Cory Booker: “I want to thank Mike Lee for coming to the floor and speaking with such heart and conviction. Also, I want to thank…”

“I want to thank Mike Lee for coming to the floor and speaking with such heart and conviction. Also, I want to thank Senator Durbin for his stand on the floor today. Please understand, Senator Lee, Senator Grassley, Senator Durbin, Senator Leahy, and so many Senators on both sides of the aisle have been speaking on this issue for years. In fact, since before I became a U.S. Senator, this moment has come. As Senator Durbin began talking about the issues of the day, where there is so much frustration, so much concern, so much consternation, so much divisiveness on this issue of criminal justice in America, it made me think personally about this idea of hope because this week I have talked to a lot of people who seem to be indulging in a dangerous, toxic state of being, which is hopelessness about criminal justice issues in our country. I have appreciated Senator Durbin, who has not just been a senior Senator, not just been steadfast in working on this issue, but he has been a friend, calling me up, not just this past week but weeks before, when lots of Americans were indulging in hopelessness about the divisiveness in our country, about the injustices in our country, about the ravages of a broken criminal justice system.…”