[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 103 (Wednesday, June 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2660-S2664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Protests and Business of the Senate

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, this has been a very difficult week 
after what has been a very difficult few months. A nation, beleaguered 
by disease and economic depression, has once again come face-to-face 
with the racial injustice that infects our society. The death of George 
Floyd in police custody was a searing reminder of a long list of 
unarmed African Americans whose lives have been taken under similar 
circumstances--Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many others--a 
well of grief and loss and pain too deep to express. It was a searing 
reminder of the bigotry and discrimination that African Americans 
encounter as part of their daily reality.
  That is why so many Americans of all ages, colors, and faiths are out 
in the streets protesting right now. They are fed up with racial 
injustice in this country and want to see some change. Here in the 
Senate, Member after Member has come to the floor to share support for 
the same cause.
  Yesterday, our caucus held a somber, emotional, and very personal 
meeting, during which our Members shared their own lived experiences of 
racism and spoke about what we need to do next because the truth is, 
while speeches and protests are vital, they will never be enough.
  We need greater accountability and transparency in police departments 
and reformed police practices so these events don't happen in the first 
place. We need to reform the criminal justice system that is still too 
short on justice and begin chipping away at the racial disparities that 
exist in healthcare, housing, education, and in the economy.
  These issues will not be solved in a week or a month or in a year. 
Let's hope they can be solved in this decade. But I will be damned if 
we don't at least try to make some progress. Already, my colleagues 
Senators Booker, Harris, Cardin, Klobuchar, Duckworth, Schatz, Smith, 
and others are working with the Congressional Black Caucus in the House 
to develop legislation to address a number of issues related to police 
violence and racial justice. Senate Democrats will not wait to propose 
and push for bold, bold change.
  Will our Republican colleagues join us? Leader McConnell, commit to 
put a law enforcement reform bill on the floor of the Senate before 
July 4.

[[Page S2661]]

