from the white house, this is 25 minutes. [applause] all righty then. [laughter] good afternoon, everyone. good afternoon. let me start by saying to all of the leaders here, thank you. thank you. to the members of our united states congress, on both sides of the aisle, who helped pass the covid-19 hate crimes act, thank you. [applause] and a special thanks to senator hirono. [applause] and congresswoman grace meng. [applause] for leading this incredible effort. and i know you did not do it alone. and there are many more. i could name many more i could name, a couple of whom i will. senator tammy duckworth. [applause] senator richard blumenthal. [applause] senator jerry moran. [applause] congresswoman judy chu. [applause] congressman don beyer. [applause] and congressman fred upton. [applause] because of you history will remember this day. and this moment. when our nation took action to combat hate. thank you all. around this time last year, when i was in the senate, senator
let me start by saying to all of the leaders here, thank you. thank you. to the members of our united states congress, on both sides of the aisle, who helped pass the covid-19 hate crimes act, thank you. [applause] and a special thanks to senator hirono. [applause] and congresswoman grace meng. [applause] for leading this incredible effort. and i know you did not do it alone. and there are many more. i could name many more i could name, a couple of whom i will. senator tammy duckworth. [applause] senator richard blumenthal. [applause] senator jerry moran. [applause] congresswoman judy chu. [applause] congressman don beyer. [applause] and congressman fred upton. [applause] because of you history will remember this day. and this moment. when our nation took action to combat hate. thank you all. around this time last year, when i was in the senate, senator hirono and senator duckworth and i introduced a resolution in the united states senate condemning the rise of anti-asian sen
bowman, alexandria ocasio-cortez, she did to leave voted present. the bill has to the senate for approval. president biden and vice president harris held a bill signing ceremony for the covid-19 hate crimes act. legislation was passed by the house and senate with wide, bipartisan support. this is 25 minutes. [applause] all righty then. [laughter] good afternoon, everyone. good afternoon. let me start by saying to all of the leaders here, thank you. thank you. to the members of our united states congress, on both sides of the aisle, who helped pass the covid-19 hate crimes act, thank you. [applause] and a special thanks to senator hirono. [applause] and congresswoman grace meng. [applause] for leading this incredible effort. and i know you did not do it alone. and there are many more. i could name many more i could name, a couple of whom i will. senator tammy duckworth. [applause] senator richard blumenthal. [applause] senator jerry moran. [applause] congresswoman judy chu
11:30 eastern will vote on three amendments to the bill before a vote on passage. next week lawmakers are expected to work on water infrastructure legislation. and now live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, nature speaks of your glory. with every sunrise and sunset, we are reminded of your power and majesty. lord, we think of you when we watch the birds you guide through the boundless skies with flawless flight. we hear your voice and the patter of the falling rain and the shouts of the thunder, great and marvelous are your works. today, rule in the lives of our lawmakers with the sovereignty you hold over nature. guide our senators with your perfect and trustworthy precepts, bringing joy to their hearts because of your love. we pray in your mighty name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in recitin
school at georgetown and vanderbilt. and he works closely with immigrant groups. his book, american hate, survivors speak out, powerful testimonials of people affected by hate. the book has received positive reviews by npr and publishers weekly. welcome arjun. he will answer questions and then sign books. welcome. [applause] okay with the sound back there, c-span? okay, great. i will admit that i don t have a lot of experience sitting on a highchair, reading from a book to a cafe full of people, but i will do my very best this evening. thank you all for joining this important conversation. so i m going to start out by talking a little bit about i have been told i need to project. i m going to start by talking a little bit about my journey and why i decided to write this book. then i m going to read from some of the survivors testimonials because ultimately, this book, this moment isn t about me. it s about survivors and communities across this country who are experiencin