[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 6 (Monday, January 13, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S83-S85]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
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LAKEN RILEY ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--Resumed
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 5,
which the clerk will report.
The assistant bill clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 1, S. 5, to require the
Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens
who have been charged in the United States with theft, and
for other purposes.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Democratic leader is
recognized.
Nominations
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this week, the American people will see
for the first time what kind of Trump administration they are going to
get in the coming years: one that will fight for working people or one
that will fight for the swamp?
Over the next 4 days, over a dozen of the President-elect's nominees
will testify in committee and make their case to the country. These
hearings, in a very real way, are the opening salvo for holding the
Trump administration accountable to the public.
So, today, I want to talk a little bit about how Senate Democrats
will approach these hearings to uphold our promise to stand up for
America's working and middle class. These hearings will be the very
first real opportunity to see the Trump administration's view on who
they will fight for--working people or the special interests?
Our approach will be this: We will use these hearings to show the
contrast between Donald Trump's agenda of helping the special
interests--especially the very wealthy--and the Democrats' agenda to
fight for working Americans.
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Nominees should expect tough, candid, but fair questioning. They
should come prepared to be honest about everything--their backgrounds,
their experiences, and their commitment to increasing opportunity for
all Americans, not just those at the top. They will also be asked tough
questions about where they stand on the President-elect's stated
policies on things that will hurt the middle class, such as tariffs,
tax cuts for the wealthy, and undermining policies that lower drug
prices.
If the President-elect's nominees demonstrate they are qualified and
committed to lowering costs, increasing wages, and strengthening our
security, Democrats will take that very seriously. But if the
President-elect's nominees are going to push policies that make
inflation worse and put more money in the pockets of special interests,
or duck those important questions, they will be put on the record about
their views for all the American people to see.
That is why Democrats have insisted on regular order for the
President-elect's nominees. A thorough nominations process ensures the
American people know precisely who these nominees are and who they will
fight for.
Unfortunately, a troubling pattern emerged last week from some
Republican chairs who seem eager to rush the nominations process
without fully getting all the necessary documentation.
Getting documents is not trivial busy work. These are financial
disclosures, ethics agreements, and FBI background investigations.
If these nominees have something to hide, these documents could show
it. So it is important we don't rush to hearings without examining the
record first.
The more Senate Republicans try to rush the process without the
proper documentation, the more Americans will ask themselves: What are
Republicans and their nominees trying to hide?
How can Americans trust, for example, that Donald Trump's Cabinet
will be free from conflicts of interests if Republicans hold hearings
before anyone is getting a chance to review financial disclosures?
How can Americans trust that these nominees will serve the public
interest if we don't first examine all their ethics agreements?
How can Americans trust that Senate Republicans will do what is best
for the American people if they are more focused on keeping Donald
Trump happy than examining every nominee carefully?
If these nominees will push policies that make Americans' lives
worse, Americans deserve to know it, and we can determine that with a
complete, thorough, and exhaustive nomination process.
On Mr. Hegseth, tomorrow's hearing with Pete Hegseth is a good
example of why a thorough and tough nominations process is so
important.
Mr. Hegseth is Donald Trump's pick to be Secretary of Defense--
arguably, the most important position in the entire Cabinet. If
confirmed, Mr. Hegseth would oversee a workforce of over 3 million
people and handle issues of life and death on a regular basis. His job
will be to keep our troops safe and keep our country safe. If there is
any Cabinet position that ought to have a steady and drama-free
individual, it is certainly Secretary of Defense.
Unfortunately, Mr. Hegseth's background is deeply troubling, to put
it generously. We all have read reports about his radical views, his
alleged excessive drinking, the allegations about sexual assault, and
his failures in the financial stewardship of multiple organizations.
These are such serious allegations for such an important job. So why
would the Armed Services Committee wish to rush through these hearings,
particularly when the documents are not available to all the members of
the committee, including the FBI background check?
Mr. Hegseth will have an opportunity to answer questions about these
allegations and about his record as well as his views. He can expect
his hearing to be tough but respectful, candid but fair.
The stakes during tomorrow's hearing will be very high--not just for
the nominee but for the entire country. It is not hard to imagine an
emergency situation where the Secretary of Defense has to make quick
and steady decisions about our military. Is someone with Pete Hegseth's
alleged history really the kind of person we want at the helm in a
very, very important situation--dangerous situation--like that? Is that
really in the best interest of Americans' safety? That is something
Senators should ask themselves during tomorrow's hearing, and, of
course, they should ask Mr. Hegseth questions about it.
When it comes to a job like Secretary of Defense, there can be zero
question--zero--that the nominee is up for the job. Unfortunately, Mr.
Hegseth's record leaves too many unanswered questions. Let's hope we
get real answers and real documentation before anyone votes for Mr.
Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.
Laken Riley Act
Mr. President, on Laken Riley, today, the Senate will vote on the
motion to proceed on the Laken Riley Act. The Senate invoked cloture on
this bill last week with a strong bipartisan vote. As I said last week,
Democrats want to have a robust debate where we can offer amendments
and improve this bill.
This issue is very important. Americans deserve for us to debate the
issues seriously, including by considering amendments from the
Democratic side. We are going to ask our Republican colleagues to allow
for debate and votes on amendments. I hope my Republican colleagues
will allow for it.
January 6
Mr. President, finally, on the January 6 pardons--not finally; next
to finally--Donald Trump has promised to spend the first hour of his
Presidency pardoning the violent mob which stormed the Capitol and
attacked our police officers on January 6.
