[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2091-S2093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 246TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CREATION OF THE FLAG OF THE 
   UNITED STATES AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

  Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I rise today to share a resolution of 
support for the Pledge of Allegiance as an expression of patriotism and 
to honor the 246th anniversary of the creation of our U.S. flag.
  Today, we celebrate Flag Day. As we pause to recognize all that our 
flag represents, let us also honor those who have sacrificed everything 
to defend it.
  In 2002, Senator Tom Daschle raised a similar resolution with 
unanimous support from the Senate. It passed on the floor uneventfully. 
Today, I ask this body to reaffirm our support of the Pledge of 
Allegiance.
  I rise today also to honor a Hoosier who understood the innate value 
of the Pledge of Allegiance to our civic education. In 1969, Red 
Skelton, the American entertainer who was well known for his program 
``The Red Skelton Hour,'' wrote a speech on the importance of the 
pledge. Reflecting on his time in Vincennes, IN--not many miles from 
where I was born and raised in Jasper--he spoke about the values 
instilled in the students by one of his high school teachers. After the 
performance of the speech, CBS received 200,000 requests for copies. 
The speech would go on to be sold as a single by Columbia Records and 
performed at the White House for President Nixon. To honor Mr. 
Skelton's memory and the importance of the pledge, I will recite his 
speech today on the Senate floor.
  In the words of Mr. Red Skelton, as applicable today as it was many 
years ago:

       When I was a small boy in Vincennes, Indiana, I heard, I 
     think, one of the most outstanding speeches I ever heard in 
     my life. I think it compares with the Sermon on the Mount, 
     Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and Socrates' speech to the 
     students.
       We had just finished reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and 
     he [Mr. Lasswell, the Principal of Vincennes High School] 
     called us all together and he says: `[Uh] boys and girls, I 
     have been listening to you recite the Pledge of Allegiance 
     all semester, and it seems it has become monotonous to you. 
     Or, could it be, you do not understand the meaning of each 
     word?
       If I may, I would like to recite the pledge and give you a 
     definition for each word.
       I--Me; an individual; a committee of one.
       Pledge--Dedicate all of my worldly good to give without 
     self-pity.
       Allegiance--My love and my devotion.
       To the Flag--Our standard. ``Old Glory''; a symbol of 
     courage. And wherever she waves, there is respect, because 
     your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, ``Freedom 
     is everybody's job.''
       ``Of the United''--That means we have all come together.
       States--Individual communities that have united into 48 
     great States; 48 individual communities with pride and 
     dignity and purpose; all divided by imaginary boundaries, yet 
     united to a common cause, and that's love of country--

  And, of course, 48 States dates when that was done--


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       Of America.
       And to the Republic--A Republic: a sovereign state in which 
     power is invested into the representatives chosen by the 
     people to govern; and the government is the people; and it's 
     from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the 
     people.
       For which it stands.
       One Nation--Meaning ``so blessed by God.''
       Under God.
       Indivisible--Incapable of being divided.
       With Liberty--Which is freedom; the right of power for one 
     to live his own life without fears, threats, or any sort of 
     retaliation.
       And Justice--The principle and qualities of dealing fairly 
     with others.
       For all--For All. That means, boys and girls, it's as much 
     your country as it is mine.

  Afterwards, Mr. Lasswell asked his students to recite the Pledge of 
Allegiance together with newfound appreciation for the words.

       I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of 
     America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation 
     under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

  I call upon the U.S. Senate to recommit to the meaning of these 
words. This is why today, on National Flag Day, I am requesting 
unanimous consent from my colleagues that my resolution expressing 
support of the Pledge of Allegiance is passed.
  Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 252, which is 
at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 252) celebrating the 246th 
     anniversary of the creation of the flag of the United States 
     and expressing support for the Pledge of Allegiance.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider 
be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action 
or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 252) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
  Mr. BRAUN. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.


