The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“For the People Act (Executive Session)” mentioning Jon Ossoff and Raphael G. Warnock was published in the Senate section on pages S2467-S2468 on May 12.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
For the People Act
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, they did it in a closed room. No one in the public was allowed to watch. They did it by a voice vote so that there would be no physical record of how individual Congressmen--how they voted. And they decided to remove a Member of the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives this morning in that fashion. These proud, courageous disciples of Donald Trump didn't want to be on the record publicly as to where they stood on the fate of Congresswoman Cheney.
This is the same Congresswoman Cheney who was reelected to leadership in the House just a few weeks ago. This is the same Congresswoman Cheney who is one of the most ideologically conservative Members of the House. She voted with President Trump nearly 93 percent of the time while she was in office. With a name like Cheney, it is hard to question her Republican credentials.
No, the decision, in private, in secret this morning by a voice vote, was not about a disagreement over policy but the issue as to whether or not Liz Cheney dares to tell the truth.
She refused to defend or ignore the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, and in today's Republican Party, it seems like that is all that is necessary for grounds for removal.
More than 6 months after the 2020 election was held, it is clear that the big lie has been spread in a big way. And that lie is not just a threat to the future of the Republican Party, it is a threat to our democracy.
Since the start of this year, Republican State legislatures, inspired by Donald Trump's big lie that the election was stolen, have introduced more than 360 bills with restrictive voting provisions in 47 States--
one of the most notorious examples, the State of Georgia.
Remember, the State of Georgia--hotly contested in the 2020 election, and then the Trump troops came in and went to court over and over and over again, suggesting there was election fraud and dishonesty in the Georgia election. And the Georgia election officials, virtually all Republicans, stood up and said it was an honest election, a close one, but it was an honest election. They were challenged over and over again, to the point where the former President of the United States, while he was still in power, called an election official in Georgia and basically threatened him; that if he didn't change the votes and give President Trump what he thought he needed to win, he would pay a price for it. It went that far.
To his credit, this election official stood up and said: The results are accurate and I stand by them and I am not going to change it.
It went that far.
And there was a big turnout in Georgia. In fact, there was an amazing turnout in the runoff elections for the two Senate seats won by Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, our colleagues here in the U.S. Senate. So even with that big turnout and even with the certainty that that election was honest from start to finish, the Georgia Legislature decided to change the laws for voting in Georgia. It wasn't volume they were looking for; it was loyalty. They wanted to make sure that the voters in the future would be friendlier to the Republicans.
And so they changed the Georgia election law and made it harder for people, particularly people of color, young people, the elderly, and people of limited means, to vote. That law--that Georgia voting law--
represents a blatantly political effort to subvert our democratic process.
Republicans of conscience know this, but it seems there is no future for those Republicans, if we reflect on the vote taken this morning in the House of Representatives Republican caucus. Liz Cheney's expulsion from her role in the Republican conference is just the latest example of what happens to Republican officials who dare to speak the truth about the 2020 election. They are not only silenced, they are purged from the party ranks.
Our own colleague Senator Mitt Romney, not long ago a Republican candidate for President of the United States, was just censured by a Republican county organization in his State because he refuses to support the big lie of Donald Trump. The unfortunate reality is that, today, the loudest voices within the Republican Party have joined Donald Trump in declaring war on the basics of our democracy.
That is why we in Congress need to do something. Immediately. This week, the Rules Committee held a markup on a measure that would combat voter suppression and protect our democratic process. It is known as the For the People Act.
This is a democracy defense plan. It will ensure that all eligible Americans can exercise their constitutional right to vote without facing burdensome barriers at the ballot box. The For the People Act invests in election infrastructure, provides State and local officials with resources to run safe, secure elections
In addition to combating voter suppression, the bill also reforms a broken campaign finance system that gives wealthy donors and big corporations far too much influence over our electoral process. By passing it, we will say, loud and clear, that America's elections are not for sale to the highest bidder. Above all, this legislation will strengthen the integrity of our democratic process and put more power in the hands of the people.
Now, I know some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are attacking the bill as a ``takeover'' of the Nation's election system. The truth is, American elections have already been taken over by special interests. This bill will start to restore our democracy and make it more accessible to every eligible American.
I would love to know what my Republican colleagues find so objectionable about the legislation's core provisions. Listen, it automatically registers American voters when they get a driver's license; it guarantees at least 15 days of early voting; ends partisan gerrymandering nationwide; and brings greater transparency to the campaign finance system. These are reforms that will make our democracy whole again, and they are desperately needed, particularly at this moment in our history because in the world's greatest democracy, people shouldn't have to wait in line for hours on end to have their voices heard. And yet that is the reality for voters in States just like Georgia. And it is not an accident; it is intentional. Look at the people standing in the lines, and you can understand why they are being discouraged from voting by waiting so long.
Let's be honest about these restrictive voting provisions being passed in State legislatures across the country, because they are grounded in one lie after another. The truth is that President Trump's own officials at the Department of Homeland Security declared that the 2020 election was the most secure election in American history.
The truth is, judges across the country, including many appointed by President Donald Trump, threw out more than 63 lawsuits that his followers filed, challenging the results of last year's elections. Why? There was no evidence, no basis in fact for the big lie.
But the truth is, the big lie won't just die with the 2020 election. It will sow distrust in our electoral system for years to come, unless my Republican colleagues act with courage. A few have done so. This morning, one paid a heavy price.
The question to all of us is: Are we prepared to either discredit democracy or defend it?
Rejecting the big lie is the defense of our democratic process. We have to join together in making certain that every American's right to vote is protected.
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. COTTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ossoff). Without objection, it is so ordered.
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