[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 121 (Thursday, July 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5489-S5497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                 ELIMINATE USELESS REPORTS ACT OF 2024

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of the House message to accompany S. 
2073, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       House message to accompany S. 2073, a bill to amend title 
     31, United States Code, to require agencies to include a list 
     of outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in annual 
     budget justifications, and for other purposes.

  Pending:

       Schumer motion to concur in the amendment of the House to 
     the bill, with Schumer amendment No. 3021 (to the House 
     amendment to the bill), in the nature of a substitute.
       Schumer amendment No. 3022 (to amendment No. 3021), to add 
     an effective date.
       Schumer motion to refer the message of the House on the 
     bill to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs, with instructions, Schumer amendment No. 3023, to 
     add an effective date.
       Schumer amendment No. 3024 (the instructions (amendment No. 
     3023) of the motion to refer), to add an effective date.
       Schumer amendment No. 3025 (to amendment No. 3024), to add 
     an effective date.


                   Recognition of the Majority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.


                                S. 2073

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as we all know, social media has been 
part of our lives for two decades. It has connected people in ways 
previous generations never could have fathomed. But with the benefits 
of social media also come the risks.
  Many kids experience relentless online bullying. Kids' private, 
personal data can be collected and used nefariously. Predators can 
exploit or target kids. For kids who struggle with mental health, 
social media can magnify their anguish.
  It has been decades--it has been decades--since the Federal 
Government has updated laws that protect our kids on the internet, but 
today, historically, the Senate has a chance to start changing that 
with bipartisan legislation.
  This afternoon, the Senate will vote to advance two bipartisan bills: 
the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, and an update to the Children and 
Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.
  KOSA and COPPA represent something very urgent: a first step to 
keeping our kids safe on social media and other online platforms. I am 
hopeful that we can act on these two bills swiftly. They have already 
passed out of the Commerce Committee for the last 2 years, under the 
careful guidance of Chairman Cantwell. KOSA has 68 cosponsors--
bipartisan--more than enough to pass this Chamber.
  Getting here wasn't easy. I have worked for years with my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle to prepare these bills for the floor. I want 
to

[[Page S5490]]

thank Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn and Markey and Cassidy. They 
have been a relentless and powerful force to get these bills moving. I 
made sure everyone had a chance to offer their input, and we worked 
together through any disagreements. Finalizing these safety bills has 
been a long and winding and difficult road, but one thing I have known 
from the start: It sure would be worth it.
  We must remember that we could never have reached this point without 
parents of children who tragically took their own lives because of what 
happened to them on social media who came down here to relentlessly 
lobby and tell their stories. Over the past few months, I have sat down 
with these parents. I have listened to their stories. They are some of 
the most painful but important meetings I have ever had. We cried 
together. We looked at pictures of their kids--gone--and felt the deep 
frustration that we must do more as a society to keep kids safe online.
  Looking at these pictures made me think of my own children, now in 
their thirties, and my grandkids--5, 2, and 1--Noah, Ellie, and Henry. 
The thought of losing them is incomprehensible.
  The message from these parents has been simple and consistent: It has 
been long enough. The Senate must pass kids' online safety legislation 
with all due haste.
  So, today, as we begin voting on these bills, I want to thank the 
parents who turned their grief into grace--the parents who turned their 
grief into grace. I want to thank them and thank them again.
  Nobody would blame these parents if they preferred to process their 
pain in privacy, curse the darkness, but instead they have shared their 
stories, pushed the Senate into action, lit a candle to make sure other 
families won't suffer as they have been suffering and always will.


                              AI Deepfakes

  Mr. President, now on AI deepfakes, it is an important bill, but it 
has been a busy and frenzied week in Washington, so there has been a 
lot of news about major speeches and congressional hearings. But this 
also deserves attention even though it passed late Tuesday night after 
most were gone.
  This week, the Senate passed the DEFIANCE Act--a bill to combat the 
spread of sexually explicit, AI-generated deepfakes--and we also passed 
another act on fentanyl, which I will get to in a minute. These two 
bills passed, as I said, late in the evening Tuesday but deserve 
significant attention.
  AI plays a bigger role in our lives than ever before, and while it 
has many, many benefits, it is also easier than ever to create sexually 
explicit deepfakes without a person's consent. These fake explicit 
images can ruin a person's life, especially if you are a child or a 
teenager. They can circulate online for years, if not forever, with no 
or little recourse to hold abusers accountable.
  Make no mistake about it, this is not a fringe problem. Ninety 
percent of deepfake videos are nonconsensual, and 2023 saw more 
deepfakes generated than every other year combined. Bad people--some 
for mercenary purposes, some just kids who do bad things--have learned 
about this, and the idea is spreading. No one is immune from it--not 
kids in school; not Members of Congress; not even, as we have learned 
recently, the most famous celebrities in the world.
  The DEFIANCE Act will give these victims justice by allowing them to 
take civil action against those who generate and distribute deepfakes 
using AI and other technologies.
  As I have said before, this DEFIANCE Act is one example of the AI 
guardrails I often talk about. AI is remarkable technology. It can spur 
incredible innovation. Maybe it will even cure cancer, things like 
that. But at the same time, we must be vigilant and pass guardrails to 
prevent its worst abuses from causing people great harm.
  I am very hopeful that the House will pass this bill quickly. It got 
broad support here in the Senate.
  I want to thank Senator Durbin for leading the effort relentlessly on 
the DEFIANCE Act. I have been proud to support this bill every step of 
the way and encourage its passage. Tuesday night, we finally got it 
done in the Senate.
  House, move quickly. Save people from the scourge of this horrible, 
horrible action.


        Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act

  Mr. President, on Tuesday night, we also passed, as I mentioned, 
another significant bill, another crucial bill to combat the scourge of 
drug trafficking: the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic 
Drugs Act. This bill will get to the root of the financing behind 
deadly and destructive drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.
  I want to thank every Senator who supported this bill, particularly 
our two amazing Senators from Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky 
Rosen. They worked very hard to see that this bill passed.
  This drug trafficking bill is the latest example of a concerted 
effort in the Senate to combat America's drug crisis.
  Last fall, I met with Chinese President Xi, along with my 
colleagues--bipartisan--and we urged him and the Chinese Government to 
do more to crack down on Chinese companies that make precursor 
chemicals and send them to Mexico where the gangs turn them into 
fentanyl.
  A few months ago, I led the Senate in passing the national security 
supplemental, which included the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
  We are making good progress in the scourge of fentanyl, which had 
tens of thousands of our young people die and some of our law 
enforcement officers as well. So the American people should take note. 
There have been some very important things happening in the Senate 
recently to combat drug trafficking. This bill has already passed the 
House. It should go to the President's desk and be signed quickly--
another marker, another action in our fight to end the horrible scourge 
of fentanyl, which has taken so many young lives.


