Endless Frontier Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. In a moment, the Senate will resume business. A few of our Republican colleagues may continue their speeches.

The Senate spent 2 hard weeks working on this bill, and many months before that. We have every intention of sticking it out until the job is done, and that is what we are going to do. I look forward to passing this historic and extremely bipartisan bill later today.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. 1260; that all postcloture time be considered expired and the Senate vote in relation to Cornyn amendment No. 1858; that if a Budget Act point of order is raised and a motion to waive is made following disposition of the Cornyn amendment, the Senate vote on the motion to waive; that if waived, the Senate vote on substitute amendment No. 1502, as amended; that the cloture motion with respect to S. 1260 be withdrawn; and that the bill be considered read a third time, the Senate vote on passage of S. 1260, as amended, if amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage, all with no intervening action or debate; further, that the Senate now vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 60, H.R. 3233; that following the cloture vote, notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to executive session, and the cloture motions with respect to Executive Calendar Nos. 111 and 134 be withdrawn, and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; finally, that following the disposition of Calendar No. 134, the Senate resume legislative session.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, let me just tell the public and the Members what this does. It is something we proposed. It assures that there is a vote on the January 6 Commission in the next hour. It assures that the vote occurs in the light of day, not at 3 in the morning.

It also assures that votes on the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act will occur and prevail as soon as we return in June.

This is a good solution because we get to vote on the Commission.

And let me just say this to my Republican colleagues and to the country: This Commission is desperately needed. What has been perpetrated by President Trump over the last several months is the Big Lie--the Big Lie that the elections were fixed, that he is rightfully President.

Nothing is more corrosive to our democracy than a view that elections are not on the level. Yet that has been propagated by Donald Trump and many of his allies.

A Commission can get to the bottom of this in a clear way. It is a bipartisan Commission. It is a down-the-middle Commission. There was significant Republican input by the Republican leader in the House and the Republican ranking member of the relevant committee.

So this is right down the middle. If our Republican friends vote against this, I would ask them: What are you afraid of? The truth? Are you afraid that Donald Trump's Big Lie will be dispelled? Are you afraid that all of the misinformation that has poured out will be rebutted by a bipartisan, down-the-middle Commission?

This is about a democracy. It is about the future of our democracy. The Big Lie has eroded that democracy, and we must do everything we can to rebut it. This is not a Democratic or Republican obligation. This is an American obligation.

Our democracy--our beautiful, more than-two-century-old democracy is at more risk because of the lies that have been perpetrated by President Trump and his allies than it has been in a very long time, and this Commission is a great antidote to that.

So I hope we can get broad support and move forward. I will speak more after the vote on this issue.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source