morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: it's a sad day yesterday when we didn't get enough votes because the democrat leader didn't want democrats to vote. we did get four of those votes from that side of the aisle, but the prison -- or the police reform bill didn't come up. senate republicans are taking a step in advancing real change on this issue in our country. we have heard calls for prison -- or police reform and are responding. not only because of george floyd's murder in minneapolis a few weeks ago, also because of peaceful demonstrations around the country on this issue calling for police reform. senator scott is the leader of

the justice act. i'm a cosponsor. it encourages states to stand as partners in addressing police reform. if state and local police departments don't comply with the provisions of the justice act, such as training officers on de-escalation and use of force and ensuring consistent use of body-worn cameras, they won't receive federal funding for police action. iowa has made significant changes already, and a number of other states have followed iowa's example. the iowa legislature unanimously passed police reform issues, very much like what's in the scott bill, and working with leaders of color in iowa to accomplish this goal, it went very smoothly through the iowa legislature. i got a firsthand report from my

grandson who is speaker of the iowa house, but -- and the iowa house is divided 53-47, but both the iowa -- both houses of the iowa legislature passed these reforms unanimously. why can't senate democrats let us go forward with the scotts bill? all we need is four more democrat votes. if it can happen in the iowa legislature, it ought to be able to happen here. we have a role then to play in the senate, but let's not forget that while we're doing that, we are also encouraging our state partners to also lead the charge in effecting real change. in fact, 50 state legislatures, every municipality ought to be moving forward on police reforms of not only our type but whatever they might think is best for their states or municipalities. i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: madam president.

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: the american people have been asked to swallow a number of contradictions over the past few weeks. i have already discussed some of them here on the floor. many citizens were told by their mayors and small religious -- that small religious services were just too dangerous. at the same time, massive political protests were not just allowed but encouraged. americans have been told they should very carefully distinguish good people from bad apples if they are talking about protests and riots. but they must not make the same dissension if they are talking about the police. recently, the country was informed by hysterical journalists that a rational policy essay from our colleague, senator cotton, was just too

inflammatory to publish, but the speaker of the house can say senator tim scott and his 48 cosponsors are, quote, trying to get away with the murder of george floyd, and democrats just cheer her on, cheer her on. americans have been ordered to rethink and relearn our nation's history by a movement that is itself so historically illiterate. they mistake george washington, ulysses s. grant, and a 19th century abolitionist for the enemies of justice and destroy their monuments. one common thread seems to connect all this. the far left wants you to play by one set of rules if you think like they do and a completely different set of rules if you

dare to think anything else. well, yesterday, here in the senate, the latest absurdity was added to the list. our democratic colleagues tried to say with straight faces they want the senate to discuss political reform. they want the senate to discuss police reform while they block the senate from discussing police reform. they declared that senator scott's bill, which contains many bipartisan components, which literally contain entire bills written by democrats, was beyond the pale. senator scott offered a wide-open bipartisan amendment process, and they walked away. over in the house, when

democrats shoot down every republican amendment in committee and allow zero amendments on the floor, you can bet it will be anointed a big, big success. now, as an aside, madam president, i could not help but notice that in the democratic leader's lengthy remarks yesterday morning, he did not once address or acknowledge the junior senator for south carolina as the author of the justice act. not one time. not one time did the democratic leader address senator tim scott as the author of the legislation he was trashing. i didn't see why the democratic leader talks right past senator scott as if he were not leading this discussion, as if he were

barely here. all i can say is that it was jarring to witness. especially in a national monument like this. senator scott was the leader of the working group. he wrote the bill. he has been studying and working on and living these issues since long, long before the democratic leader came rushing to the microphones on this subject a few weeks ago. i can certainly take all the angry comments my colleague from new york wants to throw my way. i don't mind. but if he'd like to learn something about the substance of this issue, he might want to stop acting like senator scott hardly exists. and learn from the expert who wrote the bill. the american people know you do

not really want progress on an issue if you block the senate from taking it up. they know that most police officers are brave and honorable and that most protesters are peaceful. and they know our country needs both. we need both. the american people know they don't need history lessons from common criminals who are dragging george washington through the dirt. they know prayer is no less essential than protests. and they know that a politician who compares a policy disagreement to a brutal murder has just permanently forfeited the moral high ground to the grown-ups who want solutions. some forces are desperate to

divide our country any way they possibly can. but if people of goodwill and common sense stick together, the radical nonsense won't stand a chance. now, madam president, on a completely different matter, the senate does not have the luxury of letting these disagreements prevent needed bipartisan progress on other fronts. while the house has been missing in action on the longest spring break in human history, the senate has been conducting the people's business alone. we have confirmed nominees. we have conducted critical oversight. we have passed historic legislation for our national parks and public lands. and we have kept a close watch on the bad actors abroad who would love nothing more than to take advantage of a distracted and divided united states.

today, months of focused work from our colleagues on the armed services committee will let the senate start to move toward this year's national defense authorization act. thanks to chairman inhofe and the committee for a 60th straight year, the senate has an opportunity to lay out our priorities for the u.s. military with a united voice. chairman inhofe and ranking member reed got into a collaborative bipartisan process. the committee considered 391 amendments and reported out their final bill on a nearly unanimous basis. the result is legislation that honors the unique sacrifices of our men and women in uniform from authorizing a pay raise for active duty personnel to ensuring high-quality housing, health, and child care services for families stationed at home and abroad. their product will help ensure our military continues to attract the next generation of war fighters and leaders and

that those men and women will have cutting edge equipment and tools to face off with competitors and defend our security and our interests around the world. in just the last several weeks, china has grown even bolder in its supposed enforcement of disputed waters and picked deadly fights with the world's largest democracy in the himalayas. russia has deployed aircraft to within eyesight of u.s. airspace and has kept testing the free world's tolerance for cyber attacks. north korea has threatened a new round of the korean war. iron continues to flout international agreements and fuel instability throughout its region. and terrorists prey on the instability to advance their own extreme violence. clearly, those who mean us harm will not wait for america's domestic challenges to fade away. and they certainly will not wait for the united states to quit

bickering. so notwithstanding all our other differences, i hope and expect this body will be able to put partisanship aside and honor the bipartisan tradition that has defined this crucial bill representatives will pass the justice in policing act, a comprehensive, strong bill to bring lasting change to police departments across america and tackle the extremely large and difficult problem of police bias -- of police violence, racial bias and the lack of transparency and accountability in law enforcement. unlike the republican policing bill, the justice in policing act will fully ban choke holds. the justice in policing act will ban no-knock warrants in federal cases, not just study them like the republican bill. and unlike the republican bill, the justice in policing act will bring sorely needed