  I have made this request for several days without an answer from the 
Republican leader. Even more disappointing, the Republican leader 
blocked a simple resolution I offered last night that reaffirmed 
Americans' constitutional rights to peaceful protest, condemned the 
violence that is occurring in too many places, and condemned the 
President as well for having gas and rubber bullets used on a peaceful 
protest in Lafayette Park, where there were families and children 
protesting in the grand American tradition of peaceful protest.
  There was no partisan rhetoric in this resolution. It was three 
simple concepts, a recitation of the facts, but because Senate 
Republicans are so afraid--shivering--at the thought of criticizing the 
President, even when they know his actions are way out of line, Leader 
McConnell came and blocked this resolution. Shame, shame, shame.
  We all know there are very few checks on the President, especially a 
President who believes he can do anything he wants--and he said it. One 
of the most effective checks on President Trump could be the caucus of 
Republican Senators for once standing up to him when he is way out of 
line. Where are they? Where are they?
  Even a columnist like George Will has shown a disgust at the 
Republican Senate, and he is a conservative, for their failure to stand 
up to Donald Trump on issues like this. All too often on thorny issues 
such as gun safety, racial justice, and police reform, my Republican 
colleagues sort of say what is necessary to get through the day, when 
there is an immediate crisis, and then wait for public attention to 
fade.
  Leader McConnell called us back into session in early May during the 
height of the COVID pandemic, but we still have not considered a single 
piece of legislation on the floor. Now listen to this. Yesterday, when 
Leader McConnell was listing legislative priorities for June, he did 
not mention COVID legislation. Let me repeat for those who may have 
missed it in the swirl of news and events of the day. When listing his 
June priorities to reporters, Leader McConnell did not mention COVID-
related legislation. Other Republican Senators have said that another 
relief bill might come in late July--might, might.
  This is shocking. This should be a wake-up call to the American 
people. Americans of all ages, races, creeds, and philosophies, call 
your Republican Senators. Demand action.
  The recession will get deeper. It could develop into a depression if 
we don't have relief. We have not done enough in the eyes of every 
economist I have looked at and respected. Governors and mayors across 
the country in red States are slashing budgets in advance of the new 
fiscal year, which for most States starts July 1. States will be forced 
to cut millions of jobs and critical services. These cuts mean 
increased school class sizes, longer emergency response times, fewer 
services to keep the elderly at home and out of nursing homes. These 
cuts not only exacerbate the recession but the wrath of the coronavirus 
itself. That is what is happening while Senate Republicans wait until 
July, maybe, to consider another relief bill.
  America, look at what our Republicans are doing: not giving the 
relief you need for your safety, for your schools, for the services 
that local government provides.
  The Republican majority doesn't seem to have time to address a 
cascading series of national crises--no time. Why is that?
  Where is President Trump? Where is his Cabinet? They all know that we 
need more. They all know we haven't solved the economic problem--far 
from it. They all know that we have to do a lot more on testing.
  So our Republican majority doesn't seem to have time to address the 
COVID national crisis, but do you know what it does have time for? 
Chasing President Trump's wild conspiracy theories. It sounds like the 
death knell of the Republican Party as we know it. They can't deal with 
the two major crises of the day--racial justice and the COVID crisis--
and they are busy pursuing conspiracy theories, some of them emanating 
from Russia, to go after President Obama and Vice President Biden.
  This makes no sense. This, again, sounds like the death knell of the 
Republican Party. The Republican Party we used to know would have some 
principles but not be afraid to run to every major issue--to any major 
issue almost. But that is what they are doing.
  Today, in the Judiciary Committee, the Republican committee chairman 
has called in Rod Rosenstein to dredge up the President's favorite 
conspiracy theory related to the 2016 election. It is an egregious 
misuse of the institution--the Senate.
  Nearly a quarter of our workforce is unemployed. Over 100,000 
Americans are dead from a strange and contagious disease; Americans are 
in the streets demanding racial justice; and shopworn, discredited 
conspiracy theories are what the Republican majority is focused on? 
What alternative universe do they live in? What alternative reality are 
they in the midst of? One detached from the real reality that the 
American people face: conspiracy theories to help President Trump's 
reelection, rightwing judges, many of whom have antipathy to the civil 
rights we are talking about now.
  The Republican Party in the Senate has moved so far into a corner, 
the corner that Donald Trump is in, that they can't address two of the 
most important and major issues that have affected this country in 
decades.
  The American people should be furious with the Republican Senate 
majority, and the American people and historians will record with 
sadness how this once great party, even though I didn't agree with it, 
has declined so--no courage, no principle, but simply cowering for 
President Trump and his crazy theories that even they know are crazy.
  The American people, of course, should be furious with the President 
as well. On Monday night, Americans watched Federal officers, under the 
direction of the President and the Attorney General, use gas and rubber 
bullets to disperse a crowd of peaceful protesters in a public park so 
that the President could stage a photo op in front of a church, waving 
the Holy Bible as a prop.
  Last night, Americans saw an even more haunting image on the internet 
and their televisions: rows of camouflage troops standing at attention 
on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, like an occupying force defending 
a critical position.
  When you see the image of troops dressed for combat flanking the 
Lincoln Memorial, an altar of freedom, you cannot help but think of 
Tiananmen Square. This administration ordered Federal officers to gas 
peaceful protesters and charge on horseback and defend our monuments 
like battlefield positions.
  What is President Trump doing to this grand democracy? What is he 
doing? And why are our Republican colleagues just going along?
  President Lincoln's second inaugural address is engraved in that 
building where armed soldiers stood. During a moment of extreme 
political division and civil strife, President Lincoln urged malice 
toward none, charity toward all, and sought to bind up the Nation's 
wounds.
  There could be no greater contrast between Lincoln and this 
President, this President who seems to have malice toward all and 
charity for none, who seeks to deepen our Nation's wounds rather than 
bind them up. Our Nation is crying out for leadership, for direction, 
for some healing and some unity. Will this President even try to 
provide it?
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip is recognized.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S2661, June 3, 2020, third column, the following 
appears: The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority whip is recognized. 
Mr. THUNE.
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: The PRESIDING 
OFFICER. The majority whip is recognized. Mr. THUNE.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I want to speak here in just a moment to 
the issue of internet traffic and how that has been impacted by the 
coronavirus, how it has impacted our lives during the coronavirus. 
Before I do that, though, I want to just respond to a few things the 
Democratic leader mentioned.
  He again pointed out that the Republican Senate isn't doing work 
here. It is hard to fathom how he can possibly come to that conclusion. 
The Democrat-run House of Representatives is out of session for the 
entire month--the entire month of June. They are not even here. The 
Democratic House of Representatives isn't even in town.
  The Senate is here doing work, and important work, I might add. He 
said

