Summary
- The committee advanced eight judicial and law enforcement nominations and unanimously approved Trey's Law plus six bipartisan Police Week bills.
- No witnesses testified at this business meeting, which focused instead on voting nominations and considering child safety and law enforcement legislation.
- Cory Booker pressed Chuck Grassley to stop withholding public safety grants over ideology, while Grassley urged appropriators to address transparency and appeals.
- Members united unanimously on Trey's Law and Police Week bills but split sharply along party lines on judicial nominations and January 6 accountability.
- All approved nominations and bills now advance to the full Senate for floor votes, with police funding fights and DACA reform still unresolved.
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Transcript
Good morning everybody. We have twelve nomi twelve nominations and uh seven bills. We'll vote on Justin Smith
Mm.
nominated US Court of Appeals eighth circuit. We'll have three nominees US District Court for the district of kansas jeffrey coleman anthony madre and anthony powell also timothy verhey us attorney western michigan and three us marshals james arnott western district missouri jack chambers southern district west virginia jason holtz northern district oklahoma seven bills trade bill lieutenant osvaldo albarati stop being prison contraband act fighting post traumatic stress disorder act of twenty twenty five promoting police leadership act officers john barnes and chief michael ansbrough public safety officers benefit program expansion act of twenty twenty six carla walker act and tribal warrants fairness act the remaining nominations will be held over Uh before we turn today's agenda. I and. Senator Durbin always have a few words. My democratic colleagues often criticize this committee's judicial nominees for being overly political.
Mm-hmm.
They preach about the importance of. Independent judiciary. And the importance of. Norms. They're correct of course that a robust and. independent judiciary at both the state and federal level as a critical safeguard of our republic but these admonitions ring hollow when these same colleagues remain silent when democrats actively politicize the judiciary or in its decisions or engage in conduct that demeans or undermines the judiciary as an institution Recent reports at the state level serve as a cautionary tale. Although George's Supreme Court elections have historically been nonpartisan, former President Obama and other partisans have endorsed two pro-abortion challengers in the upcoming races. Out of state progressive groups have also funneled big money into their campaigns, including nearly a million dollars in attacks ads from pro-abortion groups. So, there's a question that's legitimate. Does injecting partisanship and vitriol into non-partisan judicial elections really advance a robust and independent judiciary? Consider me skeptical. Democrats engaged in this same political folly when courts issue rulings they disagree with for years we've heard democratic threats about court packing and we've we're seeing that now in the state of virginia because of a recent ruling on redistricting some democrats wanna lower the retirement age for state supreme courts to repack uh it would loyalists who who will issue rulings that these democrats like in the meantime democrats openly defy court orders that they don't like i got a will give you an example from new jersey the supreme court recently ruled that a pregnancy center in that state has a first amendment right to keep its donor list confidential but just one day later the state attorney general sought a subpoena to compel its records. This is unacceptable. A healthy judicial system must remain free of political influence, and our system of government requires compliance with all lawful court orders. To that end, i'm very satisfied that the nominees that we're considering today, Justin Smith, and the kansas nominees have dedicated their careers to upholding the rule of law without fear or favor they reflect precisely what a healthy and impartial judiciary should be but turning to a more bipartisan note our legislative agenda is a series of seven strongly bipartisan important bills today we'll continue our consideration of an important bill that was delayed last week because too many committee members left before we could vote on it so the trades act law will will be the first bill up it helps keep children safe from abuse by no longer letting perpetrators hide behind uh nda's i look forward to voting on this bill the thrust of the remainder of our agenda is our annual uh tradition of advancing police weak legislation. And this has been a tradition in the senate, I think going back to nineteen sixty two. Ranking member Durbin and I have worked together for years to ensure this committee advances bipartisan legislation during this traditional police week today will vote on seven bills all of which are bipartisan and led by both republicans and democrats i hear too often from folks back home in iowa at my town meetings that there isn't enough work being done across the aisle somebody at the back of the room in the courthouse will yell out to me how come you guys in and can't get along i push back on these statements several times uh with examples of this committee's meaningful bipartisan work indeed there is no better cause to support than backing the blue each of our nation's brave men and women in blue make a daily choice to serve and protect the american people fully aware of the sacrifices they're making Every single day, these are men and women showing up in people's worst moments. Hundreds of officers each year lose their lives in the line of duty. Our heroes in law enforcement continue to choose to serve despiteful, unhelpful rhetoric and unfair politicized criticism. We ought to be aware and grateful of that service. Police week then is just a small gesture of this committee's appreciation of law enforcement. Today's legislation addresses dangerous threats to officers, supports their mental health, bolsters access to new technologies, and ensure they have the training they need. Every administration, regardless of party, faces the same fundamental responsibility. the number one protection of the federal government and state and local governments to protect the public and to reduce violence when legislation supports that mission by aligning resources strengthening partnership and addressing the toll that officers face to their mental health it creates safer communities this committee has a shared commitment to support law enforcement and keep the citizens of this country's uh safe. So I look forward for advancing these bills out of committee today. Senator Durbin.
Thanks, Chairman Grassley. Today's meeting falls during police week, as the chairman noted. Since the Kennedy, John Kennedy administration this week has been dedicated to honoring the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us and our families.
Thank you.
I thank Chairman Grassley for continuing the tradition of advancing bipartisan legislation during Police Week to support law enforcement as they face the physical, mental and emotional toll of their job. I'll have more to say about these bills when we take them up. But first I want to bring the committee's attention to two troubling developments that call into question our commitment to law enforcement. Later today the Senate will vote on a group of dozens of executive nominees, almost fifty, under the partisan fast-track process that the senate republicans put in place last year.
Mm-hmm.
