This moment, when in pain, and sorrow and grief can also be a water should moment for action. I yield the floor. Ours is a nation the split screen of a battle on two fronts. One is the pandemic that we have been fighting for many many months in the other, this to continue the fight to defeat racial injustice. That is sadly divided our nation one week ago today, george floyd, was tragically died in the custody of the Law Enforcement officer. As the gut wrenching video of his death spread, so has the passion and the anger among all of us who wonder in Something Like that happen. Our constitution guarantees every american the right to protest not be all a have a responsibility to condemn what is plainly wrong. People of all Color Backgrounds and ages are demanding that justice be served. In the case of george floyd. The first step in that process came on friday when the officer who had him in custody was himself arrested and charged with thirddegree murder. Devastating events like the wdeath of george floyd remind s that we have a long way to go in the fight for equal justice under the law. But we cannot yield to the temptation to fill the void created by this tragedy with violence. Tiffany protest across our country have turned into riots with looting andn, destruction. Hurting innocent people in tearing our cities apart. In response to these escalating protests last night, there were more curfews in place than any other time since the assassination of Martin Luther king. One man is experienced up part first and is our calling, on the other side of the capital, congressman john lewis. He fought and marched alongside of doctor king fighting for equal rights it but continues fighting today for equal justice. Over the weekend he nails the writing and looting and be constructive, not destructive. History has proven time and time again the nonviolence, peaceful protests, is the way to achieve that justice and it and call equality that we all deserve. I understand and support those who were peacefully protesting. Theres never be a time which the color of someones skin determines whether they live or die. The review everything in her power to remove these these tragedies were occurring in the first place. That change cant happen. When businesses remain looting and vehicles are being set on fire or innocent people are being harmed. It only can happen when we come together and learn to empathize eign agents are behind an active Propaganda Campaign using social media, trying to divide us further to stoke the anger and rage that many of us feel. Officials have seen a huge surge of social media accounts with fewer than 200 followers created in the last month, a textbook sign of a Disinformation Campaign by a foreign power much as we saw in 2016 during the Russian Active Measures Campaign leading up to the election. Righteous rage is one thing. Being manipulated by violence and foreign powers is quite another. Now, madam president , on to another matter. I was glad to be able to get back home to texas this last week where our communities are slowly coming out of a coronavirus shutdown. Churches have begun to safely welcome in worshippers. Restaurants are beginning to safely seat customers, albeit with appropriate social distancing, and retailers are now beginning to safely reopen their doors. After weeks and in some cases months of hunkering down, its a welcome sign of our progress in the fight against the coronavirus and the first step in our economic recovery. When stayathome orders were first put in place, Small Businesses were worried, understandably so, about their ability to survive. Many said they couldnt survive more than a couple of weeks under those circumstances. Back in march, fort worth chef tim love described the situation as armageddon. He said its worse than a tornado. Its worse than a hurricane. Its worse than a fire. This is going to destroy everything that i have built. Everything that i have built. That i h have built. The restaurants were not alone, i heard similar concerns from countless other Small Business owners nearly every sector of the economy hospitality, tourism, retail, manufacturing. And the list goes on. Keeping our Small Businesses open means much more than having another restaurant to eat in or a shop to buy in on mainstreet. It is one of the most effective ways to support our economy, by protecting those jobs. Across the country, Small Businesses have employed nearly half of all u. S. Workers. They are the lifeblood of our local economy and provide Critical Services to each of our communities. Without customers coming through the front door eachhr day, it has been hard to cover your business expenses and keep employees on payroll. Its not just hard, it is impossible. Whether you are a new business just starting out or a decadesold community staple, the financial squeeze caused by this virust and the ensued, are unavoidable. As we worked on Coronavirus Response legislation, here in march, we knew Small Businesses needed our support. That is why we establish the Paycheck Protection Program. It initially funded it with 350 billion. This funded loans that were available for these businesses to keep their employees on their payroll and covered other necessary expenses. If you did so, that loan would turn into a grant. It was so popular and its not hard to see why and the need was so great, that initial funding ran out in about two weeks. So we wisely come in my opinion, decided to replenish it with another twit 320 billion. It and Document Management company in sugar land texas called function forf was one of the recipients of a ppp loan. One of the partners, bill said if it was not for the ppp, they would quote absolutely have to start letting people go. But instead of layoffs, all 89 employees of function for still employed and working. This is a familiar story i am sure not just in texas but elsewhere. As of may 23, Small Businesses in texas