Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 -- Motion To Proceed

Floor Speech

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Madam President, I come to the floor today to speak on an issue that hits far too close to home for far too many families in Washington State and across the country--in Roseburg, OR; in Blacksburg, VA; in Newtown, CT; in Seattle, WA, where a student at Seattle Pacific University opened fire just over 1 year ago; in Marysville, WA, where a teenager killed four students in a high school cafeteria before turning the gun on himself; and in so many other communities, too many to list.

Madam President, in the hours and days and weeks after those shootings in my State, the community showed incredible resilience and strength. But I can tell you that anyone who has been affected by gun violence understands all too well that all the strength in the world will never erase the pain of the parents who lost a child or the students who lost friends and teachers.

Today I echo the questions I have heard from so many people in Washington State: What will it take for this Congress to adopt simple, commonsense reforms? Why would this Congress hesitate at taking even the most basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals? Why do we fail to act when children at school and young adults on campus and women in abusive relationships and so many others are so vulnerable to the threat of gun violence?

I know this is a complex issue, but that doesn't mean we should do nothing. It is long past time for us to improve background checks. It is long past time for us to end the illegal pipeline of guns that contribute to crime.

I think it is also important to note that too often those who commit terrible acts of violence needed help and intervention they did not get. To be clear, they represent a very small minority of the many people in our country who struggle with mental illness. But when so many lives are truly on the line, we need a comprehensive approach, and that should include strengthening our mental health care system so that it is available to anyone who needs it.

Madam President, this issue isn't going to go away. I wish it would. I wish we never had to have this conversation again. I wish we had never had to hear about the latest child killed, the latest school upended. I know we all wish that. Wishing will not make it happen. It is time for Congress to listen to the American people and act.

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