This package of nominees includes several clearly unqualified january sixth apologists who were reported by this committee's majority despite the fact that they have disparaged law enforcement. These are people who won't answer the basic question as to whether or not the mob that took over the capitol on january sixth was just a group of tourists who got out of hand or were in fact an attack on the men and women who were defending this Capitol building. A hundred and forty plus law enforcement agents were harassed and intimidated by this mob, and that's a fact. And to ignore that in police week, for God's sake, uh, is impossible to explain. For example, Wyoming US Attorney nominee Darren Smith was on the Capitol grounds on January sixth, just happened to be here. and made the reprehensible claim that police officers who risked their life that day, and you saw the videos, were guilty of quote " massive incompetence". Massive incompetence. And this man wants to be a lifetime appointee as a federal judge, and we're gonna vote for him on police week? Phil Williams, nominated to be US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, called the prose- prosecutions of January six rioters who attacked Police officers quote, " the Salem witch trials on a national scale." These are videos. There's no question about what was happening here. They were being, police officers, within an inch of losing their lives, were trying to defend me and all the senators who were here, and now they're being derided by a group of nominees brought to us by a president who gave full and unconditional pardons to all the rioters, every damn one of them, and many of them are back in jail again, as you won't be surprised to learn. Supporting nominees like this and this process is no way to back the blue. Earlier this week, I convened a meeting to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to arrest and rep and and to deport DREAMers. These are young immigrants brought to this country as children by their parents, growing up here, going to our schools and churches. pledging allegiance to our flag, believing they were part of our future. And then they learned, their parents sat down with them and said, sorry, we didn't file the papers, you're undocumented. Dreamers have grown up here and are important part of America today and in the future. In twenty twelve, at the request of myself and our late colleague, Republican Senator Richard Lugar, President Obama established a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program known as DACA. Eight hundred and thirty thousand people signed up for DACA. What does DACA mean? Every two years, if you're undocumented, we're brought here as a dreamer. Every two years, you've got to renew your status as DACA. What does it mean? Six hundred dollar fee that has to be paid. A complete criminal background check that you have to clear. And then you'll give it, be given a chance to work in this country and not be deported. Who are these people? They're teachers, they're nurses, they're doctors, they're law enforcement, they're in our military, they're making America a better place. So what's happening to them now? Well, unfortunately, the promise we made to stand behind them is being broken. Those who show up to re- uh submit their application for renewal for DACA are being arrested on the spot and deported. We promised these young people when they got into this program We would stand by them and the words of the DACA order that came from the Obama White House. But unfortunately, that is not the case at all. This administration is slow-walking DACA renewals so that dreamers face deportation and work authorization expiring through no fault of their own. Are these the worst of the worst? The rapists, the murderers, the terrorists came streaming across the border under Biden? No way. They go through a complete criminal background check. They won't be renewed if they have any serious crimes in their background. This administration is uh is in the process of a so-called processing hold on applications because some of these DACA people are from the thirty-nine countries the president has declared we will accept no immigrants from. And something called the Board of Immigration Appeals two weeks ago issued a decision that DACA will no longer protect DREAMers, no longer protect the DREAMers. One of the witnesses at a meeting I convened this week was Robert Rodriguez. He's the chief of police of the Santa Ana Police Department, California. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Chief Rodriguez, brought to the United States as an undocumented child. He joined, when he could, got old enough, joined the US Marine Corps, where he deployed numerous times, eventually obtaining his US citizenship. Chief Rodriguez testified about the difficulties he's facing in recruiting police officers. He has several DACA recipients on his police force who are serving honorably and helping to protect his community. He's already had to lay off one of these officers who lost their status because the the slowdown in the Trump administration of renewing DACA. Mister Chairman, this committee has the authority, the jurisdiction and the responsibility to not just talk about Police Week, but to do something about Police Week. Let's do something about DACA. Let's have a hearing. Let's let's have a commitment on both sides that these young people should be given a chance. And I'd like to say a word about one of the first nominees we're gonna consider. His name is Justin Smith. He's one of the several personal attorneys to President Trump who's been rewarded for his loyalty with a lifetime appointment to the federal court, lifetime. He's the second personal attorney of President Trump nominated to this level. following Emil Bove. Unfortunately, we already know he's not the last, because the president has nominated other personal attorneys. Even today, Mister Smith continues to represent the president as lead counsel in the case against E. Jeanne Carroll, who's been awarded nearly ninety million dollars in damages after jury juries found President Trump liable for sexual abuse. Just last week, Mister Smith filed a motion in which he once again challenged a verdict against the president and supported the Department of Justice's effort to intervene. Apart from his representation of President Trump, Mr. Smith's record shows he's ideologically extreme. While working in the Missouri Attorney General's office, he joined the baseless effort to challenge the results of the twenty twenty election. Oh, you know what I'm talking about here. The big lie, the one where we ask all these judicial nominees what happened on january sixth and they say i think it was sunny and the wind was blowing no there was a mob that attacked the capitol and if you can't even acknowledge that happen what the hell good are you mister smith has extensive right wing political affiliations and ties to dark money entry entities his record shows he'll continue to prioritize these issues over the cause of justice i yield
uh before before i call uh i wanna talk about dreamers before i call on you and put me in the line if you would uh ok hey um when i speak on dreamers i'm not
ok
speaking against what you said about the deportation of them but i do wanna remind the colleagues here and especially on the democrat side of my efforts uh in this area first of all i wanna start out by saying during four years that the democrats controlled the judiciary committee and we had biden's open door uh open border policy uh this committee never attempted to mark up a dream act i bet on record on this issue these folks need certainty but congress's approach needs to be measured my approach in twenty eighteen a bill that got to the center floor gave legal protection to daca recipients, but was opposed by every senate democrat on the floor. I remain willing to work with the white house and the democrats on this issue, on a serious bipartisan way. Uh
Mm-hmm.
On this subject.
Be on the list. Generally on the police week.