have received more than 350,000 ppp loans, totaling more than 40 billion. That is an average loan size of less than 115,000. These are for small and mediumsize businesses. Speaking to Community Bankers last week i learned one bank had approved a loan request for as little as 300. So while the average loan was 115,000, some businesses needed far less than that including this one loan for 300. No matter how large or small these loans have allowed businesses, churches, nonprofits, and some of the most valuable Community Institutions to survive. Thats not to say though it was perfect. At least to start with when it was first established nobody expected the rollout to be p perfect. I think that would be an exercise and hope over experience. Because no government program, this a big and created this fast. We knew both of those were important we needed to go big and deal with the need urgently. We knew there would w be problems brandnew loan program bound to have some hiccups. So over the last several weeks, i have been working, talking, to my constituents as we all have to identify what needs to be fixed or improved. What gaps need to be filled. Figure out what is working what is not and how we can make it even more effective. I heard repeatedly the biggest need was for flexibility in the use of those funds. That is where they are needed the most. The main goal of the Paycheck Protection Program is right in the name, protecting paychecks thats why we said 75 of the money needed to be used for payroll. Otherwise, you are going have to pay the money back. He said originally the remaining 25 could be used on a range of other expenses like rent or utilities but based on the feedback i have gotten and i am confident i am not alone, we missed our mark by establishing that 75 requirement for many who had no business because they were shut down is part of the mitigation efforts, their payroll expenses they could not use the balloon for payroll at least not in the short timeframe we allowed for. They needed to be able to expand more on rent and mortgage. The company owns bite tim love who ice spoke a few moments ago who talked about this as being armageddon. He has received a ppp loan and has been able to hire back 80 of their 490 employees. A couple of weeks ago he participated in a roundtable at the white house and he asked for adjustments to give businesses more flexibility and he said were not asking for more money where just asking for the opportunity to spend the money we have in a way you would want us the way its intended to take care of ourbl employees when we are able to open up. That is precisely what we are working to do and i hope we can get legislation to the president s desk of this week to make those needed changes. Last week the house passed a bill to provide that flexibility for businesses to use these funds were needed most. This effort was spearheaded by the texas delegation it was passed it was a rare feat these days the house of representatives. The bill reduce the level of funds that must be used on epayroll from 75 to 60 . This will make sure the bulk of the funding continues to protect jobs and support workers will giving businesses the flexibility they need to stay viable. This legislation also gives borrowers another asset. That is the asset of time. The ppp as originally written gave eight weeks to use these funds and i have repeatedly from my constituents at eight weeks is simply not enough for those who receive these loans at the outset in early april their window to use the ppp loan is quickly closing and all the businesses are now just starting to safely reopen, its going toim take some time before we can find the new normal i dont think we want a situation where after being back at work for eight weeks, employees or let go because of an administrative policy that makes no sense. It is completely arbitrary. That is exactly what could happen if we dont act. The bill passed by the house, would extend that period of time to 24 weeks for borrowers to use those funds. That will ensure businesses and nonprofits can safely reopen, rebuild their operationsin while using ppp to help cover payroll and other business expenses this a be a win win. I rarely have heard from my constituents back home that we have that anything that has been so universally appreciated. The Paycheck Protection Program. This legislation has passed the house and i hope we will take it up and pass this week extends the benefits of this Incredible Program and is more stability for Small Businesses without spending any more taxpayer dollars. Does not cost us anything giving Small Businesses and nonprofits more flexibility to use this when and where needed is important to the longterm recovery. I have heard very positive feedback about these changes from the Small Business owners i represent and im eager to support the passage of the latest house bill, here in the senate. Madam president. The democratic whip. Madam president , his name was george floyd. Seven days ago he was killed on the streets of minneapolis. He was not the first africanamerican to be the victim of racism and criminal misconduct by the police. It is happened in our history many times. But this was different. This was a killing which we watched in real time. And fewer than nine minutes, Minneapolis Police officer, with his knee on the neck of george floyd, took his life away. Despite mr. Floyds begging over and over again, his pleas that he could not breathe, even invoking the name of his mother. It did not stop what happened. That photo is still emblazoned in my mind as im sure it is for alln of those who have seen it. The look in that policemans eyes at the videotape that was being taken of that incident, was cold, hard, and distant. On moved by George Floyds plea in plea of those around him. It was a tragic moment for our country. Tragic moment for that family. What is that say about who we are in the United States