Schumer Remarks Asking Unanimous Consent For Senate To Pass The House-Passed Mueller Report Transparency Resolution

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today on the Senate floor called for the Senate to pass H.Con.Res. 24, a bill expressing that the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller should be made available to the public and Congress. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) blocked a unanimous consent request to pass this legislation, which was approved earlier today by the House, 420-0. Below are his remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Now, Mr. President, this morning, something rather amazing, and wonderful happened in the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives, this morning passed a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the full report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller should be made available to the public and to Congress.  The vote was 420-0. That is 420-0. Not a single member of the House, Democrat or Republican, voted no.

And I would ask unanimous consent that the record of the vote, including all 190 Republicans who voted yes, be added to the record.

Now, why did no Republican vote “no”? That’s because there is good reason… sorry, why did every Republican vote for this? Because there is no good reason – no good reason – that the Special Counsel’s report should not be made public.

The American people are overwhelmingly for the report being made public. They have a right to see it. No one should stand in the way of that. In fact, in the House, no one did. The only reason to not make this report public would be to cover up what’s in it. What a shame – what a shame – that would be. The Senate should pass this resolution with the same unanimity that the House did.

The Special Counsel has been investigating one of the greatest affronts to our democracy – the deliberate interference by a foreign power in our elections. The American people have an undeniable right to see the results of that investigation for themselves and so this resolution should pass.

So Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.Con.Res. 24 expressing the Sense of Congress that the report of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller be made available to the public and to Congress and wishes at the desk. Further, that the concurrent resolution to be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

[Subsequent to the objection by Senator Graham (R-SC)]

Reserving the right to object. M. President, I am deeply disappointed in my good friend from South Carolina. This amendment appears to be a pretext for blocking this very simple, noncontroversial resolution.

420 members of the House voted for it. Congressman Jim Jordan, friend of the president, voted for it. Congressman Devin Nunes, friend of the president, voted for it.

This resolution should pass the Senate in the blink of an eye. I have absolutely no idea why a member of this body would object to this basic level of transparency, whatever their concern on other issues. My friend from South Carolina says the report ought to be made public. Let’s not stand in the way for other issues. He’s Chairman of Judiciary, he can deal with that separately, but not block this resolution. So let the American people know that the Republican Majority in the Senate, at least for now, is blocking a resolution that the Mueller report should be made public.

I hope my friend from South Carolina and all of my Republican colleagues take time over the recess to think about this. We are going to be back here asking for consent again when the Senate is back in session and my Republican colleagues ought to think long and hard before they block this resolution again.

I object.

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