Mr. Hawley i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Hawley mr. President , a week ago, i stood in this chamber and spoke about the death of democracy. I spoke about how free people are slowly losing their basic liberties right in front of our eyes. I spoke about how a deeply oppressive regime is defiling laws and tearing up treaties that offer protection and peace. I spoke about how the bright light of a great city is descending into darkness, chaos. I spoke, mr. President , about the plight of the people of hong kong. Id like to take this opportunity to remind everyone, both at home and those listening abroad, about the urgent and existential crisis that plagues this outpost of liberty in the indopacific. On may 28, the Chinese Communist party in beijing adopted a resolution and began drafting a new National Security law in hong kong. Thats what they call it, anyway. But the more we learn about this impending legislation, the more concerned we should be. Thats because we know that this is no legitimate law. Ill tell you what this is. Its a dictate from a dictatorship. It will deal a marty blow to the freedoms and liberties that hong kongers have enjoyed for decades now. It is a permanent break from the one country, two systems principle that has governed that city since 1997, the principle to which beijing committed in the 1984 synobritish treaty, when they also committed to upholding the basic rights and liberties of the people of hong kong. But beijing wants to violate all of that now. They want to weep it aside and they want to do it through socalled legislation adopted through their fake legislature that would roll back the commitments they have made, roll back the protections and rights of the people of hong kong, snuff out this light in the endopacific. Passage this great city with new restickses on speech and assembly and religion because thats what the Chinese Communist party wants. They call it a National Security law. It doesnt have anything to do with National Security. It has everything to do with ending liberty. It has to do with banning the freedom of assembly. It has to do with squelching the freedom of speech. It has to do with denying the freedom of religion. Thats the agenda. Thats the substance, mr. President. Thats what beijing wants. And its what they are going to do unless the free world, beginning with the members of this body, stand up and say no. Mr. President , this body must take action today to support the people of hong kong. They must speak with one voice. It must tell the world that this is not acceptable and that it must not stand, and free peoples the world over must not silently acquiesce. Now, a week ago, i tried to do just that. I asked this body for consent unanimously to pass a resolution that would condemn this new dictate from beijing and emphasize its clear violation of both hong kong basic law and the synobritish joint declaration. This resolution that i am here again today to offer, sponsored and supported by senators of both parties, would make it clear to everyone that the United States stands with the people of hong kong in this their hour of need. It would encourage the administration to take all necessary diplomatic action to stop this new law, to stop this advance against freedom. And it would rally the free nations of the world to support a free city. That resolution was blocked last week, and you know, mr. President , here in this body, we often have the luxury of time. It seems like thats all we have sometimes. We debate and we wait and we debate, discuss. But the fact is the people of hong kong do not have time, not anymore. And that means the United States senate does not have time. We must act, and we must act today. This new socalled law that beijing is intent on forcing through is set to pass now on june 30. Thats just five days from today. The senate needs to act now, mr. President , to send a clear signal now that we will send up to this aggression, to rally free peoples now in the defense of rights and liberties of hong kong, and to stand up now and protect our own interests, to protect our own needs in the endopacific, because there is nothing more dangerous to the people of the United States abroad than an imperialist china intent on imposing its will, imposing its way on the entire globe, beginning in the asia pacific, beginning with the free people of hong kong. Mr. President , a chorus of voices from hong kong and around the world are calling for the passage of this resolution. They are calling for it because they know it will inspire hope in hong kong. They are calling for it because they know it will give pause to the triernts in tyrants in beijing. Our friends in hong kong know that beijing is watching closely. Beijing is finalizing its National Security law even as we speak. And hong kongers know, as we must, that this could be our last opportunity to stay beijings hand before it destroys what is left of freedom in this city. Beijing must know that its actions have consequences. This resolution today makes clear that that will be the case. And that is why so many in hong kong are so eager to see it pass and why beijing is so hopeful that it will fail. As i said a week ago, the struggle of the free people of hong kong is the struggle of all free people everywhere. It is a struggle to stay free from domination. It is a struggle to ensure that beijing does not extend its imperial power around the globe and its influence to free countries and societies across the globe. Mr. President , hong kong is the vanguard, and its vital that we stand up for it now. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to Senate Resolution 596. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Van hollen reserving the right to object, and i believe that we may have this worked out so there may not be an objection, but i just want to say a few words before i proceed with this unanimous consent request. As the gentleman from missouri said, he was on the floor of the Senate Last Week proposing a Senate Resolution condemning the actions of china with respect to hong kong. And as i told him then and i say again now, i fully agree with his assessment. What the government of china is doing in hong kong is unacceptable. They are taking away the rights of the people in hong kong. They are snuffing out the freedoms that exist there right now. And since we were on the floor last week, the Standing Committee of the National Peoples congress reportedly reviewed an initial draft of the National Security law which has not been released. So even in this last week, they are moving forward in their process to take away the liberties of the people of hong kong. So time is of the essence. What i said on the floor last week and what i will say again today is that passage of a Senate Resolution is not going to deter the actions of the government of china. Its a statement. Its an important statement by the senate. But to believe that the government of china will be deterred one whit in moving forward on the path that its on to take away the freedoms of the people of hong kong is to not be paying attention to whats happening in beijing. I heard the senator from missouri say, quote, actions have consequences. I agree they should. And the perspective of the government of china passing a Senate Resolution as a consequence to their action is hardly going to be taken seriously in beijing. And thats why its important to actually do something that shows that the government of china will pay a price if it continues down this path to extinguish those freedoms of the people in hong kong, and thats exactly why right after the government of china headed down this path, senator toomey, who is here with us on the floor, and i introduced a piece of legislation that would have consequences, that would actually punish the government of china if it continues down this path. It establishes a set of mandatory sanctions. It requires the administration to identify all those individuals who are culpable and complicit in taking away the rights of the people in hong kong. And more than that, would sanction those banks that allow those individuals to do business. Thats an action that does have consequences. Thats an action where at least there is a chance that the government of china will listen, because they understand its not just a statement by the United States senate. They understand its a statement with penalties. Now, let me make clear that in order for this legislation to be effective eventually, the administration is going to have to follow the law, and its going to have to impose the sanctions on those individuals who are responsible. And i would be remiss or negligent if i didnt point out that the Administration Currently has authority to impose sanctions against china for its actions in Hong Kong Based on legislation that this body passed last year. To uphold the rights the human rights and democratic rights of the people of hong kong. So despite some statements from the secretary of state, this administration is still taking no action. Now, this legislation that senator toomey and i have proposed, and i really want to thank the senator and salute him for his leadership on this, senator toomey. We worked together in the past on sanctions adopted in the law with respect to north korea, and i think its important that we work on a bipartisan basis to take action thats meaningful near the United States senate. But the administration should act now on their existing authority. The senate and the house should pass this legislation, the hong kong accountability act, as amended, here today and send it to the white house. The president , we hope, would sign it and then we hope the president would impose the expanded sanctions that are provided for in the hong kong accountability act. So that is doing something that demonstrates to the government of china that consequences have action. And thats why it was discouraged last week when we proposed this and we had a senator come to the floor and block it. I agree with the senator from missouri. It would have been great to pass this last week, but a senator came to the floor to block it even though that senator was a cosponsor of this legislation. And when asked why he did it, he said he blocked it at the behest of the white house. Thats what he said. Im hoping that is not the case today. Im hoping that today we dont at the last minute have a senator at the behest of the white house coming forward. And before i make my unanimous consent request, i would like to yield the floor briefly to the senator from pennsylvania who has been a partner in this effort. Mr. Toomey madam president. The presiding officer the senator from pennsylvania. Mr. Toomey so i want to take a quick moment to thank both my colleague from missouri and my colleague from maryland for their leadership on this extremely important issue. In the interest of time, i will not reiterate the many very, very compelling reasons that were here on