Vote the presiding officer is there any senator in the chamber who wishes to vote or change his or her vote . Seeing none, the motion is agreed to. The yeas are 49 and the nays are 44. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion. We, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of thomas p. Barber of michigan to be an under secretary of the treasury, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of thomas p. Barber of michigan to be under secretary of the treasury shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk should call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer is any senator in the chamber who wishes to vote or change his or her vote . Seeing none, the ayes are 54. Nays 40. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Brian Callanan of new jersey to be general counsel for the department of the treasury signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of Brian Callanan of new jersey to be general counsel of the department of treasury be brought to a close. Yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk shall call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . Seeing none, the ayes are 55, the nays are 37. The motion is agreed to. The clerks shall report the nomination. The Clerk Department of the treasury, Brian Callanan of new jersey to be general counsel. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, the postcloture time on the destro, mcintosh and callanan nominations expire at 11 00 a. M. On wednesday, september 18. And if the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten mings each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 314 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 314, honoring the centennial of the aerospace industrys association. The presiding officer is there objection proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Wednesday, september 18. Further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the destro nomination under the previous order. The presiding officer objection . Without objection, so ordered. Mr. Mcconnell so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of our democratic colleagues. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Stabenow mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from michigan. Ms. Stabenow thank you, mr. President i rise this evening with many of my democratic colleagues to speak about an issue thats on the mind of families all across our country, and i want to thank senator murphy for organizing this very important action this evening. You know, back to school always brings back such great memories of my own children, my son and daughter, and i remember them packing crayons and paper in their new backpacks and eagerly heading off to meet their new teachers and catch up with friends, to talk about what they did during the summer. Its always been such appear exciting time of year its always been such an exciting time of year for them. Unfortunately, its not the same now for their children, my grandchildren. I have two grandsons and a granddaughter that are now in school, and the first new question that was asked when buying their backpacks was, do you want a Bulletproof Backpack . Do you want a Bulletproof Backpack was one of the questions in buying their backpacks for school. I also think of two weeks ago when my youngest grandson, who was in school, started second great, and my daughter and i were talking about the fact that in addition to all of the excitement and the Energy Around starting school that there were changes, like a new front door and bulletproof windows and a new way to get into the school, walking in, having to stop and buzz and go through another door and all of the changes and the costs that have gone into reconfiguring the school so that you cant walk directly into classrooms, important its important for the school to do that, but im sure that what they would rather have been doing is adding more music and art classes and teachers and technology and other things for the children in that Elementary School rather than bulletproof windows and safety doors to stop a gunman from getting into the school. Americans have learned that whether its a school, a store, a church, a Country Music festival, a Movie Theater or even sitting on your front porch, no place is safe anymore. Thanks to this countrys epidemic of gun have, even a child playing gun violence, even a child playing football in their backyard or doing homework in their own home can become a target of a stray bullet. Last week Senate Democrats release add report that shows 100 americans are killed by guns every single day. 100 people every single day. Thats enough people to fill every desk in this chamber day after day after day. 100 People Killed by gun violence every single day. In fact, since the house passed the bipartisan background checks act, there have been an estimated 20,200 People Killed by gun violence. 12,322 suicides using a gun. And 808 children 808 children killed by firearms. Those are some of the numbers. But were not here tonight to just talk about numbers. Were talking about peoples lives. These people have names like judy and marie jo and richard and tyler. These six people were killed in 2016 when an uber driver went on a shooting spree across kalamazoo county, michigan. Two other people, abigail and tiana, were gravely wounded. Tiana watched the car coming toward here and saw the driver pull out a handgun. Tiana told her daughters to run and stood still to shield them. Once she knew they were safe, she tried to get away, too. The gunman pulled the trigger 15 times. Tiana was shot four times. Only when she laid on the ground and played dead did the bullets stop. Broken bodies, shattered families, grieving communities. This story is one that is repeated across this country every single day now, and it has to stop. The American People expect the senate to do its job and to take action to make their lives better and safer. Unfortunately, that isnt happening. And the American People are paying the price. 