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1 Congressional Record, Volume 166, Number 10, Senate S255 (2020)

handle is hein.presidentsimp/cslrcdve0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional 'RLcord PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116 t CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2020 No. 10 Senate The Senate met at 9:45 a.m. and was called to order by the President pro tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). PRAYER The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- fered the following prayer: Let us pray. Eternal King, ruler of all nature, thank you for the opportunity to serve You and country. Help us to give gov- ernment what belongs to government as we render to You our faithful stew- ardship. Lord, guide our lawmakers to make right choices in challenging times. En- able them to feel Your presence and be- come lights to a dark world. Open their eyes to see Your daily gifts and bless- ings, infusing them with a spirit of gratitude. Protect our Nation from sea to shin- ing sea, as You empower us to live for Your glory. We pray in Your wonderful Name. Amen. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The President pro tempore led the Pledge of Allegiane, as follows: I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Repub- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. HYDE-SMITH). The Senator from Iowa. Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate for 1 minute in morning busi- ness. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, today is a very important day that we recognize once a year National Reli- gious Freedom Day. It is a day when we celebrate America's longstanding commitment to religious freedom. The First Amendment to the Con- stitution protects that right for Ameri- cans. Unfortunately, this fundamental right we have great respect for in the United States is under attack inter- nationally in many autocratic coun- tries. Around the world, people are being persecuted for their faith by authori- tarian dictatorships and terrorist groups. Countries like China, North Korea, and Russia restrict their citi- zens' rights to practice their own reli- gion. China, for example, plans to enforce additional restrictions on religious groups starting February 1. That is al- ready on top of a very bad record they have for religious freedom. That is in regard to China, but it would apply to all countries. I have legislation to require the United States to work to block World Bank projects in wealthy countries like China and Russia that abuse reli- gious freedoms. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- jority leader is recognized. IMPEACHMENT Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, it took 4 weeks 4 weeks, but the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is finally ready fi- nally ready to defend their impeach- ment of the President of the United States. After weeks of delay, the Speaker of the House decided yesterday that a trial could finally go forward. She signed the impeachment papers. That took place at a table with a political slogan stuck onto it. And they posed they posed afterward for smiling photos. And the Speaker distributed souvenir pens souvenir pens to her own colleagues, emblazoned with her golden signature that literally came in on silver platters. The pens literally came in on silver platters. There were golden pens on silver platters, a sou- venir to celebrate the moment. I seem to remember Democrats fall- ing over themselves to say they did not see impeachment as a long-sought po- litical win. House Democrats said over and over that they recognized the grav- ity and the seriousness of this action, and, of course, they had only come to it reluctantly. Well, nothing says seri- ousness and sobriety like handing out souvenirs, as though this were a happy bill-signing instead of the gravest proc- ess in our Constitution. This final display neatly distilled the House's partisan process into one per- fect visual. It was a transparently par- tisan performance from beginning to end. That is why they sped through a slapdash inquiry in 12 weeks, when pre- vious Presidential impeachments came after months, if not years, of investiga- tions and hearings. That is why the House cut short their own inquiry, de- clined to pursue their own subpoenas, and denied the President due process, but now now they want the Senate to redo their homework and rerun the in- vestigation. That is why our colleague the Demo- cratic leader told the press that what- ever happens next, as long as he can weaponize the trial to hurt the Repub- licans in the 2020 election, it's a win- win. That is what the Democratic leader of the Senate said. 0 This bullet symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S255 @ Printed on recycled paper. United States of America

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