                   World Trade Center Health Program

  Mr. President, I was just at a press conference on something else 
that we had to do to make America better. That is the World Trade 
Center Health Program.
  We all know that in the aftermath of 9/11, many of our brave first 
responders suffered severe health complications, lifelong injuries, 
serious cancers. Many of them--far too many of them--are no longer with 
us. I remember them as they trod the halls to try to pass this 
legislation even though they were suffering from cancer.
  My friend Ray Pfeifer, I think of him all the time. He is gone now, 
looking down upon us, smiling that we are moving forward.
  I fought hard to establish and fund the World Trade Center Health 
Program and to help our 9/11 heroes get care at no cost to them or 
their families. That program has struggled with funding. We had to 
renew it year after year after year because there were some here in the 
Senate, some in the House, who said: I don't want to fund it 
permanently. But now we are attempting to fund it permanently.
  Sadly, the program has struggled with funding over the years. But 
today we have good news, very good news. I just returned from a press 
conference with my colleague Senator Gillibrand and members, Democrat 
and Republican, of the New York delegation in the House where we 
announced legislation to permanently fund the World Trade Center 
program. That is right--not coming back year after year and getting a 
little more and a little more, but permanent. We need to fund it 
permanently. There are people still getting cancers, first responders 
and others, who rushed to the towers after 9/11. But their cancers 
don't show up until 10 or 20 or 30 years later. We can't leave them 
behind.
  This funding will make sure everyone--everyone--who has been exposed 
to the toxins after 9/11 will get the treatment they need. And because 
the program screens early, we catch more people, we save more lives, 
and, frankly, it costs less to keep them alive.
  I am proud to have secured nearly $1.7 billion for this program over 
the last 2 years--$1 billion 2 years ago, then $700 million--just to 
keep extending the program because it was running out of money because 
more people were getting these cancers and other illnesses. It was 
clear to all of us we need to do more. By providing permanent funding 
to this program, our legislation will make sure our 9/11 heroes

[[Page S5491]]

never, ever have to worry again about getting the care that they need. 
They won't have to constantly traipse down on subways from New York and 
elsewhere to lobby Congress and go to those with somewhat hardened 
hearts and show them why it is needed.
  Let's pass this bill. Let's make it permanent. I promise to those 
first responders, to Ray Pfeifer and all those who have been lost and 
fought for this, that I will do all I can to make sure this permanent 
bill becomes law by the end of the year.


                            President Biden

  Mr. President, on President Biden, last night, the American people 
saw why Joe Biden will go down as one of our Nation's most 
consequential, most decent, most patriotic Presidents.
  Over the last 3 years, he has amassed a record of accomplishment that 
has few equals in the history of the Senate. We, in the Senate here--
many times bipartisan, sometimes not--worked hard with the President to 
create one of the great legislative records in the year 2022.
  When President Biden entered office, America was in crisis. But today 
it is stronger, more prosperous, has a more hopeful future because of 
his steadfastness, his strength, his vision.
  So this morning, I wish to say yet again: Thank you, Mr. President. 
Thank you. You have shown what the world looks like to put our country 
over self. You have restored dignity and honesty and integrity at the 
White House. I think of the song in Hamilton, ``we're going to teach 
them how to say goodbye,'' that George Washington sang in the play 
about knowing when to stay and when to leave. Well, at this moment, Joe 
Biden is standing right next to George Washington and showing America 
he understood that message.
  It has been an honor to work with the President to enact the most 
ambitious legislative agenda since the Great Society. With President 
Biden, we made tens of millions of Americans' lives better, and we will 
keep working with him until his term is complete.


                        Tribute to LaVerne Allen

  Mr. President, finally, as colleagues know, I rarely go anywhere 
without my either famous or notorious--depending on your viewpoint--
flip phone. That means I will occasionally--just occasionally--forget 
to leave my phone in the cloakroom, as the rules say, when I am here on 
the Senate floor. And occasionally--just occasionally--it will ring in 
the middle of my remarks. You have heard that happen. Whenever it 
happens, the first thing I do is look up at LaVerne Allen, one of our 
wonderful Senate doorkeepers, as she is staring at my phone and very 
gently, but firmly, shaking her head as I quickly try to turn it off. 
LaVerne is one of the people in the Senate who can readily put me in my 
place.
  But I am sad to say that after over 40 years--40 great years--
LaVerne's time with the Senate will be coming to an end next month. And 
here, we often celebrate elected officials who dedicate their entire 
careers to public service, but today, that light shines on LaVerne.
  As a doorkeeper, she has helped maintain the order and decorum that 
defined the Senate for over 200 years. We are all, on both sides of the 
aisle--I am sure the Republican leader will attest--grateful for her 
work.
  But I am glad to hear LaVerne will be moving on to bigger and better 
things. She will be spending more time with her son in Japan, where he 
is stationed in the Navy.
  LaVerne, from the bottom of my heart and the hearts of all my 
colleagues, thank you, thank you, thank you. We will miss you. Best of 
luck in your next journey.
  I yield the floor.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is 
recognized.


                        Tribute to LaVerne Allen

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this morning, as the majority leader 
just pointed out, marks an important day for a longtime member of the 
Senate family who will depart for greener pastures next month. After 41 
years of service, LaVerne Allen, a familiar and friendly face to so 
many of our colleagues past and present, is retiring from Senate 
Doorkeepers.
  LaVerne has seen the Senate from many different angles. She has worn 
many different hats, from the card desk to the reception room. And for 
years now, she has welcomed Senators, staff, and visitors right here to 
the Senate Chamber.
  Alongside the brave men and women of the Capitol Police, our 
doorkeepers control access to this historic institution. Here on the 
floor, they keep us safe. Up in the Galleries, they give citizens a 
chance to watch democracy in action.
  After more than four decades, LaVerne has certainly earned a break 
from all of us. I understand that she is looking forward to some well-
deserved R&R and, eventually, some exciting international travel to 
visit family.
  So today, on behalf of the entire Senate, I want to congratulate 
LaVerne on her retirement, thank her for her years of devotion and 
service to this institution.


