[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 115 (Tuesday, June 23, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3139-S3140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            The JUSTICE Act

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, over the last several weeks, Americans 
have marched, protested, and demanded justice not just for George Floyd 
but for Breonna Taylor and a long list of individuals who, 
unfortunately, had been killed while in police custody. While the 
energy behind this movement is not new, the problems that created it 
are also not new. We know that the racial injustices that have existed 
for generations and that originated during our country's founding have 
created a whole range of problems that have continued to persist in our 
society--in everything from education, to healthcare, to housing.
  While I hope and expect we will have ongoing discussions about the 
most effective way to root out these inequalities and provide equal 
justice, which is our Nation's mantra and aspiration, one of the most 
important places to begin delivering these reforms is in our police 
departments.
  Across America, we have about 18,000 Federal, State, county, and 
local law enforcement agencies. Some of these agencies have one 
officer, and some have as many as 30,000. It is safe to say that a one-
size-fits-all approach would not work for all of them. The policies and 
practices that make sense for the Houston Police Department, for 
example, are going to look a lot different than those of a small town 
out in West Texas.
  Yet there are basic practices and principles--best practices--that 
should be standard across the board, and they are something that 
Congress can help with. There are steps we can take to make our police 
forces more transparent, more accountable, and better trained so as to, 
hopefully, avoid encounters like we saw with George Floyd and the 
Minneapolis Police Department. While there are differences of opinion 
on the best way to deliver those changes, the good news--and there 
actually is good news--is that both Republicans and Democrats share 
this overarching goal. That is a strong start.
  A couple of weeks ago, our Democratic colleagues introduced their 
version of a police reform bill, and, last week, the Republicans 
introduced ours. While our colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
seem interested in focusing on the differences, the truth is there is a 
whole lot in common, a whole lot of overlap.
  First are the changes in policing practices. As I mentioned, a one-
size-fits-all approach isn't the right method, but in some areas, there 
is a clear need for uniformity. One great example is training. Many 
police departments already require deescalation training and give them 
an array of tactics to cool down a potentially dangerous encounter. 
Both Republicans and Democrats agree this should be the standard, and 
it is included in both bills. On the flip side, there are certain 
practices that should never be used, like choke holds. That is already 
the case in most major police departments--they ban choke holds. This 
bill ends that across the board.
  Reforming police practices is only part of the equation. In order to 
restore the broken trust between law enforcement and our communities, 
we need accountability, and these two bills take similar steps there 
too. They include a focus on diversity hiring so that police forces 
look a lot more like the communities they serve. They improve hiring 
practices so that departments can move to effectively weed out weak or 
bad candidates and ensure that we have the best possible talent among 
our men and women in blue.
  Both of these bills take steps to better educate officers on racial 
bias and the systemic challenges that face communities of color. They 
take steps to promote transparency and to give the public greater 
access to information about America's law enforcement activities.
  Both bills require public reporting on use of force and require 
better information on how law enforcement agencies are being run. They 
both prioritize relationship building between law enforcement and the 
communities they serve.
  While there are some differences in the methods of achieving these 
shared goals, that doesn't change the fact that we largely agree on the 
problems that exist, and that alone is not insignificant.
  Two weeks ago, Senator Schumer, the Democratic leader, called on 
Leader McConnell to bring a police reform bill to the floor before July 
4, and, tomorrow, we will do exactly what Senator Schumer requested. 
Now I hear that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle aren't 
interested in passing the JUSTICE Act as is, and I get that, but I have 
also been surprised by reports that suggest they may just block us from 
proceeding to the bill altogether, which, obviously, is not conducive 
to our passing any police reform bill.
  Speaker Pelosi has made comments that I view as encouraging. She said 
she is interested in going to conference between the House and the 
Senate on a police reform bill. It is clear that our colleagues in the 
House are willing to work with us to come up with a consensus bill, but 
that means the ball is now in the Senate Democrats' court.
  The way I see it, they have two options. One is to work with us on a 
bipartisan basis. If the Democrats vote tomorrow to begin debating the 
JUSTICE Act, we can spend time looking at all of the areas in which we 
have overlapping goals and nail down specific solutions, and we can do 
what the Senate was built to do, which is to be a forum for debate, for 
offering amendments, and for voting on those amendments, which would, 
hopefully, improve the product. If we are going to be successful in 
getting a bill to the President's desk and delivering on the reforms we 
are after, we have to get on the bill tomorrow.
  Option No. 2 is for the Democrats to do nothing--to tell the American 
people, even though they have said for weeks that they are desperate 
for action, that they themselves are the ones preventing that action. I 
think the choice is pretty obvious, and I can't imagine it is not 
obvious to our Democratic colleagues. These past several weeks have 
shone a light on the problems that exist within some of our police 
departments, and we have an opportunity to work together and show the 
American people we are capable of working together to try to address 
this national priority. We can officially begin this process with a 
simple ``yes'' vote here on the floor tomorrow.
  My simple request to our Democratic colleagues is to, please, please, 
work with us. Let's debate the bill and continue to try to find common 
ground, and let's get something we can be proud of on the President's 
desk that he can sign into law without there being any more delay.
  Over the last several weeks, the American people have marched, 
protested, and demanded action. This week, we have an opportunity to 
deliver the changes they are requesting and ensure that ``Equal Justice 
Under the Law'' is more than just a phrase engraved on the Supreme 
Court building across the street. I am proud of the work we have been 
able to do in working with Senator Scott, who has led our efforts in 
the Senate. I thank him and Senator McConnell for their commitment to 
taking action and for Senator McConnell's willingness to do precisely 
what Senator Schumer requested in getting a police reform bill on the 
floor of the Senate before July 4.
  We will have the opportunity tomorrow to begin debating the JUSTICE 
Act. I can only hope our Democratic colleagues will make the right 
decision and commit to working with us to deliver real reforms.
  I yield the floor.

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