202 days ago 202 days ago the Democratic House passed the bipartisan background checks act. 202 days ago, which would require a background check for every gun sale. Something Pretty Simple and common sense. That could have stopped the shooter in west texas who killed seven innocent peopled and wounded another 25. It makes you wonder how many of the 301 Mass Shootings that have happened since january 1 could have been prevented and how many lives could have been saved. Requiring a background check for every gun purchase isnt controversial. In fact, its what americans are asking for. Its pretty common sense. You know, you come from rural michigan you know, i come from rural michigan. And in Northern Michigan and my whole family is involved in hunting and all of the Great Outdoor sports. And i have lived with legal, safety gun ownership my whole life. And no one in my family believes that someone should be able to buy a gun without getting a background check. Its just common sense. And thats why more than 90 of americans Want Congress to do just that, to pass universal background checks. And yet the bill sits on the Senate Republican leaders desk. Senator mcconnells desk waiting, waiting, waiting for action for 202 days. While Mitch Mcconnell and President Trump wait for approval from bigmoney special interests, americans are dying. Its time to act. You know, the beginning of school should be something that our young people look forward to, not fear. Next year students at a high school in michigan will attend a brandnew school in a brandnew building. It has all sorts of amenities. Ten science classes with labs. An art studio complete with pottery kilms. It will also feature curved hallways to reduce a shooters sight lines. Theshatterproof glass and wing walls that will provide places for students to hide in classrooms. Its great that the School District is investing in the safety of its students, but its also heartbreaking that they have to do so. Students in fruit port and across michigan should be focused on next weeks math test or tomorrow nights football game, not where they can duck and take cover in their school. Its time for in earthquake its time for america to stop failing their young people. Majority leader mcconnell, what are you waiting for . I yield the floor. Mr. Durbin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Mr. Durbin mr. President , i want to thank my colleague from michigan and those who have joined together on the democratic side to speak out on the issue of gun safety this afternoon and this evening. I guess one of the real blessings in life is to have a grandchild, and ive got some good ones, six really good once. And one of them is a little girl who has just entered the third grade in a Public School in brooklyn, new york. She is sea a sweetheart, and i she is sea a sweetheart, and i love her to pieces. But she came home to tell her mom and dad last year when she was in second great that they just had a drill in her classroom, and they told her what to do if someone showed up in the hallway or outside with a gun hide under the desks, stay away from the windows. To think that that little 7yearold girl had to receive that kind of warning in America Today breaks my heart. Why . Does anyone really honestly believe that when the Second Amendment to the constitution was written, they envisioned the fear that would go through the minds of children who, after connecticut, worry that some shooter will come in with a semiautomatic weapon and kill dozens of kids in one moment . Thats the reality of gun violence today. Thats one of the realities. And its one that just breaks my heart as a father and grandfather. Over the past few weeks, our nation has been rocked by Mass Shootings in el paso and dayton and odessa, texas. 38 victims dead, dozens more injured. According to the gun violence archive, so far this year there have been 300 Mass Shootings that means shootings where more than four people were shot in one event. This is in addition to the daily toll of gun homicides, suicides, and accidents that kill nearly 40,000 americans a year. Every week i see the grim statistics of People Killed and wounded by gunfire in my home state of illinois. Just this past weekend just this past weekend in chicago, eight people were killed, 19 more injured by gunfire. Gun violence is an epidemic in america. It affects communities large and small. Ive met countless people whove lost loved ones or have been traumatized by gun violence. Millions of americans now live in fear that when they send their kids or grandkids off to school, when they go to a Movie Theater, a concert, church, even when they sit on their front porch they could be shot. This is unacceptable. America is better than this. There are many people in this great nation who are doing all they can to try to reduce the rep of shootings. The epidemic of shootings. Law enforcement, parents, teachers, the medical community and public officials. But what are we doing in the United States senate . The answer is nothing. Nothing. There is no single reform that can prevent every shooting, but we know there are big gaps in our gun laws that make it easy