Lift their minds to the pure, t serenity of your presence challenges with faith and challenges with faith and optimism. May they find delight in doing your will because your precepts are within their hearts. Remind them that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Deliver them from sins of commission and omission. As you liberate them from all lessor loves and loyalties until they find in you their reason for being. We pray in your holy name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the 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. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday the Justice Department released a transcript of the orlando terrorist 911 call in which he claimed responsibility for the attack and declared his loyalty to isil. Whats your name, the operator said. My name, he said, is i pledge allegiance to abu baku albaghdadi of the islamic state. It was 2 30 a. M. , a halfhour 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 the isilinspired hatred and the deafening hum of unanswered cell phones crescendos around them. The c. I. A. Director called this an open attack on what defines us as a nation and the report he delivered to Congress Last week was sobering. Heres 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 isilinspired attacks right here at home. The president needs to 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 terrorists in orlando. Yesterday democrats had a chance to support serious constitutional proposals from senator cornyn and grassley that would have helped keep guns and explosives out of the hands of terrorists and improve the National Background check system. And while a majority of the senate voted to support these proposals, most democrats voted against both. So let me say again, senator cornyn put forward a serious proposal designed to prevent known or suspected terrorists from being able to buy guns, and democrats voted against it. Now does that mean democrats have decided to sell weapons to isil . Of course not. Democrats surely dont believe their leadership claim that any senator voted to sell gun to terrorists last night. Just as democrats really dont 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 doesnt require amateur claims that we all know to be false. So why dont we get serious. Isil is not the j. V. Team. Its not contained. And we need to defeat it overseas if we want to prevent more terrorist tragedies here at home. By working together in the senate, we can give this president and the next one more tools to achieve that objective. And we can advance commonsense, Counter Terrorist 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 were better able to prevent terrorist attacks here in the u. S. Its an example of serious, thoughtful policy where we can Work Together to make progress for the American People. Mr. Reid mr. President . The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Reid last night the republican leader filed cloture on the mccain amendment. The republican leader is committed to allow a Democratic Alternative to the pending mccain amendment and well have one we have it ready now. Ill have it typed up and ready to go in a couple of hours. Mr. President , in the aftermath of last weeks mass murder in orlando which took the lives of 49 people, we saw where the American People stand on gun control. We know that gun safety is essential to making us safer, a more secure america. An example of what went on in orlando after that terrible morning, people stood for hours in long lines waiting to donate blood. People attended gatherings to express their grief. People left flowers and figurines at the memorials. People stood in line to honor the Lgbt Community and the Latino Community who were slaughtered. Here in the capitol, senator phur murphy stood on the floor of the senate for 15 hours demanding Congress Stop the gun violence. In florida families of victims stood at Graveside Services for their loved ones. Where were Senate Republicans . Where do they stand . Yet again Senate Republicans stood with the National Rifle association. Yesterday the leader of gun owners of america, the Shadow Organization of the n. R. A. , said he believed people should be armed in bars and taverns. Thats what he said. Last night for the third time in as many years Senate Republicans stood with the n. R. A. In blocking commonsense Gun Legislation that would keep firearms and explosives way from suspected terrorists and other individuals. Senate republicans proved again that regardless of how brutal the massacre or how reasonable a solution, untimely, it doesnt matter, theres never a good time. Their actions will be dictated by the National Rifle association. A cnn poll released yesterday, 90 of americans support expanded background checks. 85 of americans support legislation keeping guns away from suspected terrorists. Theres one reason that these proposals were not already law. The National Rifle association. Because they oppose anything dealing with guns. How can Senate Republicans side with the n. R. A. And against the American People . 90 of americans support expanded background checks. If youre a criminal or a crazy person, you shouldnt be able to get a gun. 85 of americans support legislation keeping guns away from suspected terrorists, but the n. R. A. Doesnt support it, so Senate Republicans dont support it. Heres a little secret for my republican colleagues. The n. R. A. Doesnt care about you. It doesnt care about your constituents. It doesnt care about the Constitutional Rights of the followers. The n. R. A. And its leadership care about two things making money from gun manufacturers and making money for the n. R. A. And selling more guns. The n. R. A. Wants gun manufacturers to be able to make more guns. Never enough. The n. R. A. Wants to have more firearms sold, more guns sold means more money and more donations for their bottom line. During times of crisis when americans should be coming together to find these commonsense solutions, what does the n. R. A. Do . They raise every dollar they can by spreading lies and fomenting these conspiracy theories. The mails out, folks. Go to your mailbox. Direct mail is their specialty. They circulate false director mailers to followers. For example, congress is trying to take away your guns or president obama wants to con fiscal confiscate your firearms. They use that money against candidates who refuse to bow down to the gun lobby. Taking a page from the Koch Brothers play book the n. R. A. Uses socalled dark money for miss steer elections with front groups. The n. R. A. Says theyre spending the money to protect gun owners. Lets be clear what its really about. Its about protecting the power of the National Rifle association. Since the Supreme Courts misguided Citizens United decision, the n. R. A. Tripled its political spending to support their radical agenda. But republicans in congress dont acknowledge any of this. Senate republicans pretend the n. R. A. Is simply a Grass Roots Organization working for americas best interests. Nothing can be further from the truth. This is false. The n. R. A. Used to advocate mandatory background khefps. They used to encourage reasonable legislation to keep guns away from certain individuals. A month after the coal mining shooting where two young men killed a lot of innocent people, wayne la pierre, the executive Vice President of the National Rifle association, the man that goes on tv all the time justifying what they do, testified before a house judiciary