Floor. Mr. President , this morning mike i woke up this morning, mr. President , this idnesday morning on june 17, 2020. For so Many Americans this is just another wednesday morning, you wake up, get ready for work. Not in South Carolina. In South Carolina, this wednesday, june 17, is the fifth anniversary of when a racist walk into Mother Emmanuel Church and listen to believers talk about their love of god. At the end of that bible study, held up a weapon and killed nine people. So for me in so many South Carolina ends, this is a hard day. I will tell you mr. President , that standing on this floor, remembering the words of one of the victims son, Daniel Simmons junior, five. , years ago a wednesday had passed it, one week later. I asked Daniel Simmons junior, whose father, Daniel Simmons senior had been killed in an attempt to start another race war at the home of the civil war. What should i say to the people who will be watching around the country . He said something i could not believe. He said please remind them of romans eight 28. That all things Work Together for good. For those who love god and are called according to their purpose. I was standing at those doors on my cell phone. I could not believe the words he was speaking. And in an act of true unconditional love, he inspired me, he encouraged me, he taught me lessons of strength and courage and mercy. Our nation needs to remember that. I came to the floor today, mr. President , to speak about my new bill, the justice acts. Our republican response to the Police Reform. Im sitting in my office when the senator from illinois talked about the token legislation. That weday, the day remember Mother Emmanuel Church in the nine loss lives, person ever to call me a senator, the pastor of that church, a democrat member of that church says to me, my senator, 2012 december, to reflect back on the fact i have in my phone today the text where i said are you okay . He did not answer. Because he was already dead. To think that on this day as we try to make sure fewer people lose confidence in this nation to have the senator from illinois refer to this process this opportunity to restore hope and confidence andme trust with the American People for africanamericans from communities of color to call this a token process. That hurts my soul. For our country, for our people, to think the concept of anti lynching that the part of this legislation when you consider a token peace of legislation because perhaps an africanamerican someone on the other side of thee aisle, i dont know what he meant. But i can tell you but this day to have those comments again hurts the soul. To think about how the same year, 2015, walter scott and my home town of north charleston, running away from the police gets a shot five times in the back. I saw legislation then and i dont member Single Person saying a single thing on that side of the aisle to push forward more legislation on body cameras. But today, this is a token peace of legislation. Because i think it is important we stand up and be counted and make sure we have more Resources Available for every single officer to have a body camera. Aucause as we saw, in georgia, had mr. Operate not been on video and walter scott case had not been caught on video. In George Floyds case had it not been caught on video, we might be in a different place. But on the other side this is called tokenism. When this side of legislation once have body cameras, antilynching, deescalation training. But no we cannot concern ourselves with the families i sat with at the white house yesterday and in my office yesterday. Instead we b wanted to play politics because this is 2020 we are far more concerned about winning elections then we arent having a serious conversation of reform in this w country. No we would rather have a conversation about tearing this country apart. Making it a binary choice between Law Enforcement and communities of color instead of working for the American People. Bringing reforms to the table so we have a chance to balance this nation and direct due north. Know this too much to ask on june the 17th, five years later. Ice started the conversation about body cameras in 2017 but no will. We want to have a political conversation. I reject that. I reject that. I will tell you i t believe my friends on the other side of the aisle were serious about Police Reform. There are some who are just more interested in scoring political points than they actually are getting results. Not the majority of them, the majority of them have the same heart we have for the American People. Thats where we should be focusing our attention on, not the color of my skin, not tokens. I get it all the time on twitter and im used to it. But on this day my heart aches for my state. My heart aches with my uncles pain for 50 years before he passed. So i am a little riled up. I sit here quietly trying to pass good legislation thats based on the house bill because i knew if i wanted a chance to get something done we had to do it in a bipartisan fashion. I am not running for anything im not up for reelection im not trying to support someone i am simply saying to the families i met with yesterday at the white house without a camera and in my officeou yesterday without a camera, i hear you, we see you, you are not simply sitting there silent. More work and serious, tangible, measurable results. Why isnt it enough . Why cant we disagree on the three or four items we disagree upon . Why cant i say what i have been saying is that the house bill is in fact a blueprint for some progress. It goes too far for me and some areas. But yes ioo like the concept of more information. This is a good thing. The house doesnt, we do it. That is a good thing i like the concept of more training. I like the facts were looking for a way to band choke holds. We do iten by taking money from taking different departments they do it in a different fashion but we are about 90 there. But where do we go . Wherere do we go question or people wonder why the country so divided because it is so easy to walk on this floor and say token and assume the same race message that weve heard for very long time. But if you are a democrat, hey its okay. Its never okay. Its not okay to sage our kids you cant think what you want to think and be who you want to be if you are not in line with one race and what theyre saying is bad news its a real sellout. What message are you sending thees kids . I mean to be okay but what message are resetting to kids about our country . You cant be taught just to think. We have toin teach you how to think. That is the conclusion and it is wrong. It is toxic. It is pushing our country thats affordable. Thats why ice started my legislative day with remembering mother emanuel. Its why i read my bible next because i knew i needed extra strength bread thats why i turned immediately to my first interview trying to talk about Police Reform because as a guy who has been stopped 18 times, i take it seriously. When youve been stopped seven times in a single year, being stopped this year, last november, being stopped coming into the senate. Sure, i get it. I dont point fingers at the other side and thinking theyre not serious about the issue. This is not what we should do. I assumeut that everyone would be serious about the issue. But mr. President , ive got to tell you, it is with a heavy heart, it is with a heavy heart that i believe had we had more money for body cameras but would be in a different position today than o we were in 2015 when no one wanted to have this conversation or at least we did not have that. Stomach i believe there are people with good intent on the other side of the aisle. Their people on content on our side of the aisle. Think the fact of the matter is most americans are tired of hearing about republicans and democrats. Most are just tired of talking about Election Outcomes and poles. What about me is what theyre saying. I am suggesting this bill, the justice act is a serious, nationwide effort tackling the issues of Police Reform, accountability and transparency. It is grounded in bipartisan principles because i believe the other side has some stuff we have to hear and that our side has some stuff they need to hear. And if we do that, we will have the votes to have a real debate next week on this bill. If not will just be tugboat scoring points and you go to msnbc cbs or fox everybody have their chatter and or people in the communities of color will have less confidence in the institutions of power and authority because we missed the moment. We missed it five years ago. We dont have to miss it now. Mr. President , as you know, i am not really into theatrics. I dont run towards microphones. I dont talk a lot in conference because why say what other people are saying and they probably said it better. I dont demonize the other side because i know in order to get anything in this senate you have to have votes. And plus, if you have agreements with your brother, talk to him. Talk to him. Ive tried to do that. Mr. President , im sure ive time, let me just say that to the families upside down yesterday, they dont think working on body cameras is a token experience. They dont think sitting down with the president of the United States with their tears feeling their eyes, running down theirng cheeks, talking about their lost loved ones, is a token experience. The Law Enforcement officers in that meeting with those familiesut do not believe that having a serious conversation about Police Reform is eight token experience. They dontan believe that co responders for the one man who was in the room whose son was having a mental episode who was shot on the scene, he doesnt think this is a token experience. Shame on us. Shame on us if we are unwilling to have a serious conversation about a serious issue that in my opinion is a greater threat to this nation than perhaps anything we have seen because we are all having political points, that is wrong its just not right. I tell you, mr. President , my fellow colleagues, senator langford, and others thank you, thank you for giving voice to the serious issue. Mr. President as everyone knows this country faces an extraordinary set of crises. There crises that are unprecedented in the modern history of our country. Over the last several