[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 118 (Friday, June 26, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H2544-H2548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL PULSE MEMORIAL

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3094) to designate the National Pulse Memorial located at 
1912 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, Florida, 32806, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3094

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL PULSE MEMORIAL.

       (a) In General.--The Pulse Memorial located at 1912 South 
     Orange Avenue, Orlando, Florida, 32806, is designated as the 
     ``National Pulse Memorial''.
       (b) Effect of Designation.--The national memorial 
     designated by this section is not a unit of the National Park 
     System and the designation of the National Pulse Memorial 
     shall not require or permit Federal funds to be expended for 
     any purpose related to that national memorial.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Soto) and the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, on June 12, 2016, a gunman shot and killed 49 people 
and injured 53 others in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, 
Florida. It was the single deadliest known violent attack on the LGBTQ 
community, the deadliest violent attack in America at that time, and an 
attack on our Latino community, our African-American communities, and 
so many others.
  After this tragedy, our city came together. Doctors, first 
responders, and friends rushed to save the wounded; others donated 
funds, supplies, even their blood. Countless works of art, gifts, and 
letters were left at impromptu memorial sites paying tribute to the 
victims and survivors.
  We came together in candlelight vigils across the globe to grieve and 
remember. We became truly Orlando Strong in the face of adversity for 
the whole world to see.
  As we continue to honor 49 angels, we remind the world that love will 
always conquer hate in the end. The designation of the Pulse nightclub 
as a national memorial honors the lives taken, as well as the 
survivors, first responders, and an entire central Florida community. 
Together, we will open minds and hearts and make the Pulse Memorial a 
national symbol of hope, love, and change.
  I thank my Orlando area colleagues, Congresswoman Val Demings and 
Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, for joining me in leading this 
important bipartisan legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3094, offered by our 
colleague from Florida (Mr. Soto).
  A little over 4 years ago, on June 12, 2016, the Pulse nightclub in 
Orlando, Florida, became the scene of the worst terrorist attack on 
American soil since September 11, 2001.
  Forty-nine Americans died and 53 were injured that terrible night at 
the hands of an ISIS-inspired coward who turned on the very country 
where his parents had sought refuge from the violence in Afghanistan. 
Instead of gratitude, he unleashed hatred and violence upon this 
country that had sheltered his family and made it possible for him to 
be born into a land of freedom and opportunity.
  The poisonous political ideology that infected and animated him in 
his attack--and to which he pledged allegiance just before the attack--
is a familiar nemesis to the founding principles of our country.

[[Page H2545]]

  This craven and wanton attack reminds us of the threats of Islamic 
extremism both at home and abroad: that they are real, that they are 
malignant, and that they are deadly.
  In the aftermath of this terrible attack on the patrons of the Pulse 
nightclub, its owner established a nonprofit called the onePULSE 
Foundation to memorialize those who died in this mass murder, known 
simply as ``the 49.'' The foundation worked quickly to establish a 
memorial in Orlando, but recently began working with Orlando's mayor to 
launch a design competition for a permanent memorial and museum slated 
to open in 2022.
  This bill would redesignate the Pulse Memorial in Orlando as the 
National Pulse Memorial. The bill makes clear that this memorial will 
not be a unit of the national park system, and a designation as a 
national memorial does not require any Federal funds to be expended.
  The House's action on this bill today complements the United States 
Senate's resolution passed on June 11 of this year honoring the victims 
of this outrage, as well as the State of Florida's designation of June 
12 as Pulse Remembrance Day.
  I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California and 
our friends across the aisle for their support.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida 
(Mrs. Demings).
  Mrs. DEMINGS. Madam Speaker, it is time to make the Pulse nightclub a 
national memorial, and the reason is that what Pulse symbolizes is 
relevant to all Americans.
  Let me say this: Orlando does not need Congress in order to honor the 
49 victims, nor the 53 who were wounded that night. We have honored 
them and will continue to do so for as long as their memories live on.
  But it is still the right thing to do, that Congress take this action 
today, because, by making Pulse a national memorial, we honor not only 
the victims, but what they stood for, what they represent, and what our 
country could be and should be.
  Pulse is in my district. It was a sanctuary. It was a place where 
Orlando's LGBTQ residents could find safety and friendship. The people 
there that night were not in the wrong place at the wrong time. They 
were exactly where they were supposed to be, among friends and loved 
ones, taking joy together in what my bishop referred to as a late night 
fellowship.
  Isn't that worth celebrating? Isn't that worth protecting for every 
American? Could there be any right more basic?
  And that is why we are here: to honor and remember them.
  We will continue to grieve for those we lost and to help those who 
survived. We will continue together and remember.