Oh. Uh, Senator uh, go ahead, Senator Schmidt.
White house.
Thank you, Mister Chairman, I just wanted to point out, uh, February second is, uh, Katie Britt's birthday.
Yeah.
It's also Groundhog Day. Uh, and I think that we ought to change the date of Groundhog Day to January sixth. Cuz every time I walk in this committee hearing, it's ev- it's everything, everything stops and starts with January sixth. But, anyway, uh, the point, what I wanted to make was Justin Smith, uh, is an extremely qualified candidate. He was my first assistant, as when I was Attorney General. Uh, he understands the proper role of the judiciary. He will be an excellent eighth circuit judge. uh i can't recommend him more highly than my colleagues he will be great thank you mr. sherman
i think i'll go back and forth between the republics and the democrats senator whitehouse mr. chairman thank you um i'll speak briefly because this is a uh complicated topic that requires i think more discussion amongst us as a uh committee but i sent every member of this committee a letter yesterday related to
um, the out of control assertions of executive privilege that have become habitual in this, uh, committee. I do not see this as a partisan issue. I see this as an executive versus legislative separation of powers issue. And indeed it is not partisan in this committee because Chairman Grassley has been an ardent advocate for limiting the scope of assertions of executive privilege. The ways in which assertions of privilege have gotten out of control are numerous. First of all, very often we get witnesses who claim privileges that have never even been properly asserted. They don't even try. Second, we've got an OLC over at the Department of Justice that in democratic and republican administrations alike, has taken it upon itself to establish more and more and more executive privileges, including ignoring district court orders. Because the OLC has decided that it's like a circuit court of appeals, and it can ignore what district courts say, it's only when the Supreme Court corrects it. I mean, the arrogance of the OLC is pretty astounding. And they've really worked the ref, because they are the ref, with respect to executive privilege claims. Again, This is in both Democratic and Republican administrations alike. They've tried to import FOIA exceptions for
Mm-hmm.
ordinary citizen information requests into becoming barriers to congressional oversight, a constitutional power and responsibility of ours. They've done the same thing for litigation discovery defenses. As Chairman Grassley has repeatedly pointed out, those don't belong
are
as limitations to our oversight. Our oversight is constitutional.
Constitutional.
And last of all, there's the so-called Reagan memo out there, which describes how the executive branch is supposed to work with us to work through claims of privilege. And the Reagan memo is constantly violated. It is a complete dead letter, uh, at this point. And the kind of basic hook of the reagan memo is that the department of justice can be trusted to be a neutral ombudsman between the executive and the legislative branches in settling questions of privilege. In both democratic and administration, the department of justice has proven itself completely incapable or unwilling to perform that role. So, please take a minute, read the letter, Have the staff look through the bipartisan report that Senator Kennedy and I did, on this very question. And let's think about a way to come together, and try to set ground rules in this committee. That if you wanna assert executive privilege, here's what we will accept, here's what we won't accept, here are the rules we're gonna require if you try to accept it. We can't just have witnesses come in and willy-nilly say privilege, and have all of us go poof like dust, and never able to get our questions answered. So this is the beginning of what I hope is a long, healthy bipartisan process that comes to a real result in this committee, that reestablishes our legislative authority to do oversight and get answers, and require a real process, an actual genuine legal basis for assertions of executive privilege. Thanks very much, Chairman,
Thank you.
and thank you for by the way your support and thank you to Senator Kennedy for his
Uh.
at work on our uh joint report
yeah they uh the people that i said i'd recognize were gonna go to nomination so you uh request to be recognized uh after we get done with the nominations uh we have everybody here uh we'll now turn to the nomination of justin smith eighth circuit court of appeals the clerk will call the roll
mr. graham aye mr. cornyn aye mr. lee bye mister pruden
aye
mister holland
aye
mister tillis
aye
mister kennedy
aye
mister swetburn
aye by proxy
mr. schmidt
aye
mr. fritz mister moody mister jervis
no
mister weishaupt
no
mr. klobuchar
no no
mister poons
no
mister klimenthal
no
mr. roda mister quigger
no
mister kudia
no
mister welch
no
mister schick
no by proxy
jerry mcgrathy
aye
um just go from nine to twelve you can name the candidates
the um the nominee uh with the majority vote will be now reported uh nomination of jeffrey coleman uh district court kansas uh clerk who called the roll
mr. brandt
aye
mr. cornyn
aye
mr. lee
aye
mr. cruz
aye
mr. hoagie
aye
mr. phyllis
aye
mr. kennedy
what
blackburn
just be honest
oh i by proxy
mr. schmidt
what
mrs. bryant
aye
mrs. mcgee
aye
mr. durbin
no
mr. weishaupt
no
mrs. klobuchar
no
mr. coons mr. plunethal
no
mr. runoff
no
mr. booker
no
mr. pivillian
no
mister welsh no mister schiff
no by proxy
jimmy grassley
aye
on this vote the item is twelve and eight or ten
hmm oh oh it's really it's really bad the nomination will be favorably reported uh now the nomination of anthony of uh kansas uh district court clerk will call the roll
mister grant
aye
mister cornyn
aye
mister cruz
aye
mister cruz
aye
mister holey
aye
mr. hall
bye
mr. tillis
bye
mr. coon
bye
mr. blackburn
i'm a proxy
mr. schmidt
bye
mrs. pritt mrs. moody
bye
mr. durbin
no
mr. whitehouse
no
miss clementine
no
mr. coons
no
mr. clementine
no
mr. connor
no
mr. booker mr. padilla no mr. welch no mr. schiff
no by proxy
jimmy grassley sorry
aye
and miss bogey i'm your 12 and these are ten
the nomination will be favorably reported uh now we have anthony powell district court kansas uh clerk will call the roll
mr. brandt aye mr. portis aye mr. lee bye mr. cruz aye mr. hawley bye mr. tillis
aye
mr. kennedy
aye
mrs. blackburn
uh i'm by proxy
mr. schmidt
aye
mrs. britt mrs. moody
aye
mr. durbin
no
mr. whitehouse
no
mrs. klobuchar
no
mr. coon
no
mr. klobuchar
no
mrs. heronno
no
mr. booker
no
mr. kudia
no
mr. wells no mr. schiff
nobody proxy
jeremy grassley
aye
uh miss sophie either twelve and either ten
the nomination will be favorably reported
no
now we have the nomination of timothy hey to serve us attorney western district michigan clerk of call roll
mr. cramp aye mr. cornish aye mr. wheat aye mister cruz
aye
mister holly
aye
mister tillis
aye
mister kennedy
aye
missus Blackburn
i by proxy
mister schmidt
aye
missus brit
aye
missus moody
aye
mister durbin
no
mister whitehouse
no
miss plumagear
this is a michigan nominee with two blue slips we wanna take it on in this
mister coons
no supported by peterson
mister plumagear
no Peterson.
