Unanimous Consent Request--Amendment No. 2457
Floor Speech
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Mr. MERKLEY. 4220, the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America's Streets Act.
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Mr. MERKLEY. 4049, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
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Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, when, in the course of time, America should find a President in the Oval Office who chooses to bring the police tactics of dictators around the world to the streets of America, then that is the moment it is incumbent on every Member of this Chamber, who has sworn an oath to our Constitution, who is determined to practice civil rights of America, to stand up and say: Not now, not here, not ever, and we put an end to it.
That is why I brought forth this amendment--the Stop Secret Policing in America amendment--and ask for it to be debated on this bill, because it involves police powers, military powers of the United States of America, and it is happening right now.
What am I talking about? Well, let me give you some sense of what we have seen on the streets of America in the past few days--as I note here, authoritarian governments, not democratic republics, and unmarked authorities at the protests. Well, this is what we saw: Customs and Border Protection in military uniform, in combat camouflage, in the streets, no marking what the organization is and no unique identifier.
The head of the CBP said: No, no. They had markings and unique identifiers. But here they are. And to make it even worse, they look a whole lot like protesters from the far right who come to make trouble, dressed in camouflage, and they actually have things that look more like badges than the actual representatives of Customs and Border Protection.
What else did we see? Here is a Navy veteran standing in the street, who said he came down to the protest to simply say: Are you honoring your oath to the Constitution?
Here we have CBP officers beating him. Here is one baton. Here is another. They broke one of his bones, while this man here is pepper- sprayed in the face--a peaceful protester standing, being attacked by unmarked, war-prepared, dressed-in-camouflage forces deployed by the President of the United States.
What else happened? Well, they decided to not consult with the city and not consult with the State and not think carefully about what weapons they were carrying and how they use them, so impact munitions.
This protestor right here in the silhouette is standing, and he is holding what appears to be a sign above his head, or maybe it is a radio. Moments later in the video that shows this, he is shot down. You see him collapse on the street. A peaceful protestor, standing, making his case as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America, and he is shot square between the eyes by President Trump's forces deployed without permission and no coordination with the local representatives or the Governor of the State of Oregon. This young man, struck down, shot in the head, in the hospital in critical condition. He is doing better now, thankfully.
Then these forces deploy away from the Federal buildings and go into the streets and start snatching protestors and throwing them into unmarked vans--vans like this one right here.
One young man said: I was terrified. He said: I didn't know who these people were. They wouldn't identify themselves. There is a video of people saying: Who are you all? And they won't answer. They grab him. He thinks they might be those folks from the rightwing protesters who come in camouflage. He may be being kidnapped. He doesn't know. Even after he is thrown into a jail cell, it is not explained why they grabbed him off the street.
Secret police--unmarked--patrolling streets, throwing people into unmarked vehicles, and sweeping them away--that is what you get from authoritarian dictators, not a country, a republic where we have a constitution and we have rights.
That is what is going on here. That is what has to stop here in America.
Some of the headlines: Federal law enforcement use unmarked vehicles to grab protesters off the streets. A Navy vet asked Federal officers in Portland to remember their oaths; they broke his hand.
That is the Navy vet in the white sweatshirt who is being attacked, with two officers batoning him while another sprays him with pepper spray for standing in a peaceful protest.
Federal officers deployed in Portland didn't have proper training, DHS says. Well, they shouldn't have been there.
We need a bill to stop secret police in America. We need a bill done as an amendment on this bill right now, on this bill we are considering about military force, a bill that says that your organization has to be identified on a uniform; that says there has to be a unique identifier so you don't think you can just get away with anything and abuse people and never be held accountable; a bill that says that if you are there on a mission to defend monuments or buildings, you defend monuments or buildings; you don't go out through the streets--if you want to become crowd control in the streets and take over a city, you have to have the permission of the mayor or the permission of the Governor; and that the Federal Government, in transparency, in our democracy, has to tell us all, as participants, as this we-the-people government, that they are disclosing how many people, from where, are being sent to what city.
