[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 62 (Monday, April 12, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Now, Madam President, on an entirely other matter, as the Senate 
returns to work this week, we are going to pick right back up where we 
left off in aggressively filling the Biden administration with well-
qualified nominees and pursuing timely legislation that meets the needs 
of the American people.
  This week, the Senate will vote on the nominations of Polly 
Trottenberg to serve as Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Wendy 
Sherman to serve as Deputy Secretary of State, Gary Gensler to serve on 
the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Brenda Mallory to be a 
Member of the Council on Environmental Quality. Each is exceptionally 
well qualified for the respective position and each, I expect, will 
receive bipartisan support here on the floor.
  I am particularly proud of Polly Trottenberg, who was my legislative 
director and legislative assistant on Transportation, I believe it was, 
for 9 years. She then served as commissioner of transportation in New 
York City. One of the things, of course, that I talked to her about 
regularly was getting Gateway, our much needed tunnel, built under the 
Hudson--so needed by New York, New Jersey, and the entire Northeast 
corridor.
  The Senate will also vote on whether to debate legislation from 
Senator Hirono and Representative Meng to address the surge of anti-
Asian hate crimes during the COVID pandemic.
  Over the past year, we have read horrible accounts of violence and 
discrimination against Asian Americans, spurred on by ignorance and 
xenophobia and the vicious slander that blames the Chinese people for 
COVID-19--slander that was often encouraged and repeated so 
regrettably--I so regret that a President would stoop to that level--by 
the former President, who seemed to almost revel in advancing bigotry.
  Sadly, the recent spate of anti-Asian violence is not a new chapter 
in American history. From the Chinese massacre of 1871 to the 
explicitly racist Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of Japanese-
American citizens, and the shameful Korematsu Supreme Court decision, 
the Asian-American community has long suffered the hammer blows of 
racism and bigotry.
  We cannot let this new surge, which contains echoes of these violent 
chapters in our history, go unaddressed. So, this week, the Senate will 
vote on Senator Hirono's anti-Asian hate crimes bill, and I know the 
Presiding Officer is a proud sponsor of that legislation.
  The bill does two things.
  First, it tells the Department of Justice they need to make 
consideration of these hate crimes a top priority during this pandemic. 
There is a scourge of abuse happening to the Asian-American community--
shamefully aided and abetted by former President Trump--and it needs to 
be prioritized by law enforcement more than it is right now.
  Second, it sends a very important signal from the Congress of the 
United States to the American public: These crimes will not be 
tolerated, and there will be consequences.
  This legislation is as commonsense and straightforward as it gets. It 
is as unobjectionable as it gets. I should expect our work on Senator 
Hirono's hate crimes bill to be thoroughly bipartisan. President Biden 
has urged Congress to swiftly pass this legislation and send it to his 
desk. Let's get it done this week.
  I attended four or five--maybe even more--rallies against anti-Asian 
violence, and I was heartsick to hear the stories: an elderly man 
afraid to just walk out on the street that he might be ridiculed, spat 
upon and a young lady who didn't want to travel the subways because of 
the glares and stares at her from some people because of her Asian 
ancestry. The stories could be repeated over and over again, and, 
unfortunately, this bigotry has often ended in violence.
  We must stop it as Americans. We all know--every one of us--that 
racism against one is racism against all. We must stop it. Again, I 
plead with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to let this 
legislation go forward--it seems so unobjectionable--and pass with a 
strong bipartisan vote. Again, let's get it done this week