Lindsey Graham: “Mr. Speaker, the point I am making and the point still stands, there are two very good points, every law we have on the…”

“Mr. Speaker, the point I am making and the point still stands, there are two very good points, every law we have on the books at the Federal level has a Federal nexus. But in the Senate, there has been a huge departure here. And part of it is politically motivated. Let me tell my colleagues the effect of this statute again. If we go down this road, the Attorney General of the United States for the first time, that person, whoever he or she may be, has the ability under this legislation to take an event that has no Federal nexus at all, reach out and grab it based on the mentality of the perpetrator and the class of the victim. Using an example, if someone in South Carolina or any other State engages in a violent offense against somebody based on the race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, under this statute, the Attorney General can take that case away and prosecute it at the Federal level and take the death penalty off the table. That should really send a chilling effect throughout this body.”