[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3169-S3170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            The JUSTICE Act

  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. President, we come here today with 
an opportunity to say to America and specifically to communities of 
color: We see you. We hear you. I have experienced your pain.
  I have been stopped 18 times in the last two decades, and 1 year, I 
was stopped seven times, as an elected official in this body, trying to 
get into the Chamber and into the office buildings on the congressional 
side.
  I understand some part of what too many have experienced. This police 
reform legislation addresses that. It provides clear opportunities for 
us to say: Not only do we hear you, not only do we see you, but we are 
responding to your pain, because we in America believe that justice 
should be applied equally to all of our citizens, with no exceptions, 
and when we see exceptions, it is our responsibility to do something 
about those exceptions, and this legislation helps us get there.
  I say to my colleagues on the other side, we received a letter from 
Senator Schumer saying that there were five things about the JUSTICE 
Act that did not meet their principles. My response was a simple one: 
Let's have five amendments on those things. If we can get the votes on 
these two sides of the Chamber, we should include that in the 
legislation.
  I met with other Senators on the other side who said that there are 
more than five things that we need to have a conversation about. I 
said: Let's include an amendment for every single

[[Page S3170]]

issue you have. They did not stick around for that meeting.
  My concern is that 80 percent just won't do. My concern is that our 
friends on the other side will not take advantage of this opportunity 
to say to the communities that are suffering: We see you. We hear you. 
We are willing to respond as one body.
  I implore all of us to vote for the motion to proceed so that if 
there are recommendations that come in the form of amendments, we have 
a vote up or down on those amendments. I have offered as many 
amendments as necessary for this bill to be seen by the public, and, in 
consultation with the other side, let it be their bill--not Tim Scott's 
bill, not the Republican bill, not the Democrat bill, but a bill that 
starts to address the issues that have plagued this Nation for decades.
  This is not my first start at this legislation. I started on this 
bill 5 years ago, but I could not find voices that would push forward 
reforms brought to our attention by the Walter Scott shooting in 2013.
  I will close with this: I respect people with whom I disagree. They 
have the right to disagree. My pastor tells me I have the right to be 
wrong, which means I am not right all the time. But on this bill, if 
you don't think we are right, make it better. Don't walk away. Vote for 
the motion to proceed so that we have an opportunity to deal with this 
very real threat to the America that is civil, that is balanced. This 
is an opportunity to say yes--to say yes not to us but to those folks 
who are waiting for our leadership to stand and be counted.