The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Our father, may your name be praised. Lord, use our senators today to permit justice to rule in our land. Remind them that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is an equal opportunity destroyer. As our lawmakers strive to do your will, reward their faithfulness,. Illuminate their hearts with your wisdom and love. Help them to remember that the entire ethical requirement is fulfilled by loving your neighbor as you love yourself. May this love for those in need hasten the day when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. Continue to be our strength and fortress, sustaining us with your amazing grace. We pray in your merciful name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Grassley madam president. The presiding officer the senator from iowa is recognized. Mr. Grassley one minute for morning business, please. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley the virus l pandemic underscores the very vital contribution pharmaceutical scientists make for our nations Public Health, our nations economic prosperity, and our way of life. It also confirms that we need a policy solution to treat soaring health care prices. The American People want the best medical cures at prices they can afford. The Prescription Drug pricing reduction act is a winning solution. Lets get it to the president s desk without delay. It will help secure american way of life in a postpandemic world for generations to come. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Mcconnell madam president. The presiding officer the majority leader is recognized. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday i explained we cannot let the First Amendment become i ask that the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday i explained we cannot let the First Amendment become another casualty of this troubled moment. No matter how charged the issue, peaceful protests must be protected from suppression by governments or hijackings by violent mobs. In the United States of america, people get to protest. In our country, people also get to worship. As i explained yesterday, local officials cannot selectively enforce Health Restrictions to privilege some First Amendment gatherings over others. If mayors are posing for photographs in massive demonstrations, theres no reason why small careful Church Services should stay banned. These are formal constitutional questions, but our American Culture of Free Expression and open debate is not only threatened from the top down by the government, it can also dry up from beneath. If we are to maintain the civic discourse that has made us great, american citizens and american institutions need to want it. In the last several years, madam president , the New York Times has published opeds from vladimir putin, the foreign minister of iran, and a leader of the muslim brotherhood. They published an essay arguing for greater normalization of pedophilia. As far as i know, none of those decisions occasioned public revolts from the papers staff, handwringing apologies from the editors, or an overhaul of the masses. Presumably it was understood that pushing the envelope and airing disagreements are necessary in a free market of ideas. But one week ago the gray lady finally met her match. Vladimir putin, no problem. Iranian propaganda . Sure. But nothing, nothing could have prepared them for 800 words from the junior senator from arkansas senator cotton wrote an oped explaining a position which one survey found 58 of americans agreed with. He argued that leadership in several cities have proven they either couldnt or wouldnt stop the riots. So President Trumps use to use federal force to secure the peace as several president s have in our history. His view is controversial, no question, but there is also no question it was a legitimate view p for a senator to express. Looting and arson were crippling cities nightly. Some local authorities seemed to be functionally sacrificing their citys Small Businesses to appease the mob. In chicago, weve since learned even democratic alder minnesota were crying and aldermen were crying and pleading with nature mayor to do something about it. So a senator wrote about it. It was met with criticism. It ought to be par for the course. In a free and open society, speech begets speech. Arguments beget counter arguments. We discuss and debate as fellow citizens. But thats not quite what happened. Instead of trying to win the argument, the far left tried to end the discussion. By now we all know the routine. Weve seen this movie before. Rather than actually rebut speech, the far left instead tries to silence the speaker with a with bizarre emotional words that nobody else could have standing to question. This silencing tactic has escaped from the ivory tower and is spreading throughout american life. It sounds like mad libs mixture between a therapy session and a universitys h. R. Department. So sure enough, instead of attempting to defeat senator cottons ideas, the left set out to ban him, to ban him from polite society. Some New York Times employees flooded social media to claim their bosses had risked reporters physical safety with the senators scary words. Outside leftists blasted the paper for airing the argument. The times itself