                        Prime Minister Netanyahu

  Mr. President, on an entirely different matter, yesterday I was proud 
to attend a joint meeting of Congress and listen to Prime Minister 
Netanyahu's message from Israel to America. He reminded us of our 
Nation's deep friendship, of the savagery of our shared enemies, of the 
sacrifices brave Israelis are making to combat them on behalf of the 
entire free world, and of the enduring importance of American 
leadership.
  It was a powerful address. I wish more of our colleagues had heard 
it. But those who needed to hear it the most were otherwise occupied. 
Vice President Harris was on the campaign trail. Most of the Hamas 
apologists in Congress boycotted it. And, of course, a mob of far-left 
terrorist sympathizers was too busy vandalizing our Nation's Capital to 
tune in.
  The lawless behavior of friendly radicals in our own country over the 
past 36 hours only underscores the challenge facing the world's only 
Jewish State.
  When the Jewish people try to live in peace in their homeland, they 
are murdered in their beds. When Jewish students try to go to class, 
their classmates and professors lock arms to block their way. And when 
the leader of Israel comes to Washington, the same useful idiots and 
terrorist fifth columns clear their schedules to sow chaos.
  On Tuesday night, criminals vandalized the hotel where Prime Minister 
Netanyahu was staying, scattered crickets across hallways, covered a 
dinner table with maggots, and pulled the fire alarm. Outside, unhinged 
Hamasniks screamed: We're going to kill all of you.
  Then, after vandalizing private property, radical organizers called 
another play: vandalizing Federal property; tearing down and burning 
the American flag that flew over Columbus Circle and Union Station; 
defacing public monuments with terrorist screeds; and, unless someone 
doubt their seriousness, burning the Prime Minister in effigy.
  Mr. President, yesterday was the 26th anniversary of horrific 
shootings of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective 
John Gibson in the line of duty. That day will always be a sobering 
reminder of the sacrifices of law enforcement and the price of 
protecting this sacred institution.
  It is an especially difficult day of reflection for the brave men and 
women who follow in Officer Chestnut's and Detective Gibson's 
footsteps. And yet, officers of the Capitol Police had to spend it 
dispersing violent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic agitators.
  I am grateful for the vigilance of the Capitol Police and partner 
Agencies on the job yesterday. Law enforcement knows better than anyone 
that, when it comes to radical attention-seekers, there is nothing new 
under the sun: not their tactics, and certainly not the slap on wrist 
they receive from soft-on-crime prosecutors.
  This week, it is anti-Semites painting Hamas slogans on public 
property. But last year, as our colleagues may recall, it was leftwing 
climate protesters who took their cues from the Taliban and tried to 
destroy priceless works of art over at the Smithsonian.
  One such case was a woman who tried to destroy a one-of-a-kind French 
sculpture in the National Gallery. She succeeded in damaging it and was 
sentenced this spring to 60 days in prison. And thank goodness she got 
that much. Prosecutors had only asked for 30

[[Page S5492]]

days--never mind that the sentencing guidelines recommend 5 years, 
given the gravity of her actions.
  We know by now that street criminals aren't the only ones the Biden 
administration and criminal prosecutors like to let off easy. It is the 
wealthy ecoterrorists and the campus Marxists as well.
  But I am still amazed at how allergic liberal prosecutors are to 
exercising their authority with an even hand. The DOJ has been more 
than willing to pursue maximum sentences for the Capitol rioters on 
January 6--and rightly so. My view has always been that when extremists 
aspire to sow chaos and violate our Nation's Capital, the prosecutor 
should throw the book at them--throw the book at them--no matter their 
motivation--no matter their politics.
  But will they pursue the lawless radicals inspired by October 7 with 
equal vigor? Will the District's own government exercise the authority 
Congress has given it to maintain order and discourage lawless 
behavior? Don't hold your breath.
  In the meantime, as our country reflects with new attention on the 
roots of political violence, I hope we will also reflect on our deep 
friendship with the only pluralistic democracy in the Middle East and 
support its fight against terror.
  How do we show we are serious? By equipping our friends with more of 
the tools they need to defeat aggression, by investing heavily in our 
own arsenal and industrial capacity, and by getting off our hands and 
passing the National Defense Authorization Act.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Republican whip.


                                Protests

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, as I begin this morning, I want to take a 
moment to address the events that transpired yesterday just a few short 
blocks from where we are standing.
  The summer months are busy tourist months here in our Nation's 
Capital, and for some, the view from Union Station is the very first 
sight they have of Washington, DC. Those who emerged from Union Station 
yesterday afternoon, however, were confronted not with the beauty of 
the historic station but with a scene of lawlessness. Violent 
protesters tore down American flags that fly in front of Union Station, 
lit at least one of them on fire, and raised Palestinian flags in their 
place. Others defiled the monuments in front of the station with 
messages, including ``Hamas is comin'' and ``Globalize the Intifada.'' 
Now imagine being a Jewish person walking to work past those slogans.
  We have a proud tradition of public protest in the United States, but 
there is a difference between exercising free speech rights and the 
vandalism and violence that we saw yesterday.
  In addition to what we saw in front of Union Station and elsewhere, 
an anti-Israel protestor or protestors released hundreds of maggots and 
mealworms into the hotel where the Prime Minister and a lot of other 
people were staying. This is not part of the proud tradition of 
American political discourse; this is thuggery--pure thuggery.
  I am frankly appalled by how little we have heard in response from 
Democrats. The President addressed the Nation last night. Could he not 
have added a few words on this disturbing display? What about the Vice 
President?
  Every single public official and every single American should be 
united in condemning this violence and vandalism as well as rhetoric 
that elevates terrorism and foments anti-Semitism. We are better than 
this, and it is time we started acting like it.


                                S. 2073

  Mr. President, I am pleased to say that during a summer in which 
Democrats have focused on show votes, we are actually going to vote 
this week on a substantial piece of legislation called the Kids Online 
Safety Act. Senator Blackburn has done a tremendous amount of work to 
deliver a bill that will take real steps to mitigate the harm that 
social media can do to children, and I am grateful for her leadership 
on this issue.
  The package before us also includes legislation from Senator Cassidy 
to update the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and I applaud 
him for his work.
  I am pleased also that my bipartisan Filter Bubble Transparency Act, 
which I introduced with Senator Blackburn and others, has been included 
in the final legislation. The Filter Bubble Transparency Act requires 
social media companies and other internet platforms to notify users 
that the content they are seeing has been selected for them by hidden 
algorithms which create a unique universe of information for each 
user--a phenomenon that is often referred to as the filter bubble. 
Platforms would also be required to give users a choice to switch to a 
version of the platform that is filter bubble-free. I am hopeful that, 
along with the rest of the Kids Online Safety Act, this will provide a 
meaningful way to address some of the more problematic aspects of the 
internet.
  As I said, it is good to be voting on something substantial here in 
the Senate. We have done essentially nothing for 2 months other than 
vote on guaranteed-to-fail legislation that Democrats hope will somehow 
help them win votes in November.