[[Page S2662]]

we haven't passed any legislation. Well, the week before the Memorial 
Day break we passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 
reauthorization, a critical piece of national security and intelligence 
legislation that all our intelligence experts tell us is critical to 
fighting the war against terrorists. Pretty important legislation, I 
would say.
  He pointed out that the agenda for the month of June doesn't include 
much. Well, that is only if you don't think that the National Defense 
Authorization Act is not important. Funding the military, authorizing 
the weapons systems, paying the personnel, the technology, the 
intelligence, all the things that go into protecting the country seem 
to me to be pretty important.
  So the National Defense Authorization Act is a piece of legislation 
that the Senate will process during the upcoming weeks here in the 
month of June. In fact, that will probably take a good week to move 
across the floor of the Senate. It typically does. It is something we 
have to do on an annual basis, but there is nothing more important and 
more critical to the national security of the United States than the 
National Defense Authorization Act.
  We will be passing a major parks bill this next week, which will help 
fund the backlog in a lot of our national parks--something that has 
been a priority for many Democrats here in this Chamber for a long 
time. In fact, it is a great bipartisan bill. In fact, I think, out of 
the Democratic caucus, there are somewhere on the order of 43 of the 47 
Democrats who are cosponsoring the piece of legislation that will be 
called up later this week and be on the floor most of next week.
  So it is something that has been around here for a while. It is going 
to be a major legislative accomplishment. It will be a bipartisan 
accomplishment when it passes.
  So I would just say that the fact that we aren't doing the things the 
Democratic leader wants to do doesn't mean the Senate isn't very busy. 
The things he wants to do, the things he talks about wanting to do, are 
things that we are doing. We are dealing with the coronavirus on a 
daily basis around here.
  I am a member of the Senate Finance Committee. Yesterday, the Senate 
Finance Committee had a hearing in which officials from the FDA, for 
example, critical agencies when it comes particularly to 
pharmaceuticals in this country, attended, and the subject of the 
hearing was the pharmaceutical supply chain and what we need to do to 
shore that up, to make sure that in future pandemics, with lessons 
learned from this one, we aren't dependent upon unreliable supply 
chains in places around the world that, frankly, may not be dependable. 
That is a pretty important issue when it comes to dealing with the 
effects and the impacts of the coronavirus.
  Today, in the Senate Commerce Committee, another committee on which I 
serve, we are going to be examining the impact of the coronavirus on 
our transportation infrastructure and how important this transportation 
has been throughout the course of the coronavirus in ensuring that we 
keep commerce going, that we keep food in the grocery stores.
  We are going to be looking at both the highway aspect, the rail 
aspect--all of those--and how they are impacted by the coronavirus and 
what we might need to do to ensure that they continue to be able to 
provide the services that they do going forward.
  So we are consistently looking at, on a daily basis, the coronavirus, 
the impact it is having on our economy, the impact it is having on the 
health of people in this country, the health emergency, and putting 
measures in place that would deal not only with that health emergency 
but also with the economic crisis created by it.
  In the meantime, we are seeing the economy start to open up again, 
which I think is a very good thing. I am hopeful we will see, as the 
economy opens up, that people will get out, consumers will spend, 
investors will invest, and we will see that economy start to grow 
again, jobs to come back.
  Obviously, we have very high unemployment right now--a major concern. 
We also have a major unemployment insurance piece of legislation that 
was moved by this Congress earlier to provide assistance and help for 
those who, through no fault of their own, have had to go on 
unemployment.
  To suggest for a moment that we aren't focused on the coronavirus is 
completely missing the point--as is to suggest, also, that we haven't 
done a lot already. We passed four major pieces of legislation, 
totaling almost $3 trillion, and that is $3 trillion if you don't 
include the amount of leverage we gave to the Federal Reserve and the 
Treasury to extend credit and create liquidity out there. With the 
power of that leverage, it is somewhere on the order of about $6 
trillion in assistance that we have put out there through different 
legislative vehicles to the American people.
  So you are seeing that translated into the Paycheck Protection 
Program, which is keeping people employed, keeping jobs in this 
country, keeping businesses functioning and operating. It has been a 
very successful program.
  You are seeing it in the form of direct assistance to State and local 
governments. And $150 billion has been put out there, much of which 
hasn't been spent, and that is on top of a lot of other assistance to 
State and local governments, which totals somewhere on the order of 
about $500 billion. Almost half a trillion dollars, so far, sum total, 
has gone out to State and local governments.

