Mr. Cornyn madam president , ours is a nation with the split screen after battle on two fronts. One is the pandemic that weve been fighting now for many months about, and the other is to continue the fight to defeat Racial Injustice that has sadly divided our nation since its very inception. One week ago today, george floyd, a native houstonian, was tragically died in the custody of a Law Enforcement officer. As the gutwrenching video of his death spread, so has the passion and the anger among all of us who wonder how can Something Like that happen . Our constitution guarantees every american the right to protest injustice, and i believe we all have a responsibility to stand up for whats right and 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 death of george floyd remind us 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. Too many protests across our country have turned into riots with looting and vandalism and destruction, hurting innocent people and tearing our cities apart. In response to these escalating protests, last night there were more curfews in place than at any other time since the assassination of Martin Luther king jr. One man who has experienced that period of American History first hand is our colleague on the other side of the capitol, congressman john louis. He fought and marched alongside of dr. King, fighting for equal rights and continues fighting today for equal justice. Over the weekend, he denounced the rioting and looting that occurred and said, be constructive, not destructive. History has proven time and time again that nonviolent, peaceful protest is the way to achieve the justice and equality that we all deserve. I understand and share the passion and the anger that has spread across the country and support those who are peacefully protesting and demanding that justice be served. There should never be a time in which the color of someones skin determines whether they live or die, and we have to do everything in our power to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the first place. But that change cant happen when businesses are being looted, when vehicles are being set on fire, or innocent people are being harmed. It only can happen when we come together and learn to empathize with one another and understand the struggles that our neighbors are facing. I would note that there is good evidence that many of these acts of violence are being instigated, not by victims of injustice but by outsiders determined to stoke the rage that many feel and, thus, insite them to that incite them to that unless. I was glad to hear the attorney general of the United States say that the department of justice will treat violence by individuals associated with antifa and other groups as domestic terrorism and calling protests following George Floyds and calling sop of these protests following George Floyds death to have been hijacked for another destructive antisocial agenda. And then, madam president , investigators are also tracking social media posts and looking into whether foreign 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. But the restaurants werent alone. I heard similar concerns from countless other Small Business owners across 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 main street. Its 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 economies and provide Critical Services to each of our communities. Without customers coming through the front door each day, its hard to cover your business expenses and keep employees on payroll. In fact, its not just hard, its impossible. Whether you are a new business just starting out or a decadesold community staple, the financial squeeze caused by this virus in the mitt and the mitigation efforts that ensued are unavoidable. As we worked on Coronavirus Response legislation here in march, we knew that Small Businesses needed our support. Thats why we established the Paycheck Protection Program and initially funded it with 350 billion. This funded loans that were available for these businesses to keep their employees on their payroll and cover other necessary expenses, and 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 that initial funding ran out in about two weeks. So we wisely, in my opinion, decided to replenish it with another 320 billion. An i. T. And Document Management company in shoeingland, texas, called function four was one of the recipients of those p. P. P. Loans. One of the partners, bill patsaurus, said if it wasnt for the p. P. P. , they would, quote, absolutely have to start letting people go, but instead of layoffs, all 89 employees of function four are shill employed and still working, but this is a familiar story, im sure, not just in texas but elsewhere. As of may 23, Small Businesses in texas have received more than 350,000 p. P. P. Loans, totaling more than 40 billion. Thats an average loan size of less than 115,000. These are for small and mediumsized businesses. In speaking to my Community Bankers last week, i learned that 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 our most valuable Community Institutions to survive. Thats not to say, though, it was perfect, at least to start with. When it was first established, no one expected this rollout to be perfect. I think that would be an exercise in hope over experience, because no Government Program this big and created this fast and we knew both of those were important. We needed to go big. We needed to deal with the need urgently. We knew there would be some problems. A brandnew loan program drafted and passed in such a short time frame is 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 whats working, what isnt, and how we can make it even more effective. Well, i heard repeatedly the biggest need was for flexibility in the use of those funds, and thats where they are needed the most. The main goal of the Paycheck Protection Program is right in the name, protecting paychecks, and thats why we said that 75 of the money needed to be used for payroll, otherwise you were going to have to pi the money back. We said originally the remaining 25 could use be used on a range of other expenses like rent or utilities, but based on the feedback that i have gotten and im confident that i am not alone we missed our mark by establishing that 75 requirement. For many who had no business because they were shut down as part of the mitigation efforts, their payroll expenses, they couldnt use three quarters of the loan for payroll, at least not in the short time frame that we allowed for. They needed to be able to spend more on other expenses like rent