Mr. Robbins.
Ah, the two Michelin stars. He's supported by
Oh, Peterson.
his own blue slip.
Mr. Hooker.
Person? OK. No.
Mr. Petit.
I'm gonna change my, I'm changing my vote. I'm gonna change my vote. No, this place is great. I'm sorry? Yes, again, again.
Mr. Welch.
I just need to change my vote.
Yes. Mr. Schiff.
This guy has blue slips,
Yes, by proxy.
so there's a lot of us who are gonna change our votes.
mr. chairman uh i would like to change my vote from no to yes
change that vote white house yeah white house coons yes no to yes please ok did you get that clerk
i got it
the blue slips are in
ok
great
and if you
also just confirming days uh for the dents are mr. durbin miss lois arnoff mr. coons miss heronau mr. Padilla mr. welch and mr. schiff
and mr. white house
in white house thank you
did you call my name
jerry manning
alright
um this will be either twenty
uh the nomination will be favorably reported
or twenty
now we have james arnott uh western district missouri us marshal uh clerk will call the roll
mr. graham
aye
mr. portis
aye
mr. lee
aye
mr. groose
aye
Mr. Hawley. Aye. Mr. Tillis. Aye. Mr. Kennedy. Mrs. Blackburn.
Aye, Burbraxxi.
Mr. Schmidt. Aye. Mrs. Britt. Mrs. Moody. Aye. Mr. Durbin.
No.
Mr. Whitehouse. No. Miss Clodagharr. No. Mr. Coons. Mr. Blumenthal. No. Miss Arona. No. Mr. Booker. No. Mr. Padilla. No. Mr. Welsh. No. sorry mr. welsh no thank you mr. schiff
no by proxy
jimmy grassley
aye
i mr. eichs on this vote the i's are twelve the n's are ten
the nomination will be favorably reported
ok
now we have jack chambers us marshal southern district west virginia clerk will call the roll
mr. graham aye mr. cornish aye mr. wheat aye mr. cruz aye mr. holly aye Mister Smith.
Aye.
Mister Kennedy.
Aye.
Mister Blackburn.
Aye by proxy.
Mister Schmidt.
Aye.
Mister Grimm.
Aye.
Mister Moody.
Aye.
Mister Durbin.
Aye.
Mister Whitehouse.
Aye.
Mister Klobuchar.
No.
Mister Koons.
Aye.
Mister Klimithoff.
No.
Mister Nils-Horono.
Aye. Aye.
Mister Booker.
No.
mister padilla no mister welsh no mister schick
no by proxy
jimmy grassley
aye
on this vote the ayes are sixteen the nays are six
the nomination will be favorably reported now we have jason hold us marshall northern district oklahoma clerk will call the roll
mister grant aye mister fornette aye mister heed aye mister cruz aye mister holey mister phillips aye Mr. Kennedy.
Aye.
Mrs. Blackburn.
Blackburn. Oh, aye by proxy.
Aye.
Mrs. Smith.
Aye.
Mrs. Fritz.
Aye.
Mrs. Moody.
Aye.
Mr. Durbin.
Aye.
Aye. Aye.
Mr. Whitehouse. Miss Klobuchar.
No.
Mr. Coos.
Aye.
Mr. Klimantok.
Yeah.
Miss Arona.
Aye.
Jeez, I'm doing i's and m's and that must,
Mr. Coogers.
No.
that must be gone soft in my old age.
Mr. Medea.
No.
mr. buck
it's time to go no option
mr. schitt
uh no by proxy yeah this is down for one
jimmy brashley
two three
aye
on this vote the eyes are sixteen the neighbors six
we need to see that
the nomination will be favorably reported
we need to see that
now we go to the legislation
really
um would it be possible for people that wanna speak on the uh police uh issues uh speak when the bills come up
register one preliminary comment.
Good. Yes, go ahead.