  Much of that, as I said, is in the pipeline, hasn't been spent yet. 
It can be used, as the Treasury has pointed out, given the States' 
flexibility, for emergency personnel, first responders, police, all the 
things that the Senator from New York talked about. That is flexibility 
the States have now to be able to meet the needs that they have and to 
work with their local governments and meet the needs of the local 
governments.
  So there is a lot of money in the pipeline, not to mention, of 
course, first and foremost, the money we put out there for investment 
in therapeutics, in vaccines, in diagnostic testing, and all the money 
that has gone out to hospitals and nursing home providers and long-term 
care facilities to help them get through this crisis in the form of 
direct assistance. So there is a lot of money in the pipeline--as I 
said, about $2.9 trillion that has already been authorized, and I think 
about 40 percent, maybe, has been spent. So there is still a lot of 
assistance going out there.
  My friend, the Democratic leader, would just want to put a whole 
bunch more money out there without knowing what the need is, and I 
think, at a time when we are already running a $21 trillion--now $25 
trillion--debt, we ought to be very circumspect and pay attention to 
what is happening in our economy, what the needs are, what we need to 
keep the economy opening up and responding, what we continue to need to 
do to help people who are unemployed, what we continue to need to do to 
help families in this country who are struggling through this crisis.
  But we ought to do that based on the need, not just somebody saying: 
Well, let's just throw a bunch more money out there and hope that it 
has an impact. We have done that. We have flooded the zone with 
dollars. There is a tremendous amount of resources out there right now, 
a lot of which has yet to be spent, and it strikes me, at least, that, 
in the eyes of most Americans, they would view it as pretty important, 
before we spend more tax money--all of which, I might add, is going to 
be borrowed money--that we see how what we have done already is 
working, if it has been effective and is having the desired impact.
  There is so much going on around here dealing with the coronavirus, 
it just completely defies any sort of logic to what the Democratic 
leader suggested was happening here in the Senate.
  He made one other comment, which I think I have to respond to. He 
said that the Senate is in the process--Republicans in the Senate are 
processing rightwing judges who have antipathy for the very civil 
rights issues that we are dealing with right now.
  I don't know how you can make a statement like that. I don't know how 
you can ascribe motive or intent to judges. You don't know who these 
judges are.
  We have a judge we are going to be processing here for the DC 
circuit. It is

[[Page S2663]]

a pretty important circuit in this country. He is the district judge 
from Kentucky. He has been rated as very ``well qualified'' by the 
American Bar Association. The American Bar Association isn't a 
rightwing group at all. In fact, many on our side think they certainly 
drift the other direction. Yet they have said this judge is a well-
qualified judge. Do you think they would be saying something like that 
about a judge who had antipathy for civil rights? I mean, that is just, 
I would say, a reckless and irresponsible statement unless you have 
something to back that up and support it.
  So I just thought it would be important to respond to some of the 
things that the Democratic leader just said with respect to the agenda 
here in the Senate, which, as I pointed out earlier, is a very full 
one. If you compare it to the agenda of our colleagues in the Democrat-
controlled House, which is zilch because they are not here for the 
entire month, it seems to me the Senate is getting a lot of work done.