and mortgage. The Company Owned by tim love, who i mentioned a moment ago, who described this crisis as armageddon, received a p. P. P. Loan and so far 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. He said were not just were not asking for more money. Were just asking for the opportunity to spend the money that we have in a way that you would want us to, the way it was intended, to take care of our employees when we are able to open up. And that is precisely what we are working to do, and i hope we can get legislation to the president s desk this week to meet to make those needed changes. Last week, the house passed a bill to provide that flexibility for Small Businesses to use these funds where theyre needed most. This evident was spearheaded by a fellow member of the texas delegation, congressman chip roy, and it passed by a vote of 4171, a rare feat these days in the house of representatives. The bill will reduce the level of funds that must be used on payroll from 75 to 60 . This will make sure that the bulk of the funding continues to protect jobs and support workers while giving businesses the flexibility they need to stay viable. This legislation also gives borrowers another valuable asset. Thats the asset of time. The p. P. P. As originally written gave borrowers eight weeks to use these funds, and i have repeatedly heard from my constituents that eight weeks is simply not enough. For those who receive these loans at the outset in early april, their window to use the p. P. P. Loan is quickly closing, and although businesses are now just starting to safely reopen, its going to take some time before we find our new normal. I dont think we want a situation where after being back at work for eight weeks, employees are let go because of an administrative policy that makes no sense. Its completely arbitrary, and thats 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 that businesses and nonprofits have time to safely reopen, rebuild their operations while using the p. P. P. To help cover payroll and other business expenses. This would be a winwin. I rarely have heard from my constituents back home that weve done anything that has been so universally appreciated as the p. P. P. Program, the Paycheck Protection Program. This legislation thats passed the house that i hope we will take up and pass this week extends the benefits of this Incredible Program and provides more stability for Small Businesses without spending any more taxpayer dollars. It doesnt cost us anything. Giving Small Businesses and nonprofits more flexibility to use this money when and where its needed is important to our longterm recovery. Ive 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. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Durbin madam president , his name was george floyd. Seven days ago, he was killed on the streets of minneapolis. He was not the first African American to be the victim of racism and criminal misconduct by the police. Its happened in our history many times. But this was different. This was a killing which we watched in real time. In fewer than nine minutes, a 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 couldnt breathe, even invoking the name of his mother didnt stop what happened. That photo is still emblazoned in my mind as im sure it is for all of those who have seen it. The look in that policemans eyes at the videotape that was being taken of that incident was cold and hard and distant, unmoved by George Floyds plea and the plea of those around him. What a tragic moment for our country. A tragic moment for that family. What does it 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 . The heartbreaking killing of george floyd follows years of similar tragedies and needless loss. In 2012, 17yearold Trayvon Martin shot and killed by a vigilante as he walked home with a bag of skittles that he just bought from a local 7eleven. His crime black in america. In 2014, the words i cant breathe were seared into our minds when we saw the video of eric garner struggling for his life and dying as a Police Officer held him in a chokehold. His crime black in america. Weeks later, Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Police Officer in ferguson, missouri, despite being unarmed. A couple months later, on the streets of chicago, illinois, la quon macdonald was shot and killed by a Police Officer. The next month after he was killed, tamir 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 marched for continues to grow. Walter scott, freddie gray, filandro castia, many more, including 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 ceremony. 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 that were cut far too short in incidents of inexplicable and inexcusable violence. Ahmaud arbery, breonna taylor, george floyd. Once again those gutwrern chg words gut wrenching words, i cant breathe brought us to heres. As an activist pointed out justice for breonna, george and ahmaud would mean theyd each be alive today. What we must now seek is accountability. The arrest of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin is the first step in that direction but there is so much more that must follow. Too often Police Officers who cross 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, but our system of justice rarely leads to real consequences that follow. How many more names of black men, women, and children will be cried out in protest before america finally acknowledges the obvious . We cannot call ourselves 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 ledges is legislators like myself and those in the house and state legislators around this country to continue to undo the damage of a criminal Justice System fraught with racial disparities. Most importantly, it will require those of us with privilege and power to step back and listen to black america as they tell us about what a life facing pervasive systemic racism is life. If we truly want to reach a new day in america, impacted communities must lead the conversation. Allies must play an active supportive role in confronting and dismantling racism. We know there are several steps the federal government can take right now to begin the process of moving forward. A good place to start was president Barack Obamas task force on 20th Century Policing. In 2015 president obamas task force released a report outlining reforms to strengthen communication policing and restore trust in the communities they serve. Under president obamas leadership the Justice Departments Civil 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 