[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 14, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1732-S1733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4293

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I rise today to ask unanimous consent in a 
few minutes that the Senate pass my legislation, the No Funding to 
Honor Crime Scenes Act.
  Last month, America was shocked to learn that Cesar Chavez, who was 
famous for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement, had a long 
history of preying on women and children. It is appalling that someone 
hailed as a hero for the rights of farmworkers was in the meantime 
molesting the very people he was supposedly advocating for. Perhaps it 
is even more shocking that his misconduct was actually widely known 
within his social and business circumstances and that the victims were 
encouraged to remain silent in order to protect this man's legacy.
  As a father of two daughters, I consider child sexual abuse one of 
the most heinous crimes you can imagine, which is why I have long been 
an advocate for victims of human trafficking and sexual assault.
  America should not celebrate the legacy of Cesar Chavez, nor use 
taxpayer dollars to do so. It should also not pay for and maintain the 
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which stands at the very scene of 
some of his crimes. It must be closed. For this reason, I have 
introduced legislation to defund any Federal tribute bearing Cesar 
Chavez's name and nullify President Obama's Presidential proclamation 
that enacted this monument in the first place.
  The No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act would direct the Secretary 
of the Interior to immediately close the monument and sell any and all 
Federal land that includes Chavez's home, his grave site, the memorial 
garden, and any contents of his personal office, which is where we know 
child sexual abuse occurred.
  Not only would it close the monument glorifying this disgraced 
perpetrator, but it would go one step further to right the wrong by 
helping victims of abuse. My legislation would direct the Secretary of 
the Interior to transfer any funds set aside for the monument to the 
Debbie Smith Act, which supports survivors by providing State and 
Federal law enforcement agencies with resources to complete forensic 
analyses of crime scenes and untested rape kits.
  I have led the reauthorization of the Debbie Smith Act many times 
with bipartisan backing, and I would hope this legislation would 
receive that very same support here today.
  Taxpayer dollars should never be used to celebrate the abuse of women 
and children.
  I urge the adoption of the legislation.
  Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I would ask unanimous 
consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 
4293, which is at the desk; further, that the bill be considered read 
three times and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection?
  The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, the 
sexual assault, the abuse that Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and Dolores 
Huerta have described is horrific, and it necessarily and profoundly 
changes Cesar Chavez's legacy and how he should be remembered. I am 
extremely grateful to the women who have courageously stepped forward. 
Many, like Dolores Huerta, feared that speaking up would enable those 
who had always opposed the workers movement to erase it, along with 
Cesar Chavez, and I stand here today to ensure that is never the case.
  The movement Dolores Huerta and so many others fought for was bigger 
than any one man, and when we learn shocking or terrible things about 
our history, the right answer is to tell the truth, never to hide it.
  I am concerned that what my colleague from Texas is proposing could 
do just that--hide the truth about Cesar Chavez and, unfortunately, the 
incredible farmworkers movement with it.
  The legislation that Senator Cornyn is asking us to approve today 
would not only abolish the Cesar Chavez National Monument, it could 
erase the foundational history of the farmworkers movement in the 
process. It would follow through on the threat that silenced the 
survivors of Chavez's abuse.
  Let me be clear. I agree unequivocally that we should no longer have 
a monument named after Cesar Chavez, but we absolutely should not erase 
the monument's telling of the story of the farm labor movement. That is 
a story that belongs to many people, including the survivors of 
Chavez's violence.
  Abolishing the monument would serve only to sweep his violence under 
the rug, and it would sweep the stories of Americans involved in the 
farmworkers movement under the rug with it. This is a movement that 
wasn't just founded by a single man; it was a movement because it was 
propelled by the many. Among those leading it was Dolores Huerta, a 
native New Mexican and a hero to an entire generation of Hispanic and 
Latino men and women alike. If we erase this monument, we also erase 
her work, her legacy, and the countless other leaders in this photo 
from the monument.
  The monument may be named after one man, but we can change that, and 
we can change that without erasing the history of tens of thousands of 
American farmworkers across decades, including the history of his 
victims. That is an effort that is, in fact, already underway--
expanding the mission and scope of the monument to encompass more of 
the histories of the farmworkers themselves. This includes 
incorporating the stories of Filipino Americans in California whose 
long history of advocacy and activism for farmworkers' rights deserves 
to be remembered and lifted up.
  The rich legacy of farmworkers in building and sustaining this 
country is proof that a national monument dedicated to their story and 
their movement for fair labor practices should persist.
  The question is, What should happen to this monument? What should 
happen to it next should include input from survivors and from other 
Americans involved in the farmworkers movement. I do not know, frankly, 
what they will say, but I do know what I have already heard.
  Yesterday, I received a letter from multiple organizations that 
included the Hispanic Access Fund and the Asian and Pacific Islander 
Americans in Historic Preservation. What those groups made clear is 
that they do not support abolishing this national monument, saying that 
it would ``erase the nationally significant story of the broader 
Farmworker Movement, including the many leaders, activists, and workers 
who fought for dignity and fair wages.''
  These groups just want a voice in what happens next, and they point 
out quite clearly that the legislation being considered now was crafted 
without having that conversation with all the affected communities.
  That is why I will ask to amend my colleague's proposal to instead 
temporarily close the monument and require the National Park Service to 
complete a new special resource study for the monument in consultation 
with all of those who are part of the farm labor