began lying about what senator cotton had said. The papers own twitter account has claimed he called for a crackdown on peaceful protests when he specifically distinguished them from violent rioters. One of the times own opinion writers devoted her column the next day to calling his view fascist and proclaiming him outside the bounds of legitimate debate. Now remember, this is a sitting senator discussing a proposition that had majority support from the American People, discussing a power that Congress Gave to president s 213 years ago and which president s in the past have exercised. Oh, but the facts couldnt hold a candle to the hurt feelings, hurt feelings. The New York Times had aired aired had erred grievously by making people confront a different viewpoint. It hurt their feelings by making them confront a different viewpoint. They had to atone. So when the dust settled, the top opinion editor was gone, his deputy reassigned, the piece was pulled out of the print edition, and a wandering multiparagraph apology now precedes it online. Were talking about the New York Times. I understand the new editor has made it clear that staff should notify her immediately if any published opinion makes them uncomfortable. If any published opinion makes them uncomfortable. One of our nations most storied newspapers just had its intellectual independence challenged by an angry mob, and they folded like a house of cards. Folded like a house of cards. A jury of people on twitter indicted them as accessories to a thought crime, and instead of telling them to go take a hike, the paper pleaded guilty and begged for mercy. Their readers comfortable bubble was reinflated. Their safe space was safe again. Now our colleague from arkansas has a unique job. The far left cannot write angry emails to a University President or a publisher to get him fired. He cannot be silenced by professions of outraiblg or the use professions of outrage or the use of magic words like problem beatic. His he be only bosses are his constituents. But this broader left wing obsession of banning heretics from the Public Square will be poison for this country if it persists. Our republic can survive a pandemic. It can survive civil unrest p. But ideas and deliberation are our very foundation. America cannot be america if civil disagreement becomes a contradiction in terms. The liberal tradition in this country used to pride itself on being broad minded, but we spent years watching major universities slowly exchange debate for uniformity and river for psychological comfort. Now we see the free press repeating that error. So, madam president , lets hope we look back on this as a silly anomaly and not a sad turning point for our democracy. Now on an entirely different matter. Thanks to the bipartisan leadership by colleagues senators daines warner, gardner, we are attending to legislation that will shape the future of the Great American outdoors for the better. Its fitting that the legislation before us comes with support of such a broad Bipartisan Coalition because our National Parks, forests and other public lands are treasured in every state of our union. But the hunters and anglers who look forward to the morning stillness of the black hills and the Big South Fork of the cumberland, by the hikers and campers who plot weekend escapes in shenandoah and joshua tree, by the School Groups and researchers who connect with history at gettysburg and mesa verdicta. Every year hundreds of millions of our people, our fellow americans and visitors from around the world share the gift of our nations public lands. And even more americans in surrounding communities benefit from the jobs and the prosperity that are supported by tourism and recreation. This countrys public lands comprise a tremendously diverse array of landscapes, wildlife, historic sites, and Natural Resources. They are spread out across 419 parks, 568 ref refuges 568 refuges an hundreds of millions of acred space. They did not pop up over night. It has taken years to acquire the lands americans enjoy today and it is the land and Water Conservation fund that this legislation will give permanent support that makes them accessible for generations to come. Today more than five million americans rely directly on Outdoor Recreation for their livelihood. They contribute to 778 billion in Economic Activity. In recent years their industrys growth outpaced an economy that was red hot in its own right. A Bright Future for our public lands is a Bright Future for our nations and the predictable, consistent support provided by the lwcf will play a Critical Role in these efforts. Take my home state of kentucky, for exam. For years i have been proud to advocate for the lwcf to preserve some of the bluegrass wilderness an historic sites. Back in 1996 kentucky was the only state without a wildlife refuge and it was my legislation that secured one at clarks river. Last year additional legislation i authored created additional wildlife. Already the fish and Wild Life Service has marked the green river wildlife refuge as the top priority for the coming year. The dedicated resources in this legislation would be instrumental in kentuckys Newest National treasure along with other areas like clarks river. As the lwcf drives the preservation of more national wetlands, forests and battlefield space in kentucky, i suspect every one of my colleagues is equally proud of similar efforts in their own states. This bill advances a noble cause that has added benefit of being a sound investment. According to one recent analysis every dollar spent through the land and Water Conservation fund turns out 4 in economic benefits. And every Million Dollars directed toward the lwcf in turn supports as many as 30 30 american jobs. So im extremely proud to be a cosponsor of the Great American outdoors act. Im proud of the work our colleagues have put in to get it this far, and i look forward to seeing it passed. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserve. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h. R. 1957, which the clerk will report. The clerk motion to proceed to h. R. 1957, an act to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to modernize and improve the Internal Revenue service, and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the majority leader is recognized. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, madam president , yesterday at the fountain of praise church in houston, texas, a Funeral Service there was a Funeral Service for george floyd. Peacefully march against police violence. Today his brother will testify in front of the house Judiciary Committee. Its hard to imagine the courage takes so soon after the tragic, awful, and brutal lows of a Family Member to not only grieve in the National Spotlight but to turn that pain into action. There have been many reasons for americans to be shocked and outraged, angry and frustrated with the injustice theyve seen in their country, but the entire floyd family has given the nation reason to hope. Now democrats in the house and senate have proposed legislation that would directly respond to the issues of racial bias an Excessive Force in our Police Departments. The justice and policing act would ban the use of choke holds, limit the use of military equipment to local departments, make it easier to hold Police Misconduct accountable and institute a whole lot of reforms to help prevent the misconduct in the first place. It is a comprehensive proposal and many of the experts on racism, discrimination, inequality in Police Departments have had had large input into the bill. So we need action on the justice and policing act as policing act as soon as possible. We democrats in the senate will work like helsinki hell to make it happen. We need wholesale reform, not peace male reform. We cannot cherry pick reforms and call the job complete. Its my worry thats what republican colleagues intend to do. We need a strong bill. The justice and policing act is where we should begin. The senate is a collaborative institution, at least by design, but there is one person alone who decides what legislation reaches the floor, and thats leader mcconnell. For two weeks ive asked him to commit to a debate an vote on a Police Reform bill by july 4, an open debate and certainly an ability to vote on the justice and policing act. I still have not received an answer. Is it too much to ask that as hundreds of thousands, if not millions are in the streets when the vast majority of americans think we knee former to ask that the leader spend some floor time here so we can debate this issue and maybe move forward for the first time in a long time . I dont think so. But our leader is silent, missing in action, as he is on so many different major issues that face america. After house and Senate Democrats released the draft legislation on monday, yesterday Senate Republicans announced they would put together, quote, a working group to prepare their own set of proposals. Working groups are all fine and well but its critical that we pursue comprehensive reform, not seek the lowest common denominator. And its critical that we get a real commitment to consider strong legislation on the floor. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of other recent moments of national strife, particularly the mass shootings, President Trump, leader mcconnell, and Senate Republicans make the right noises, lets study it, lets consider it, but never follow through. Leader mcconnell promised that a debate on expanding background checks would be front and center on the senate floor after shootings in dayton and el paso. What we cant do is fail to pass something, he said. And, yet, there was no debate on expanding background checks and the republican majority in the senate did exactly what leader mcconnell said it could not. It failed to pass anything on gun safety. So while i Welcome Ideas from our republican colleagues, we need a hard and fast commitment from the republican leader to put real broad scale Police Former on the floor by july 4. Americans must be please watching the senate, watch the leader, watch the republicans. Is this going to be another situation just like with gun control . Just like with background checks where they talked a good game, tried to make the issue fade away and did nothing . The nation the nation will not let this issue fade away. I assure my republican friends. Theres another major crisis in the country at the moment as well. Covid19 continues to kill, infect americans. Case numbers are rising in western states, arizona, new mexico, california, and oregon. The mass