of america that in the year 2020 this sort of thing can happen with such frequency . Heartbreak and killing of george floyd all his of similar tragedies and needless loss in 2012, 17yearold Treyvon Martin shot and killed by vigilante as he walked home with the bag of skittles he just bought from a local 711. His crime, black in america. In 2014 the words i cant breathe were seared into our minds when we saw g the video of eric struggling for his life and c dying as a Police Officer held him in a choke hold. Mehis crime, black in america. Weeks later michael shot and killed by Police Officer and ferguson missouri despite being unarmed. A couple months later, on the streets of chicago, illinois, mcdonald was shot and killed by a Police Officer. The next month, after he was killed, to mayor rice was shot and killed by a Police Officer while playing with a toy gun in a cleveland park. The tragic list of black individuals we have mourned and march 4 continue to grow. Walter scott, freddie gray, lando. [inaudible] jefferson, many more. Includinga sondra bland, another resident of illinois whose life was taken when she drove down to texas to interview for a new job. I attended her funeral iceremony. The loss of such a wonderful young woman is still unexplained. Now we have come together to mourn the lives of two black men and a black woman, lives were cut far too short and incidents of inexplicable and inexcusablee. Violence. Breanna taylor, george floyd, once again those gutwrenching words i cant breathe. It brought us to tears. As activists, Brittany Beckett cunningham is point out justice for george, breanna and ahmaud those silly breathing today. What we must now seek is accountability. The arrest of former Minneapolis Police officer is the first step in thats direction. But there is so much more that musth follow. Too often, Police Officers have crossed the line from lawful protection of our communities, to baseless targeting, harming and killing of unarmed americans of color. Perhaps an arrest of the officer will be made that our system of justice rarely leads to real consequences to follow. How many more nays of black, men women and children will be crying out in protest before america finally acknowledges the obvious we cannot kill color sells a land of justice until we address those fundamental issues of racial injustice. That will require an honest candid conversation with leaders in the Law Enforcement community about training, inherent bias, use of force, and the consequences for their unjust action. It will require prosecutors and courts to commit to pursuing true accountability when injustice occurs. And it will require legislators like myself, those i serve within the senate and in the house and in state legislatures around this country. To continue to undo the damage of the criminal Justice System fought with the racial disparities. Most importantly, it will require those with privilege and power to step back and listen to black america as they tell us about life facing racism is like. If we truly want to reach a new day in america, impacted communities must lead to communications must plan adismantling racism we know there are several steps the federal government can take right now to get the process moving forward. Good place to start was president Barack Obamas task force on 21st Century Policing. In 2015, president obamas task force released a report with crucial restore them to strengthen policing and restore trust between Law Enforcement and the communities they serve. Under president obamas leadership the Justice DepartmentCivil Rights Division investigated civil rights abuses in multiple Police Departments across the country baltimore, ferguson missouri, cleveland and yes, Chicago Illinois unfortunately, the current president dismantled these efforts as soon as he took control of the department of justice in 2017. In this heartbreaking moment of crisis, america is pleading with us for leadership. President trump and it heattorney general barca demonstrate that leadership by implementing the leadership t of the task force with a 21st Century Policing and having the Civil Rights Commission doing their job and vigorously investigating and Police Departments who have misconduct. We have a role to play hereto. We Must Immediately hold hearings on a systemic racism and Police Misconduct so we can discuss and pursue Solutions Including accountability and training. Graham of the Senate JudiciaryCommittee Said they will hold a hearing on policela misconduct. Im glad he made that statement. I hope it is more than just one token hearing. When i chaired the Senate Subcommittee on the constitution civil rights and human rights, i held several hearings on race in america including my last hearing as chairman in december of 2014 on the state of civil and human rights in the United States. Da i said then and i repeat it today, is important to recognize and state clearly theres still a problem with racism in america and we still have so much more to do. Weve got to acknowledge the obvious. As one sign said in a demonstration yesterday, all black people are not criminals. All white people are not racist. All policemen are not bad. We have to find the problems and solve them. But we cannot ignore the obvious. Since the republicans took Senate Majority control in january 2015, the Senate Judiciary committee rarely, if ever addresses these issues of systemic racism in america. In fact the last hearing them policing was almost five years ago. In november of 2015 the junior senator from texas held a hearing entitled quote the war on police have the federal government undermines state and local Law Enforcement. It was a thinly veiled attack on the efforts of the Obama AdministrationCivil Rights Division to improve police integrity. Four and a half years after that hearing, we still have so much work to do. I am committed to joining with my colleagues to listen to civil