for felons, abusers, and mentally unstable people to get their hands on guns. Closing these holes and loopholes in the background check system would significantly reduce shootings and save lives. It is estimated that 22 of gun sales nationwide currently occur without a background check. Now, i know the critics say, great, senator, youre going to have better background checks. The people who want thats guns arent going to go through that process. It turns out last year 100,000 of them were ignorant to try. They were caught in the act. They had been disqualified under federal law, yet they made that try. Why would we ever let them successfully buy a firearm in without a real background check, they will. The gun show and internet loopholes are the problems that haunt us today. They enable unlicensed sellers to make sales without even checking on the background of the buyer. According to news reports, the gunman in odessa shooting bought his gun through a private sale with into background check because he previously failed a check. Clearly there is a gap if the law that needs to be closed. Polling consistently shows that 90 of americans support closing these gaps in the background check system. How many other issues do 90 of americans agree on . One this politically fraught to have that kind of number for democrats, republicans, and independents . The people of america are trying to tell the senators to do something and yet senator mcconnell refuses. Even the conservative republican Lieutenant Governor of texas has caused for closing these gaps in the background check system. I hope the senators from Lieutenant Governor patricks state are listening. The house of representatives has listened and done something. The bipartisan house background check bill, h. R. 8, passed the house 240190 on a bipartisan roll call on february 27. Here we are over 200 days later, and the senate, which does virtually nothing every single day, the senate through senator mcconnells leadership, refuses to even consider this bill. Senate republicans refuse to even consider the bipartisan housepassed gun safety legislation that americans of both Political Parties overwhelmingly support. In fact, they are avoiding taking up any bills at all. Week after week after week, we vote on nomination after nomination after nomination. We hardly ever debate. We hardly ever vote on legislation to address the needs the American People say are the primary concerns in their minds. While Republican Leadership in the senate these days doesnt seem to like to vote, they do like to tweet, so perhaps we shouldnt have been surprised when one of our republican colleagues, the junior senator from texas, responded to a recent mass shooting by tweeting criticism of gun laws in the city of chicago. There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding by this senator and some other republicans who believe that despite what the maps show us, that chicago is actually an island. Well, its not. They team to think that there is no way that people could actually drive 20 minutes into northwest indiana, go to a gun show, buy a truckload of guns, and sell them in the alleyways of the city of chicago at night. It happens. And its the reason why a state law cant solve the problem. Chicagos mayor, my friend, lori lightfoot, pointed out the obvious to the junior senator from texas. 60 of illegal firearms recovered in chicago come from out of state. Thats why we need a federal background check reform bill like the one that passed the house. Mayor lightfoot is right, and she graciously invited senator cruz, our colleague, to actually come visit chicago to see its not an island. Its connected to other states, and to see what the city is doing trying to work to reduce the scourge of gun violence and how republican senators, if they really want to help, can help by passing legislation for true background checks. I hope that the senator from texas accepts the invitation. Its a great town. Wed like to show it to him. Another area in which this donothing senate has fallen short is when it comes to Public Safety threats posed by violent White Supremacists. I have introduced the domestic terrorist prevention act. Its the only legislation pending in the senate to address white supremacist violence. The gunman in the august 3 mass shooting in el paso posted a white supremacist manifesto before he shot and killed 22 people and injured 24 others at a walmart. Unfortunately, not a an isolated incident. An unclassified may, 2017, joint intelligence bulletin found that, quote, white extremist sprism poses lethal violence. It also finds that White Supremacists were responsible for 29 homicides and 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016. More than any other domestic extremist group. At a july hearing, i asked the f. B. I. Director, mr. Wray, and he told me that a majority of domestic terrorism arrests this year involve White Supremacists, white nationalists, and now they call themselves white identitarians. Its clear that White Supremacists are the most significant terrorist group facing America Today. What have we done to address this . Nothing. Just like h. R. 8, just like the gun safety legislation which we should be considering, senator mcconnell refuses to bring anything before the senate. By bill cosponsored by 21 senators, including democratic leader senator schumer, would establish offices to combat domestic terrorism at the justice department, f. B. I. , and department of homeland security. These offices will be required to take concrete steps to prevent domestic terrorism, including assessing and publicly