Mr. Chairman, uh, thank you for scheduling this mark-up for National Police Week. I, uh, will wait to speak on the individual bills as they come up, but I do want to, uh, uh, say a word about Trey's law, which is on the, uh, agenda. Senator Cruz has taken the lead on that effort, and I'm proud to join that, uh, bill as a cosponsor, but I also wanna acknowledge presence of uh jeff leach a state representative from texas who was the author of that at the state level which is then proved as as a model for other states and then obviously taking the the uh good example of the texas legislature and now scaling it up um and pass it as a federal law is entirely appropriate so thank you for giving me a chance to do that and uh thank you for being here
yeah hey out of courtesy to people that are on this committee that are also on the banking committee uh we've still got plenty of time but uh but we've gotta we're gonna lose a lot of members at ten thirty for that banking committee so uh do did you wanna speak senator cruz
sure are we doing
yeah on the trace bill
on trace law uh i'll i'll speak briefly i i addressed this bill at at uh greater length two weeks ago with the last mark up we did Trey's law is an important civil rights law and important protection for kids. Uh, it is named for Trey Carlock, who is a Texan. Uh, as a young boy he attended a Christian summer camp. And tragically, he was groomed and sexually assaulted by an adult male at that camp, uh, for a period of years. Uh, he lived with the agony of that abuse. Ultimately litigation ensued, he settled that litigation. And as part of the settlement, he signed a nondisclosure agreement. And as a result, Trey kept the details of that abuse silent his entire life. He agonized under that silence. Ultimately, Trey took his own life. As in the aftermath of what had occurred at that camp. Trey's law is a simple common sense step that says nondisclosure agreement shall not be enforced to silence child victims of sexual assault. I wish I could say what happened to Trey was an outlier, was unusual, but it is not. Child sexual assault occurs far too often in this country and frequently. Litigation that ensues results in a nondisclosure agreement that attempts to muzzle the child from telling his stir story or her story forever. That is wrong. Trey's sister, Elizabeth, has been a heroic warrior, telling his story, advocating for this protection for kids. Texas has passed Trey's law. Uh, as Senator Cornyn noted, Jeff Leitch has introduced it and carried it through in the state legislature. Thank you, Jeff, for doing so. Uh, Congress will be following Texas's lead very shortly, this is an important common sense protection. Uh, a number of senators are, uh, co-sponsors of this bill. And I am grateful for all of you, uh, and I urge the committee to pass it.
Senator.
S- Senator Durbin.
Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to be added as a co-sponsor of this important bipartisan bill.
Add, add, all the charges?
Um, Mister, Mister Chairman, I am a co-sponsor, but I ask to be added as cosponsor any other bills and i'll leave my remarks for right after we're done voting in deference to everyone thank you
ok and
mister chair mister chairman i'd also like to be added as a cosponsor to this bill
but now wait a minute we're getting confused graham wants to be added as a cosponsor uh moody wants to be added as a cosponsor uh
all bills up
ok tillis and kennedy and uh coons
i think that's a co-sponsor order we need
and her rano
i'd like to be added as a co-sponsor on all of the bills starting with trey so
a little bit
ok oh ok uh let's get her rano wants to be co-sponsor all the bills that are on the agenda
yeah
hmm
yes thank you
me too
and and we don't want people to get help they have to come to work and the same thing for the senator from connecticut and the senator from i think it's good you don't smoke the animals uh padea and boker you can
hmm
you can get a ticket for the whole of the visit it's a and uh welch one-person service it's a one-person service does that cover everybody
if you don't wanna be a co-sponsor raise your hand
ok now here uh let's uh we can we vote on trey's act by voice vote
yes i vote i think it's unanimous co-sponsor
uh all in favor of the trey's act say aye
uh aye aye
opposed say no
i guess
unanimous i think so that bill it will be reported now we go
excellent
to uh police week. Uh, we have a S seven thirty six led by senators uh Ossoff joined by uh uh well I'm a I'm leading this with Ossoff, Booker, Cruz, Moody, Blackburn and Graham. Uh then a second bill is led by this senator and coons and holly blumenthal blackburn and durbin third uh led by senator cornyn with white house graham durbin and blackburn uh well i think maybe i i see i'm getting ahead of myself uh anybody wanna speak on seven thirty six
i'd like to he added as co-sponsor
uh durban will be added as a cosponsor
yeah
anybody wanna speak on it uh have we made arrangements to vote on this as a
on lockdown
total package
yes if you can get through all of them it's an awesome idea
ok ok well then i guess i can proceed as i was doing uh i've already talked about uh uh the uh the um bill by senator cornyn uh that is s forty three ninety four we have a manager's amendment number all two six two five two without ever objection it will be adopted i hear no objection the fourth bill led by senators gillibrand and cruz and cosponded by senators cones and graham uh i will also have a manager's amendment on that bill the the the amendment is lip two six five one seven without objection it will be adopted i hear no objection the fifth bill we have uh s eighteen ninety led by senator cornyn with senator welch and graham uh we also have a manager's amendment there all two six two five five without objections it will be adopted i hear no objection the last bill s thirty forty one led by senator cortez masto with senators tillis bert durbin and graham uh i'm also have a manager's amendment there ell two six three six seven without a uh objection it will be adopted uh now uh who wants to speak on these individual bills i'll try to go back and forth between democrats and republics senator coons
this
or i mean senator cornut i'm sorry
it starts with a c yeah
yeah
so um thank you mr. chairman i wanna talk say a word about the carly carly walker act which is uh particularly significant. All these bills are important. I'll support all of them, of course, as we honor our men and women in blue. But, Carl- the Carla Walker Act is named for Carla Walker, who was murdered in nineteen seventy-four, whose case was not solved for forty-six years. Thanks to, uh, forensic genetic genealogy, her murder were murderer was caught, tried and convicted in two thousand and twenty-one. This bill is creates a pilot program to fund the use of forensic genetic genealogy, which enables law enforcement to investigate and prosecute cold cases and other hard to solve crimes. By making this cutting edge technology more widely available to investigative agencies, law enforcement will gain a reliable and effective tool to identify unknown offenders. I'm grateful to all of our colleagues for supporting this. As we know, um, new technology like this is expensive and it's hard for smaller jurisdictions to to be able to acquire it to use it in these important cases so this uh pilot program uh will fund the use of this uh forensic genetic genealogy and hopefully uh be the proving ground uh by which we can then expand it more broadly but thank you very much and urge its passage
who's uh anybody wanna speak on the democrat side
No, sir.
Anybody else on the Republican side?
No, Senator Booker.
Sure.
Oh, Senator Booker, please.
I just want to be added, uh, to number seven. I just want to be added to the tribal warrant parents act as the third three zero four one.