                   National Defense Authorization Act

  Mr. President, voting on the Kids Online Safety Act is not enough. We 
have a lot more work we should be doing, starting with action on one of 
the most important pieces of legislation we consider each year: the 
National Defense Authorization Act.
  The Israeli Prime Minister's speech in Congress yesterday--a speech 
that a number of my Democrat colleagues and Vice President Harris chose 
to boycott--was a timely reminder of the dangerous world we face: Iran-
backed terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis 
fomenting terror and instability in the Middle East; an emboldened 
Russia engaged in a ground war against Ukraine on the doorstep of our 
NATO allies; an increasingly aggressive China and an increasingly 
endangered Taiwan.
  The unfortunate truth is that we are not as prepared as we should be 
to confront these threats. We have service branches struggling with 
recruitment. We have ships that can't sail and planes that can't fly 
because of maintenance issues. We have shortages of munitions.
  Our colleague Senator Wicker, the ranking member of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee, recently put forward a blueprint for rebuilding our 
military. He points out that our defense budget as a share of the 
economy has fallen to near historic lows--hardly in line with the 
threats we face today--and he proposes increasing the defense budget 
over the next few years alongside important reforms to put our military 
in a position of strength not just now but well into the future. It is 
a call we need to heed.
  Last fall, the Strategic Posture Commission offered a disturbing 
assessment:

       Today the United States is on the cusp of having not one, 
     but two nuclear peer adversaries, each with ambitions to 
     change the international status quo, by force, if necessary: 
     a situation which the United States did not anticipate and 
     for which it is not prepared.
       [A] situation which the United States did not anticipate 
     and for which it is not prepared.

  That is a pretty disturbing analysis, and it underlines the absolute 
imperative of addressing our military readiness today, which brings me 
to this year's National Defense Authorization Act.
  I am grateful that our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee 
have put forward a bill that, while it does not authorize all the 
investment our military needs, does take steps to address the 
challenges we are facing. This year's NDAA authorizes full funding for 
the European and Pacific Deterrence Initiatives and takes steps to 
strengthen our partnerships to counter Russia and China. It takes 
important steps to modernize our military and authorize financing for 
the technologies and weapons of tomorrow. It authorizes the purchase of 
new ships, combat vehicles, and aircraft to update our aging fleets.

[[Page S5493]]

  I am particularly pleased to report that this bill includes full 
funding for the next steps of the B-21 mission, including necessary 
support facilities.
  The Air Force calls the B-21 Raider--its new long-range strategic 
bomber--the future backbone of its bomber force, and I am incredibly 
proud that this mission will be hosted at South Dakota's own Ellsworth 
Air Force Base. One of my top priorities here in Congress is ensuring 
that the Air Force--and Ellsworth in particular--has everything it 
needs for this critical advancement in our Nation's readiness.
  The Senate Armed Services Committee passed this year's National 
Defense Authorization Act on June 13. Well over a month later, the 
Democrat leader still hasn't found time for this critical legislation, 
nor is there any indication of when he will. It says a lot about the 
Democrats' priorities. But I hope that the Democrat leader will take a 
moment to consider that while he puts our defense on the back burner, 
our enemies are not delaying their ambitions or their aggressive 
activities. I hope he will bring this important and consequential 
legislation to the floor in the very near future.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lujan). The majority whip.


                              DEFIANCE Act

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, whether you are a parent or a grandparent 
or just have children around you whom you dearly love, there is one 
thing that is going on in every household that should give you 
concern--genuine concern--about the safety of your kids. It is this. 
Have you ever seen your kids staring into the screen and wondering what 
they are doing? Are they speaking to a friend? Are they playing a game? 
Are they looking up some information? You hope it is something that is 
innocent, but you are never sure.
  What we found in the Senate Judiciary Committee is that many kids are 
lured into the programs and messages of these pieces of technology, and 
their lives are changed for the worse.
  This afternoon, we are going to vote on moving two measures which 
move to protect kids from the abuses which happen on the internet. It 
is long overdue.
  The Senate Judiciary Committee has five bills that we reported out 
with unanimous votes--that doesn't happen in the Senate Judiciary 
Committee; unanimous votes, all the Democrats and all the Republicans--
to protect children from the abuses which occur.
  I have a measure called Children's Sexual Abuse Material--CSAM--that 
says basically that if your child was exploited by the internet and you 
tell the social media platform that is broadcasting it to stop and 
desist and they refuse to do it, they are liable in civil court; they 
can be held liable by a lawsuit. That is a good way to enforce a 
provision to protect the children. In the meantime, we are moving with 
other measures, and I would like to speak about one that just passed 
this week.
  We made a significant step earlier this week to address the problem 
of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes spreading online. Women 
and girls from all walks of life--from Taylor Swift, to Megan Thee 
Stallion, to high school girls in my home State of Illinois--have been 
victims of this form of image-based sexual abuse. Sadly, none of them 
have legal recourse against the perpetrators because the law is not 
keeping up with the technology.
  Now this is starting to change. This week, the Senate passed my 
DEFIANCE Act, bipartisan legislation that will finally provide remedy 
for victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes. You have 
read about it in the newspapers when it comes to the celebrities, which 
I mentioned earlier. It happens every day across America.
  This landmark legislation cannot become law soon enough. This form of 
image-based sexual abuse has skyrocketed in recent years. One 
researcher found that the number of nonconsensual, pornographic, 
deepfake videos available online has increased 900 percent since 2019. 
Another found that over 24 million people visited a group of just 34 
websites dedicated to nonconsensual, deepfake pornography in September 
2023 alone. In total, nonconsensual, deepfake, pornographic videos have 
been viewed almost 4 billion times--4 billion.

