[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9481]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           FIGHTING TERRORISM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday the Justice Department 
released a transcript of the Orlando terrorist's 9-1-1 call in which he 
claimed responsibility for the attack and declared his loyalty to ISIL.
  ``What's your name?'' the operator asked.
  ``My name,'' he said, ``is I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-
Baghdadi of the Islamic State.''
  It was 2:35 a.m., a half-hour into his terrorist attack. The 
terrorist would soon meet his end at the hands of law enforcement, and 
first responders would make their way through the aftermath of his 
ISIL-inspired hatred--the deafening hum of unanswered cell phones 
crescendoing around them.
  CIA Director Brennan called this terrorist attack ``an assault on the 
values of openness and tolerance that define us as a nation.'' He is 
right. The report he delivered to Congress last week was sobering.
  Here is what seems clear to me.
  It seems clear that this vile, hateful terrorist organization is 
going to keep bringing tragedies to our doorsteps until we defeat ISIL 
where it actually trains, operates, and prepares for attacks--places 
like Iraq and Syria.
  It also seems clear that the President's current ``containment'' 
strategy has not been sufficient to defeat ISIL abroad or to prevent 
more ISIL-inspired attacks right here at home.
  The President needs to finally lead a campaign to accomplish this 
objective.
  Senators in both parties should work to fight terror beyond our 
borders and prevent attacks within them. This is an area where 
Republicans have long been focused. Now is the time for Democrats to 
join us too. Work with us to connect the dots on terrorist 
communications. Work with us to address the threat of lone-wolf 
attacks. Work with us to prevent more Americans from being inspired by 
ISIL, like the terrorist in Orlando.
  Yesterday Democrats had a chance to support serious constitutional 
proposals from Senators Cornyn and Grassley that would have helped to 
keep guns and explosives out of the hands of terrorists and improve the 
national background check system. While a majority of the Senate voted 
to support these proposals, most Democrats voted against both.
  So let me say this again. Senator Cornyn put forward a serious 
proposal designed to prevent known or suspected terrorists from being 
able to buy a gun, and Democrats voted against it.
  Now, does that mean Democrats have decided to sell weapons to ISIL? 
Of course not. Democrats surely don't believe their leadership's claim 
that any Senator voted to sell guns to terrorists last night, just as 
Democrats really don't believe that every Democrat who voted against 
the Cornyn amendment to block such sales and take terrorists off the 
streets is guilty of voting to sell guns to terrorists.
  We all agree that the Obama administration must prevent the sale of 
guns to terrorists. Disagreeing on how best to do that doesn't require 
amateur claims that we all know to be false.
  So why don't we get serious. ISIL is not the JV team. It is not 
contained. We need to defeat it overseas if we want to prevent more 
terrorist tragedies here at home.
  By working together in the Senate, we could give this President and 
the next one more tools to achieve that objective, and we could advance 
commonsense, counterterror solutions to keep Americans safer here at 
home.
  This week we will have the opportunity to strengthen our ability to 
combat lone-wolf terrorists and connect the dots so we are better able 
to prevent terrorist attacks here in the United States. It is an 
example of serious, thoughtful policy where we can work together to 
make progress for the American people.

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