the floor right now. The senator from missouri has done an outstanding job eloquently and passionately explaining why it is our responsibility to stand up for the freedom of a freedomloving people whose freedom is seriously eroded, systematically being damaged and that is, of course, the people of hong kong. I had the great experience of living in hong kong for a year, learning so much about that society, that culture, the vibrancy of hong kong. Its just absolutely stunning, and its all possible. Its all possible, lets be clear, because freedom has prevailed in hong kong, or at least it used it, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to practice their faith as they see fit, an independent judiciary and the rule of law. And all of that, all of it, is very, very seriously threatened right now by the Chinese Communist party because their greatest fear is that the people on the mainland will observe the freedoms in hong kong and decide maybe theyd like some of those freedoms too and that is the risk the Chinese Communist leadership cannot tolerate. I want to commend my colleague from missouri for putting a spotlight on this, bringing it to the attention, and calling the senate to defend the people who seek only their freedom. And i very much want to thank my colleague from maryland. As he pointed out, weve been partners on legislation in the past. Nobody works heard to get their harder to get their objective accomplished than my colleague from maryland. And our legislation, which i think is about to pass jointly with a resolution, i think were going to have a unanimous consent agreement whereby both measures pass simultaneously. I think thats the optimal outcome here. I want to thank the folks at the Treasury Department who we worked with extensively to get to the point where we are in agreement with this legislation. Ill certainly hope after this big step of passage here on the senate floor today, this legislation, both pieces, the resolution and the sanctions legislation, are on their way soon to the president s desk for his significant. And with that, ill yield back to the gentleman from maryland. The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Van hollen continuing to observe the right to object. Would the senator from missouri modify his request to also discharge s. 3789, and consider s. Res. 596 and s. 3789, en bloc, and the substitute to the bill at the desk be agreed to, and the bill be the bill, as amended, be read the third time and that if the resolution is agreed to and if the bill, as amended, is passed by the senate, the preamble then be agreed to and all motions be considered made and laid on the table. The presiding officer would the senator correct his number . Mr. Van hollen to clarify, it is s. 3798. The presiding officer does the senator from missouri so modify his request . Mr. Hawley i will. The presiding officer is there an objection to the request as modified . Without objection. The question is on the modification of the the question is on passage of the resolution. The question is adoption of the resolution and passage of the bill, as amended, en bloc. All in favor say aye. Opposed. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The measures are passed and agreed to en bloc. Mr. Hawley madam president. The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mr. Hawley madam president , this is a good moment for the United States senate. This is, i think, a moment when we have been able to come together to speak with one voice and to send a clear message to beijing that its attempts to steamroll and destroy the liberties of the people of hong kong will not go unnoticed and will not go unaddressed. And i thank the senator from maryland, ert senator from and the senator from pennsylvania for their work on their bill which will give the administration important new tools to address and to counter the actions of beijing. I want to say to the people of hoirng who ive had hong kong who ive had the privilege to meet who have stood up to this violent and authoritarian regime, i hope todays actions will give you an added measure of hope. That the free people of this nation and the free people of the world are with you and that we will not sit idly by, that we will stand up, that we will take action and your cause for your basic rights, your cause for your basic liberties is our cause as well. Its a privilege to stand with you as an american and as a missourian and its a privilege to see this work accomplished today on the floor of the senate. I thank my colleagues. Thank you, madam president. And i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Van hollen i want to thank the senator from missouri for bringing this to the floor last week, bringing this to the floor this week, and for working with us to make sure that we could make important changes to an important resolution that he brought before us today. I agree its a good day for the United States senate. Again, i want to thank the senator from pennsylvania, senator toomey, for his work on this bipartisan work on this, and hopefully we can get it to the president s desk as soon as possible and send a strong message to the government of china and send a message to the people of hong kong that we stand withnt. The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Kaine madam president , before i get to the motion that im going to make, i want to take a few minutes to discuss the importance of why the Senate Must Pass the Coronavirus Relief fl