Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20160714

Myself, is the license plate come in a stolen . Does the license plate match the car . I was looking for some rational reason that may have prompted him for stopping me on the side of the road. I also think about the experiences with my brother who became a command Sergeant Major the United States army. The highest rank for an enlisted soldier. He. He was driving from texas to charleston. He was pulled over by Law Enforcement officer wanted to know if he had stolen the car he because it was a volvo. I do not know many africanamerican men who do not have a very similar story to tell, no matter their profession. No matter their income, no matter their disposition in life. A i also recall the story of one about 30 years old and he drove a chrysler 300. Hundred. A nice car without a question but not a ferrari. That is super nice car. He was pulled over so many times here in d. C. For absolutely no reason other than for driving a nice car. He sold that car and bought a more secure form of transportation. He was tired of being targeted. N imagine the frustration, the irritation, the loss of dignity that accompanies each of those stops. Great even here on capitol hill where ive had the great privilege of serving the great people of South Carolina as United States Congress Member and as a United States senator for the last six years. For those who do not know, there were a few ways to identify member of congress or senate,th well, typically when you have been here for a couple of years the lawenforcement officers get to know your a face and they identify you by face. But if that does not happen and you have a badge, a license license that you can show them, show to your senator or its really cool pen. I often say the house but is larger because our egos are bigger so we need a smaller pin. So its easily to identify u. S. Senator buyer pin. I recall walking into an Office Building just last year after being here for five years on the capital. The officer looked at me with attitude and said the pen, i know, you, i do not. Show me your id. I will tell you, i was thinking to myself, either he thinks im committing a crime and t impersonating a member of congress or, or what . Well, i will tell you later that evening i received a phone call from his supervisor apologizing for the behavior. Mr. President , that is at least the third phone call that i have received from a supervisor where the chief of police since i have been in the senate. Of so while i thank god that i have not endured bodily harm, i have however felt the pressure applied by the scales of justice when they are slanted. I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness, and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you are being targeted for nothing more than being just yourself. As a former staffer mentioned fr earlier, there is absolutely nothing more frustrating, more damaging to your soul and would you know you are following the rules and being treated like youre not. So make no mistake, no matter o this turmoil, these issues should not lead anyone to any conclusion other than to abide by the laws. I think reverend doctor Martin Luther king jr. Said it so wellr returning violence with violence only leads to more violence. And even darker nights, nights to paraphrase without stars. Ty there is never, ever an acceptable reason to harm a member of our Law Enforcement community, ever. Is i dont want anyone to misinterpret the words that im saying. Because even in the times of great darkness there is light. As i shared on monday there are hundreds, thousands of storiesny of officers who go beyond the call of duty, ms. Taylors i spoke about on monday night at of the dallas was covered, covered completely by at least three officers who were willing to lose their life to save hers. We have a real opportunity to be grateful and thankful for men and women in uniform. Not i shared another story on monday night as well. Does while the 1i want to tell you today does not involve a tragic loss of life, it does show support that meant a lot to me at the time it occurred. Nd prior to serving in the United States senate i was an elected official on the county level, statelevel, and a member of the United States congress. Event ta i believe its my responsibility to hang out with my constituents as often as possible and hear their concerns. At some point during my time as a Public Servant i travel to an event that i was invited to come along with two staffers and two lawenforcement officers, all four were white and me. When we arrived at the event the organizers seem to have a particular issue with me coming to the event. He allowed mice to staffers to go into the event, seem to be allowing the two officers going in who both said they are not r going in if i wasnt going in. So in order to avoid a real deba tense situation i opted to leave because there is just no way of winning that kind of debate, ever. I was so proud and thankful for those two lawenforcement officers who were enraged by this treatment. It was such a moment that i will never forget and a situation i would love to forget. W the situation that happens all across the country. This is a situation that happens across the country whether we want to recognize it or not. It may not happen thousand times a day, but it happens too many times a day. This to see it as i have had a chance to see it helps me understand why this issue has wounds that have not healed in a generation. It helps me me to appreciate and understand and