Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Mr. PAUL. In fact, I have been active in this issue for the last couple of years, and each time this has come forward, at the end of the year, with very little time to do the normal process, I have advocated that an amendment be added that would include protection of Members of Congress. I really think that it is important that we protect addresses for our judges, but it is also important that we do this for our elected officials.

In recent years, what has happened has taught us that the legislative branch needs better protection as well. That was clear in 2011, when Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was tragically shot while doing the most important part of the job--meeting with constituents.

Words cannot express how happy and inspiring it was to see Congresswoman Giffords here in the Chamber as her husband, Senator Kelly, was recently sworn in as a Member of the body. But words also cannot express the pain felt by the family of the people who were killed and wounded that day. That should have been a wakeup call to better protect Members of Congress and, in doing so, better protect the people around them.

But just a few years later, a shooter nearly killed Congressman Steve Scalise during baseball practice for the annual charity baseball game. I was there, and I said at the time that our lives were saved by the Capitol Hill police. Had they not been there, things might have gone much worse.

But the Capitol Hill police are not stationed at our homes where our families live while we serve in Washington. Extending the provision of this bill to the Members of Congress would better protect all of us-- our families, our neighbors, and our constituents.

It is a very minor request that I am asking. It is an amendment that would not change anything or lessen anything about the bill. It is a very reasonable request, and I don't understand exactly why we can't make this bill better by applying it to both judges and Members of Congress.

My substitute amendment, which I will offer for unanimous consent, will make simple changes to the legislation. It would extend the same protections it would offer to the judicial branch to the legislative branch.

Second, the laudable goal of this legislation is to protect personally identifiable information from being sold and posted online by data brokers. Allowing at-risk individuals to file private action against data brokers for declaratory and injunctive relief, plus reasonable attorney's fees, will achieve that goal.

I ask the Senator to modify his request to, instead, include my substitute amendment at the desk, and that my substitute amendment be considered and agreed to; the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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Mr. PAUL. We are willing to work with him on getting the bill passed. The only thing that we would like to do is to have it include Congress, as well.

The other points you had mentioned that you object to, as far as changing, I would be willing to discuss. I think there would be a middle ground.

I think this could be passed. When we pass something unanimously, there has to be a little give and take. No one gets their way. I am not saying that you can't have it. I am for your bill in general.

I think it ought to be expanded to Congress. We had at least two people shot. Gabby Giffords was shot. We had Steve Scalise shot. We had other threats. Congress is threatened and families are frightened.

I don't know about you, but, routinely, the sheriff and police have to come to our house for threats to my house. I am not alone. This happens to other people. There is no reason why we should do this only for one branch of government. They put the satellite picture of my House on the nightly news, basically pointing out where every crazy person in the world can go to find my house.

We do need to do something. This isn't a new request. I requested this a year ago when a very similar bill came up a year ago for special protections for the judiciary. I said, once again: Good idea, we should apply it to Congress.

We go forward a whole year, and now we are doing the same thing again, and nobody seems to be listening.

I will tell you that I am willing to compromise on this and willing to work with you to pass it, but I think we should extend it. It is not that hard. If we extend it to Congress and flip it back, then, I think it would pass unanimously in the House, as well.

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