  We will continue to act on gun violence and civil rights, for the 
survivors of Pulse have called upon us to honor those we lost with 
action, not just words.
  Today, with this vote, we state that Pulse was a national tragedy not 
only for what it was, but for what it meant; and it will be a national 
memorial not just to commemorate our past, but to guide our future.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers on our 
side, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I thank you, who brought me to the site 
of this horrible tragedy and allowed me to see the warmth and beauty of 
your community in response to it.
  Four years ago, 49 people were murdered in a violent, hate-filled 
mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. In the days that followed, 
we saw and heard stories of courage, bravery, and resolve. But mostly, 
there was unspeakable pain for those who lost someone in this attack. 
And although I pray that the passage of 4 years has brought some 
measure of relief, the truth is that their pain will never fully go 
away.
  It is critical that we designate this memorial today so that our 
country never forgets those who are lost, but it is also important to 
take action so this never happens again.
  Individuals convicted of hate crimes should never own a gun, and that 
is why I introduced the Disarm Hate Act--to do just that. If you commit 
a hate crime, you shouldn't be allowed to own a gun, period. We know 
that those who commit hate crimes become increasingly violent as time 
goes on.

                              {time}  1115

  No American family should have to suffer because of this loophole. 
Let's disarm hate once and for all.
  We will never forget the 49 young people who lost their lives at the 
Pulse club in Orlando, the extraordinary response of the first 
responders, and the hospital facilities that provided miraculous care 
that prevented so many other lives from being lost.
  Let's do all that we can to prevent the next hate-filled tragedy.
  Again, I salute Orlando Strong for the magnificent and nurturing 
response of the entire community to this devastating attack on all of 
us.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to 
commend Congressman Soto, Congresswoman Demings, and the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Congresswoman Murphy), who is in the Chair, on this 
incredibly important legislation.
  I traveled to attend a memorial service in the aftermath of the 
tragedy at Orlando's Pulse gay nightclub to mourn with the stunned 
community how the confluence of bigotry and weapons of war conspired to 
steal 49 innocent lives.
  I remember the feeling of numbness and agony. It was so hard to grasp 
that in 2016, visitors to Pulse that night suffered a violence that far 
too often plagues LGBTQ-plus communities and communities of color, but 
this time on a mass scale. They were targeted for who they were.
  Out for the evening, they assumed it was safe to be themselves, to 
live their truths, and yet their precious lives were snuffed out.
  But in this darkest of moments, Floridians opened their arms to 
embrace and heal one another. They vocally denounced bigotry, whether 
it was aimed at our LGBTQ-plus or Hispanic communities, or too often 
both. They would not stay silent.
  Even public figures who were not always clear LGBTQ-plus allies stood 
up and made a commitment to equality.
  It was an encouraging moment of solidarity amidst such tragedy. Most 
Floridians responded by drawing closer than ever before.
  Two years later, my community endured similar heartache and anger 
when 17 students and educators were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas 
High School. Days after that horrific school shooting, I was in Orlando 
and visited Pulse, where spontaneous messages of love and sadness were 
left behind.
  As I added my message to the thousands hanging on banners there, I 
saw Pulse was not simply a site of tragedy and pain. It was a hallowed 
place to remember and honor all the individuals who were lost. But it 
was also now a public space affirming that equality, justice, and love 
are worth rallying to and fighting for.
  Making Pulse a national memorial would, most importantly, properly 
honor those we lost way too soon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, but it would also elevate that 
site so that millions of Americans might turn our collective pain into 
collective action.
  In passing this bill, I hope visitors the world over will be inspired 
by a community that emphatically declared that love and hope will 
always triumph over prejudice and violence.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Mucarsel-Powell).
  Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL. Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of 
H.R. 3094, a bill to designate the National Pulse Memorial.

