[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 81 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2479-S2481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          National Police Week

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, this week, America commemorates National 
Police Week--a time to pay tribute to the men and women of law 
enforcement and remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to 
protect and defend our communities.
  One of the most emblematic reminders of that sacrifice is the 
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which, of course, is here 
in Washington, DC. It is a beautiful tribute to the Federal, State, and 
local law enforcement officials who have died in the line of duty and 
features marble walls engraved with more than 23,000 names. Each of 
those names represents a hero to their community, to their State, and 
to our Nation. Sadly, the names of 90 Texans were added to that 
memorial this year. These officers gave their lives in service to their 
communities and to our country, and we thank them, and we thank their 
families for that service.

  As we mourn the loss of so many of these heroes, this week is also a 
time to honor and thank those who continue to serve and protect our 
neighborhoods, our schools, and our places of work.
  I am grateful for the dedicated police officers who work in Texas 
communities, from Brownsville to Amarillo, from Beaumont to El Paso, 
and everywhere in between. That includes not only the municipal police 
officers but also the sheriffs, the constables, the Border Patrol 
agents, and law enforcement officials of all types who keep Texans 
safe.
  Like all of my colleagues here in Congress, I am also grateful to the 
men and women of the Capitol Police, who safeguard this building and 
the Members, the staff, the journalists, and many visitors who come 
here every day.
  A career in law enforcement is never easy, but the past few years 
have really shown a light on the challenges America's law enforcement 
officers face.
  First came the pandemic. While millions of Americans hunkered down at 
home to slow the spread of the virus, law enforcement couldn't do that. 
They had to be out and about in the community. They had to lace up 
their boots and go to work every day. The risk of the virus meant that 
even friendly interactions with the public could carry grave risks.
  More than half of 619 heroes added to the wall of the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial this year died of COVID-related causes. 
More than half of the 619 who died, died of COVID-related causes. It is 
a deep reminder of the losses our country has experienced over the last 
2 years.
  The stresses of the pandemic also led to a surge in drug overdose 
deaths and an increase in family violence, putting an even tighter 
strain on officers serving and protecting our communities. At the same 
time, we have seen a shocking increase in violent crime and homicide 
rates across the country.
  In addition to these challenges, conversations about racial justice 
and police brutality have put all of the law enforcement community 
under a bright spotlight. Sadly, this debate has, in part, perhaps 
inadvertently, contributed to a hostile environment for many of these 
officers--people painting with a broad brush, claiming that all law 
enforcement officers were somehow racist or that the system was rotten 
to the core with systemic racism. Well, that kind of rhetoric and those 
kinds of ideas undermine the morale and are a disservice, in my 
opinion, to the men and women who do not share any of those prejudices, 
thankfully.
  Well, law enforcement has been the victim of violent attacks during 
this last year. According to the FBI, intentional killings of law 
enforcement officers have reached a 20-year high.
  Now, don't get me wrong, there is no doubt we need to continue to 
work together to improve transparency and accountability within police 
forces, and we need to strengthen the relationship between the police 
and the communities in which they serve. I think those are things that 
all of us can agree on. But as a country, we need to remember that the 
actions of a few do not define the rest. The vast majority of our law 
enforcement officers are honorable, dedicated public servants who go 
above and beyond the call of duty to keep our families and our 
communities safe and are committed to improving accountability and 
trust in law enforcement.
  We need to do more to support those brave men and women who are doing 
the right thing, who are serving honorably at great sacrifice to 
themselves and their family, and work with them to help rebuild public 
trust.
  Here in the Senate, I have introduced a range of bills to ensure that 
our officers have the training, the resources, and the support they 
need to do their jobs.
  Given the undeserved hostility many officers are facing, Congress 
should pass the Back the Blue Act, which makes clear our support for 
the public servants who have dedicated their lives to protecting our 
communities. This legislation adds mandatory penalties and makes it a 
Federal crime to kill or attempt to kill a law enforcement officer but 
also a Federal judge or a federally funded public safety officer, and 
it makes it a Federal crime to assault a law enforcement officer.
  As I said, these men and women put themselves in harm's way every day 
to keep our communities safe, and we need to do more to make it clear 
that violence committed against a law enforcement officer will not be 
tolerated, period. The Back the Blue Act sends a strong message to the 
more than 800,000 law enforcement officers in America that they are 
supported, that they are appreciated, and that violence against them 
will not stand.

