Housing for the 21st Century Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want to say a brief word about two subjects today:

First, hockey, a wonderful sport. It requires endurance, stamina, hand-eye coordination, balance. I have never played hockey. My son did in high school, and he was good. He was very good. Because he was interested in hockey, I learned a lot about it. I went to his games, his practices. I really learned to admire the sport and the talented people who play hockey. As an aside, I will tell you one lesson I learned about hockey through my son: You can't wash hockey gear. And as you probably know, Mr. President, you carry the hockey gear around-- hockey players do--in these big duffel bags, huge, which, of course, they zip up, and my son did that.

When he would come in from practice or a game--and I would help him with his bag full of gear that you can't wash. Be very, very careful when you unzip that bag because the smell will knock you cold.

Why do I mention hockey? Well, we just had a great hockey game. United States v. Canada. The United States won--men's hockey. The United States won, and I am very, very proud of our boys. It was a close, close game, 2 to 1 in overtime. And, of course, we celebrated that victory and congratulated our U.S. team at the State of the Union Address.

But I want to mention Canada. I think it is important to know that Canada has got a great team too. That was just a really good game, and it could have gone either way. And I so admire the people of Canada. Things get rocky a little bit between us--between America and Canada-- but deep down Americans love the people of Canada. They are smart and they are hard-working and they are industrious and they are our neighbors and, you know, we just appreciate them so much. And I just wanted to say to the members of the Canadian hockey team: Well played. Well, well played.

I am proud of America and our boys for winning, but I am proud of the young men who played for Canada as well, and I wanted to say that. Netflix

The second thing I want to talk about, briefly, is Netflix--Netflix and lawfare. Permit me to explain.

I love Netflix. I don't get to watch a lot of television, but sometimes when I come in, in the evening and I want to relax, I will watch one of the shows on Netflix.

And, you know, they have shows like--I wrote a few down--``Godless,'' ``Adolescence,'' ``Ripley,'' ``The Queen's Gambit''--just wonderful, wonderful acting. I really admire Netflix. It is a great American company. The ingenuity, the creativity that its founders had to have to come up with this concept--you know, video demand through streaming.

Netflix is so successful today. They have 325 million subscribers. Their movies go out and their limited series go out all across the world; 56 languages, I think. Netflix has 16,000 employees. They generate about $45 billion a year in cashflow. It is just a great American company, and I am proud of them.

That is why I was so surprised to hear recently some of the things said by one of the Netflix board of directors. I don't know how many directors Netflix has. I think it is anywhere from 10, 11, 12, 13-- really bright people. You go through and read their resumes, you can't help but be impressed. They are well compensated. Now, just to be a board member, they pay you $300,000 a year.

But I was shocked to hear what one of their board members said. And I don't know if this board member was speaking for Netflix because she is so prominent. She is well-known, and it is well-known that she is on the board of Netflix. I think she was on the board of Netflix and then went into government.

I am talking, of course, about Ms. Susan Rice, who worked for President Obama and President Biden; a Stanford graduate; a Rhodes Scholar; has a DPhil from Oxford. Ms. Rice--I guess I should say Dr. Rice--is absolutely brilliant.

But anyway, one of her paying gigs right now--I suspect she will go back into government. One of her paying gigs right now is she is a very prominent independent director for Netflix. And it is very hard to--I mean, when she is so prominent, and you have this extraordinary American company, it is--they are kind of joined at the hip. That is why I was so surprised. I want to read you what Ms. Rice said. I am going to quote. These are her words, not mine. This is what Ms. Rice said:

When it comes to the elites, you know, the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, the media . . . it is not going to end well for them. For those that decided that . . . [they] would act in their perceived very narrow self-interest, which I would underscore is very short-term self-interest, and . . . take a knee to Trump--

Not President Trump, not Mr. Trump--

take a knee to Trump--

As an aside, that surprised me because when I talk about President Obama or President Biden or President Trump, I am always very careful to call them President. Democrat or Republican, it is a matter of respect. But she said--I am going to repeat this sentence:

For those that decided . . . [they] would act in their perceived very narrow self-interest--

Ms. Rice said--

which I would underscore is very short-term self-interest, and . . . take a knee to Trump . . . they are going to be caught with more than their pants down, they're going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box.

[I]f these corporations--

I don't know if she is talking about Netflix or not. I know she is on the board of Netflix.

[I]f these corporations think that the Democrats--

Ms. Rice, as you probably know, is a prominent Democrat.

[I]f these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to play by the old rules and say, ``Oh, never mind, we'll forgive you for all the people you fired, all the policies and principles you've violated, all . . . the laws you've skirted,'' I think they've got another thing coming.''

Because just like when Trump fought--

Once again, ``Trump,'' not President Trump--

Because just like when Trump thought, ``Ok, I will redistrict, and the Democrats won't have the guts to play hardball, they are going to be surprised.''

Democrats have had a bellyful, and we are not going to play by the old set of rules when these guys are playing by a different set of rules.

Ms. Rice talked about being surprised. I am surprised. I am shocked. What came to mind, initially, when I read these words, is: You can only be young once, but you can always be immature. You can only be young once, but you can always be immature.

What Ms. Rice is talking about is payback. What Ms. Rice seems to be saying is two wrongs don't make it right, but they do make it even. What Ms. Rice seems to be saying--and I don't know whether she is speaking on behalf of Netflix or not--but what Ms. Rice seems to be saying is that it is OK in America today to use the law to prosecute and harass your political enemies. I find that astounding coming from a person of her stature.

That is the sort of thing that doesn't happen in America. That is the sort of thing that is only supposed to happen in countries whose Powerball jackpot is 287 chickens and a goat, not America. We believe in the rule of law. We believe in equal protection. We believe nobody is above the law but nobody is beneath it. I can't think of a more irresponsible statement for somebody to make.

I remember when former President Biden started this lawfare business. Former President Biden, directly or indirectly, instructed Judge Merrick Garland, who was then-Attorney General, to prosecute a former President of the United States--a former President of the United States who had run against President Biden, Attorney General Garland's boss, and a former President of the United States who, at the time he was prosecuted by the Justice Department, was a current opponent against President Biden. And I remember thinking at the time: They have unleashed spirits they cannot control. That is not what America is all about.

And I know some are going to say: Well, President Trump is doing the same thing. If that is true, I don't like that either. In fact, when many of President Trump's nominees for the Justice Department came and appeared before us for confirmation in Judiciary, on which I sit, I talked to them about this. I said ``Two wrongs don't make a right, but they do make it even'' is wrong. It was wrong then, when President Biden did it, it is wrong now if people are doing it, and it is going to be wrong if Ms. Rice gets back into government. And it is wrong for her to advocate this, especially if she is doing it on behalf of Netflix, a great American company. Gosh. You can only be young once, but--man, oh, man--you can always be immature.

She is pointing to Senator McCormick, so I am going to yield to my good friend, the distinguished, handsome Senator from Pennsylvania.

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