  This explosive growth has been driven by advances in technology; 
namely, generative artificial intelligence. What used to take 
technological expertise and a lot of time can now be done with the push 
of a button. Countless apps can swap someone's face onto another 
person's body or can digitally remove someone's clothing so they appear 
to be nude.
  Deepfake apps are often advertised as harmless entertainment, but 
when explicit images are produced and shared without the consent of the 
person depicted, the harm is very real. Imagine losing control over 
your own likeness and identity--how powerless victims feel when they 
can't remove the illicit content, can't prevent it from being 
reproduced repeatedly, and can't prevent new images from being created.
  My partner on this legislation is Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, who introduced a companion bill in the House. Like far too many 
women, she has been the victim of nonconsensual, sexually explicit 
deepfakes. She has described how this image-based sexual abuse has 
resurfaced trauma and haunts her thoughts even to this day. Once these 
deepfakes are seen, they cannot be unseen. As she put it, ``Deepfakes 
are a way of digitizing violent humiliation against other people.''
  The design and function of the internet amplify the scale and spread 
of this type of exploitation. Survivors of nonconsensual, sexually 
explicit deepfakes are often forced to relive their trauma and face 
ongoing harm that increases exponentially over time due to the viral 
flow of information on the internet and the difficulty of removing 
harmful content.
  Tragically, our laws have not kept pace with technology, leaving 
victims with virtually no legal remedy. Time and again, victims are 
told that nothing can be done to help them because existing laws simply 
do not apply to deepfakes.
  Thankfully, now the Senate has taken a step toward fixing this 
blatant disregard for the trauma suffered by individuals who are 
victimized by this crime. By passing this DEFIANCE Act, we have brought 
victims one step closer to taking back some power over their identity 
and giving them a day in court.
  Our work is far from being done. I call on the House of 
Representatives to move on this issue immediately, to follow the 
Senate's lead and quickly take up and pass the DEFIANCE Act. In doing 
so, Congress will reflect the will of the vast majority of Americans 
who are demanding that Congress pass new laws to address nonconsensual, 
sexually explicit deepfakes.
  According to a recent survey conducted by the University of Maryland, 
an overwhelming 85 percent of Republicans and 87 percent of Democrats 
support prohibiting these nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes. 
Our constituents are concerned about what is happening online. 
Democrats and Republicans alike agree that Congress must establish 
guardrails to protect society from these changes in technology.
  I want to thank Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez for her leadership on 
this issue and her courage in speaking up. She has been an 
indispensable partner in crafting and advancing this bill.
  I would like to thank the Senate cosponsors of this legislation, 
including some of my Republican colleagues like Senator Graham, the 
ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Democratic Majority Leader 
Schumer, Senators Hawley, Klobuchar, King, and Lee.
  This bill would not have come to fruition without the input of 
survivor advocates, including the Sexual Violence Prevention 
Association, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the National 
Women's Law Center, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and 
many others. Their lived experience and leadership have shaped this 
bill and brought to it this stage of passage.
  I also want to thank some of the other organizations that endorsed 
the bill: the Center for Democracy and Technology, the National 
Organization for Women, #MyImageMyChoice, RAINN, PACT, and 
Rights4Girls.
  When the DEFIANCE Act is signed into law--if it is brought up and 
passed in the House--victims will finally--finally--have the ability to 
hold liable

[[Page S5494]]

those who produce, disclose, solicit, or possess sexually explicit 
deepfakes while knowingly or recklessly disregarding that the person 
depicted did not consent to the conduct.
  Congress has waited long enough. It is past time to give victims of 
nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes the tools they need to fight 
back.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor today, and I 
congratulate the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for this important 
legislation that has been passed out of the Judiciary Committee. I 
encourage him to continue their efforts to hold large social media 
companies accountable for the way that information is used against 
American citizens, and I thank him for his good work.
  I, too, want to come to the floor today and talk about the Kids 
Online Safety and Privacy Act that I hope my colleagues will advance 
today on a cloture motion so we can get on this legislation and 
hopefully speedily pass it through the U.S. Senate.
  It has been more than 3 years now where families from all across 
America have come to the Nation's Capital and said that they have lost 
children to suicide; they have had children harassed and bullied and 
had to leave school and move to a different location. They have had the 
safety and security of their children threatened, as my colleague just 
mentioned, some of the bullying and activities that take place.
  So today is about advancing forward on privacy legislation aimed at 
protecting our children by giving new tools to the Federal Trade 
Commission, with new authority to take up this cause and to clearly 
outline what we in the U.S. Senate think needs to be done today to 
better protect children.
  I mentioned the 3 years and the number of families that have come to 
the Nation's Capital because they have been here many times and walked 
away many times discouraged because the same big media platforms have 
then, after they have left, come here and tried to lobby Members on the 
fact that they can't accept these ideas.
  But today, hopefully we will be victorious in giving a few very 
particular tools to help us, to help our families, and to help children 
try to address this growing crisis.
  As we have met with many of these families, it was very clear that we 
needed to give them something that they can fight back with. So two 
pieces of the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act include two important 
pieces of legislation from the Commerce Committee.
  The first is Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, led 
by my colleagues Senator Markey and Senator Cassidy. I want to thank 
them for their leadership on this important issue. It has really been a 
long time in coming, particularly with Senator Markey who led on 
original legislation to protect children under the age of 13 from 
targeted advertising.
  Many people will remember when we tried to say we were going to ban 
advertising on TV specifically to kids; we have tried to follow that up 
with the internet. And today, we are taking another step.
  The three things that this important legislation does is that it 
raises that age from 12 to 16 of those kids who will be protected so 
that they cannot be targeted for advertising and it creates a new 
knowledge standard. So many of these companies got away with saying, 
``Well, you can't prove I knew they were kids. So, I could just keep 
doing what I'm doing.''
  We need more responsibility from the social media companies. And so, 
we are changing that knowledge standard from actual knowledge, which 
meant you had to prove--the FTC had to prove--that the company knew 
that it was actually targeting kids. Monitoring their kids' privacy is 
a tough task for parents who are trying to raise families, juggle jobs, 
do all of these things.
  So that knowledge standard now has changed to fairly implied based on 
objective circumstances. So basically, it is saying to these social 
media companies, you cannot get away with just saying, ``I didn't 
know.''
  You have to do a better job of understanding exactly where these 
advertisers are coming from, who they are targeting, and if you are 
helping to target these kids, but we are not going to let you target 
kids 16 and under. This is such an important issue because spending on 
digital advertising in the United States is expected to reach $740 
billion this year--$740 billion.
  It is a massive change in what has been revenue for our newspapers, 
our broadcasters, media, and news organizations that have all had to 
live by in a community, making sure that information was accurate, 
making sure that it was not abusive, or basically trying to increase a 
response by using more hate speech. No, no, no.
  So all that advertising that went to our newspapers and TV stations 
and it is basically pulling the plug out from under them, is now in 
this massive online advertising world, in which, yes, there can be a 
lot of misinformation and a lot of using your own information to target 
you and to try to increase price.
  Hopefully, we will get to legislation--comprehensive privacy 
legislation--with my colleague Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers at 
some point in time on this. But what we are seeing is that public 
health showed that social media platforms earned nearly $11 billion of 
that $740 billion, $11 billion targeting children.
  We know that we don't like this. We know there is no reason for them 
to do this. We know that it creates perplexing challenges, and that is 
a staggering amount of money.
  So, I so appreciate Senators Markey and Cassidy, for basically giving 
us a new way to hold these social media companies accountable, saying 
that you do know that you are targeting these kids and also to 
basically raise the age to 16 and then allowing both attorneys general 
and the Federal Trade Commission to enforce this legislation.
  The second piece that is included here, and both of these bills were 
passed out of the Commerce Committee, I think almost 2 years ago now. 
So we are glad and we appreciate Senator Schumer bringing them to the 
floor. So, we are glad that they are finally seeing floor action.
  The kids' online safety bills, by Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn, 
also very focused on giving parents tools to help fight back from 
social media companies or just change things that their young teens or 
parents want to change.
  One of my constituents, a young girl from Bellingham, tried to set up 
her TikTok account to stop showing her videos about eating disorders. 
They find out, now, derived information about all of us, and if you 
clicked on anything, they can just take that information and constantly 
send you data.
  In this case, she must have said something, did something, but all 
they wanted to do was basically continue to harass her with eating 
disorder videos.
  Now, the Presiding Officer, the President, probably remembers we took 
action in getting a better resolution. We don't want any foreign actors 
creating malign actions against the United States through a platform, 
and our Department of Justice has shown that is exactly what is 
happening in some instances.
  Those foreign actors could be pushing, or bots taking over, once that 
foreign actor has put information out there, basically saying, yes, 
let's just pummel the heck out of these teenagers with videos that will 
make them doubt themselves, make them basically second-guess or feel 
under the scrutiny of their colleagues and friends at school.
  This legislation by Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal will hold 
social media accountable for prioritizing their engagement in keeping 
kids safe. It requires platforms to use tools so that parents can 
control features. This helps either the parent or the child go in and 
change that and say: I don't want to have any of these ads placed 
towards my children. And it ensures that parents can report harms, and 
it requires companies to respond to those harms.
  Now, my frustration with where we are with the FTC is I am sure the 
FTC has a big, fat file that has a lot of complaints about what has 
been done to 12-year-olds online. We are now increasing this to a 
higher age of up to 16 years old, but we need better enforcement by the 
FTC to look at these accounts, and