hopefully w communicate why it is time for this American Family to have a serious conversation about where we are, where we are going, and how were going to get there. We must find a way to fill these cracks in the very foundation of our country. H tomorrow i will return with my final speech in this threepart series. On solutions and how to get to where we need to go by talking about the policies that get us there and the people solutions, because i like you mr. President , i dont believe that all answers are in government. I dont think all the solutions we need our government. We need people doing things that only individuals can do. Today however, i simply ask you this. Recognize that just because you do not feel the pain, the anguish of another, does not mean it does not exist. To ignore their struggles, our struggles does not make them it simply leaves you blind and the American Family very fulfil it is so hard to explain away injustice that they are slowly wiping away who we are as a nation. We must come together to fulfill what we all know is possible here and america, peace, love, and understanding. Thank you mr. President. The senator from california. Before senator scott leaves the floor may say to my colleague how much i appreciate his frank discussion today. E we are so blessed to have you and corey are here, we dont have enough diversity here. Let me just be clear. As much as all of us want to walk in each other shoes, you know because each of us has different experiences inc our lives, it really matters who is in the room, who is at the microphone, who is sharing the truth. B you have shared a truth with us today. I want to say senator booker shared similar stories with us in our caucus. I it is a lifechanging for us and the you said and it makes us better to have you and corey booker ra here. Dont thin having said that, i came to the floor to discuss a very similar topic, the status of racial Race Relations in america today. I do not think you and corey booker should have to be the ones to carry this forward. Because mr. President , when when i was a little girl, i was 10i came face to face with ugly, vile, stupid and dangerous discrimination. I cheered on Jackie Robinson with all of my girl power to counteract with my dad said was hatred because of the color of his skin and how blessed was i when i worked hard with the republican colic to make sure that Jackie Robinson got the congressional medal of honor. Then when i was with my mother in florida, the same same age ten years old, 1950, i saw them fourth and fifth in the back of the bus. I got up out of my seat to an elderly woman, she mustve been 55 at the time i was temporary. She looked old to me. I stood up, she reviews me and she said no. No. And i was hurt. N i said to my mother, what is happening here . Why wont the woman take my seat . My and my mother said, segregation. While growing up in brooklyn this may no sense to me. My mother could have led to go, instead she told me to follow d her to the back of the bus. Not that anyone notice, but we we knew exactly what we were doing. I felt part of her pain. He part of the team against this craziness where people have to go to the back of the bus simply because of the color of their, skin. The Civil Rights Movement has made enormous progress in our lives. The trouble remains in oure hearts. There is too much hatred in ourr communities. M but lets be clear, whether whether you are a police officer, regardless of the color of your skin, kissing his or her family goodbye in the morning, or or the parents of a young africanamerican teenager, no one mr. President , evers ever should have to fear that they will not see their loved ones at night. And yet that is the truth in ones america, a truth that has been witnessed by a couple of our senators. No one should have to fear that they would not see their loved ones at night because of this type of hatred. Now was not the time to paint whole groups of people with a that, that is the exact definition of prejudice. You cannot broadbrush a whole community because of the color of their skin or their religion. Were who they love. You cannot broadbrush all of the of department. What we need is a deescalation of the system and an escalation of trust. A deescalation of suspicion and an escalation of trust. It is long long past time that we sit together, united. It is long past time that we look inside our own hearts, look inside our own soul and banish the hatred. We must instead embrace each other as gods creation. Because each of us are gods creation. Doctor Martin Luther king wrote, men often hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they do not know each other. They dont know each other because they cannot communicate. They cannot communicate week as they are separated. Who tau that is what Martin Luther king said. T a man who taught us love. A man who taught us compassion. O a man who taught us nonviolence. A man who taught us to listen to each other. A man who taught us to walk in each other shoes. Y stre and it started by breaking down the barriers that separate us. Bridging the gap between communities and lawenforcement and establishing trust. Healing will begin in the streets. And it should. Policing should be for the community. By the by the community, and with the community. I when i was a county supervisor in the 1970s there were police. Versus Community Issues so i recommended and my colleagues concurred in a new system of Community Policing. What does it mean . It means that you get the police out of a central precinct