                            Oswaldo Paya Way

  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, this week the Senate unanimously passed my 
bipartisan legislation to rename the street in front of the Cuban 
Embassy in Washington, DC, ``Oswaldo Paya Way.''
  Oswaldo Paya was a dissident and a fighter for freedom in Cuba of 
unrelenting passion and dedication. He was someone who stood up against 
the Castro regime. He had incredible courage. He spoke up for human 
rights. He spoke up for free speech. He spoke up for democracy. And 11 
years ago, Oswaldo Paya was murdered by the Cuban communist government.
  On July 22, 2012, Paya left his house with three other people, 
including Harold Cepero, to go visit friends. From the start of the 
journey, their car was followed. On the way, the Cuban security 
services drove Paya's car off the road, killing both him and Cepero.
  There has never been any doubt about who was responsible for these 
murders. Indeed, just this week, the Inter-American Commission on Human 
Rights released its long-awaited report on the case. The determination 
was clear and conclusive in confirming what we have known all along.
  Paya had long been a thorn in the side of the Castros and the regime, 
even from a young age. He was the only person at school who refused to 
join the Communist Youth. As a teenager, he publicly opposed the 
communist crackdown on protesters in Czechoslovakia who were fighting 
for freedom, and he was punished with 3 years in prison.
  Paya went on to found the Varela Project, which sought a referendum 
on Cuba's communist system. Their demands were simple: democratic 
government, religious liberty, freedom of expression, and the economic 
freedom to start businesses. Paya managed to get 11,000 signatures to 
support the Valera Project to petition the regime to hold a referendum. 
And, eventually, over 20,000 people supported the cause, but the Cuban 
regime refused to hold it.
  Paya's fight for freedom made him a target of the Communist Party in 
Cuba. They harassed him. They tried to intimidate him. They arrested 
him numerous times and, ultimately, they murdered him.
  Paya's friend and the driver of the car said that when he awoke after 
the crash, he was confronted at the hospital by a regime operative, and 
the hospital was flooded with uniformed military personnel. Under 
extreme duress, drugged, and threatened with death by regime officials, 
he signed a document falsely exonerating the regime.
  That is how important it was to the communists to immediately try to 
hide their crimes and avoid accountability. It is imperative that they 
fail in this task.
  I am heartened that, yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed this 
bipartisan legislation that I led to rename the street in front of the 
Cuban Embassy here in Washington, DC, after Paya.
  I want to thank Senator Durbin, who led this effort with me, along 
with Senator Rubio, Senator Menendez, Senator Rick Scott, and Senator 
Cardin--all who joined with me in this bipartisan effort. This week the 
Senate spoke in one unanimous voice, and it was a voice speaking out 
for freedom.
  I also want to acknowledge the tireless work of Paya's daughter, Rosa 
Maria, who has fought tenaciously and never wavered in pursuing and 
advocating her father's legacy. She is an incredible, courageous, 
powerful leader in her own right, and together we have sat down and 
discussed ways of advancing the cause of justice in Cuba. We will 
continue doing so.
  This is the second time that the Senate has passed this bipartisan 
legislation. In the previous Congress, the House of Representatives 
declined to take it up. But I urge our colleagues in the House to take 
it up and pass it this year, and I have a high level of confidence that 
the House will do that. We need to make this a law, to put it on Joe 
Biden's desk, and to rename the street outside of the Cuban Embassy.
  Now, when we change the street name, we are not merely changing 
signs. It can be a reminder--indeed, a forceful one--that shines a 
light of truth on the regime. Changing the name of the street means 
that anyone who wants to write to the Cuban Embassy will have to write 
Oswaldo Paya's name, or, if you need to go there, you will have to look 
up the address and see his name. Members of the Cuban regime who deal 
with the embassy will have to acknowledge that Paya existed. Their 
efforts to erase his existence and his legacy failed.
  I have told this story before, but it is worth retelling because it 
illustrates just how much of an impact renaming a street in front of an 
embassy can be.
  A few years ago, I introduced legislation to rename the street in 
front of the Chinese Embassy ``Liu Xiaobo Plaza,'' after the famed 
Nobel peace laureate and democracy activist in China who was wrongfully 
imprisoned in China.
  After multiple iterations on the Senate floor, my bill ended up 
passing the Senate--a Democrat Senate with a Democrat majority. My bill 
passed the Senate unanimously. Unfortunately, the House of 
Representatives failed to take that bill up as well. It was 
infuriating.
  However, at the beginning of the Trump administration, in 2017, I was 
having breakfast with Rex Tillerson, then the new Secretary of State, 
at his office at Foggy Bottom. We were talking about the challenges 
facing America, and he had recently just met with his counterpart, the 
Chinese Foreign Minister.
  Secretary Tillerson said that the Foreign Minister from China told 
him that China had three critical foreign policies, at which point Rex 
shook his head and said: Ted, it was the damndest thing. One of their 
top three priorities was stopping you from renaming the street in front 
of their Embassy in DC.
  That is how concerned--that is how terrified--Xi and his communist 
cronies were of the world being reminded on a daily basis about Liu 
Xiaobo.
  Ultimately, I told Secretary Tillerson the following, which is that 
Liu Xiaobo had passed away at that point but that his widow, Liu Xia, 
was

[[Page S2093]]

still in China. China would not let her leave. She had never gone to 
collect the over $1 million that she was due for her husband winning 
the Nobel Peace Prize.
  So I told Secretary Tillerson: You tell the Chinese Government, if 
they release Liu Xia--if they allow her to leave and escape to 
freedom--I will stop pushing this particular bill, but if they don't, I 
will keep pushing it, and we will pass it into law. You can let him 
know it is not a bluff, because I have already passed it unanimously 
through the Senate once and will do it again, and this time the House 
will pass it as well.
  Within a matter of weeks, the communist government in China released 
Liu Xia and let her escape. That is how powerful shining a light of 
truth on a despotic regime can be.
  Renaming the street outside of the Cuban Embassy sends a powerful 
message to the Cuban people that their struggle for freedom will not go 
unnoticed or be forgotten; that the world is watching, and their heroic 
efforts are not in vain. Their fight for freedom resonates deeply with 
people across the globe.
  By passing this legislation, the U.S. Senate has made a powerful 
statement of solidarity with the people of Cuba and is a resolute 
condemnation of the oppressive regime that silenced a brave voice for 
freedom. The Senate has spoken with one voice, and that voice has 
demanded ``Cuba libre''--a free Cuba--an end to the totalitarian and 
despotic state.
  I urge our colleagues in the House to take up this bill and pass this 
bipartisan legislation swiftly.
  Let us come together as one, as the U.S. Congress, and force the 
communist regime to do what utterly terrifies them--to say Oswaldo 
Paya's name--to say his name.
  I yield the floor.
  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.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able 
to complete my remarks before the vote starts.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                         Remembering John McCoy

