Political Quotes

“I thank my colleagues who worked diligently to enhance the legislation that we are considering on the floor here this morning. I commend them for the work they put into this effort. I have an amendment that has been included in a vote we are going to take here momentarily, a NO HATE amendment, and I would like to speak for just a few minutes about this topic. I will limit my remarks to speaking in support of the amendment's language, which simply seeks to collect better data on hate crimes under existing statutes. We know that crimes committed against specific groups increased in recent years. Anti-Semitic attacks hit a record high in 2019. There are gaps in our knowledge of how prevalent these crimes truly are. The language included in this amendment, based upon the NO HATE Act introduced by Senator Blumenthal, has bipartisan support in this Chamber and for its companion in the House. It would establish incentives for State and local law enforcement to submit credible and complete hate crime reports, create grants for State-run crime hotlines, require the Department of Justice to collect and analyze data on hate crimes, and allow judges to require community service or educational programs for individuals convicted under existing statutes. I would also take a moment to express my gratitude to Senator Rick Scott for working to help improve the text, and that improvement, in fact, is also found in this agreement.…”