and you move them into the community. Relationships develop, it seems so right, it works so well. But i was shocked was shocked when i got out of local government, when i realize that enough communities were following that same Community Policing method. Where it exists there is cooperation and True Protection of the community. It is an obvious step that should be a implemented widely. So what can we do. We cant force people to love, we can suggest it, we cantta force people to be tolerant, we can suggest it. Duced but i think there are certain things that we can do. Tart i have introduced legislation with senator corey booker is called the pride act. It would start us off by getting statistics that we need. How many shootings are there in st how many shootings by the community towards the police are there . Believe it or not we dont really collect those numbers. We would provide funding to states for the use of force for training. P so lawenforcement agencies and personnel, includingation re deescalation and bias training and funding for tip lines and hop lines and Public Awareness announcements to gain information regarding use of force against the police. So it is a very balanced piece of legislation that looks at the problems on both sides. Secondly, we need to better support lawenforcement agencies who work to advance the practice of Community Policing. We can do that by increasing funding for the Justice Department Community Policing development program. That provides lawenforcement agencies with funding to implement innovative Community Policing practices. Guess what mr. President . The funding for this Critical Program which may well be one of our most programs is 8 million a year thats it. For the whole country. J its not enough, we need to do better. We should provide dedicated funding for Justice Department t programs to initiate formal gatherings or summits to Bring Community members in place into one conversation. Anyone who looked at dallas understands. They understand how hard they are trying, how much they have done. B when i saw president obama with mrs. Obama and president george w. Bush with laura bush, i was so happy. They are starting thatuspici conversation. The building of that trust. The tearing down of that wall. One one of the founders of black lives the matter said we have so many different experiences that are rich and complex, we need to bring all of these experiences to the table in order to achieve the solutions we have designed. Or anyone has heard the stories or read some of the words of senator booker, we have a lot th learn. A United States senator being stopped and said seven times. This is what i heard senator scott say, in one year. It is just too much for these people to bear. We need to help them. Change policy, yes, we have so many different experiences that are rich and complex. We need to bring these experiences to the table. My friend, the senator from alaska is here, she and i are, i are, we are only 20 women out of 100. I think that our colleagues understand that we have brought something to the body. We have brought rx. As to the body. And it and it transcends partisanship. When we are in the room, it is a little bit of a different conversation because, not that we are any better, but we have had different experiences. When experiences. When our africanamerican colleagues tell us, look at our lives, we have the same job as you. Why he was pulled over seven times in a year, we cannot turn our back on it and we cannot leave it up to just those two colleagues to lead us. We need to help them. We need to Work Together and have this conversation that Alicia Arthur says we should we must formally recognize and encourage Police Departments who epitomize what it means to be a keeper of the piece. The keeper of the piece. Thathe that is what they want to be. Those offices who attend Community Meetings after work, who spent saturdays playing basketball with neighborhood kids. Who attend Church Services so they can connect with the congregants. Who take lower income children shopping for toys it and gifts for christmas. Who stopped to check in on residents just because they care. Road that is happening all over the in country. That is why we cannot pay people with a broad brush. It is wrong. In the community in the San Francisco bay area you should see what these officers do. Te they had a divide between the community and the police. The Police Department new something had to change. So they invited the public to participate in those changes. They held open opendoor Community Meetings. They created a citizen where voices were heard. They they invited residents to experiencer their Training Simulator and give them a new perspective on what police experience. They and see if through our eyes and we will see it through your eyes and we will do the attention and increase the trust. They put a high importance on hiring officers who had a connection to vallejo and wanted to serve the public. They even started a latenight news program at the local high school. D have they started change from within that community. So i think that we should have a Community Policing Innovation Fund at the Justice Department. It would reward lawenforcement agencies and localities who are doing the right thing. Last, i want to bring up that issue where everybody goes into. Their corners and i begged colleagues not to go into your e corner. We know we cant prevent every e tragedy. But we can do some smart thingsy while protecting the second weas amendment. We dont need military weapons on the s