Uh, did you hear that, clerk?
I got it. Thank you.
Thank you.
OK. OK, then it looks to me like we're ready to vote.
Uh, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, who, Senator Cruz.
uh two things i i also ask to be added as a cosponsor to the other
oh uh add senator cruz as a cosponsor
to to all the other bills that are up today
and all all these uh bills ok
uh
uh senator padea go please
yes thank you mr. chair i i believe previously you uh acknowledged i wanted to be on as a cosponsor for all these including uh this uh measure uh just wanted to briefly uh appreciate the lead authors work on this when it comes to indian country relationship with surrounding law enforcement has historically not always been the best and so this just tells me of the huge strides that have been made in uh government to government relations uh including but not limited uh to law enforcement the way this bill is structured is a martial service can investigate an extra arrest warrants at the request of indian tribes uh it's not an imposition It's not a mandate, uh, it speaks to true partnership and collaboration, and I appreciate, uh, the spirit of the, of the measure. Thank you.
Thank you. Miss, Mister Chairman. Uh, yeah, Senator Cruz. Uh, I wanted to speak briefly about my bill that's, that's on the mark-up. Uh, this week, we remember the two hundred and one law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty this year, including sixteen Texans. Uh, and we honor the fallen by keeping faith with a living. That faith has a name, the Public Safety Officers Benefits Program, created by Congress in nineteen seventy-six, so that when our first responders answer the answer the call of sacrifice, their country does not answer with silence.
No, no, no.
But silence is exactly what too many heroes have received. The program is failing too many first responders and their loved ones. Take the story of Officer John Barnes. A hero who saved the lives of dozens of students during the horrific shooting at Santa Fe High School. Officer Barnes has spent more than twenty years with the Houston Police Department, earning awards for his tireless work preventing crimes against children before joining the Santa Fe Independent School District Police Department. The morning of May eighteenth, twenty eighteen, the Friday of Police Week. Officer Barnes met evil in the hallway. There were screams of shots fired, the smell of gunpowder, the fire alarm blaring, and students pouring past them. But Officer Barnes did not delay. He did not hesitate. He ran towards the gunfire and towards the chaos. Officer Barnes placed himself between innocent children and death. And with one blast of the shooter's shotgun, pellets tore through Officer Barnes's right arm, severing his artery, shattering his elbow, and leaving him with a permanent disability. Evacuated, he flatlined twice, and was resuscitated twice. By the grace of God, Officer John Barnes survived the evil acts of that day, but his injuries forced him to retire from the police. But because of that, because he did not delay, because he did not hesitate, Officer John Barnes saved the lives of dozens of students that day. I was at the Santa Fe school that morning, just an hour after the shooting occurred. And I saw incredible heroism from Officer Barnes and from students and teachers who dealt with the horror of that mass murderer. Take another story. That of NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Ansborough. On September eleventh, when the Twin Towers fell, Chief Ansborough did not hesitate and he did not delay. He reported to the incident command post at the World Trade Center and the back-up command post at NYPD headquarters. In the middle of the chaos, he went into the smoke, the burning embers, the ash and the chemicals in the air, to help rescue those that he could from the rubble. He survived the collapse of the North Tower and supervised evacuation and rescue efforts out of a nearby subway station when the South Tower collapsed and destroyed it. Chief Ansborough passed away from cancer caused by the toxic chemical exposure he suffered during his heroic service in the rubble of ground zero. Yet neither Officer John Barnes, nor Chief Michael Ansborough's children have received the treatment these heroes gave to our communities. Today, Officer Barnes has waited eight years for help from the Public Safety Officers Benefits Program, while Chief Ansborough's children have suffered years of delay seeking support after his passing. Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansborough are not alone. A February six PSOB report revealed one thousand four hundred and seventy-two pending claims, some pending for as long as four thousand, six hundred and seventy-five days, almost thirteen years. That's why I've teamed up with Senator Gillibrand to introduce the Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbrough Public Safety Officer's Benefit Program Expansion Act. The bill forces the program to make final determinations within two hundred and seventy days of receiving completed claims. It provides temporary relief to first responders left waiting by inexcusable delays. And it creates an expedited expedited system of review for public safety officers who did not hesitate to act during the September eleventh attacks. Uh, I want to thank the supporters of this bill, including the National Fraternal Order of Police, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the National Association of Police Organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the National Narcotics Officers Association Coalition, the United States Deputy Sheriffs Association, and the Voices Center for Resilience. I appreciate the senators who have joined me on this, and I urge the committee to adopt the bill.
Before we vote on these bills, I forgot that I was not a cosponsor of the trade law and I'd like to is there anybody objecting i hear no objection um now uh i'm i understand that we have an agreement to voice vote the following six bills as amended on block uh s six seven three six s eight two five s four three nine four as amended s three eight nine seven as amended s eighteen ninety as amended and s thirty forty one as amended unfavorably reporting the six bills i just listed as amended on block all in favor say aye
aye aye
all opposed say no
uh unanimously the bills will be reported
this chairman i just wanna make sure i'm added to s three eight nine seven as well
ok did you hear that bert
for sponsor
they got it
ok uh senator herrano
um mr. chairman i wanna thank all of the uh my colleagues on their leadership on the bills that we just uh dealt with but i did wanna take a moment
please proceed
to is it appropriate for me to memorialize an officer who was killed in the line of duty in hawaii
ok you're welcome
may i continue
sorry
i think so
he needs a request to speak
memorialize an officer
yeah and and and the memorialize the officer i've been waiting
oh yes please speak and and then klobuchar
thank you mr. chairman good man cool i did wanna take a moment to memorialize maui police officer suzanne oh who was shot and killed by a ghost gun while on duty a few months ago and she was added to the national law enforcement officer's memorial wall commemorated at the vigil last night and is included in the national police week resolution officer oh was a compassionate and dedicated public servant she earned a certificate of merit in August, twenty twenty three for her work responding to the twenty twenty three upcountry Maui wildfires. She also helped recruit Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women to careers in law enforcement, and she embodied the spirit of aloha. In the words of a fellow officer, and I wanna quote, uh, " Her life was a master class in what it means to serve with empathy." Without objection, Mister Chairman, I would like to submit for the record statements from her fellow officers From the Maui Police Department.