[[Page S2480]]

  I am proud that last year, another bill to affirm our support for law 
enforcement was signed into law--the Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila 
Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act, which carries the names 
of two ICE agents who were viciously ambushed by a drug cartel while on 
duty in Mexico.
  Special Agent Avila suffered serious, life-threatening injuries, and, 
unfortunately, Special Agent Zapata tragically lost his life.
  Their attackers were convicted of murder and attempted murder in a 
U.S. court, but an appellate court reversed those convictions because 
of a jurisdictional loophole in the law.
  I introduced legislation to close that loophole and ensure that 
justice does not hinge on where that attack occurred. This law now 
ensures that those who harm or attempt to harm a Federal law 
enforcement officer serving abroad, outside the boundaries of the 
continental United States, can be prosecuted in the U.S. court system.
  Again, we have to send a clear message of zero tolerance to those who 
would attack our law enforcement officers. We need to send the message 
that we have their backs and that any attack on them will not be 
tolerated.

  The last 2 years have also taught us that we need to do more to 
supply our law enforcement officials with the resources and the 
training and the support they need to do their jobs effectively.
  Senator Whitehouse and I introduced the bipartisan Law Enforcement 
De-escalation Training Act, which created a dedicated funding stream 
for de-escalation training. I think we all would agree that force 
should only be used when absolutely necessary when law enforcement 
officials answer an emergency call and that those officers should have 
the training and ready knowledge of how to use alternatives to de-
escalate that confrontation, both for their protection as well as the 
protection of the individual who is acting out. This will help train 
officers in these de-escalation tactics as well as the most effective 
and safest ways to interact with people experiencing a mental health or 
suicidal crisis.
  Another bill Senator Whitehouse and I have introduced is the 
Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act which expands access 
to treatment in jails and prisons across the country. This program 
already provides incarcerated individuals with access to treatment for 
substance use disorders. It is coupled with programs to prepare these 
men and women for reentry into civic society and to provide community-
based treatment once they are released. The changes included in this 
legislation will give incarcerated men and women the best possible shot 
at living a healthier and more productive life once they are released. 
This bill passed the Senate unanimously last year, and I hope that the 
House will move it soon.
  There are a range of other bipartisan bills to better support law 
enforcement so they can do their jobs and we can demonstrate our 
support and commitment to them. I introduced the Public Safety Officers 
Support Act with Senator Duckworth to provide better mental health 
resources for our law enforcement officers. This bill would also ensure 
that families of law enforcement officers who die by suicide that is 
work-related will receive the benefits they are entitled to.
  Senator Klobuchar and I have introduced the Justice and Mental Health 
Collaboration Reauthorization Act to continue grants for mental health 
courts, crisis intervention teams, and other programs that promote 
public safety, as well as improve mental health outcomes and reduce 
recidivism.
  Finally, I am working on a reauthorization of the Project Safe 
Neighborhoods Act. This has been a proven national partnership between 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement to use data-driven, evidence-
based and trauma-informed practices to reduce violent crime.
  It is inspired by a successful program initiated when I was Texas 
attorney general. We called it Texas Exile, but it actually originated 
in a U.S. attorney's office in Richmond, VA, known as Project Exile. It 
is basically going after people who cannot legally use or carry a 
firearm because of a prior felony conviction, and targeting those 
particular individuals has had a very important positive impact on gun 
violence in our communities. It is due for reauthorization at the end 
of September and I am committed to making it better, stronger, and more 
effective.
  So today and every day, I am grateful for the brave men and women who 
answered the call to serve and to protect our communities. There is 
nothing we can do to adequately thank them and their families for that 
sacrifice, but we can take positive action to demonstrate our support 
for our brothers and sisters in blue.
  I hope we can advance these bills to provide them with the support, 
the funding, and the resources they need to do their jobs. And on 
behalf of the great State of Texas, I want to say thank you to all of 
the law enforcement officers, men and women alike, as well as their 
families, who continue to put their lives on the line to keep us safe 
every day.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cortez Masto). The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 7691

