Mazie Hirono: “I would say that the views expressed by the good Senator from Missouri are not views widely shared by people in this…”

“I would say that the views expressed by the good Senator from Missouri are not views widely shared by people in this country. And to compare the decisions in Plessy v. Ferguson and the Dred Scott decisions with the Roe decision dishonors the memory of Congressman John Lewis, who only today was buried, put to rest in Georgia. Coronavirus Mr. President, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the systemic racial inequities, inequalities in our healthcare system. While the virus has touched Americans of every race and nationality, it disproportionately impacts people of color. We all know that. People of color make up just 40 percent of our country's population but account for over 60 percent of all coronavirus cases and 50 percent of deaths from coronavirus. These inequities manifest themselves differently in each of our States. In Hawaii, for example, we are seeing pronounced disparities among our Pacific Islander community and particularly among citizens of the Freely Associated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. I am focusing my remarks on this vibrant community today because our country has rarely done right by them. Let me give you some background. After liberating their territory in World War II, the United States administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific--which includes what are now the Freely Associated States--for nearly 40 years.…”