K.
You know, it's concern, Mister Chairman. I'm OK.
Well, without my direction.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you, Mister Chairman.
Now it's time for a corporate job.
OK.
Thank you. Thank you, uh, Chairman. And thank you to the men and women of law enforcement who are here today. Uh, last night I joined law enforcement leaders and families of fallen officers at the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Candlelight Vigil to honor the lives and sacrifice of three hundred sixty-three officers. Every single name read last night was a hero, a beloved family member and friend. Among the names that I read, uh, were three from Minnesota, Officer Felicia Riley of the St. Paul Police Department, who sustained long-term brain injuries in twenty ten while responding to an incident at a home. She passed away in March of twenty twenty-five as a result of those injuries. Thirty of her family members were there last night at the vigil. We also honored the life of Anoka County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Legler, who was killed in the line of duty in eighty-six. He was ambushed in a targeted attack against law enforcement and passed away at the age of thirty-seven. And finally, we honored the life of Officer Jesse Branch of the Red Lake Nation Department of Public Safety in northern Minnesota. who was killed sadly in a car crash while on duty. The fact is time and time again we have seen the courage of the brave men and women of law enforcement who are on the front lines of public safety, doing everything they can to keep ours safe. Their heroism shown through following the tragic assassination of our former Speaker of the House in Minnesota, Melissa Hortman. This is just in the last year, major manhunt and law enforcement was able to apprehend the murderer. Following that, we are so grateful to the officers who responded bravely to the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting in Minneapolis, where dozens of people were shot, almost all of them children. Fletcher and Harper were killed at the scene, just little, adorable kids, but because of law enforcement's quick response, so many lives were saved. The first nine one one call was made at eight twenty seven a m and the first officer was on the scene just four minutes later at eight thirty one a m. From the first officer's arrival to the last victim being transported by ambulance, with tourniquets, with several children shot in the head, over twenty people, the entire emergency response took just fourteen minutes. Everyone was loaded on ambulances, and everyone beyond the two children that were killed at the scene survived, and the children are all back at school. One of the dads whose daughter was severely injured told me that there is absolutely no way his beautiful daughter, who was in critical condition four weeks in the hospital, would have survived if police hadn't been there secured the scene and acted so quickly. Yesterday I met with school children from enunciation and I continued to be inspired by the resilience of the people at that school. At the last police mark-up we passed my bill with Senator Kramer to make sure that peop- that police officers and other first responders who die or become totally and permanently disabled as a result of service-related cancers get support. They earned. I thank everyone for your support on this legislation and it was signed into law in December but there is still so much more work to do and I appreciate the Thank you. bills that are on the agenda today and I hope that we will be able to get them done as well as strengthening our cops program our burn jag program and the HIDA program with that thank you Mister Chairman.
Senator Coleman and then Senator Urban. Uh, thank you, uh, Chair Grassley and Ranking Member Durbin for holding this broadly bipartisan mark-up of a whole a series of uh bills in honor of National Police Week. Uh, as the co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus with Senator Cornyn of Texas, I'm especially gratified to see this committee today acting in a bipartisan way to advance bills that support the men and women of law enforcement. Uh, this mark-up shows uh this committee at its best advancing common sense legislation to help the men and women who so often risk their lives to keep us safe. As County Executive, I oversaw and was responsible for the second largest law enforcement agency in Delaware, and I know that bills like these matter. I want to express my gratitude to you, Chairman Grassley, uh, for leading along with me the Fighting PTSD Act to bolster mental health services for first responders. It will direct the Department of Justice to develop treatment programs for police, fire, emergency medical, nine one one personnel, who suffer from PTSD. First responders routinely see people at their very worst, help people at their very lowest, and the least we could do is to consider the lasting impact that often has uh on their mental health and do something to address it. Um, I also wanna thank um, Senator uh, Cornyn as my co-chair of the Law Enforcement Caucus for hosting a constructive event to address PTSD uh among the law enforcement community. Um, I celebrated or recognized, remembered, uh, police week, uh, back home on Wednesday, uh, with, uh, all the different law enforcement agencies of our state. Um, this year's particularly hard as we mourn the loss of Corporal Ty Snook, uh, state police officer who was killed in the line of duty just before Christmas last year on December twenty-third. Leaving behind a beautiful daughter, Letty, and an inspiring widow, Lauren. Lauren spoke at the Police Memorial on the Green uh in our state capital in one of the most uh moving humble focused and inspiring set of remarks I've ever heard uh from a suffering widow um she is determined that evil does not have the last word and has launched a foundation in her late husband's memory um Ty was Corporal Snook was a father a husband a big brother a son a coach and a hero and his sacrifice is a reminder of how important these bills are to all of our communities. And I know that this week, uh, Ruthann Spicer, uh, is also accompanying Lauren here to Washington. Uh, her son, Chad Spicer, a patrolman in Georgetown, Delaware, died in two thousand and nine, leaving behind another little girl, Aubrey. It's my hope and prayer that Aubrey and Lettie, uh, grow into, uh, wonderful adults, uh, who will know and remember the service and sacrifice of their fathers in the years ahead. And I'm proud to support all of these bills today. uh, and to continue to work in the memory of these two heroes and so many others from across our nation who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you, Mister Chairman.
Senator Grover.