This isn't just some small issue. This is the President saying yesterday--after bragging about what he has done in Portland to violate the rights of people--saying he is looking at New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and Oakland--deploying these secret police tactics all over this country.
All I do right now is stand here and say: I want a vote on ending these secret police practices in America. I say to every Republican colleague and every Democratic colleague: I want a vote, and I am here in full partnership with my colleague from Oregon who shares this indignation, this outrage over the violation of the Constitution, who will share those thoughts, and then we will, together, ask to have a vote.
What is this Chamber if it cannot take on and hold a debate and a discussion over authoritarian, secret policing strategies brought to the streets of America?
My colleague.
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Mr. MERKLEY. The support is felt strongly throughout Oregon to stop the secret police in America, but it is a coast-to-coast feeling, and I yield to my colleague from Connecticut to speak for the other side of the country.
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Mr. MERKLEY. 2457, an amendment to limit Federal law enforcement officers for crowd control; that there be 2 hours for debate, equally divided between opponents and proponents; that upon disposition of the Tester amendment, the Senate vote in relation to the amendment, with no amendments in order prior to the vote and with all other provisions under the previous order remaining in effect.
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Mr. MERKLEY. I say to my colleague from Oklahoma, that if these secret police were released on the streets of Tulsa, you would be down here defending your constituents, but you have a responsibility to defend all constituents across the country, the rights of all citizens in the United States of America.
I am not asking you to support my bill. I am not asking you to make the argument for it. I am asking for the simple courtesy that this Chamber do the job it is vested with under the Constitution, which is to take up serious issues that arise in America, hold a dialogue about them on this floor, and take a vote to show the American people where we stand in the hopes to solve the problem.
I have no doubt that I wouldn't get 100 votes. You raise some interesting points. You note that my request to debate a very serious issue in America circumvents process. I can state that for 200 years this Chamber believed it was here to address serious issues, and they didn't raise process issues to keep serious issues from being debated. You didn't need unanimous consent. Just a few decades ago, I was here watching this Chamber working the Tax Reform Act and watching each amendment completed, and as soon as it was done, the next Senator asked for the recognition of the Chair. In fact, normally there would be about 10 Senators saying--and it was always ``Mr. President.'' Now it is often ``Madam President.'' But they were getting attention because the next person who spoke got the next amendment.
This system has taken away the fundamental responsibility of Senators to be able to introduce important issues in America, have them debated, and voted on. My colleague says: Well, we have a new process where the majority leader and the ranking member of the committee consult and decide what should be considered. That concentration of power is totally at odds with the vision of this Chamber developed by our Founders.
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Mr. MERKLEY. I will not yield until I am done. That was one of his arguments; that it circumvents process.
The second is, he said it takes equipment away and training away, and yet my bill doesn't deal with equipment or training. So, clearly, that argument doesn't stand.
Then he noted title 32 status under the control of the Governor, but this bill says an expanded role of crowd control occurs under the permission of the Governor, not without it.
So this is why these issues should be debated on this floor. I call on all my colleagues to return the Senate to a place where serious and important issues regarding the rights of Americans can be considered and not shoved aside because one Member doesn't want them addressed. That is a challenge for this Chamber, but we have a bigger challenge, which is how do we defend the rights of our citizens if we can't put an amendment on the floor and have it debated and voted on?
So, to all my colleagues who believe the secret police have no role in America; that unidentified officers, delegated without proper training, without consultation, without coordination, who are beating up peaceful protesters have no place in America; that they are being thrown into a van, and you don't even know what that van is or who those people are has no place in America; that the tactics of Duterte in the Philippines and Putin in Russia and Erdogan in Turkey have no place in America; who believe in a ``we the people'' government; those colleagues I thank, and let's bring this issue to the floor and have the debate and have the vote.
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Mr. MERKLEY. 2457, to reform Department of Defense to limit the use of Federal law enforcement officers for crowd control, and to S. 4049, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
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Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President.
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Mr. MERKLEY. My apologies to my colleague from Wyoming. I think we are not in quorum call.
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Mr. MERKLEY. 4220, the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America's Streets Act.
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