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to honor 
distinguished Washington State senator, Tribal leader, and my friend 
John Richard McCoy.
  State Senator McCoy dedicated his life and career to public service. 
John served in the Air Force for two decades. He was a steadfast and 
fearless leader for the Tulalip Tribes in the State of Washington. And 
he was one of the longest serving Native legislators in Washington 
State history.
  His story is an inspiration and testament. He overcame unbelievable 
odds. And most importantly, he showed what one person can achieve in 
the service of others. John led a life and career that will be 
remembered for generations.
  He was born in 1943 in Washington. He was born in the middle of World 
War II and started his career as a commercial fisherman in Puget Sound 
before he joined the Air Force. He served in the Air Force for 20 
years, retiring as a technical sergeant at Andrews Air Force Base in 
Maryland, near here.
  He was then recruited as a computer programmer before computer 
programming was really hip and was assigned to staff the Reagan White 
House situation room. His skills as a computer programmer and technical 
expertise led the late Stan Jones--one of our other Tribal legends who 
was then Chair of the Tulalip Tribes--to recruit him back to Washington 
to help transform the Tribe's communications system. At the time, the 
Tribe was struggling to build the infrastructure that was needed to 
take advantage of economic development and continue to move forward 
with their plans.
  But John took this project and telecommunications infrastructure and 
helped the Tribe build one of its greatest economic successes. The Quil 
Ceda Village is about a 500-acre unique business park that was approved 
in 2001. It was so successful that in 2005, the Puget Sound Business 
Journal named him Executive of the Year for his contributions to the 
successful project. He not only brought computers and high-speed 
internet access to the village, he made the whole thing a reality for 
the Tribe.
  John McCoy never lost his ideas about public service. In 2003, he was 
elected to the Washington State House of Representatives, and he served 
our State legislature for 17 years. Senator McCoy served the 38th 
Legislative District in Northwest Washington covering Tulalip, Everett, 
and Marysville. During that time, he became a standout legislator for 
the State of Washington. He was a tireless advocate for K-12 education, 
healthcare, the environmental policies, and, most importantly, he was 
outspoken on Tribal issues.
  One important piece of legislation John championed and created was 
the ``Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State'' 
curriculum which is now taught in all Washington State public schools. 
``Since Time Immemorial,'' endorsed by all of Washington State's 29 
federally recognized Tribes, is a curriculum that focuses on their 
history in the State of Washington. The lessons help students 
understand the importance of treaties, the history of Tribes in the 
Pacific Northwest, and the challenges of reservation life. It also 
teaches students the influence of geography and where Tribes are 
located in the State of Washington--and, importantly, the distinct 
cultures of the 29 federally recognized Tribes in Washington State. The 
knowledge our students are gaining about Tribes is invaluable. And this 
is just one example of Senator McCoy's leadership in the State of 
Washington.
  He also helped expand dental care. He passed legislation requiring 
telecommunications companies to provide call location information to 
emergency responders. He helped emergency responders locate victims and 
patients more quickly. And he passed a bill that allowed our State to 
provide jurisdiction to Tribes over criminal and civil matter on Tribal 
lands to Federal and Tribal governments. These were all important 
roles, and we can never give enough thanks to him and his family for 
his contributions.
  He also served in leadership roles. Senator McCoy was elected by his 
colleagues to serve as caucus chair for the then Washington State 
Senate Democrats. He served as chair of the National Caucus of Native 
American State Legislators, playing a Tribal leadership role 
nationally. And something he always took pride in was not only serving 
the Tribe he grew up in, but he took great pride in serving the rest of 
Everett and Marysville. He never lost sight of what it meant to 
represent the people of the 38th District. That is the kind of person 
he was, dedicated to his Tribe, but also dedicated to all his 
neighbors.
  He retired from the Washington State Senate in April of 2020, and he 
said, ``Through the changes in committees, leadership roles and even 
chambers over the course of my legislative career, it was always an 
immense privilege to represent my neighbors . . . I am deeply grateful 
for that privilege.''
  Senator John McCoy will go down in our State's history as one of our 
most effective local leaders, someone who came up against roadblocks 
and found ways to bypass those roadblocks to get progress for our 
State.
  He will be missed by all of us, especially his wife of 58 years, 
Jeannie McCoy--my heart goes out to her and her family--his siblings; 
his children: Angela McCoy, Sheila Hillaire, and Cara Tohanniep; and 
his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
  We all thank you for sharing your father with us. He will be missed 
not only as a leader in our State, but also a leader that helped us 
across the United States to better understand Indian Country and 
certainly the leadership of the Tulalip Tribe.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote 
occur immediately.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cortez Masto). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________