So last week, Mister Chairman, when we were home, I visited the memorial service to, uh, Officer John Bartholomew. It was at the Greek Orthodox Church, uh, in in Chicago. And, uh, there was an amazing turnout, uh, to salute this thirty eight year old officer who died in the line of duty and left his wife and three young children uh on the day when his body was taken to its final rest they closed down lakeshore drive uh for hours so that all of the police cars from all of the surrounding jurisdictions could join in the solemn procession uh it was a somber week in chicago because of his loss we salute him uh for his bravery uh and thank his family for giving us his example to guide our own lives. I just wanted to add his name to this conversation.
OK.
Uh, Mr. Chairman?
Uh, Senator Boehker.
I am so grateful. First of all, I'm surprised that uh, Senator Britt is still here, and I just wanna say, I'm sorry, Senator Schmidt is not. I too believe you should have two birthdays. One of them should definitely not be January sixth. Uh, but indeed you are somebody you know uh, that I value as a friend and a and an admirer, and the reason why we bring them January sixth on especially moments like this police week is because of the tragedy of having our officers in this building, sacrificing, putting their lives on the line to protect us, savagely beaten, viciously. Some of them would go on, and soon after, uh, uh, die. And yet we have a president who pardoned every one of them. That's not why I wanted your attention. I, I, I really wanted to bring up an issue that affects police departments in every single one of our states, red and blue. It is Police Week and we're marking up bills to support law enforcement in addressing crime investing resources and improving our wellness. And while we are not considering bills to authorize grant funds, several of the bills do relate to DOJ grant programs. The Trump administration has turned public safety grants into political weapons. They have imposed sweeping conditions that aren't designed to promote the purpose of the grants. to reduce crime or enhance justice. They're using them to bend jurisdictions to their ideological agenda and punish those that don't pledge allegiance to the president and policies wholly unrelated to public safety. Many states, cities, agencies, and non-profit partners aren't applying for these public safety grants because of the legal uncertainty, the confusion around vague conditions, and compliance burdens. This is tragic that we have grants that are made available that some people aren't even applying for them because of this condition. We we we'd see these groups, think it's simply too risky and too high a price. This is harming public safety in our nation. I have heard from law enforcement this week that asked we address this problem, who said officers have nothing to do with the pol- politics or policy differences between the White House and their state elected leaders. It is truly disheartening that my colleagues across the aisle won't help put an end to this. It's not fair that some states are being, law enforcement agencies are being wholly excluded from these grants, in Illinois, in New Jersey, in New York, in California. One cannot purport to support law enforcement on the one hand, and agree to allow this administration to withhold and rescind public safety funding. I would like to pass legislation that simply restores what has been DOJ's policy for decades until this administration. Grant applications will be considered only on the merits, only on what the grants will be used for, and not for any ideological differences between a governor of one state and the president of the United States. I I hear from police officers and groups in my state who do not understand why they no longer can receive grants that we approved in a bipartisan manner. police officers who vote Republican, who are telling me it is ridiculous that some of these vital grants are being withhold from their agencies, because of who their governor is and whether the President of the United States agrees with them or not. That's not the intention of this committee. We are a committee that's worked in a bipartisan manner to support law enforcement all over the country. And it really, to me, is very, very disappointing that we as a committee haven't haven't put a stop to this. It's why I'm taking actions to say very simply, I cannot be a part of grant programs that exclude my state and other states. It's just simply not fair. And I appeal, Chairman, to you and my Republican colleagues on just the basis of fairness, because should there be a Democratic president that would ever say red states, so-called red states, cannot have certain grants because they don't agree on some ideological principle that has nothing to do with public safety, I promise you I would be speaking out against that, r- Democratic president. And I don't understand why my colleagues won't do the same now, uh, under this president. I know my colleagues support law enforcement, but to pick and choose and not support law enforcement in some states, it, it, to me, it, it is not only, uh, a smacking of hypocrisy, but it actually hurts public safety. That's something I know we're dedicated and, and committed to. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Um, I understand your frustration with this whole process that you've laid out. I I hope that the appropriators uh of C uh of Commerce, Justice and State in the appropriations package would uh address these concerns. I think that that's approach to take care of of the problems as much as you can uh i'm going to continue to advocate for transparency on cancellations and appeals i i wanna point out that i hope i've been helpful to some of my colleagues on this committee and off the committee uh to successfully advocate on behalf of grantees nationwide that have had rewards delayed if they've been completely denied that gets into the cancellation process i've received outreach from officers uh uh outside of this committee and was glad to work across the aisle to help them as much as i could
chairman you you've always been a gentleman with me and i know your intentions on this are um earnest i will say though this has been a problem now for over a year i i have i have held up things on the senate floor that should have passed bills that I've signed on to as a cosponsor that should have passed, I've held them up because I know New Jersey and my other uh other states won't be accessible. That that's unfortunate. So I I'm just asking uh and I've actually talked to some of my other colleagues, who just like you have an earnest agreement with me that this is not fair. But the problem hasn't been solved. And I and I and I ask you, who've solved many problems for me over the thirteen years I've been a senator, uh and your staff, Let let's just figure out a way, because I know you don't agree with this, and I know if a Democratic president ever did this, you all would be up in arms and I would join arms with you, uh, uh, uh, with earnestness also, uh, with a clarion, uh, unequivocal demand to the Democratic president, that this is unfair, unjust, and that I wouldn't support any of these grant programs if the, if the situations were reversed.
Yeah.
I'm hoping I can get that kind of cooperation, uh, from my chairman and from my Republican colleagues. when when the situation is as it is
um before we adjourn i wanna thank all the committee for the bipartisan work that we've had on today's legislation particularly moving it quickly but more importantly for all the hours of work that goes on between members and staff on this committee uh to make uh in a bipartisan way now i probably shouldn't be surprised about that because i think this has been the tradition of this committee for a long long time and i wanna thank everybody for what they've done moving these bills i adjourn
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