[[Page H2546]]

  On June 12, 2016, a shooter hatefully took the lives of 49 people at 
the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Those who died were sons and 
daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers, and loving members 
of Florida's communities.
  This tragedy brought grief and pain to all parts of the Nation, to 
Florida, including my very own district, and to the LGBT community.
  That evening at the nightclub was Jerry Wright. His parents, MJ and 
Fred, are part of our community in south Florida. They described Jerry 
as a wonderful, loving, and caring son. He was there that evening, like 
any other evening, enjoying Latin music with friends, and from 1 minute 
to the next, his life was cruelly taken from him. He was only 31 years 
old.
  We all know that Jerry did not deserve this. His parents and family 
did not deserve this.
  I am very close friends now with the Wright family, and I know 
firsthand the anguish and the pain that they go through every single 
day, Mother's Day, Father's Day. That pain never goes away.
  I know that personally, Madam Speaker, because I have also lost a 
loved one tragically to gun violence. So the pain that the families and 
the friends of 48 other people who lost their lives the same way is 
still present today.
  Just over 4 years later, now it is time that we designate the Pulse 
nightclub as a national memorial.
  This memorial will honor the memory of those who died that evening. 
It will ensure that loved family members like Jerry Wright are never 
forgotten. It will reflect on the pain that their families are still 
suffering. But most importantly, it will serve as a reminder that we as 
a country have to stop this violence and disarm hate.
  This memorial is a testament to those who died, and it is a mandate 
that we do more to stop it from happening again.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Mrs. Murphy), my neighbor in central Florida.
  Mrs. MURPHY of Florida. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for 
yielding to me.
  Four long years have passed since a gunman walked into my community 
and took the lives of 49 innocent people at the Pulse nightclub.
  At that time, the events marked the largest mass shooting in this 
country, and to this day, it remains one of the largest incidents of a 
hate crime in our history.
  Most of the victims were members of our LGBTQ community in Orlando, a 
community that created Pulse to be a safe place to be themselves, a 
place where hate and violence could not reach them.
  It took one lone gunman to shatter that reality. But it is up to us 
on this day, 4 years later, to take it back.
  We owe it to those we lost to honor their memories by dedicating a 
national memorial at Pulse, a memorial that reflects the same love, 
acceptance, and spirit of community that embodied the victims and that 
embodies the LGBTQ community at large, a place of healing for the 
survivors and all those affected, a welcoming place for all those 
seeking inspiration to act, to create a better, safer, and more 
inclusive Nation.
  By taking this important step, America is telling the world that we 
will never let hate win, that we won't forget the victims, and that we 
will fight to ensure no community will ever go through something like 
this again.
  God bless the Pulse victims and their families.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I would inquire if the gentleman is 
ready to close.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I have three more speakers.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano).
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Four years ago, during Pride Month, our country awoke to the 
devastating news about a shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 
The Pulse nightclub, a safe haven for the LGBTQ-plus community in 
Orlando was the target of an act of hate.
  Forty-nine lives were taken and 53 were wounded after a gunman opened 
fire. The victims and survivors were LGBTQ-plus and members of the 
Latinx community.
  This shooting was one of the deadliest attacks on LGBTQ-plus 
Americans in our history, and it left our community hurting, fearful, 
and skeptical about the progress our Nation had made towards 
acceptance, understanding, and belonging for LGBTQ-plus people.
  Four years later, we are still grieving, we are still healing, and we 
are still demanding action to make equality the law of the land and to 
end gun violence in America.
  When I visited Orlando to pay my respects to the victims and to honor 
their memories, what I saw at Pulse during such a painful time gave me 
hope. I saw a community that had come together to condemn hate, to 
reject intolerance, and to celebrate the lives of every single soul 
that was lost that night.
  Our community's pride and the bravery we exhibit when we choose to 
embrace our identity, even in the face of hate and homophobia, is proof 
of how resilient we are.
  Designating Pulse as a national memorial would honor the lives of 
those lost and it would forever stand as a symbol of pride, hope, and 
courage, which will always triumph over hate.
  Madam Speaker, as the co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, I thank 
Representative Soto for his leadership, also Representative Murphy and 
Representative Demings.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3094.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), the vice chair of our caucus.
  Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, almost 4 years ago today, 
I joined with my colleagues and my friend, Congressman   John Lewis, in 
leading a sit-in on this very floor after the Pulse nightclub shooting 
in Orlando, Florida.
  We could not stand for another moment of silence. We could not stand 
for another day of inaction. We could not stand for another mass 
shooting in America.
  We sat in protest. The House Democrats stopped the work of Congress 
because Congress had stopped working for the American people.
  Now, 4 years later, our commitment to ending gun violence and hate 
remains absolute.
  Making the Pulse nightclub a national memorial will honor the 49 
lives lost in Orlando and will declare that love is love.
  Today, during Pride Month, we celebrate these lives and we honor 
them, but we can't stop there. We need commonsense gun violence 
prevention measures now.
  Within weeks of taking the majority, House Democrats passed two 
bipartisan gun safety bills. To this day, they remain stalled in the 
Senate.
  COVID-19 is not the only public health crisis in this country. We 
lose 40,000 Americans a year to gun violence.
  We cannot waste another day. We ask the Republicans in the Senate to 
pass our legislation, end this sickening cycle of gun violence in our 
country.
  Choose love, choose peace, recognize that gun violence is often the 
lethal partner of racism and bigotry.
  With this national memorial, we will have a physical manifestation of 
our commitment to end gun violence and to have equality for all.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I would inquire how much time we have 
remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Murphy of Florida). The gentleman from 
Florida has 4\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

