Schumer Floor Remarks on the Virginia Shooting, Bipartisan Russia Sanctions Amendment & Healthcare

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today delivered remarks on the Senate floor regarding the shooting yesterday morning in Alexandria, Virginia at a charity baseball game practice, the passage of bipartisan legislation imposing sanctions on Russia, and the need for bipartisan efforts on healthcare legislation. Below are his remarks:

Mr. President, first, I thank my friend and colleague for his outstanding words on DACA. No one has fought more for the DACA kids than he has not just in the last year but over the last decade, and the fact that so many of them are here is in good part due to his great work and effort, so thank you. 

Now, Mr. President were still all a bit shaken by the horrors of yesterday’s shooting. It was a senseless act of violence made even more chilling by the circumstances: at a baseball practice for a bipartisan charity event.

I understand that Rep. Scalise is still in critical condition following surgery last night. When we hear the word “critical” attached to his condition, it sends shivers down our spines. We hope and pray for a quick and full recovery. I know that all of his House colleagues are wishing him well right now, and I want him to know that his friends in the Senate do as well.

The same goes for the other four others who were injured in the attack, including two members of our Capitol Police Force.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well– and we remain grateful for their service and bravery, and for the service and bravery of all of our Capitol Police officers.

Their presence at the field yesterday, the presence of those two Capitol Police officers at the field yesterday, prevented a bad situation from getting worse and undoubtedly saved lives.

Had the two brave Capitol Police officers not acted, it might well have been a massacre.

We would all be wise to reflect on the importance of civility in our nation’s politics this morning. We disagree, vehemently at times, here in Congress, and folks out in the country do too. But the level of nastiness, vitriol, and hate that has seeped into our politics must be excised.

Let us all strive -- at all times, whatever our disagreements -- to respect those who disagree with us, to seek greater understanding of them, to walk in their moccasins as Native Americans have always said. Let us strive always to conduct our politics with civility.

I was heartened to hear that the Congressional baseball game will still be played this evening. Let it be a symbol that hate and violence do not cast too long or too great a shadow; that we can and will come together this evening, and the game will go on.

I will be going to the game with the three Congressional leaders as a show of solidarity.

Now, Mr. President, last evening, the Senate showed it can come together.

Last night we voted in overwhelming bipartisan fashion to strengthen a package of sanctions against Russia.

It was the product of diligent weeks of bipartisan negotiations. I saw the Senator form Maryland behind me a few minutes ago, and he deserves lots of credit as do the Senators from Ohio and Tennessee and Idaho. The final result is a good one for the country. Because yesterday, the U.S. Senate said to Mr. Putin in no uncertain terms that when he violates international norms and interferes with our election, he will not escape reproach.

Not only did we pass a new round of tough sanctions for Russia’s meddling in our election, we codified existing sanctions into law, making them harder to lift, and we moved to make the Congress – not the President – the final arbiter of sanctions relief when necessary. Any idea of the President’s that he can lift sanctions on his own for whatever reason are dashed by this legislation.

The House of Representatives should take notice that 97 senators voted in favor of this package and I hope that Leader Ryan will move with haste to pass this package of sanctions through the house. I hope the President will sign it.

The months-long effort to forge a bipartisan consensus on Russia sanctions – an issue that gets to the vital interests of our country, to the wellsprings of our democracy – gives me hope that Republicans and Democrats can come together and work together on a number of big issues this year.

There are several issues coming before this body soon where we can come together: passing another budget; reauthorizing flood insurance and the children’s health insurance; raising the debt ceiling. Each of those issues will by definition demand bipartisan effort.

A lesson that all of us have learned here in the Senate is that legislation is made better, and much more likely to pass, when both parties are involved in crafting it.

I’ve noticed the media questions, has been questioning all morning, why Congress isn’t more bipartisan. We should be, but the Russian sanctions agreement pass and the budget deal pass – both major bipartisan efforts – are proof that we can get things done together. If those agreements were given a little more recognition by the media, the fact that we can at times at least work in a bipartisan way, that would help. To too many of us on both sides of the aisle, it seems when there’s divisiveness, it gets far greater attention in the media than when there’s comity between the parties.

Finally, I would suggest to my colleagues that the most immediate place where we can translate the rhetoric calling for us to come together into reality is on healthcare.

A goal many of us share, both sides of the aisle, is to improve the law; bring down costs for consumers, stabilize the marketplace; and make it easier for older Americans to afford the ever-rising out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs.

So I would just conclude by saying, we could make the rhetoric about bipartisanship not empty by coming together and working together – two parties – on healthcare. We’ve shown thus far this Congress, with the passage of the budget and Russia sanctions, that significant legislation can best be served by bipartisanship. Opening up the process and having us all come together on healthcare would be a very good, concrete affirmation of bipartisanship and translate the rhetoric, not bad at all that we’ve heard here today, into reality.

So in conclusion Mr. President, the rhetoric about bipartisanship can be strengthened; hopefully healthcare is the place where we can strengthen it by opening up the process, by having hearings, by having discussion openly.

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