[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6392-S6393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



           Anniversary of Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting

  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, this year will mark 7 years since my 
community of Las Vegas was forever changed on October 1, 2017.
  On that night, we experienced a tragedy on a scale far worse than 
anyone could have ever imagined. Ten minutes--10 minutes--is all it 
took for a gunman to open fire on an unsuspecting crowd at a music 
festival, killing 58 innocent lives, injuring thousands, and leaving a 
permanent scar on our State.
  Sadly, in the years since, two more victims of that night's attack 
died because of injuries they received during the shooting, bringing 
the death toll to 60. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in 
American history.
  The families of the victims of that tragedy had their world shattered 
that day, their lives forever changed--the

[[Page S6393]]

families who didn't get to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, 
holidays; and the families who never got to say goodbye to their loved 
ones.
  That night also changed the lives in our city--people who were 
attending or working at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, the first 
responders who ran toward danger to save lives. And in the following 
days, we saw lines of people, lines of people around entire blocks 
willing to donate blood, willing to help in any way they could.
  This kind of selflessness embodies the incredible spirit of our 
community. It showed the country why we are Vegas Strong. And as we 
remember and as we reflect on this tragedy, we must also commit 
ourselves to action so that no community has to experience the pain and 
suffering like we did.
  The 1 October shooter was able to inflict as much pain and carnage as 
he did by using bump stocks. This dangerous modification allowed his 
weapon to fire more bullets faster as a way to inflict the most amount 
of pain on our city. Over 1,000 bullets--1,000 bullets--in just a 
matter of minutes.

  And it was in response to this carnage that then-President Donald 
Trump issued a Federal rule banning bump stocks. It helped save lives 
from these deadly modifications.
  But, unfortunately, the Supreme Court overturned this commonsense 
Federal ban, allowing bump stocks to flow into our streets once again. 
This shameful decision--shameful decision--by the Supreme Court will 
put more lives at risk, which is why I joined bipartisan legislation to 
restore this commonsense Federal ban on bump stocks.
  And when Members of this Chamber tried to pass this bipartisan 
legislation, extremists in this body, what did they do? They blocked 
us. And some even had the audacity to say: This legislation was trying 
to solve a fake problem--a fake problem.
  Should we tell the families who lost a loved one at the hands of a 
firearm using a bump stock on October 1 that it is a fake problem? A 
fake problem that they are sad at every holiday and every meal and 
every Thanksgiving table that their loved one is missing? A fake 
problem? Their grief is real; their loss is real; and their loss is 
forever. This is not a fake problem; it is a very real problem. And 
there are real solutions. But once again, Congress has failed year 
after year to act.
  Las Vegas knows what the real threat of bump stocks are and why we 
must act. And as we approach the seventh anniversary of this 
unthinkable tragedy, I ask all my colleagues in this Chamber to 
remember and to honor the memories of the victims, to honor their 
families, to honor everyone whose lives are forever changed from the 
night and the shooting on October 1, 2017.
  I also ask that we come together, Republicans and Democrats, in a 
bipartisan way to save lives by just passing commonsense legislation to 
ban bump stocks.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my 
colleague from Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen to commemorate 7 years since 
the deadliest mass shooting in America's recent history. And as you can 
see from her previous comments, she is always, always fighting for 
Nevadans, working to protect our families in Nevada. And I am just so 
proud to be able to work alongside her representing the great State of 
Nevada.
  As you have heard, 7 years ago, people from across the country 
gathered in Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest music festival. These 
were 3 days of live performances and dancing and fun. My niece was 
there. And October 1, what was supposed to be a joyous conclusion to 
the festival turned into a complete nightmare. In just 10 minutes from 
the window of a nearby hotel, a gunman fired more than 1,000 shots into 
the festival crowd.
  Mr. President, 58 people were killed, and 2 more died later from 
their injuries. More than 800 were wounded, and thousands of families 
were forever changed.
  Now, I remember sitting with some of them at the reunification 
center, hoping and praying that their loved ones would return to them. 
I will tell you what, though, some prayers were never answered, and 
that was heartbreaking.
  But as the city of Las Vegas mourned, we also came together. 
Neighbors reached out to one another and helped each other heal. 
Programs were created to help our city cope and move forward. We were 
resilient because we are ``Vegas Strong.''
  Out of tragedy and suffering, there was hope. Let me tell you about 
something that gives me hope: 3 weeks after the events of October 1, 
the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Clark County set up the 
Vegas Strong Resiliency Center as a resource for the survivors of the 
Route 91 Harvest festival and their families.
  After a tragedy like a mass shooting, the families, the victims, and 
survivors alike have to adjust to a new normal. Imagine living through 
the horrors of that October night and learning to heal from those 
injuries or grieving the loss of a loved one whose life was taken so 
suddenly by a senseless act of violence.
  Then imagine, after you have been left with all of that trauma, that 
you are now faced with the complexity of paying medical bills or 
dealing with insurance companies. It is overwhelming. And where do you 
even begin? How are you going to navigate it all through your own 
emotional stress?
  The Vegas Strong Resiliency Center was designed to ensure that 
families didn't have to go through that process alone. The center 
brought community partners with different resources to the table to 
deliver anything that the survivors might need from support groups, to 
mental health services, to financial advice.
  And I have seen some of their great work myself. Their incredible 
executive director Tennille Pereira shared this story of a survivor of 
October 1, who, after recovering from being shot that night, could no 
longer make her way up the stairs to reach her apartment. In response 
to that, her landlord threatened to evict her. So she got in touch with 
Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. The center contacted her landlord, got 
the landlord to back down, and then helped her move to another 
apartment that was accessible to her.

  This is what happens when the community comes together to help each 
other. The Resiliency Center connected survivors with the resources 
they need right when they need them. It gave survivors hope, and it 
helped them find light in the darkness.
  In the 7 years since its establishment, the center not only helped 
survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival, but through the lessons 
learned from that crisis, it actually improved services for victims of 
violent crime throughout Southern Nevada, and that includes human 
trafficking survivors, domestic abuse survivors, and even first 
responders who have post-traumatic stress.
  And when Las Vegas was struck by another tragedy last year after a 
gunman killed three people at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the 
staff at the Resiliency Center were able to immediately respond, 
providing resources and programs for students, families, faculty, and 
staff.
  In January of this year, the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center was 
renamed the Resiliency and Justice Center, and its mission expanded to 
serve all survivors of violent crime in Southern Nevada.
  They are continuing to grow their staff and their resources, and they 
are even getting ready to expand their offices. I am so proud to 
support the work of the Resiliency and Justice Center. At a time when 
our city was truly shaken to its core, they were there to help us get 
back on our feet, to help us remember that life goes on after loss, to 
help us find the strength to rebuild as a community.
  And now as we mark 7 years since that terrible evening at the Route 
91 Harvest Festival, we also mark 7 years of hope and resilience in the 
city of Las Vegas.
  We hold the victims and their families in our hearts forever, and we 
remain Vegas Strong.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.