reporting on domestic terrorism threats, focusing limited resources on those significant threats, and providing information, training, and resources to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement. This would produce a sustained, coordinated effort with significantly more resources directed toward combating white supremacist violence. It would make america safer. Its time for the Senate Republican majority leader, senator mcconnell, to let the senate be a senate, to actually debate. I stand tonight on the floor and im honored to be here, but lets face it. Im giving a speech to a largely empty chamber in the hopes that some following this speech on cspan or reading it later may take some information of value from it. I would much rather be engaged in a debate at this very moment on h. R. 8, how to pass it. If necessary, how to amend it. But to do something to respond to gun violence in chicago and illinois but across the entire United States, its time for senator mcconnell to let the senate be the senate and vote on the housepassed gun background check bill. And we need to take another up other critical legislation as well, to be prevent gun violence and domestic terrorism. I hope that hell consider my bill on White Supremacists. This legislation can make us safer and save lives, if we can just bring it to a vote. I yield the floor. Mrs. Murray madam president. The presiding officer the senator from washington. Mrs. Murray as we grieve with the communities from el paso and dayton and midland, i cant help but be reminded of the seattle jewish federation, marysville, Seattle Pacific university, freeman high school, and so many other communities in my home state of washington and nationwide that are suffering as a result of tragic and tragically preventable gun violence. After each of these heartbreaking events, families in Washington State ask me why does this keep happening and why can we not stop it . And the answer is the same every time. We cant stop it because republicans, led by leader mcconnell and now President Trump, wont let us. Because of this inaction, we have entered a very destructive cycle. People going about their days to school and Movie Theater, place of worship to places where they should feel safe, lose their lives to gun violence. Communities and democrats speak out. We call for commonsense reforms such as the universal background checks which the vast majority of americans support. And meanwhile, republicans stand by and refuse to take any meaningful action to stop these violent, senseless, preventable deaths so nothing happens here in congress. And then months, weeks, days, or even hours later, the cycle starts all over again. Every time we have seen this cycle across all of the terrible shootings that have plagued our country in recent years, there are two Common Threads. The first is that in response to tragedy, communities have banded together to make their voices heard and press for change. I have been proud of gun advocates in Washington State like the alliance for gun responsibility and moms demand action chapters in spokane and across the state who are leading the way and staying determined. The second Common Thread is Senate Republicans. Every time we push for lifesaving reforms, it always ends in the same place with the same thing standing in the way of change, and the most us from trading part of this is that there are steps we could take right now today that will save lives. The house has passed the universal background checks legislation, which are 8, with bipartisan support, but its now languishing here in the Senate Despite our calls for a vote, all because the majority leader just wont bring it up. And President Trump, who is so willing to use his bully pulpit for far less worthy causes, hasnt used it to take action in ways that could save lives right now. In other words, the president and Senate Republicans continue to make clear they are more interested in protecting the n. R. A. Than the families in my home state and across the country, and that is simply unacceptable, and democrats are not going to stop calling for action. Leader mcconnell should break this cycle here and now by putting h. R. 8 up for a vote which would implement universal background checks and close inexplicable gun show and internet loopholes. Considering that more than 80 of americans support universal background checks, this bill should be a nobrainer, and it is the first step we need to take to curb gun violence in our country, but it cant be the only one. If we are serious about truly putting an end to this epidemic, we should look at legislation to expand access to extreme Risk Protection orders which has, by the way, been implemented in my home state of washington to get guns out of the hands of those who are in crisis. We should limit magazine sizes. We should revive the assault weapons ban and invest in Gun Violence Research prevention. These commonsense reforms can help us begin to break this cycle, but we have got to take action now to curb gun violence, and that means starting with the universal background check legislation that is waiting right here in the senate to take action. My democratic colleagues here in the senate and i have repeatedly called for a vote on h. R. 8, and were going to keep putting pressure on republicans in the senate until we get one. But we cant do it alone. We need to keep lifting up our voices together to demand change, as we did, after sandy hook, after parkland, after marysville, and now following the terror in texas and in ohio. Its not easy. Im not going to give up and i know the millions of parents and grandparents and students and so many across our nation are not going to give up either. Together, we can break this senseless cycle. And it starts with the majority leader. Mr. President , while we often disagree on the steps we believe need to be taken, i believe that all of us who are left in the senate would say that we came here to make a difference, and certainly to do whatever we could to ensure that the people we represent are safe. Right now, far too often, they are not. So the senate is not doing its job. So, mr. President , i call on the majority leader to let us vote on h. R. 8. Lets send it to the president s desk. Lets do what the vast majority of americans want us to do and take this first step to stop gun violence so we can finally begin to put a stop to this terrible deadly cycle. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Heinrich we are all coming to the senate floor tonight to demand that the senate take real steps to address our gun violence edmonton. This epidemic epidemic. This epidemic is wide reaching. We know so many who have grown weary from the shootings in our schools. In my home state of new mexico, in recent years, we have seen gun violence tragically take the lives of High School Students in aztec and clovis. And just last month, College Students in hobbs. Every student and teacher should feel safe at school. No parent should have to live in fear of their child not coming home at the end of the day. Across our nation, we have witnessed with grave horror mass shooters armed with assault rifles gun down americans in churches, in synagogues, in concert venues, and in shopping centers. Amid our grief and anguish, americans have come together to call on their leaders to not let this senseless, heartwrenching violence continue unabated. They are calling on us to do something. We can no longer accept these horrific shootings as the status quo. In my hometown offal becur key, three teenagers were shot in death in multiple shootings across our city. Six others were wounded and while police are still investigating these senseless acts of violence, no one can tell me that this level of gun violence is somehow acceptable. And there are things that we can do. There is no doubt that this debate brings up very emotional and difficult questions, and there are large challenges that we need to grapple with that are fueling gun violence in america. Many of the most horrific acts of violence and terror that weve witnessed have been inspired by hateful ideologies, by racist bigotry, and by divisive rhetoric. But we need to acknowledge that they were carried out with deadly weapons. Weapons that we are clearly not doing enough to keep out of the hands of those who would seek to cause us harm. We may not all agree on what steps should be taken at the federal level to address this crisis, but can we at least agree that something needs to be done to combat the epidemic of gun violence in this country. We need to listen to our nations students and mothers who are calling for us to come together on the things that we can agree on. At the very least, that includes universal background checks. There is Bipartisan Legislation on background checks that passed out of the house that is sitting on the majority leaders desk right now. Lets vote on that bill. Someone who cant pass a background check should not be allowed to purchase a firearm. We shouldnt be putting guns in the hands of those convicted of Domestic Violence or sexual assault, who continue to be a threat to their victims, someone who has been found by family and friends to be a danger to themselves and their community should not be in the possession of a deadly firearm. And if our government has put someone on a nofly list because of the risk that they pose, we shouldnt allow that potential terrorist to buy a gun. I cant frankly understand how any of that is controversial. But the Senate Majority is refusing to act. Theyre hoping that if they hide long enough, if they hide long enough, this will just blow over. Can we at least agree that more Public Health and Scientific Research is needed on this gun violence epidemic . All of us in some way are grasping for answers on our nations unparalleled violence. But even Funding Research into gun violence is being vetoed by the n. R. A. Its hard to believe that Senate Republicans could find a way to be against so many commonsense solutions. Nearly every solution is being rejected. The overwhelming majority of americans, including gun owners like myself, agree that Congress Needs to finally take these real steps to address gun violence. Look, this is not an issue that i take lightly. Like many americans, i am a gun owner. But with that privilege should come a great deal of responsibility. Im teaching my two sons how to responsibly use firearms. In fact, when our family sits down to a meal that includes red meat, it is almost always from the wild game that we have harvested. I think youll find when you talk to most gun owners, to most sportsmen, they more than anyone know how much we need to respect the deadly force inherent in these tools. And most agree that we should make sure that firearms are used responsibly and safely. Those of us in congress should never hide behind phony arguments that use fear to intimidate us away from action. Americans are desperate for us to act. So i will join my democratic colleagues once again in calling upon majority leader mcconnell and President Trump. Enough is enough. It is long past time to doing is, to stop hiding, it is long past time for us to turn our nations grief and frustration