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I am offering this unanimous consent on 
behalf of myself and Leader McConnell. Let me explain the unanimous 
consent.
  As the war in Ukraine extends into its third month, we have a moral 
obligation--a moral obligation--to stand with Ukraine in its fight 
against Putin's immoral war.
  Earlier this week, the House passed a Ukraine package with 
overwhelming bipartisan support. It should be no different here in the 
Senate. The package is ready to go. The vast majority of Senators on 
both sides of the aisle wants it. There is now only one thing holding 
us back. The junior Senator from Kentucky is preventing the swift 
passage of Ukraine aid because he wants to add, at the last minute, his 
own changes directly into the bill. His change is strongly opposed by 
many Members from both parties. He is not even asking for an amendment; 
he is simply saying: My way or the highway.
  When you have a proposal to amend a bill, you can't just come to the 
floor and demand it by fiat. You have to convince other Members to back 
it first. That is how the Senate works. If every Member held every bill 
in exchange for every last little demand, it would mean the total and 
permanent paralysis of this Chamber. The junior Senator from Kentucky 
knows that perfectly well. He knows that is not how this Chamber works.
  Again, when you have a proposal to change a bill, you have to 
convince Members to support it. The junior Senator from Kentucky has 
not done that.
  So right now, in conjunction with Leader McConnell, I am giving 
Senator Paul an opportunity to do just that. I am offering to hold a 
vote on his amendment, even though I disagree with it. Let the Chamber 
speak its will. Let both sides of the aisle have input. And, for 
Heaven's sake, let's get Ukraine funding done ASAP.
  We must keep our promise to the people of Ukraine, and I hope the 
junior Senator from Kentucky does not stand in the way of keeping that 
promise. If Senator Paul persists in his reckless demand, we will not 
allow him to insert his language into this bill without a vote, and all 
he will accomplish is to singlehandedly delay desperately needed 
Ukraine aid.
  I yield to the Republican leader.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as I said earlier today, the Ukraine 
people are fighting valiantly in a war they didn't ask for. Their brave 
self-defense has literally shocked the skeptics and inspired freedom-
loving people all around the world.
  Ukraine is not asking us to fight this war. They are only asking for 
the resources they need to defend themselves against this deranged 
invasion, and they need this help right now.
  Sending lethal assistance to Ukraine is not just some kind of 
philanthropy; this conflict has direct and major consequences for 
America's national security and America's national interests.

[[Page S2481]]

Russia's aggression cannot--cannot--be allowed to continue cost-free.
  I understand my friend and colleague from Kentucky would like changes 
to the bill. Those changes are not acceptable to the Democratic 
majority, as we have just heard. So I think there is a simple way to 
solve this. We should vote on Senator Paul's amendment, and then we 
should pass the supplemental, and we should do it today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on behalf of myself and Leader 
McConnell, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
legislative session and proceed to the immediate consideration of 
Calendar No. 366, S. 4190, Senator Kennedy's bill on Ukraine oversight; 
that the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on 
passage of the bill; further, that upon disposition of the Kennedy 
bill, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 
368, H.R. 7691, a bill to provide aid to Ukraine; that the only 
amendment in order be the Paul amendment, which is at the desk; that 
the Senate vote on the Paul amendment with 60 affirmative votes 
required for adoption; that the bill be read a third time and the 
Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, if amended; and that 
the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, 
all without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection?
  The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. PAUL. Reserving the right to object, my oath of office is to the 
U.S. Constitution, not to any foreign nation. And no matter how 
sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of 
the United States of America.
  We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy. In March, 
inflation hit a 40-year high. Gasoline alone is up 48 percent, and 
energy prices are up 32 percent over the last year. Food prices have 
increased by nearly 9 percent. Used vehicle prices are up 35 percent 
for the year, and new vehicle prices have increased 12 percent or more.
  Yes, inflation doesn't just come out of nowhere; it comes from 
deficit spending.
  The United States spent nearly $5 trillion on COVID-19 bailouts, 
leading to one of the highest and most sustained levels of inflation in 
U.S. history.
  Americans are feeling the pain, and Congress seems intent only on 
adding to that pain by shoveling more money out the door as fast as 
they can.
  This bill under consideration would spend $40 billion. This is the 
second spending bill for Ukraine in 2 months, and this bill is three 
times larger than the first.
  Our military aid to Ukraine is nothing new, though. Since 2014, the 
United States has provided more than $6 billion in security assistance 
to Ukraine. In addition to the $14 billion Congress authorized just a 
month ago, if this bill passes, the United States will have authorized 
roughly $60 billion in total spending for Ukraine.
  For those who say this is not enough, for those of you in this 
Chamber who say that our military spending is never enough, let's put 
$60 billion into perspective.
  According to Elias Yousef, a security assistance expert at the 
Stimson Center, Kyiv would become the largest yearly recipient of U.S. 
military aid of the past two decades.
  Except for the top five countries, $60 billion is more than every 
other country in the world spends on their entire military 
expenditures.
  If this gift to Ukraine passes, our total aid to Ukraine will almost 
equal the entire military budget of Russia. And it is not as if we have 
that money lying around. We will have to borrow that money from China 
to send it to Ukraine.
  The cost of this package we are voting on today is more than the 
United States spent during the first year of the U.S. conflict in 
Afghanistan. Congress authorized force, and the President sent troops 
into the conflict. The same cannot be said of Ukraine.
  This proposal towers over domestic priorities as well. The massive 
package of $60 billion to Ukraine dwarfs the $6 million spent on cancer 
research annually, and $60 billion is more than the amount the 
government collects in gas taxes each year to build roads and bridges. 
The $60 billion to Ukraine can fund substantial portions or entire 
large Cabinet Departments. The $60 billion nearly equals the entire 
State Department budget. The $60 billion exceeds the budget for the 
Department of Homeland Security and for the Department of Energy. And 
Congress just wants to keep on spending and spending.

  Our allies and partners have sent aid to Ukraine. Some of them even 
broke longstanding traditions by sending military assistance. Germany, 
Poland, the United Kingdom, and others are stepping up to defend 
Ukraine like never before.
  In other words, it is not all about us. It isn't that we always have 
to be the Uncle Sam, the policeman who saves the world, particularly 
when it is on borrowed money. Yet the United States accounted for 
nearly half of what has been spent so far.
  With a $30 trillion debt, America can't afford to be the world's 
policeman. The United States is trying to recover from the $1.6 
trillion we spent on wars in the Middle East, not to mention the $5 
trillion borrowed for COVID.
  We should not forget that the Soviet Union collapsed, in large part, 
not because it was defeated militarily but because it ran out of money. 
In an attempt to save Ukraine, will we doom the United States to such a 
future?
  In the past 2 years, the United States has borrowed more money than 
at any time in our history. We are already experiencing the greatest 
rate of inflation in over four decades. The assault on monetary 
discipline is untenable, and it cannot go on forever. Unless we put an 
end to the fiscal insanity, a day of reckoning awaits us.
  Congress should evaluate the cost of continuing down this path. The 
biggest threat to the United States today is debt and inflation and the 
destruction of the dollar. We cannot save Ukraine by killing our 
economic strength.
  So I ask to modify the bill to allow for a special inspector general. 
This would be the inspector general who has been overseeing the waste 
in Afghanistan and has done a great job.
  Therefore, I ask the Senator to modify his request so that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 368, H.R. 7691; 
furthermore, that the Paul amendment at the desk be considered and 
agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time; 
and that the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with a 60-
affirmative vote threshold for passage.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the leader so modify his request?
  Mr. SCHUMER. Reserving the right to object, it is clear from the 
junior Senator from Kentucky's remarks, he doesn't want to aid Ukraine. 
That is not the case for the overwhelming majority here.
  Again, all he will accomplish with his actions here today is to delay 
that aid, not to stop it. It is aid that is desperately needed by a 
valiant people fighting against authoritarianism and defending 
democracy. So I will not modify it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection to the original request?
  Mr. PAUL. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Tennessee.