subcommittee on crime. Heres what he said and i quote we think its reasonable to provide mandatory assistant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. No loopholes anywhere for anyone. Wayne la pierre said that. Now in 2016 its a different story. Just yesterday this same organization pressured Senate Republicans to vote against closing the loopholes he said should be closed. Senate republicans voted against the murphy amendment that would have closed loopholes in our nations background check system. Senate republicans voted for senator feinstein, but no, no, thats what we had hoped. In fact, they voted against senator feinsteins amendment that would have closed the terror loophole. The terror loophole which simply allows suspected terrorists to legally purchase weapons and explosives. We believe it should be closed but its not because republicans follow the n. R. A. Mandate. Thats how strong the hold is. Republicans wont agree to keep guns away from terrorists. The Republican Congress has been so thoroughly indoctrinated that it is the National League of the National Rifle association. While republicans do the bidding of the n. R. A. Innocent americans are being gunned down in schools, churches and nightclubs. How many more Mass Shootings will we have to endure before republicans realize theyre being used by the n. R. A. . How many more people have to die before republicans come to grips with the fact that the n. R. A. s only concern is about its bottom line . The American People are looking to congress for leadership. Theyre hoping well do something substantive to protect our communities from gun violence but the simple truth is we cannot protect the American People and protect the n. R. A. At the same time. Public safety demands a solution that prevents dangerous people from possessing weapons. The n. R. A. Uses this solely as a fundraising vehicle for more guns, more bullets and fewer safeguards. So its time for republicans in congress to defend the people who sent them to washington in the first place and put the personal safety of the constituents over the needs of the n. R. A. Its time for republicans to tell the n. R. A. Enough murder, enough carnage, enough guns. Mr. President , there is no one on the floor seeking recognition. I would ask the chair to announce the business of the day. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 12 30 p. M. With senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. Mr. Reid i would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Durbin i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin the whole world knows that on june 12, a gunman shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in the worst mass shooting in modern american history, but what you may not know is that there have been at least ten other mass shooting incidents in america since orlando. By Mass Shootings, i mean incidents where at least four people were injured or killed by gunfire. Two of those Mass Shootings were in chicago, in my home state of illinois. On june 13, five men were shot in the East Garfield Park naked. And on june 18 park neighborhood. On june 18, four people were shot in the middle of the afternoon in the north shore neighborhood. Fortunately, none of the victims in these Mass Shootings were fatally wounded, but since the orlando shooting, there have been many other gun violence victims in chicago who have lost their lives. Last friday, yvonne nelson, a city worker, was shot and killed walking out of a coffee shop on the south side in the middle of the afternoon. The shooter was aiming for someone else in an apparent gang dispute, but miss nelson was shot in the chest and killed. She was 49 years old, a member of the new life covenant church, beloved by friends and family. She was described as a beautiful person, hard working, loving, kind. She was taken from us last friday. Last thursday, Denzel Thornton who worked for the Chicago Public school system, was shot and killed outside the entrance of Mcnair Elementary School in the south austin neighborhood shortly after noon. He was 20 years old, graduated from Dupaul University and aspired to be a chef. He was a promising man with a Bright Future ahead of him. He was taken from us in the middle of the day as the Elementary School children looked on. This past weekend, 13 people were shot and killed in chicago, and at least 41 others were injured by gunfire. The youngest shooting victim was only 3 years old. So far this year, over 1,700 men, women and children have been wounded or killed by gunfire in the city of chicago. Ill keep the victims and their families and loved ones in my thoughts and prayers, but thoughts and prayers are not enough. Its our responsibility as lawmakers to do everything in our power to protect the people we represent and to stop the killing in the neighborhoods of america. Last friday, i visited the city of chicago and went to several different spots to get a prospective on this gun violence and killing. I met for an hour with the superintendent of police, eddie johnson. 28 years on the Chicago Police force. This is a man who started as a patrolman. He understands the violence on the streets. We talked about so many different things. They have identified 1,300, 1,300 who they suspect are most likely to be shooters or victims. These are men, by and large, with a history of gun violence. Over the memorial day weekend, approximately 66 people were shot in the city of chicago. 80 of them came from the list. So we have a finite list of suspects whose names pop up more often than not when it comes to this gun violence. We talked about ways to address it, and there are many people thinking about it, how to deal with it in the right way, in a constitutional way but in a specific with a specific strategy to end this gun violence. A superintendent told me a story. He said, you know, after you have been a cop in chicago for a while, you get pretty tough. There arent many things that make you emotional. He says but i do remember when there was a shooting in a home and a grandmother was killed and a toddler next to her was killed, and we arrested the 15yearold, and the superintendent said i looked in his eyes and i said what were you thinking to spray that gun of shells into that home and killing that grandmother and the toddler, and he said that young man looked him in the eye and said they shouldnt have been there. They should have known better. And the superintendent said i was crushed with that comment. I talked to him about a visit i made to the juvenile facility about six weeks ago in chicago to meet some of the young people who were waiting to stand trial. They had been charged with adult crimes. They were in the juvenile facility being held until the date of the trial. Some of them wait a year or two years. They take on a life in this juvenile center. There is a high school, a gym, activities. But there is also counseling. So for many of these young people, this is the First Time Ever that someone with professional credentials sat down with them and tried to figure out what was going on in their minds, where they would commit these crimes of violence. I asked one of the counselors afterwards, what do you find . What kind of mental condition do you find in these young people who were engaged in this random violence . He said you find everything. The spectrum of Mental Illness from bipolar to schizophrenia to acute depression and on and on and on, but he said there is one recurring thing. 92 of these juveniles have a recurring t