[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 65 (Thursday, April 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, yesterday, an overwhelming bipartisan 
majority of Senators voted to move forward on Senator Hirono and 
Senator Duckworth's anti-Asian hate crimes bill. I was pleased the vote 
was so substantial, 92 to 6. Rarely do you see 92 Senators agree to 
move forward with any piece of legislation. But if there was ever a 
topic that deserves a strong showing of bipartisan support, it is 
standing up to bigotry and racism against a particular group of 
Americans.
  Today, we will continue to work on a bipartisan agreement regarding 
amendments. I have committed to start the process with the bipartisan 
Moran-Blumenthal amendment. I understand my Republican colleague from 
Maine has some modifications to the bill, which we welcome, and those 
negotiations are proceeding afoot. I expect the Republican leader and 
I, in consultation with the relevant committees, will be able to figure 
out an appropriate number of reasonable, germane, and non-gotcha 
amendments for the Senate to consider.
  We are working with Senators Moran, Grassley, and Collins in a very 
bipartisan way, and we should be able to wrap up this bill next week. 
By doing so, the Senate will deliver a powerful message to Asian 
Americans that their voices are heard, their concerns are felt, and 
that their government will take swift, decisive action to protect them. 
They are not alone.
  Before I move on, I just want to say to my Republican colleagues: 
This is how the Senate can work, even though it is closely divided. 
When there is a pressing issue, like the rising tide of anti-Asian 
violence, the Senate can act quickly and in a bipartisan way to address 
it.
  We don't need to always distrust the other party. This bill was never 
intended to be a messaging bill or gotcha legislation. This bill is 
like a drive straight down the middle of the fairway--well-timed, 
modest, unobjectionable.
  At the end of the day, we can achieve a result that has both 
substantive and symbolic importance: substantive because we are going 
to adjust the focus of the Justice Department to better respond to 
anti-Asian hate crimes and symbolic because both parties are standing 
up to deliver a message that racism and bigotry have no place--no 
place--in America. That is an undeniably good result

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