[[Page S5495]]

hold these companies accountable, and call them when they have data and 
information from parents about their not responding to help set up and 
change these social media accounts so they can better protect their 
children.
  This is such an important piece of legislation before us today. It 
can't save the lives of people we have already lost, but it can help 
parents, and it can help all of us as a society rein in some of these 
controls.
  The final piece I want to mention, Mr. President, is Senator Thune's 
Filter Bubble Transparency Act, which is also included. This is Senator 
Thune's attempt to try to get at what we call a blackbox algorithm 
where you don't even know what the algorithm is and what it is doing.
  We had testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee by a Facebook 
whistleblower who basically said that the algorithm that the company 
chose to use was actually increasing hate speech online. And the reason 
why is because then it got more viewers and then it sold more 
advertising.
  That was an important witness and whistleblower to come before the 
committee because it told us that we have to now understand, in a more 
important way, how much these kinds of ill effects can be targeted 
toward individuals without us knowing exactly what is going on.
  So I think this is an important step, including Senator Thune's 
language in here on filter bubbles. As I mentioned earlier, we have to 
do more, we have got to get a national privacy piece of legislation to 
protect all of us against the misuse of our own personal data by 
businesses and others who want to do us harm and put a stop to this 
acceleration at all costs of using our data for some juggernaut 
industry that probably hopes to reach $1 trillion. But what will it do 
to us Americans in the meantime?
  So I urge my colleagues to take these very prudent steps today to 
pass these kids' online privacy bills, give parents better tools, give 
all of us better protection, and upgrade these important aspects to the 
Federal Trade Commission and to attorneys general so they can be good 
policemen on the beat.
  I thank the President, and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
permitted to speak for up to 15 minutes and that Senator Young be 
recognized to speak after that for up to 5 minutes prior to the 
scheduled vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                      80th Anniversary of GI Bill

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, good morning.
  Last month, as some of us recall, marked the 80th year since 
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's 
Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the GI bill, into law--80 
years.
  In the eight decades since the GI bill was enacted, it has helped 
millions of veterans, including myself, to pursue an education, to 
become homeowners, and to live the full American dream. The GI bill 
truly transformed not only our economy but a lot more than that.

