[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1201-S1202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Violence Against Asian Americans

  Mr. President, importantly, I must mention that this unspeakable 
violence was visited largely upon Georgia's Asian-American community 
and especially on women of Asian descent. Unfortunately, this hateful 
act that horrified Atlanta is not isolated; it is part of a larger 
trend.
  Last year, anti-Asian hate crimes increased 339 percent. Think about 
that--in 1 year, a 339-percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes. It 
is a sobering statistic, and it should remind all of us of our shared 
duty in our democracy to stay committed to peace, an active peace, that 
recognizes that we are in this together.
  It was Martin Niemoller, the pastor during Hitler's Third Reich, who 
said:

       First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak . . 
     . because I was not a Communist.
       Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak . . 
     . because I was not a Socialist.
       Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak 
     . . . because I was not a Trade Unionist.
       Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak . . . 
     because I was not a Jew.
       Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak. 
     . . .

  So this is a tragedy, in a real sense, visited upon all of us.
  As a student of history and a voice for our State and the Senate, I 
know Georgians understand all too well how hate and misplaced anger can 
hurt our communities and how certain parts of our community are so 
easily scapegoated and lose their sense of sanctuary. And then when 
that happens, all of us lose a piece of ourselves. So I want to say to 
my AAPI sisters, brothers, and neighbors that I see you, and, more 
importantly, I will continue to stand with you against hate and 
violence wherever it rears its ugly head.

  That is why I cosponsored and fought to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes 
Act and to get it signed into law, directing more resources to ensure 
our communities have what they need to seek justice whenever and 
wherever hate and crime rear their ugly heads.
  I am especially proud that my colleagues worked with me to include a 
provision in this legislation that names and acknowledges the pain and 
experiences of Georgia's AAPI community specifically and makes sure we 
never forget the names attached to the lives and the families we lost 
in the horrific shootings in Atlanta 1 year ago today.
  And that is why I am pushing here in the Senate to confirm a U.S. 
attorney for the northern district of our State, a post that is 
integral to helping Georgians stop crime and pursue justice.
  The terrible act of violence and hate we witnessed on March 16, 2021, 
ought

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to remind us all that we all have a stake in each other's well-being.
  Georgia's greatest son, that great American, Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr., said it best: We are tied in a single garment of destiny, caught 
up in ``an inescapable network of mutuality.'' ``Whatever affects one 
directly, affects all indirectly.'' ``I cannot be all that I ought to 
be until you are all that you ought to be, and you cannot be all that 
you ought to be until I am all that I ought to be.''
  And so let us continue working together to stop Asian hate, to stop 
the scapegoating, and to create what Dr. King called the beloved 
community--a community where everybody, no matter their skin color, 
ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious background, can live a life 
of fulfillment and joy without fear of facing hate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Rosen). The Senator from Oklahoma.