Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Tomorrow’s Vote On The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act And Senate Votes On Gun Legislation

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor objecting to Senator Ron Johnson’s unanimous consent request and stating that the Senate will vote on gun legislation. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

The American people have had to endure two of the worst mass shootings in recent history in just the span of ten days.

One of them happened to be in my home state of New York in the dear city of Buffalo. The other happened yesterday in Texas, the worst school shooting since Sandy Hook and we can't get it out of our minds. I can't. The picture of 10 and 11 and  9-year-olds being shot, killed, just ready to burst into the adolescent and adult phases of their lives.

What the American people want real solutions to our nation’s gun violence epidemic. We’ve had too many moments of silence. Too many thoughts and prayers. Americans are sick of it. Many in this chamber are sick of it.

Here is the sad truth about what happened yesterday and why I plan to object to my colleague’s UC: “hardening schools” would have done nothing to prevent this shooting. In fact, there were guards and police officers already at the school yesterday when the shooter showed up. One was a school police officer. Two were from the Uvalde Police Department. The shooter got past all of them with two assault weapons that he purchased. They couldn’t stop him.

The bill would not have protected those children. More guns won’t protect our children, that’s the wrong answer. There are too many guns and too many options for the wrong people to get guns.

So I plan to object to passing this measure today through consent, but I would tell my colleague from Wisconsin, tomorrow we CAN begin voting on a bill that will let us take action on guns, and we could consider amendments like this then, along with others.

Tomorrow, the Senate is scheduled to take the first step—the first step—in responding to the shooting that happened in my home State of New York two weeks ago, and so many other mass shootings over the years that have been motivated by race.

The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which I set in motion earlier this week, is a necessary and timely step to honor the memories of the dead in Buffalo, and to make sure mass shootings motivated by race don’t happen again.

I urge all my Republican colleagues to vote to get on that bill. All we’re asking is a vote ‘yes’ on the motion to proceed. I urge my colleague from Wisconsin to vote ‘yes’ on that bill. If Senator Johnson helps us get on the Domestic terrorism bill, we could consider amendments related to guns, his and others that have a different point of view.

And if Republicans can vote with us to get on that bill, we can have a debate on considering common sense, strong gun safety amendments, hopefully with bipartisan support.

Let me be clear: we are going to vote on gun legislation, and the Republicans could let us start doing that as soon as tomorrow, if they simply voted yes on the motion to proceed, and I give them a pledge that we would then start debating gun amendments. Senator Johnson's and many others that have a different point of view.

I repeat though, we are going to vote on gun legislation.

The American people are tired of moments of silence. Tired of the kind words offering thoughts and prayers.

We can use the Domestic Terrorism Bill tomorrow to begin—I repeat—to begin considering gun safety amendments, and we can consider the proposal he brings to the floor today. So we won't just have this amendment, we'll have a lot of amendments to debate and that seems perfectly fair and, in fact, bipartisan.

Alone, the Johnson bill is not in any way shape or form a sufficient solution, and so I object.

###