[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6769-6771]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              FREE SPEECH

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, it is no secret that our Nation faces a 
number of critical problems. We have a national debt that currently 
stands at $17.4 trillion. We are in the midst of an entitlement crisis 
that threatens to balloon our debt and swallow funding for the rest of 
our government. We have a still-struggling economy, which was once 
again confirmed last week with the announcement of lackluster growth 
numbers. These are just some of the problems we are facing. There are 
numerous others.
  With all the challenges in front of us, you would think the Senate 
majority and the President of the United States would be focused on 
solving at least one or two of these problems. Sadly, that is not the 
case. In this heightened partisan climate, my friends in the majority 
are far more often than not focused on two things: shoring up their 
political base and marginalizing their political critics. In other 
words, it is all politics all the time.
  It is pretty easy to find examples of the Democrats' efforts to 
solidify their progressive base. Indeed, we have seen it in just the 
last few weeks. Why else do you think we have had show votes on bills 
such as the so-called Paycheck Fairness Act and minimum wage, 
especially since we already have laws that say women should be paid 
fairly? Why else did we have to endure the all-night speech fest on 
climate change a few weeks back? None of these efforts were rooted in 
any kind of policy justification. They certainly weren't aimed at 
benefiting our economy or creating jobs. If anything, they would do 
exactly the opposite. In fact, the CBO confirmed that the Democrats' 
latest gambit here on the floor--the minimum wage--would actually cost 
our economy somewhere upward of at least half a million jobs.
  All of these endeavors were aimed at driving turnout for the 
Democratic base in November, but that is just half of the Democrats' 
equation. The other half is silencing their critics. Indeed, over the 
past few years we have seen a pattern coming from the other side--both 
in the Senate and in the White House--of using whatever tools are 
available to intimidate critics and marginalize opposition.
  It started, of course, with the IRS targeting scandal. I know a 
little bit about it, being the ranking member on the Senate Finance 
Committee. The IRS has admitted that in the runup to the 2010 and 2012 
elections it was improperly targeting conservative groups applying for 
tax-exempt status by harassment and intimidation. Now, for obvious 
reasons, President Obama has tried to sweep this scandal under the rug, 
but the record is pretty clear on the matter. The IRS singled out 
conservative groups--groups that were critical of the President and his 
policies--for extra scrutiny. These conservative groups were subjected 
to delays in their applications. Some still haven't gotten their 
approval after years of trying. In several cases they were asked a 
number of intrusive and harassing questions about their activities and 
goals. There is no getting around this; that is exactly what happened. 
This turn of events has left a black cloud over the IRS as an agency 
and seriously damaged the public's trust in government.
  Let's be clear. The IRS did not engage in these activities in a 
vacuum. On the contrary, they were cheered on by some of my colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle who, rather than simply dealing with 
criticism they didn't agree with, urged the IRS to apply more scrutiny 
to these conservative organizations.
  Unfortunately, after the political targeting scandal, the IRS wasn't 
finished. The pattern continued. Late last year the agency unveiled a 
regulatory proposal designed to limit the ``political activities'' of 
501(c)(4) organizations. If finalized, these regulations would 
effectively silence grassroots organizations across the country. They

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would no longer be able to engage in activities as innocuous as voter 
registration drives or candidate forums without those activities being 
labeled ``political.''
  The purpose of these regulations is very clear. The administration 
does not want grassroots organizations educating the public on the 
issues of the day. They certainly don't want them informing people 
about candidates' positions on matters of public policy. This 
regulation is designed specifically to put a stop to all of that.
  It is no surprise that this proposal has been condemned by groups 
across the political spectrum. Indeed, any objective observer would 
call this what it is: an affront to free speech and fair debate.
  But, as I said, there is a pattern here. It is an ongoing effort on 
the other side to undermine free speech and impose limits on Americans' 
participation in the political process, and it has not stopped with the 
IRS regulations. Just last week it was announced that the Senate 
majority plans to hold a vote on a constitutional amendment that would 
limit the scope of the first amendment and allow Congress to impose 
limits on political speech--just last week. It is difficult to imagine 
that we have come to that, but here we are.
  Political speech is critical to our democracy. Indeed, this principle 
is at the very foundation of our Republic. It is one the Supreme Court 
has upheld time and time again, including very recently. Yet, when 
confronted with speech they don't like, my friends on the other side of 
the aisle are willing to use every tool at their disposal to even 
change the text of the Constitution itself in order to silence it.
  In a marketplace of ideas like the one the Founders intended, 
disagreeable speech can easily be met with additional speech, and in 
the end the truth will almost certainly prevail. But, alas, my friends 
don't appear to be interested in the truth or a marketplace of ideas. 