                                   5G

  So, Madam President, what I came here to talk about--I came down to 
the floor a couple of weeks ago to talk about how the coronavirus is 
highlighting the importance of strong internet networks.
  Despite the surge we have seen in internet traffic that the 
coronavirus has produced, with Americans using the internet for 
everything from work to school to family dinners, U.S. networks have 
held up tremendously well.
  Americans have been able to enjoy the same speed and streaming 
quality that they typically enjoy, something that hasn't happened in a 
lot of other countries, and that is a direct result of the United 
States' light-touch approach to internet regulation, which has 
encouraged American companies to invest in the latest communications 
infrastructure and new technologies to make more efficient use of 
spectrum.
  Our Nation is currently preparing for the widespread adoption of the 
next generation of internet technology--what is known as 5G. We need to 
make sure that our 5G networks will be as strong as our current 
networks, but we still have some work to do to get to that point.
  I come down here frequently to the floor to discuss that work, which 
includes paving the way for the widespread installation of the small 
cells that are necessary for 5G networks, enhancing the availability of 
the mid-band spectrum that is necessary for 5G deployment, and 
investing in a 5G workforce.
  But there is also another aspect we need to think about when it comes 
to 5G, which is sometimes not talked about as much, and that is network 
security. With its incredible speed and connectivity, 5G will usher in 
a new era of innovation: advances in medical care, the large-scale 
deployment of precision agriculture, safer transportation technologies. 
5G will bring all of these things and more.
  But like any new technology, 5G networks will present new risks and 
vulnerabilities. And because 5G will mean a vastly greater number of 
connected devices, the risks with 5G will be greater. That is the why a 
central part of deploying 5G networks has to be looking at how we can 
mitigate security risks.
  We need to ensure that our component parts of our devices and, 
critically, the component parts of telecommunications networks, like 
cell towers and the small cells that will be required for 5G, are 
secure. A primary way to do that is by ensuring that 5G equipment comes 
from trusted vendors.
  Currently, one of the biggest suppliers of 5G equipment worldwide is 
a Chinese company, Huawei, which is supported by the Chinese 
Government. China's 2017 national intelligence law requires Chinese 
companies to support the Chinese Government's intelligence activities. 
American security officials have raised concerns that much of Huawei's 
equipment is built with back doors that give the Chinese Government 
access to global communications networks.
  I don't need to tell anyone that we should be wary of China's motives 
and that China's interests are frequently opposed to those of the 
United States.
  China's handling of the coronavirus is a striking current example of 
the Chinese Government's prioritizing its own interests or pride over 
the public good. As a New York Times article noted in February, ``The 
[Chinese] government's initial handling of the epidemic allowed the 
virus to gain a tenacious hold. At critical moments, officials chose to 
put secrecy and order ahead of openly confronting the growing crisis to 
avoid political alarm and political embarrassment.''
  Whether it was driven by the hubris of the Communist Party or merely 
the callous indifference the Communist state has for the well-being of 
its own citizens, China was not transparent about the grave danger of 
COVID-19. It failed to release accurate information about the nature 
and spread of the virus, and it took active steps to make sure the 
truth did not get out in other ways. Whistleblowers were punished; the 
centers were censored; and journalists were expelled.
  Despite the fact that its negligence undoubtedly contributed to the 
global spread of COVID-19, China still continues to be less than 
forthcoming about the virus. Unfortunately, this is run-of-the-mill 
governing in China, as we saw with the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s 
and as we have seen in many other instances.
  Not content with its role in aggravating the spread of the 
coronavirus, the Chinese Communist Party has also taken advantage of 
the pandemic to strip Hong Kong of its autonomy and freedom. China's 
hope is that our Nation is too preoccupied with this pandemic to notice 
its efforts to undermine what should be Hong Kong's autonomy under the 
one state, two systems construct.
  We have noticed. As many of my colleagues and I have expressed, we 
stand with Hong Kong. We must carefully consider an appropriate 
response, one that will rebuke the Communist Party of China without 
negatively affecting the people of Hong Kong, their well-being, and 
their democratic aspirations.
  We didn't need COVID-19 or China's recent actions in Hong Kong to 
know that giving the Chinese Government a backdoor into American 
communications networks is a bad idea. But it certainly underscores the 
need to make sure that 5G infrastructure is not made by companies 
beholden to the Chinese Government. The United States has taken a 
number of steps to prevent equipment from Huawei and another suspect 
Chinese company, ZTE, from being used in U.S. communications networks, 
but these companies still pose a risk to the United States.
  For starters, some U.S. broadband providers, often in rural areas, 
still have equipment from Huawei and ZTE in their communications 
networks. A number of our allies and trade partners--entities with whom 
we regularly share information, including sensitive national security 
information--have used or are using technology from Huawei and ZTE.
  What can we do? An initiative is already underway to replace suspect 
telecommunications components in U.S. networks with hardware from 
trusted companies.
  In March, the President signed legislation developed by the Commerce 
Committee chairman, Roger Wicker, the Secure and Trusted Communications 
Network Act, to help speed up this process. This legislation, which I 
cosponsored, will help small telecommunications providers with the cost 
of replacing network components that pose a security risk.
  Also, In March, I introduced legislation to help address the other 
part of the problem, and that is the use of Huawei technology by our 
allies and our trading partners. We regularly exchange information, 
including sensitive national security information, with our allies and 
trading partners. And this information can only be secure if networks 
on both ends are secure. That is why the United States has called for 
other countries to reject telecommunications technology from Huawei and 
ZTE.
  A number of countries have committed to using trusted companies to 
build out their telecommunications networks, but other countries are 
still planning to make use of Huawei's technology. My legislation, the 
Network Security Trade Act, would make telecommunications security a 
key objective when negotiating future trade deals.
  We should be using trade agreements to push for enhanced network 
security globally, which would benefit not only our country but every 
country with which we do business.

