, Buzz 
Aldrin--and the thousands of men and women who supported them on Earth, 
and the many courageous astronauts who preceded and followed them. Let 
the Apollo 11 mission be an example of what our great country can do 
when we come together to achieve the seemingly impossible.
  Let us commit to come together into the future, into the distant 
horizons. Like the Apollo 11 exhibit exhibiting American leadership and 
benefiting all of mankind, there is more for us to do.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.

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