They only want one store that will only sell ideas with which they 
happen to agree. It is truly mind-boggling, but that is where we are.
  This isn't the end of the pattern. In fact, the pattern of hostility 
toward free speech and the effort to intimidate and silence critics 
continues virtually every day here on the Senate floor. Almost every 
day Democratic Senators, including members of the Senate Democratic 
leadership, come to the floor to call out American citizens by name and 
demonize them for having the audacity to participate in the political 
process. They use the Senate's time and resources to single out 
individuals whose only crime is that they happen to have different 
views on public policy. I suppose their other crime is that they are 
successful, which is more often than not enough to draw the ire of my 
friends on the other side. When you couple success in the economy with 
criticism of Democrats and their policies, it is apparently too much 
for my colleagues to bear. Day after day Democratic leaders come to the 
floor to call out these Americans by name in order to attack them. They 
spread falsehoods about these Americans and their intentions, and they 
malign the entire conservative movement and Republican Party as guilty 
by association.
  Even if this type of demagoguery weren't unbecoming of the Senate--
which it is--these attacks would be shameful in their own right. After 
all, how are these unjustified attacks on American citizens going to 
help our struggling economy? How are these attacks going to create jobs 
for the middle class?
  And, how are these attacks on American citizens going to rein in our 
already out-of-control national debt? They are not, and they are not 
intended to.
  As I said, these days Democrats have two missions: No. 1, to solidify 
their base and, No. 2, marginalize their opposition, and when they come 
to the floor every day to make bogeymen out of individual Americans, 
they are doing both. They are not, as they claim to be, trying to take 
money out of the political equation. If they were, they would be just 
as concerned with those on their side who spend millions bankrolling 
liberal causes and Democratic candidates. I am talking, of course, 
about the labor unions, trial lawyers, and billionaire 
environmentalists who have pledged to spend hundreds of millions of 
dollars in this campaign cycle alone. Instead, they are trying to scare 
up votes.
  Apparently they believe if they can make scapegoats out of those who 
choose to participate in the political process, they can cover up the 
fact their policies have failed to get our economy moving and that they 
don't have any real answers to the real problems plaguing our country. 
Perhaps more importantly, they think if they can attack certain 
individuals for their political activities, others will be afraid to 
get similarly involved. Once again, this is a pattern of hostility 
against both free speech and against any Americans who speak out 
against the policies of the Democrats. Quite frankly, it is simply 
shameful that it has gone this far.
  We need to have a different conversation. We need to talk about ideas 
and proposals that will actually help the American people. I hope in 
the coming months my friends on the other side of the aisle will be 
willing to have this conversation rather than simply relying on 
underhanded tactics that, in the view of many, demean our government 
and the Senate in particular. That is the type of debate the American 
people want to see, and I think they are smart enough to see through 
anything the other side wants to offer in its place.
  I have never seen it this bad in the Senate. I have never seen this 
body so ineffectual in my 38 years in the Senate. I have never seen 
such politics played in this awful manner. I have never seen people's 
free speech rights being criticized and demeaned as is going on right 
now. That is not to say we have not had some faults on our side too, 
but I do have to say what is going on here is unbelievable.
  Since they broke the rules to change the rules, the Senate has not 
functioned as a great legislative body at all. It won't be functioning 
until we get those rules back. I believe when some of our colleagues on 
the other side, many of whom have never been in the minority, finally 
get in the minority--and I believe that is going to happen sooner 
rather than later--they are going to realize these rights are very 
important. They are going to realize we should be doing more in the 
Senate than trying to protect our side from any possible repercussions 
that could occur, which seems to be the major aim of our colleagues--or 
at least the leadership--on the other side at this time.
  This is a great body. We have great people whom I deeply admire on 
both sides of the floor. There were Senators, who are now gone, on the 
other side of the floor whom I deeply admired. Never have we had, as 
far as I can remember in my 38 years, this type of stultification of 
free and fair and open debates. It is a disgrace. I think they know it 
is a disgrace, but they don't care; they are more interested in power 
than they are in doing what is right.
  The way they have singled out various conservative individuals by 
name on the floor is deeply troubling to anybody who is fair. The fact 
is the Democrats have never liked money. They try to blame Wall Street 
for everything, but Wall Street is run primarily by Democrats. We do 
have an occasional Republican up there, but an awful lot of them are 
Democrats who are giving big dollars to the Democratic side. They have 
a right to do it if they want to without being demeaned on the Senate 
floor. I hope we will have not only free and open debate, but that we 
will have better and more honest debate in the future.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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