[[Page S1733]]

movement, including the survivors of Chavez's violence.
  The study should consider what sites and properties are appropriate 
to include in a farm labor movement monument. This is what we need to 
ensure that the monument is focused on honoring and reflecting the full 
story of the farmworkers movement, not Cesar Chavez.
  I would ask unanimous consent that the Senator modify his request to 
include my amendments at the desk; further, that the bill, as amended, 
be considered read three times and passed; and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection to the modifications?
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, so if I 
understand the Senator correctly, on the same day that two Members of 
Congress have resigned as a result of sexual misconduct, we are going 
to not address this travesty that Cesar Chavez has inflicted upon his 
victims--women and children--out of concern for the farmworkers 
movement.
  Now, I am happy to work with the Senator to try to reflect on that 
history, but you can't separate the name of Cesar Chavez from this 
movement because it is his house, and it is his grave site and memorial 
garden.
  Our colleague says: Well, we are going to shut it down and do a 
study.
  Well, that is not good enough. He also will strip out the money that 
would otherwise go to the Debbie Smith Act, which I have worked on for 
many years now, honoring Debbie Smith, who championed the testing of 
rape kits that had been sitting in evidence lockers for many years. 
This is a very important part of our service to these victims of sexual 
abuse.
  I think it is entirely appropriate that the money that comes from 
this monument go to help fund future victims of sexual assault.
  One of Cesar Chavez's victims was just 13 years old when he sexually 
assaulted her in his office, which is where this site is located. This 
is literally a crime scene. He was 45 years old and a world-famous 
political figure, but she was just a child. He used his home office to 
rape and molest her repeatedly over the coming years. She contemplated 
suicide and lived in terror for more than half a century before coming 
public about it. But thanks to her courage and the courage of many 
other brave survivors, we now know the truth about Cesar Chavez.
  I say this with all due respect to the Senator from New Mexico, but 
his amendment is an insult to the countless victims of Cesar Chavez's 
sexual misconduct. Instead of taking action to end taxpayer funding 
celebrating this predator, for a monument to honor their abuser, his 
amendment would simply require the government to shut down the monument 
to public access while the government does a report. In other words, 
his amendment would ask my constituents and all Americans to continue 
paying their hard-earned money to preserve this crime scene celebrating 
a serial child rapist.
  This amendment would also deny justice to, as I said, future sexual 
assault survivors by stopping the redirection of funds to the Debbie 
Smith rape kit backlog elimination program.
  In other words, his amendment would protect the legacy of Cesar 
Chavez and does nothing to honor sexual assault survivors. This is the 
kind of political gamesmanship that makes people hate Washington--
pretending to be concerned about an issue but yet doing nothing, 
absolutely nothing, to address it.
  We don't need a report or a further study to delay action. We know 
that Cesar Chavez's victims--from his victims that he was a sexual 
predator. I choose to believe those victims, and I hope the Senator 
from New Mexico does as well.
  We should completely defund, permanently close, and divest this 
monument and use the savings to prevent future serial rapists from 
escaping justice.
  I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection to the original request?
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I think 
what we agree on is that Cesar Chavez should not be lionized and his 
name should not be associated with a monument in the United States of 
America and a unit of the National Park Service.
  I also think we should tell that story, not sweep it under the rug, 
and more importantly, tell the stories of the victims and the stories 
of the people who made that movement successful in standing up for 
human dignity. We should engage the survivors. We should engage all the 
communities that were part of that movement. And we should take this as 
an opportunity to tell that story fundamental to the American 
experience.
  I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, we can do what the Senator from New Mexico 
suggests. We can have a discussion about what would be an appropriate 
way to recognize the contribution of farmworkers in this country 
without honoring a monster in the process.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.