into meaningful action to protect our kids and our communities. Madam president , i would yield back. Mrs. Gillibrand mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from new york. Mrs. Gillibrand madam president , i rise to join my colleagues, senator heinrich, and the others who have come before, in calling on senator mcconnell to act now to address the gun crisis in our country. Every day that the Senate Republican leaders renews to act, they are making a choice to be complicit as more lives continue to be lost. People across my state and the one want to see action, and theyre tired of waiting for it. Ive met with countless families across new york who have lost their children, spouses, friends, community members, neighbors to gun violence. Ive met people who have survived Mass Shootings and people who live every single day with the threat of gun violence in their neighborhoods. Ive heard their stories and seen thousand their lives have been foreign torn apartment by gun violence and paid i want to tell some of those stories to you. One of citizens units from long island and a father of Young Children was at the route 91 harvest Music Festival for work. He heard loud popping noises and soon realized they werent coming from the performance on stage but from a gun. As the shooter fired round after round, robert hid behind a metal vending machine for protection. The bullets being fired around him were so powerful, he could actually feel the shock waves. He said he would never forget the silence of 20,000 people at a concert or the horrific screams of grown men and women he could hear as the gunman reloaded. He was lucky. He survived. But 58 people did not, and many more were injured. Another new yorker, trudel, had to make the unthinkable decision to take her husband off life support after he was shot in the cross fire of two rival gangs at a Community Festival in brooklyn. He was just an innocent bystander, and ironically, he was an attorney for the state who helped draft the new york state the new york safe act, which set a precedent for one of the strongest gun laws in the country. But he was not immune from gun violence himself. As trunel told it, her husbands life and bright life were extinguished by guns. At the trial, trunel heard a criminal testify about how easy it was for him to purchase a gun and traffic it from georgia to new york. It should not be this easy for criminals to get access to dangerous weapons. It should not be so easy for lives to be taken so senselessly. One mother i met in new york, jackie row adams lost not one but two sons to gun violence. One of her sons was shot when he was 17 years old outside a bodega in harlem. The reason . Two men with a gun believed that her son was staring at them. So they killed him. Ms. Roadams lost her second son during a robbery outside of her apartment. The bill who shot him was only 13 years old. He should never have had access to a gun. Imagine the horror of being a mother and losing two of your sons to gun violence and then theres another one of my constituents, edwin vargas. His 16yearold son luis, was killed on halloween when unknown gunmen decided to fire a weapon into the crowd in a neighbored in in the brooks. The gunman was irritated by a group of teenagers who were throwing eggs in his neighborhood, so he began to randomly shoot no the crowd. Shoot into the crowd. The gunman hit three innocent bystanders including luis. Luis was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. These are the tragic stories, heartwrenching stories that new yorkers have shared with me. But they are by no means unique. In every state around the one there are too many stories just like these. The relate tate is that Mass Shootings the reality is that Mass Shootings can and have happened all over this nun all types of places. Gun violence is being abouting the new normal in earthquake in. Certainly it has happened in arizona, madam president. But we do not have to live in a country where Mass Shootings occur in our schools, our houses of worship, our Movie Theaters, playgrounds, stores, our Community Gatherings and festivals and concerts and nightclubs and on your congresses. Madam president , i am speaking to you and to every other republican in this chamber because we all have a responsibility to do the right thing and stand up to the n. R. A. And stand up to the greed and corruption that is in this country today that makes every decision about whether we have a vote on commonsense gun reforms. I could poll your state for you. I can ask every n. R. A. Member in america, do you support universal background checks, banning large magazines, militarystyle weapons, leave enemy in the hands of military members, not someone who walks into a store and buys it because he wants to shoot large numbers of people in minutes and seconds. Thats whats happening in America Today. And id like you to look up because i have to say, this is something all of us should be caring about. Especially from arizona, where my dear friend gabby give d. Gabby giffords was shot. Where a young woman was shot and died. It is not okay. The time for turning a blind eye is over i yield the floor. Mr. Udall madam president. The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall madam president , i believe were not in a quorum call. Is that correct . The presiding officer that is correct. Mr. Udall thank you. Thank you for the recognition, madam president. Last month on august 22, an 86yearold grandmother born and raised in my hometown of santa fe, new mexico, was gunned down while she was shopping at walmart in el paso by a