rights leaders, activists and effective communities and work with them. Nd work with them to improve life and my state and across the nation. I hope we can honor george, rihanna, ahmaud and all of the black and brown lives that have been lost in brutal acts of racial injustice. We need to do this by reforming the situation thats allowed these to occur and bringing about justice and accountability mena president , as many years ago when i was a lawsuit in this city, the year was 1968. I remember it well. It was a historic year and much of the history was painful. I was sitting in the Student Library at georgetown law school, and a professor opened the door. He asked that all students in second and third year come out in the hallway. I went out in the hallway and he said we need your help. As you know the city of washington is ablaze with demonstrations and anger over the assassination of doctor Martin Luther king. The system of justice is broken down in the city. They have run out of attorneys to even stand with the accused defendants before the court. We are preparing tomp empower you, even as a law student on certain of what i wasct actually doing but realizing the system of justice in this city had all but broken down. I think we have learned the hard way that to maintain order in a democracy, you need a consensus, a consensus on what is the common good. And the belief we all must stand together to make sure it is protected. There were always be enemies and outliers but ultimately if we are to move together as a democratic nation, we have to understand and Work Together toward the common good, the common goal. Should that beginning of the common good are common goal, be the end of racism in america . I read so much history about the civil war, the role of another illinois and, Abraham Lincoln and bringing that war to a successful conclusion for the constitutional amendments that followed, the promises that followed as we emancipated slaves, across the United States. Those promises sadly were not kept. Reconstruction, jim crow laws, and the discrimination that followed, is still with us today. Enthere is a one moment, one shining moment in my political life when i stood just a few feet away from a new president of the United States with the name of barack obama. An africanamerican i thought finally, finally maybe we have reached that time point that if we can accept an africanamerican as the leader of our nation, maybe were moving towards the day we all dreamed of. Im afraid he moved us forward but not far enough. And he would beav the first to acknowledge. We have work to do. It used to be a bipartisan effort when it came to making certain the minorities, especially africanamericans were not denied the right to vote. That used to be bipartisan when it came to congress. Now it has become another said device of the partisan issue. In the efforts to restore the Voting Rights act failed, because the republicans to longer join the democrats in that quest. There are so many other areas that lie ahead that we have to address beyond criminal justice. We have to addressc Economic Justice we know from the covid19 pandemic the black and brown are dying at a much greater rate, much higher rate thanss others. There are gross disparities, racial disparities, poverty disparities when it comes to healthcare in america. The same is true for education, housing, and so many other aspects of it being an is all about. That agenda is before us, if we think coming to the floor and making a speech, having a hearing and moving on will solve the problem, it will not. It will. Not. We have to envision moving forward, rethinking america. We have to acknowledge the process of a far from perfect. Just the last two nights in the city of chicago and across the United States, we have seen events occur which i thought i would never see again. Hearken back to the 1968 reaction to the reaction of doctor Martin Luther king. Burnings, looting, confrontations, things that sadly is exactly like they did some 50 years ago. The reality is this. In america, we are given a constitutional right to express our feelings, free speech and free assembly. And. Those rights are important and should be valued and respected. But those rights to march and demonstrate rightist people are doing outside this building at this very moment cannot be taken to the point where they reach an extreme and become destructive. Speaking, assembling, exercising a constitutional right, does not include looting, it doesnt include arson, vandalism, or violence. In fact, those actions detract from the underlying message of calls for positive change in america. Im glad leaders like john lewis, my dear friends, and former colleague from the house of representatives has made that point. His voice on the subject is much more articulate and convincing. But he has reminded us that if we are to move america to the place it must be that we must do itas in a nonviolent fashion. Not breaking the law but within the law. His name was george floyd, 46yearold africanamerican. He died on the streets of minneapolis but the knee of a Police Officer on his neck for almost nine minutes. Heat cannot be forgotten and all of the others i have mention must also be remembered. It is time for us, its time for our generation to say enough. Madam president i yield the floor and have the absence of quorum. So tonight on the communicators, former fcc commissioner, citizen and nest talks about ways to reduce hate speech and extremism online. Schematic companies when they find terrorists content, they will tag so that others dont copy it. There is now much greater cooperation we had even two years ago. That needs to be done on the pressure needs to be that part. Watch the communicators comment tonight at eight eastern on cspan2. California governor, gavin newsom says he stands with the protesters but opposes those who he said are exploiting the unrest by causing