attorney general barr could demonstrate that leadership by implementing the recommendations of the task force of the 21st Century Policing and permitting the Civil Rights Division to do its job and vigorously investigate Police Departments accused of engaging in a pattern of practice of misconduct. We have a role to play here too. We Must Immediately hold hearings on systemic racism and Police Misconduct so that we can discuss and pursue solutions, including accountability and training. Chairman graham of the Senate Judiciary committee has announced the committee will hold a hearing on Police Misconduct. Im glad that he made that statement. I hope its more than just one token hearing. When i chaired the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on 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. I said then and i repeat it today, it is important to recognize and say clearly that there is 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 at 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 cant ignore the obvious. Since the republicans took Senate Majority control in 2015, the Senate Judiciary committee rarely if ever addresses these issues of systemic racism in america. In fact, the last hearing on policing was almost five years ago. In november of 2015, the junior senator from texas held a hearing entitled, quote, the war on police how the federal government undermines state and local Law Enforcement. It was a thinly veiled attack on the efforts of the obamas civil rights p division to improve police integrity. Four and a half years after that hearing we still have so much work to do, and im committed to joining with my colleagues to listen to civil rights leaders, activists and affected communities and work with them to improve life in my state and across the nation. I hope we can honor george, breonna, 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 system that has permitted these atrocities to occur and dedicate ourselves to bringing about justice and accountability. Madam president , it was many years ago when i was a law student in this city. The year was 1968. I remember it well. It was an 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 and 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 dr. Martin luther king. The system of justice is broken down in the city. Theyve run out of attorneys to even stand with the accused defendants before the court. We are preparing to empower you, even as a law student, to walk across the street to the d. C. Court and play that role. We need you. I did it, nervous as could be, uncertain of what i was actually doing but realizing that the system of justice in this city had all but broken down. I think weve 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 that we all must stand together to make certain that its protected. There will always be its 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, a comob. Shouldnt the beginning of that common good or common goal be the end of racism in america . Ive read so much history about the civil war, the role of another illinoisan, abraham lincoln, in bringing that war to a successful conclusion. The constitutional amendments that followed, the promises that followed as we emancipated slaves across the United States. Those promises sadly were not kept. Reconstruction, jimcrow laws, and the discrimination that followed is still with us today. There was 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 by the name of barack obama, an African American, and i thought to myself finally, finally durbin, maybe weve reached that turning point in america when it comes to race, if we can accept an African American as the leader of our nation, maybe, just maybe we are moving toward the day weve all dreamed of. Im afraid he moved us forward but not far enough, and he would be the first to acknowledge. We have work to do. It used to be a bipartisan effort, when it came to making certain that minorities, especially African Americans, were not denied the right to vote. That used to be bipartisan when i first came to congress. Now its become another sad divisive partisan issue. And the efforts to restore the Voting Rights act failed because the republicans no longer joined 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 address economic justice. We know from the covid19 pandemic that those who are minorities in this country, the black and brown, are dying at a much greater rate, a much higher rate than others. There are gross disparities, racial disparities, poverty disparities when it comes to health care in america. And the same is true for education and housing and so many other aspects of what being an american is all about. That agenda is before us. And if we think that 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. And we have to acknowledge that the process will be far from perfect. Just the last two nights in the city of chicago and across the United States, we have seen incidents occur which i thought id never see again. They hearken back to the 1968 reaction to the assassination of dr. Martin luther king. The burnings, looting, confrontations, things that sadly look exactly like they did some 50 years ago. The reality is this, in america we are given a constitutional right to express our feelings and our free speech and our free assembly, and those rights are important and should be valued and respected. But those rights to march, to demonstrate, as people are doing right outside this building at this very moment, cannot be taken to the point where theyve reached an extreme and become destructive. Speaking, assembling, exercising your constitutional right does not include looting. It doesnt include arson, vandalism or violence. In fact, those actions detract from the underlying message which calls for positive change in america. I am glad that leaders like john lewis, my dear friend, and former colleague from the house of representatives, has made that point. His voice on the subject is much more articulate and more convincing, but hes reminded us that if we are to move america to the place where it must be, we must do it in a nonviolent fashion within the law, not breaking the law. His name was george floyd, a 46yearold African American. He died on the streets of minneapolis with the knee of a Police Officer on his neck for almost nine minutes. He cannot be forgotten. And all the others that i mentioned must also be remembered. It is time for us, it is time for our generation to say enough. Madam president , i yield the floor. Without objection. Ms. Collins thank you, mr. President. Pr