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.
“REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S2627 on June 1, 2020.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, ours is a nation with a split screen of a battle on two fronts. One is the pandemic that we have been fighting now for many months, and the other is to continue the fight to defeat racial injustice that has sadly divided our Nation since its very inception.
One week ago today, George Floyd, a native Houstonian, tragically died in the custody of a law enforcement officer. As the gut-wrenching video of his death has spread, so has the passion and the anger among all of us who wonder, how can something like that happen?
Our Constitution guarantees every American the right to protest injustice, and I believe we all have a responsibility to stand up for what is right and condemn what is plainly wrong.
People of all colors, backgrounds, and ages are demanding that justice be served in the case of George Floyd. The first step in that process came on Friday when the officer who had him in custody was himself arrested and charged with third-degree murder.
Devastating events like the death of George Floyd remind us that we have a long way to go in the fight for equal justice under the law, but we cannot yield to the temptation to fill the void created by this tragedy with violence.
Too many protests across our country have turned into riots with looting and vandalism and destruction, hurting innocent people and tearing our cities apart. In response to these escalating protests last night, there were more curfews in place than at any other time since the assassination of Martin Luther King.
One man who experienced that period of American history firsthand is our colleague on the other side of the Capitol, Congressman John Lewis. He fought and marched alongside Dr. King, fighting for equal rights, and continues fighting today for equal justice.
Over the weekend, he denounced the rioting and looting that occurred and said:
``Be constructive, not destructive. History has proven time and time again that non-violent, peaceful protest is the way to achieve the justice and equality that we all deserve.''
I understand and share the passion and the anger that have spread across the country and support those who are peacefully protesting and demanding that justice be served. There should never be a time in which the color of someone's skin determines whether they live or die, and we have to do everything in our power to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the first place. But that change can't happen when businesses are being looted, when vehicles are being set on fire, or when innocent people are being harmed. It only can happen when we come together and learn to empathize with one another and understand the struggles our neighbors are facing.
I would note that there is good evidence that many of these acts of violence are being instigated not by victims of injustice but by outsiders determined to stoke the rage that many feel and thus incite them to that violence.
I was glad to hear the Attorney General of the United States say on Sunday that the Department of Justice will treat violence by individuals associated with Antifa and other groups as domestic terrorism and calling some of these protests following George Floyd's death to have been hijacked for another destructive, antisocial agenda.
Investigators are also tracking social media posts and looking into whether foreign agents are behind an active propaganda campaign using social media, trying to divide us further, to stoke the anger and rage that many of us feel. Officials have seen a huge surge in social media accounts with fewer than 200 followers created in the last month--a textbook sign of a disinformation campaign by a foreign power, much as we saw in 2016 during the Russian active measures campaign leading up to the election.
Righteous rage is one thing; being manipulated by instigators of violence and foreign powers is quite another.
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