white supremacist with an ak47 style assault weapon. The gunman said, and this is his quote, he wanted to shoot as many mexicans as possible, end quote. The shooter told police he had purchased 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Less than 24 hours later it took the shooter in dayton, ohio, only 32 seconds to kill 10 people and wound 27 others with his 223caliber high capacity rifle with 100 round drum magazines. Had the Dayton Police not responded immediately the numbers of dead and injured in the crowded dayton downtown area could have been exponentially higher. On august 31 in odessa, texas, a shooter killed 7 and injured 25, including a 17monthold girl who was shot in the face. The shooter had failed a background check in 2014 because a court had found he was mentally unfit to own a gun. He purchased his ar15 style weapon in a private gun sale, not subject to a background check. Assault rifles often paired with highcapacity magazines were used to slaughter innocents at sandy hook, las vegas, aurora aurora, older, san bernardino, the Sutherland Springs church and the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh. According to the gun violence archive, there have been 10,552 gunrelated deaths this year. That includes 2,681 children and teens and Mass Shootings number 300. Thats more than one mass shooting every day of this year. Madam president , the American People support commonsense gun safety legislation in overwhelming numbers e. Recent polls confirm that 90 or more registered voters support background checks for all gun sales 90 , think of that. The American People support a ban on highcapacity magazines. They support a ban on assault weapons. They support keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. People all across the country are worried about their communities, their schools, their churches, their children. Theyre worried they will be caught in the next mass shooting, that their community will be the next el paso, the next sandy hook or the next aztec. When i was in school, we had safety drills in the event of a Nuclear Strike from the soviet union. Children now have safety drills in the event of a shooter from within our own communities. Madam president , the American People are demanding Congress Take action on this national crisis. After el paso and dayton, many of us implored leader mcconnell to call us back into session to vote on the Gun Safety Bills sitting on his desk gathering dust. Leader mcconnell says he will only bring bills before the senate that the president will sign. Madam president , we are the legislative body. We are sent here by our constituents to pass laws, to do their will, to protect their welfare. We do not depend on the president to pass gun safety legislation. We do not have to wait for him while the n. R. A. Lobbyists try to wear him down. He can take his queues cues from us for a change. We are not his lap dogs. Protecting our communities, schools, and churches cannot wait, cannot be relegated to the leaders legislative graveyard. Too many lives have been lost. Too many lives will be lost if we dont act. The fact is too Many Republican elected officials are beholden to the scandalridden National Rifle association. The n. R. A. No longer even represents gun owners. It represents the gun industry. And now we know it also represents Dark Campaign spending and internal corruption. Theres no mystery why the republicans refused to take up gun safety legislation that americans overwhelmingly support. The n. R. A. Has poured millions into Campaign Coffers and they use that money to intimidate members of congress in opposing bills with 90 support nationally. This is yet one more example why we need to overturn Citizens United and enact comprehensive Campaign Finance reform. Our Democratic Institutions are not representing the people. We need to pass the bills on leader mcconnells desk, but we should not stop there. We also must halt the rise of White Nationalism and White Supremacy in our country. Hateful views have fueled too many of these tragedies. The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in charleston, south carolina. The tree of life synagogue, el paso. The el paso shooters fear of, quote, the hispanic invasion of texas, end quote. Too closely echoes the president s repeated warnings of an invasion at our southern border. The shooters antiimmigrant creed rings of the president s attacks on immigrants as criminals and rapists that need to be kept out of our country by a border wall. Las cruces, new mexico is 45 minutes from el paso. El paso is like a sibling to us. New mexico, like el paso, takes great pride in our diversity. Our diversity does not divide us. It defines us. It unifies us. The president s antiimmigrant nativist rhetoric is not only deeply offensive to new mexicans, it also fuels the worst elements of our society, elements that now have ready access to militarystyle weapons. The f. B. I. Director recently reported to congress that the bureau had arrested almost as many domestic terrorists as Foreign Terrorists this year. He said most of the racially motivated domestic terrorism cases were likely connected to White Supremacy. It is up to this body to stand up to the president s antiimmigrant and racist rhetoric and unequivocally affirm this nations values, values of equality, of tolerance, and inclusiveness. And, madam president , its up to this body to stand up to the n. R. A. And stand with the American People. Madam president , i would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call
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