                              {time}  1130

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, this is a somber moment, and I thank 
the gentleman from Florida for not only his passion but his recognition 
that America should never forget.
  I thank the Speaker pro tempore for letting us remember all the faces 
and

[[Page H2547]]

families and loved ones that were impacted. Forty-nine lives, I 
believe, were taken in one moment, with an act of violence by a crazed 
gunman, with a gun.
  We have been trying to stand in the gap, with background checks 
passed the very first moment under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, 
gun violence legislation that has no impact on the Second Amendment but 
seeks to derail the kind of crazed gunman that was able to take these 
lives before first responders could come.
  I remember hearing the stories of families waiting outside of the 
Pulse nightclub, saying they heard from their loved one but had not 
seen them because they were making their last-minute cries for help.
  This memorial would say to America that we are not a nation of 
bigots, of xenophobia, racism, hatred. We are a nation of respect and 
dignity.
  I know the families of those who died at the Pulse nightclub are 
still in pain and will never forget.
  But it is the duty of the United States Congress, with our voices 
raised, to say that the book that I have been holding on to over the 
last 2 days, to fight for justice in policing, to talk about D.C. 
statehood, this book, this Constitution, which George Washington said 
he would use as a guide, that he would never abandon, everyone has the 
right to decency and life and due process.
  I enthusiastically support this legislation to give dignity to the 
lives, and for America never to forget those lives, at the Pulse 
nightclub.
  Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the House of Representatives, I 
rise in strong support of H.R. 3094, ``To designate the National Pulse 
Memorial located at 1912 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, Florida, 32806, 
and for other purposes.''
  I am voting for H.R. 3094 because it not only memorializes and honors 
the 49 people who tragically lost their lives from this horrific act of 
violence, but it also stands as a symbol to the LGBTQ+ community, to 
our Latino community, to our nation, and to the world, that we will not 
stand for or tolerate acts of hatred against marginalized persons.
  Madam Speaker, you will remember that the Pulse nightclub shooting 
took place on June 12th, 2016 in Orlando, Florida when a gunman shot 
and killed 49 people and injured 53 others.
  It was the single deadliest known violent attack on both the LGBTQ+ 
community and our Latino community.
  The Pulse nightclub was a haven for the LGBTQ community to live, 
love, and dance.
  They came for music, celebration and fellowship.
  Over four dozen would leave the Pulse Nightclub with their names 
added to a list of fatal victims of gun violence .
  In the aftermath, we saw communities come together and support one 
another.
  We saw doctors, first responders, and friends rush to save the 
wounded.
  Others donated funds, supplies, and even their blood.
  There were countless murals and other artworks, gifts, and letters 
left at impromptu memorial sites, paying tribute to the victims and 
survivors.
  Our nation refused to let hate win.
  We came together in the form of thousands of candlelight vigils to 
grieve, remember, and heal.
  By passing H.R. 3094 today, we seek to create a permanent reminder 
that this act of violence and other heinous instances of bigotry are 
not emblematic of America or its true values.
  It will also remind us that it is our duty as a society to be better 
and do better in terms of standing up against hate in all its forms.
  I ask all members to join me in voting for H.R. 3094, ``To designate 
the National Pulse Memorial located at 1912 South Orange Avenue, 
Orlando, Florida, 32806, and for other purposes.''
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a list of the names 
of the 49 victims we lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

       Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old; Amanda L. Alvear, 25 
     years old; Oscar A. Aracena Montero, 26 years old; Rodolfo 
     Ayala Ayala, 33 years old; Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old; 
     Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old; Angel Candelario-Padro, 
     28 years old; Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old; Luis Daniel 
     Conde, 39 years old; Cory James Connell, 21 years old; Tevin 
     Eugene Crosby, 25 years old; Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years 
     old; Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old; Leroy 
     Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old; Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 
     years old; Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz, 22 years old; Juan Ramon 
     Guerrero, 22 years old; Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old; 
     Frank Hernandez, 27 years old; Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 
     years old.
       Javier Jorge Reyes, 40 years old; Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 
     19 years old; Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old; Anthony 
     Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old; Christopher Andrew 
     Leinonen, 32 years old; Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years 
     old; Brenda Marquez McCool, 49 years old; Gilberto R. Silva 
     Menendez, 25 years old; Kimberly Jean Morris, 37 years old; 
     Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old; Luis Omar Ocasio Capo, 20 
     years old; Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez, 25 years old; Eric Ivan 
     Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old; Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years 
     old; Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old; Enrique L. Rios, 
     Jr., 25 years old; Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez, 27 years 
     old; Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado, 35 years old; 
     Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old; Yilmary Rodriguez 
     Solivan, 24 years old; Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old; 
     Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old; Martin Benitez Torres, 33 
     years old; Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24 years old; Juan Pablo 
     Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old; Luis Sergio Vielma, 22 years 
     old; Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velazquez, 50 years old; Luis 
     Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old; Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 
     years old.

