[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 82 (Tuesday, May 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1663-S1664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DISAPPROVING THE ACTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COUNCIL IN
APPROVING THE COMPREHENSIVE POLICING AND JUSTICE REFORM AMENDMENT ACT
OF 2022--Continued
Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Order of Procedure
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
following disposition of the joint resolution, the Senate proceed to
executive session to consider Executive Calendar No. 175, Jeremy C.
Daniel, of Illinois, to be United States District Judge for the
Northern District of Illinois; further, that the Senate recess from 4
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for the all-Senators briefing.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. VANCE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
H.J. Res. 42
Mr. VANCE. Mr. President, I speak today on behalf of millions of
Americans who come to Washington, DC, and want this to be a safe city
where they can enjoy it, where they can view the beautiful monuments,
and where they can actually live in this city comfortably and in
safety.
I speak for the staff members who have seen this city deteriorate
over the last decade, and I speak for the many people who have no
connection to this city but want it to be a beautiful and safe place to
live and work because this is where the people's business is ultimately
done.
A very simple problem that we have is the DC violent crime rate and
the nonviolent crime rate have gone up way too quickly, in part because
the DC Council has passed a number of statutes and a number of laws
that make it harder for police officers to do their job.
I will not go through the laundry list of the act that we are dealing
with here today and the number of ways in which it makes police less
safe in doing their job and makes it more difficult for them to do
their jobs in the first place, but a few things in particular jump out.
First of all, the law that we are trying to undo bans or severely
restricts ordinary law enforcement practices, including the use of riot
gear to disperse violent crowds; it makes it harder for police to
actually give chase to violent offenders; and it also forces police to
go through these ridiculous exhaustion requirements before they can use
lethal force to protect themselves and people around them.
This is why a number of DC police officers and organizations don't
agree with this act. It is why they think that it makes them less safe,
and it is why we have to go in a different direction in this community.
I will close by saying that whether you are a Democrat or a
Republican--whatever your politics are--we should be proud of this
incredibly beautiful city. The people sent us here to do a job; they
sent us here to do that job proudly; and it is hard to do it if we are
surrounded by crime and we are surrounded by lawlessness.
I want this to be the kind of place where Ohioans can come and visit,
where they can walk the streets with their children without fear of
their personal safety; and, unfortunately, DC is going in the wrong
direction.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled
vote commence immediately.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Vote on H.J. Res. 42
Under the previous order, the joint resolution is considered read a
third time.
The joint resolution was ordered to a third reading and was read the
third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the
third time, the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?
Mr. VANCE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: The Senator
from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso).
The result was announced--yeas 56, nays 43, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 126 Leg.]
YEAS--56
Blackburn
Boozman
Braun
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hassan
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Manchin
Marshall
McConnell
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Sinema
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Vance
Wicker
Young
NAYS--43
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Fetterman
Gillibrand
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Smith
Stabenow
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
Barrasso
The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 42) was passed.
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