  I was glad to recently lead a bipartisan resolution recognizing the 
importance of this legislation with Senator Jerry Moran, Senator Jon 
Tester, and Senator John Boozman. As I have shared here many times 
before, the GI bill is often called the greatest legislation ever 
enacted in the history of the United States, including here in this 
Chamber.
  First, the GI bill successfully enabled millions of servicemembers, 
including myself, to transition back to civilian life after serving our 
country at home and, in many cases, abroad.
  Second, it uplifted millions of American families, and it 
reinvigorated our economy.
  Third, it allowed for benefits awarded to our veterans to be passed 
on to their family members.
  Fourth, it has paved the way for subsequent critical legislation that 
serves those who have served our country in times of war and in times 
of peace.
  The effects of all four of these achievements are felt to this day, 
and I would like to take a few minutes, if I may at this time, to 
elaborate on the impact of each of those four.
  First and foremost, the GI bill helped my parents' generation return 
to civilian life following World War II. This generation was well 
acquainted with hard times. Many of these folks had been raised during 
the previous world war and were just starting to rebuild their lives 
when the Great Depression ravaged the American economy, leaving one of 
every four Americans jobless. But despite hardship at home, these brave 
Americans answered the call to serve our Nation in World War II. One of 
those brave Americans was my father.
  My father had been a chief petty officer in the Navy--a high school 
graduate from a West Virginia coal mining town. He and his brother and 
my brothers-in-law all served in World War II--several as chief petty 
officers in the Navy and others as sergeants in the Army or in the 
Marine Corps.
  When the war was over, my dad came back to West Virginia and used the 
GI bill to learn how to fix wrecked cars. Most people don't think of 
the GI bill as something to be used to fix wrecked cars, but he did. 
That turned into a job for him in a place back in a West Virginia coal 
mining town. He fixed wrecked cars at Burleson Oldsmobile.
  One day when he was working at Burleson Oldsmobile, having learned 
how to fix wrecked cars and do bodywork through the GI bill, he was 
visited by a claims adjuster from Nationwide Insurance. Nationwide, it 
turned out, had insured the wrecked car that my dad was working on that 
day at Burleson Oldsmobile. The fellow from Nationwide Insurance 
engaged my father in conversation about how was the progress coming 
along in terms of repairing the wrecked car.
  And they talked for a bit, and at the end of the conversation, he 
said to my dad: You know, you seem to have a lot on the ball for a guy 
who's fixing wrecked cars here at Burleson Oldsmobile. My dad went on 
to explain how he had been a chief petty officer in the Navy. For those 
who know the military, the top noncommissioned officer in the Navy is a 
chief petty officer. That is what my dad was and several of my uncles 
as well. That conversation with the claims adjuster from Nationwide 
Insurance that day actually led to a job where my dad became a claims 
adjuster for Nationwide Insurance.
  Years later, my dad helped to run the national training program for 
claims adjusters for Nationwide Insurance--a guy with a high school 
degree who had a chance to serve in World War II and to benefit from 
the GI bill--to have a great career and to be able to provide for his 
family along with literally hundreds of thousands of other veterans.
  But my dad is just one example of millions of Americans whom this 
legislation helped to set on paths to success.
  My dad also illustrates the second reason the GI bill is among the 
greatest pieces of legislation ever passed: It has lifted up millions 
of hard-working Americans and helped build the middle class as we know 
it in this country today.
  With a stroke of a pen, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed 
into law one of America's most ambitious investments in our workforce 
in our Nation's history. It has paid dividends to generations past and 
will, for decades to come, to generations in the future.
  Among other things, the original GI bill provided a college education 
to add--listen to this--450,000 engineers, 240,000 accountants, 238,000 
teachers, 122,000 dentists, 91,000 scientists, 67,000 doctors, and 1 or 
2 folks who could fix wrecked cars at a place like Burleson Oldsmobile 
back in West Virginia.
  Just like my dad, countless others used their GI benefits to learn a 
trade or to learn a skill, and it enabled them to lift themselves and 
their families up firmly into the middle class. It was clear then, as 
it is now, that the GI bill is, perhaps, one of the most worthwhile 
economic investments in our Nation's history.
  According to a 1988 report from the Joint Economic Committee, it was 
estimated that, for every dollar that the United States has invested in 
our veterans through the GI bill over the years, roughly $7 has been 
returned in economic growth for our Nation.
  Almost never do we see legislation have the power to singlehandedly 
transform our economy and continue to do so not just for a couple of 
years but for decades. The GI bill exceeded and continues to exceed all 
expectations.

[[Page S5496]]

  As many of my colleagues know, I have personally benefited from the 
opportunities provided by the GI bill. I would not be standing here 
today in this place, speaking on this floor, without the benefits 
provided me as a Vietnam veteran coming back from my third tour in 
Southeast Asia and eventually moving to Delaware and enrolling in 
business school at the University of Delaware. That education, along 
with my time as a Navy ROTC midshipman through Ohio State earlier in 
time, has enabled me to serve Delaware as their treasurer, as their 
Congressman--Congressman-at-large--as their Governor, and now, for the 
last 23 years, as their U.S. Senator.
  The third reason the GI bill is truly extraordinary is that this 
legislation and subsequent legislation, like the current Post-9/11 GI 
Bill, allows for benefits to be passed on to family members of veterans 
who do not use or need the benefits themselves.
  For my generation, when we came back from Southeast Asia during the 
Vietnam war, if we took advantage of the GI bill, that was fine. I did. 
But if we had a spouse, a spouse could not take advantage of it. If we 
had children--dependent children--they could not take advantage of the 
GI bill. That has all changed.
  And for a GI who doesn't use the GI benefit today, if they have a 
spouse, their spouse can use it. Spouses can use it. If they have 
children, their children can use the GI bill. What a benefit--what a 
benefit not just for the GI but also for the spouse and their family 
members.
  Today's GI bill allows countless veterans across our country to take 
advantage of these generous educational benefits or pass them down to 
their families.
  Moreover, the Post-9/11 GI Bill includes a program called the Fry 
Scholarship--``Fry'' is spelled F-R-Y--that ensures surviving spouses 
and children of fallen servicemembers have access to the hard-earned 
benefits of their family member who served and made the ultimate 
sacrifice for our country.
  We have seen the impact of this legislation firsthand in my home 
State of Delaware, with families like those of the late-SSgt 
Christopher Slutman, a Marine veteran. A native Delawarean, Staff 
Sergeant Slutman bravely served as a New York firefighter and as a U.S. 
marine in Afghanistan. However, 5 years ago, he was tragically killed 
in combat, leaving behind his wife and their three daughters: McKenna, 
Kenley, and Weslynn.
  Thanks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which extended the benefits of the 
GI bill to veterans who served after September 11, 2001, Staff Sergeant 
Slutman was entitled to a wide range of educational benefits. And after 
his tragic passing, Staff Sergeant Slutman's GI bill benefits were 
ultimately allowed to be passed down to his three daughters, thanks to 
the Fry Scholarship, which was one of the provisions I was proud to 
support in the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
  Last, but certainly not least, the GI bill is among the ``greatest 
legislation'' ever enacted because it has served as an excellent model 
for how we can continue to provide resources for our Nation's veterans.
  Throughout my years in the Senate--and it has been quite a few years, 
almost 24--I have worked to advance critical legislation that delivers 
on the promise to serve those who have served our Nation.
  In addition to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Forever GI Bill, I was 
proud to lead passage of a bipartisan amendment that finally closed 
something called the 90/10 loophole. For those who may not know, this 
loophole allowed bad actors in the for-profit college sector to take 
advantage of veterans' hard-earned GI benefits.
  One veteran misled or mistreated is one too many, and I was proud 
that my Senate colleagues and I came together unanimously to pass the 
amendment that Senator Moran and I authored to close this loophole. And 
we did.
  We must also be on guard to root out the bad actors who try to take 
advantage of our veterans. That is why, just this week, I cohosted our 
annual veterans summit in Delaware with Senator Chris Coons and 
Representative Blunt Rochester, joined by Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
Denis McDonough, to raise awareness of the deceptive marketing tactics 
deployed by those we know as ``claim sharks.''
  Claim sharks are unaccredited lawyers and consultants who try to take 
advantage of vulnerable veterans by offering to help them file claims 
with the Veterans Benefits Administration and then go on to take a 
significant percentage of the benefit that the veteran should have 
received.
  At our summit a week ago, we spoke with dozens of veterans about the 
free resources--free resources--available to them through the VA to 
help them avoid falling for scams and ensure that they know about the 
full range of benefits they are entitled to.
  More recently, I cosponsored bipartisan legislation to impose 
penalties on these ``sharks'' so that we can further protect our 
veterans. After all, our commitment to care for our veterans, including 
safeguarding their hard-earned benefits, is a sacred obligation and one 
that I worked hard with many of our colleagues--Democrat and 
Republican--to fulfill.
  In closing, it is clear that without the foundation of the original 
GI bill, our ambition to craft and pass generations of subsequent 
legislation to help our veterans might not have been possible. For all 
of these reasons, the lasting legacy of the GI bill leaves no doubt 
that it is truly the ``greatest legislation'' ever passed, in this 
Chamber and in this Congress, in the history of our Nation.
  From my family and me to the veterans of today in the Army, Navy, Air 
Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and all of our branches, I am honored 
to lead this celebration of the 80th anniversary of the original GI 
bill. Here is to another 80 years and, hopefully, many more.
  I will close with one thing. I used to think it was in the Bible that 
if you give a person a fish, you feed them for today; if you teach a 
person to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. As it turns out, that is 
not in the Bible. That is not in the Scriptures. For years I said it 
was.
  Finally, I used that line in a speech back in Delaware. I said at the 
end of my speech that--I talked about our obligation to try to make 
sure that people have the ability to feed themselves and their 
families. As it turned out, there was a preacher in the audience when I 
said those words. He spoke to me after my speech, after the program was 
over. He said: Those words are not in the Scriptures. Those words are 
not in the Scriptures--the idea that we have an obligation to teach a 
person to fish so they can feed themselves and their families and all.
  He said: That is really not in the Bible.
  I said: Well, it ought to be. It ought to be.
  We have an obligation to help people, not just to give people 
something. But if they are hungry and they need help, we have an 
obligation to help. But the real obligation we have is to make sure 
that, ultimately, they can help themselves; that we can help them help 
themselves.
  One of the great things about the GI bill is that it enables our 
service men and women to help themselves as they go forward in the 
future with their lives and to help their families.
  It is a great piece of legislation, and we celebrate it here today 
for the 80th year since its original enactment in this Chamber.
  With that, I am going to yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.


