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Floor Speech

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Mr. CRUZ. He has had a passion for protecting privacy his entire tenure in the Senate, as have I, and his passion is genuine. I believe we have an obligation, a bipartisan obligation, to do more to protect the privacy of Americans, especially kids, but to protect the privacy of Americans across the board.

We also are well aware we live in a time in which violence is on the rise. There is enormous division. There is enormous anger and hatred. The entire world was shocked just a couple of weeks ago at the assassination of Charlie Kirk by a deranged gunman who inscribed his political agenda on the shell casings as he murdered a husband and a father of two. Just last week, I was in Dallas where another deranged gunman opened fire at an ICE facility, killing two. Again, that deranged gunman inscribed his political agenda on the shell casings. I wish we did not face this partisan anger. I wish we did not face these threats of violence.

A previous Congress passed legislation protecting the personal information of Federal judges because, sadly, too many Federal judges and their families have been targeted for violence. That legislation was bipartisan; it passed into law; and it has had some modicum of success in protecting Federal judges and their families.

In this instance, Senator Klobuchar, a Democrat, and myself have teamed up together to extend the same protections of privacy that Federal judges have to Members of Congress and to their staffs. We are all blessed to represent our States, and yet we know that there are threats of violence that come with this job. Collectively, the 100 of us in this Chamber have faced thousands and thousands of death threats and threats of violence. Our staffs have been victims of violence over and over again, and so this legislation is bipartisan legislation to enhance the safety and security of Members of Congress and their staffs.

Senator Wyden has now suggested broadening that to all Americans. I admire that sentiment and agree with that sentiment. There are challenges, however, with the language he has drafted. The language he has drafted, as presently written, could, among other things, prevent law enforcement and parents from knowing where convicted sexual predators are living. It could have the effect of gutting Megan's Laws that have been adopted all across this country.

So what I have offered to Senator Wyden is to work with him in good faith. I chair the Commerce Committee. I have already offered to convene a hearing to examine how we can expand privacy protections more broadly but do so in a way that doesn't disrupt law enforcement; that doesn't disrupt legitimate interests, such as knowing where sexual predators are living and making sure they are not living near young children, near daycares, near schools.

Because the legislation submitted by the Senator from Oregon has not yet worked through those issues, I reiterate my offer to work in a bipartisan manner to find an expansion of the legislation that is under consideration that would work effectively, but in the meantime, I object.

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