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank you and him for making this important memorial possible for us 
today.
  I rise to solemnly join my colleagues to honor the 49 beautiful souls 
murdered 4 years ago in an unfathomable act of hatred and bloodshed at 
the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
  I thank Congressman Darren Soto for giving us this opportunity of 
observing and for being a voice for peace and healing for all of those 
affected.
  Pulse was a peaceful haven where young LGBTQ Americans could enjoy 
music, dancing, and celebration, knowing they were in a sanctuary of 
safety and solidarity.
  Pulse was a monument to joy, a tribute to resilience and pride born 
out of the grief that Barbara Poma experienced after losing her 
brother, John, to AIDS. That was her motivation for starting that.
  May the grief that we experience now at the loss of 49 who were 
murdered move us to turn our pain into purpose. This poster is all of 
them.
  But some time after the terrible tragedy, we stood on the steps of 
the Capitol, holding their individual pictures. At that time, we said: 
We will never forget.
  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to keep that promise to turn 
pain into purpose.
  Shortly after the horrific act of hatred at Pulse, I had the solemn 
privilege of traveling to Orlando and meeting with survivors and 
families who had lost loved ones. Their message to the Congress, to a 
person that I met with there, was: Please, do something to stop gun 
violence.
  Yet, painfully, since that tragic night, the horror that we saw in 
Orlando has been replicated in countless other communities across the 
country. In too many places, the epidemic of gun violence has killed 
too many innocent people and left too many families suffering 
unimaginable pain and loss.
  As one of the first actions of our majority last year, the House took 
action to end the bloodshed by passing H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112, H.R. 8 so 
designated because it had been 8 years since the assault on the life of 
our colleague Gabby Giffords.
  She survived. She is doing remarkable things, in terms of trying to 
end gun violence. But other people died. Hence, H.R. 8, as it was 8 
years since. Then, H.R. 1112 was Mr. Clyburn's legislation to address 
what happened in South Carolina.
  485 days, nearly 500 days, later, we continue to urge the Senate to 
take up this legislation, supported broadly, Democrats, independents, 
Republicans, gun owners, hunters, many of whom have had to pass 
background checks in order to have their guns and to enjoy their sport 
and protect themselves. They are not against background checks. Across 
the country, this has broad support, nonpartisan support.
  Yet, in the Congress of the United States, there is resistance to 
that safety of simply commonsense background checks. It isn't as if we 
were starting something new. This is just an expansion of the 
background checks that already exist to include gun shows and online 
sales, et cetera, just an expansion.

[[Page H2548]]

  I remind my colleagues that an average of 100 people die every day 
from gun violence. Let me restate, it has been almost 500 days since 
the House passed those bills and the Senate has failed to take it up--
almost 500 times 100 a day.
  We see the consequences. Not that all of them would have been saved, 
but some, many, would have. Many have been saved since the original 
background check legislation passed.
  Four years later, 4 years after Pulse, our grief remains raw. But our 
resolve to end the deadly scourge of gun violence and hatred--
discrimination, that it was about, too--remains unwavering.
  Strengthened by the memories of those who were lost to gun violence--
49 souls here, and so many others--inspired by the spirit of hope that 
we celebrate during Pride Month, especially this weekend, let us never 
relent in our mission to end the horror of gun violence once and for 
all and end discrimination against anyone in our community.
  Madam Speaker, I thank and commend Mr. Soto, and I urge a ``yes'' 
vote.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I again want to commend Mr. Soto on this bill.
  In closing, it is important to note that the attack that we remember 
with this legislation was directed against all Americans, not just the 
patrons of the nightclub that night. The killer made this abundantly 
and chillingly clear. He declared himself an ``Islamic soldier'' and 
declared his allegiance and obedience to the terrorist leader, Abu Bakr 
al-Baghdadi. This was an attack motivated by hate, hatred against our 
country, hatred against all that our country stands for.
  I think we can take some solace in knowing that Americans today 
retain their right to defend themselves against such attacks, that such 
terrorist attacks like this should remind us how important our Second 
Amendment rights remain today.
  We can also take solace from the fact that al-Baghdadi, the 
inspiration for this terrorist attack, was hunted down and brought to 
justice in October last year by American Delta Force commandos, as he 
shielded himself with children, who he killed when he detonated a 
suicide vest rather than to be taken prisoner.
  Madam Speaker, in memory of the 49 Americans killed by this terrorist 
attack, I ask for an ``aye'' vote in this House today.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  We all agree this was an attack motivated by hate, and today, we 
recognize the 49 angels we lost and the 53 who were injured during the 
Pulse nightclub shooting.
  Vigils occurred across this Nation, across the political spectrum, 
after this deadly shooting. I can tell you, on behalf of Congresswoman 
Demings, Congresswoman Murphy, myself, and our region, we want to thank 
everyone for doing that.
  We want to thank our colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, for 
coming together: Chair Grijalva, Ranking Member Bishop, Mr. McClintock, 
Miss Gonzalez-Colon, Mr. Fitzpatrick. We appreciate all the work being 
done in the Senate.
  Today, we recognize the memory of these 49 angels across our Nation 
by making this the Pulse National Memorial.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3094, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________