Instead of focusing on helping working families or lowering
healthcare costs or making life better for the American people, Donald
Trump's very first priority seems to be pardoning the January 6
rioters.
And yesterday, on FOX News Sunday, the Vice President-elect JD
Vance--feeling the heat that these pardons are not very popular with
the American people--said that while those who committed violence
should not be pardoned, he implied that those who did not commit
violence could deserve to be pardoned.
The people who invaded the Capitol on January 6, whether they
committed violence or not, should not be pardoned. They unlawfully
broke into the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power. What
they did is a serious crime. There is no gray area here. There would be
nothing more insulting to our democracy and to the memory of those who
died in connection with that day than letting rioters walk free. We
would be saying, in effect, that you could storm the Capitol, engage in
violence against police officers or be part of a crowd that engaged in
such violence, and try to overturn a free and fair election, and then
walk away with no consequences--no consequences.
Rioters who broke into the Capitol on January 6 to try and stop the
peaceful transfer of power and subvert our democracy do not deserve a
Presidential pardon. Whether they committed violence or not, no one who
participated in one of the darkest, most shameful days in American
history should be pardoned.
Tribute to Pina Frassineti Wax
Mr. President, finally, on a Holocaust survivor on Long Island whom I
met with this morning, one of my favorite things about serving as the
senior Senator from New York is that I get a chance to travel around
the State and meet so many exceptional New Yorkers.
This morning, on Long Island, I had a chance to meet an especially
exceptional New Yorker, a living legend, a 100-year-old woman named
Pina Frassineti Wax, a Holocaust survivor and proud Long Island
resident. She was sheltered by Catholic nuns in a convent for 2 years
to keep the Germans from sending her to the concentration camps.
And these days, there are so many Holocaust deniers, people who say
it never existed or was ``exaggerated,'' and then there are so many
more young people who know nothing about the history of the Holocaust,
that those who survived it are very, very important to our history, to
helping us understand what happened, to be a living witness to this
awful, awful, awful
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genocide that occurred against the Jewish people.
Ms. Wax is such a survivor. She combined her 100th birthday with
constantly reminding people of the horrors of Nazi Germany and what was
done to the Jewish people.
So, this morning, it was my honor to present her with a flag flown
over the Capitol, expressing the Senate's recognition of her
extraordinary life.
After enduring so much tragedy during one of the darkest chapters of
human history, Pina has dedicated her life to teaching, loving,
learning, and preserving the memory of the Holocaust.
And even at 100 years old, she is showing no signs of slowing down.
She is whip smart, as energetic as ever, and still going very, very
strong. People like her give all of us hope that, in the end,
compassion and courage will always endure over hatred and fear--always.
Long Island is lucky to have her; New York is proud to call her one
of our own; and the world is much better off because of her.
I yield the floor.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
Laken Riley Act
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, by now, I think a lot of Americans know the
story of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta
University in Georgia with her whole life ahead of her. Laken was
murdered last February while out on a run at the Athens campus of the
University of Georgia.
Her killer was arrested the next day, and it quickly became clear
that he should never have had the opportunity to get near Laken Riley
because he should never have been in the country in the first place.
Laken's killer had entered the country illegally, been released into
the interior, and had subsequently been arrested in New York City and
later issued a citation for shoplifting in Georgia a few short months
before Laken's murder.
After his New York City arrest, he was released before Immigration
and Customs Enforcement could issue a detainer--a request that police
hold an individual--so that he could be taken into immigration custody.
So this individual, here in the United States illegally and
subsequently involved in two crimes, was free on the University of
Georgia campus last February when Laken Riley went running.
It is already a problem that we are releasing huge numbers of
individuals here illegally into the interior of the country. It is
unthinkable that an individual like Laken's killer would be released
back into society. Laken's killer should have been detained long before
he had a chance to get near her last February.
Shortly after Laken was killed, Senator Katie Britt, together with
Senator Budd, introduced legislation that would require Immigration and
Customs Enforcement to detain individuals charged with theft, burglary,
or shoplifting. It is a commonsense measure that should be an
unquestioned ``yes'' for every Senator, and I am very pleased that the
Senate is finally taking up this bill after Democrats blocked a vote on
it last year.
The fact that 33 Democratic Senators voted in favor of moving to the
bill on Thursday was an encouraging sign that at least some Democrats
might be serious about wanting to work with Republicans to address
border and immigration security, and I hope that proves to be true. It
would be incredibly disappointing if Democrats move to the bill simply
to attempt to load it down with poison pills or unrelated measures.
This is not--I emphasize ``not''--a comprehensive immigration bill.
It is an attempt to right one wrong: the fact that individuals already
here illegally who have been charged with various property crimes are
not required to be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It
is an attempt to ensure that no other family will have to suffer the
pain suffered by Laken Riley's. So I hope that Democrats will work with
us in a serious fashion to actually pass this legislation.
After 4 years of chaos at our southern border under President Biden,
there is a lot of work to be done on both the immigration and border
security fronts. The kind of unchecked illegal immigration that we have
experienced at our southern border under President Biden serves as an
invitation to terrorists, criminals, and other dangerous individuals to
enter our country.
Currently, Senate Republicans are working on a major package that
will include substantial funding for a variety of border and
immigration security needs, including increasing the number of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents,
increasing detention space, and providing the barriers and technology
that we need to secure the border. I look forward to taking up that
package.
In the meantime, however, we have a bill before us today that will
address one problem in current immigration law and, perhaps, prevent
other families from suffering the pain that Laken Riley's has suffered.
Let's get it done.
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