                         Remembering Jim Morris

  Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the life and legacy 
of Jim Morris. Jim Morris is one of the most influential civic leaders 
in Indiana's history, and he passed away earlier this month.
  I first met Jim Morris about 20 years ago. It was when I returned 
home to Indiana, after spending time in the military and after a brief 
stint as a staffer here on Capitol Hill. The only thing I remember 
about that initial meeting was that it wasn't particularly memorable.
  Jim Morris wasn't the kind of man who would bowl you over with his 
charisma or his magnetism. This wasn't his style. It was never about 
him. But, over time, the weight of continuous heartfelt interactions 
with Jim could change a person. Indeed, you might say they changed an 
entire city.
  Jim Morris died July 12. He was 81. He had a 60-year career of 
service, all

[[Page S5497]]

told, to the city of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, and even to 
the world.
  Though Jim would bark at the title ``model,'' in my mind he was, in 
many ways, a model American citizen.
  Jim grew up in Terre Haute. He attended Indiana University. It was 
there that he fell in love twice, once with the school itself and once 
with his beloved wife Jackie. And that endured.
  In 1967, not long after graduation, he became chief of staff to a 
young mayor of Indianapolis named Richard Lugar. Since that moment, 
almost nothing great in our capital city happened without Jim's 
involvement. He helped launch a university in downtown Indianapolis, 
until recently known as IUPUI. He was involved with the building of the 
Indianapolis Zoo, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Indiana Pacers. They 
all had Jim's fingerprints on them.
  Jim understood that the key to healthy organizations and healthy 
communities was to connect and empower others and ensure that 
seriousness of purpose was met with civil discourse.
  In 2002, Jim took that approach global when he was appointed to lead 
the United Nations World Food Programme. He served as executive 
director of the program for 5 years, caring for and delivering aid to 
men, women, and children around the world who experienced a level of 
poverty that is difficult for us to imagine.
  These monumental headline-grabbing accomplishments were only a part 
of who Jim Morris was, though. Indeed, his true legacy was far deeper, 
more personal, and, I dare say, more beautiful.
  He always counseled friends to expand their work to its widest 
possible sphere of impact, to help more people, or--as he sometimes put 
it--to find someone who could use a boost.
  He practiced what he preached. Indeed, countless Hoosiers have been 
affected by the small acts of altruism: funding local food banks, 
building neighborhood basketball courts, and similar generosities that 
we will never know about.
  His servant's heart, no doubt, stemmed from his deep and abiding 
faith in God. He was an active member in the Second Presbyterian Church 
in Indianapolis. He didn't boast about many of his accomplishments. 
Instead, he lived a life worthy of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20: 
``Whoever wants to become great among you, must be a servant''--a 
servant.
  I think about our ``forgettable'' first meeting often. I could be 
wrong, but Jim probably would have made a poor candidate for public 
office today. But, you see, that was a choice.
  For me, Reverend Henry summed it up at Second Presbyterian, last 
Friday, in his memorial meditation to Jim. He said that Jim Morris 
chose--he chose--hope over despair, connection over division, 
gentleness over meanness, courtesy over discourtesy.
  There is power in that choice. Jim Morris chose to be a decent man. 
He knew, and we must never forget, that no man can truly be great if he 
is not good. Now, more than ever, we need good men and women like Jim 
Morris in every corner of our Nation--men and women who become great 
through selfless service to their communities and endeavor to make life 
better for the rest of us.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________