[[Page S2664]]

  We recently opened negotiations on a new trade deal with the United 
Kingdom, which has been using Huawei technology to build its 5G 
networks. I am pleased that it now looks like the UK is reconsidering 
its use of Huawei components. I hope they will decide to reject the 
suspect technology.
  I hope the trade negotiations will emphasize the importance of using 
trusted companies to build out the UK's telecommunications networks. 
The security of our communications with our trading partners and 
allies--particularly those allies like Britain--needs to be a priority.
  As we move forward into the 5G future, we need to make sure that our 
technological advancements are matched with advancements and network 
security. That starts with keeping Huawei and other suspect technology 
out of our networks and, if at all possible, out of the networks of our 
allies.
  I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that we have not 
only the infrastructure but the security needed to keep American 
networks at the forefront of the telecommunications revolution.
  Before I close, let me just say one more word about China. As I said 
earlier, China's coronavirus deception is undoubtedly partly 
responsible for the fact that this virus has now spread to every corner 
of the world. China's recent actions with regard to Hong Kong 
underscore the hostility of the Chinese Government to the values that 
freedom-loving countries hold dear.
  China has a lot of work to do if it ever hopes to rebuild trust with 
other nations. At a bare minimum, we expect China to uphold its recent 
trade commitments, which are critical to America's hard-hit farmers and 
ranchers. I will be looking, and our entire government will be looking, 
to see if China's word on trade agreements can be relied upon. I hope 
that the Chinese Government will live up to its commitments.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that following my 
remarks, the senior Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered