[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 107 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3101-S3102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, as we approach the conclusion of a 
truly consequential work period, the Senate this morning will take the 
next major step toward accomplishing something that hasn't been done in 
decades, passing a strong gun safety bill.
  The bill can be described simply in three adjectives: common sense, 
bipartisan, lifesaving. And if Republicans work with us, we could very 
well finish the job in its entirety before the day is done.
  Later this morning, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the 
Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and I expect that vote to have robust 
bipartisan support, just as we saw earlier this week.
  We are not going to leave until we pass this bill. After this 
morning's vote, it is my intention to work with Republican colleagues 
to reach an agreement to secure a vote on final passage before the day 
is out.
  As the author of the Brady bill nearly 30 years ago, the last 
legislative effort to fight gun violence, I am so pleased that we are 
at last on the precipice of taking action once again. It has been a 
long time, but this breakthrough is welcome. So I urge my Republican 
colleagues, let's get this bill passed and pass it today. Let's pass it 
so we can send it to the House; they can send it to the White House; 
and the President can sign it. Americans have waited long enough. Let 
us finish our job today.
  As we take the final steps in this process, few could have 
anticipated we would reach this point just a few weeks ago. The morning 
after the tragedy in Uvalde, the U.S. Senate faced a choice: We could 
surrender to gridlock, and we could swiftly vote on a bill with 
provisions many of us would have wanted, but because of rigid 
opposition from the other side had no hope of passing the Chamber--it 
would have failed--or we could choose to try and forge a bipartisan 
path forward to pass a real bill, as difficult as that may have seemed 
to many.
  Over the past 4 weeks, we chose to try and get something done. 
Immediately after Uvalde, I spoke with Senator Murphy, who asked me to 
give negotiators time and space to do their work. With his deep 
experience in this area, he believed that given the opportunity, maybe, 
maybe, maybe these

[[Page S3102]]

talks could succeed; although, of course, there was no guarantee.
  I was happy to agree because I knew that even if there was a chance 
to get something positive and tangible done on gun safety, it was worth 
the effort. So I told Senator Murphy I would give him the space he 
needed. That quickly became the consensus of our caucus and the 
consensus of many of our gun safety advocates who pressed us to secure 
real progress. Senator Murphy and I called them the day after Uvalde, 
and they agreed, get something done, even if it wouldn't be everything 
we would all want.
  We were all on the same page. Instead of voting on a bill that would 
fail, we would try and get something real passed in the Senate. In the 
end, it was the right decision because before long we had a bipartisan 
guns framework. A week later, we had legislative text. A few days ago, 
that bill came before the Senate with strong bipartisan votes. And 
today--today--we can take final steps to passing the first major gun 
safety bill in nearly 30 years.
  As I said, this is not a cure-all for all the ways gun violence 
affects our Nation, but it is a long overdue step in the right 
direction. It is significant; it is going to save lives; and it is my 
intention to get it done as soon as we can.
  I want to thank all of my Democratic and Republican colleagues for 
working together to reach this point, and I want to thank the leaders 
of the effort: Senators Murphy and Sinema, Senators Cornyn and Tillis, 
as well as all of our colleagues on the bipartisan working group, all 
of our chairs and Members who contributed their expertise and their 
leadership in shaping the bill. I also want to thank every single 
survivor of gun violence, every family who has spoken up, every 
advocate who has organized, and every voter and concerned citizen who 
has pushed this body to take action for so many years. Even with the 
holes in their heart, the lost loved ones through needless, cruel gun 
violence, so many advocates persisted and persisted and persisted. And 
without them keeping that candle burning, even in the darkest of 
moments, we wouldn't have gotten this done. I salute them. I thank 
them. America thanks them. And I say to all of them, all the advocates 
who worked so hard and so long on this, very soon your efforts will 
bear real fruit.

  We are going to keep going until we finish the job. So I urge my 
colleagues to reach an agreement with us to do precisely that.