built to keep you ahead. >> immediate comp support c-span as a public service along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> editors cornyn and klobuchar and majority leader schumer spoke on the floor about gun legislation for they talked about the framework for bipartisan proposal that includes background checks for juveniles, mental health and school safety. senate leaders also spoke about va benefits and russia's invasion ofma ukraine. >> mr. president i want to report that we are making o serious progress in our bipartisan effort to respond to the shooting in uvalde, texas and other places around the country. over the last few weeks i've been working particulate with senator murphy, et cetera sinema and senator tell us on mental health and school safety

reforms. and we have narrowed the scope of our discussions to provisions we believe can earn broad bipartisan support in the senate. and number of our colleagues on both sides have joined the adiscussion.or over the weekend we announced an agreement on principles for bipartisan legislation. twenty-eight senators, ten republicans, and ten democrats. this included a range of targeted reforms to keep our children and our communities safe from mental health resources to funding hardened schools and make them more safe. no parent should have to send their child to school wondering whether they are going to be safe at school. and certainly no student should be afraid to go to school for fear of their safety. we also included a number of targeted measures to prevent violence by people committing crimes and other dangerous individuals. i am proud of the work we have

done so far but of course we are not at the finish line. we are still at the beginning when it comes to drafting appropriate text. our agreement is based on principle alone and translating this proposal into legislative language is no easy task as members of the senate understand. here's an example the many details that need to be ironed out. one of the big pieces of this bill relates to state crisis intervention programs in addition. the idea here is pretty simple. support programs that reduce violence, protect the public, and help individuals inc. crisis get the help they need. there are number of different ways this provision could be drafted and i am committed to ensuring we get it done right. mii want to be clear there's ben a lot of misinformation, misunderstanding on this point. none of what we are proposing would create a national red flag

law. no national red flag law. some of this characterizes provision as an incentive for state to pass a no flag law. that is something i am aiming to avoid. trust the states to make their own decision and 16 states have decided to pass a red flag. those fewer than half of the states with a red flag laws on the books. congress should not only send a federal funding to those states but also other states that are doing things to deal with people in crisis. as the agreement in principle said what we are focused on is crisis intervention buried there are a number of different ways this could be approached and i am fighting for this proposal to include a grant program that gives every state regardless of whether it has a red flag law or not funding to administer programs that they do have that

will reduce violence, increase public safety in make sure individuals in crisis get the help that they need. there should be no requirement for states that do not currently have a red flag law to pass one. the existence or lack of a red flag law did not impact on any one state to receive funds for crisis intervention. i devastate does want want to use this implement a red flag law they should not be able to do so unless he red flag law contains a full set of due process and bill of rights protections in thets constituti. so how could states without red flag laws use this money? a range of evidence-based programs support our shared goal which is in fact to keep some committees safe and save lives. one great example is the assisted outpatient treatment programs. these are sometimes called aot.

these programs allow courts to order people with serious mental illness to receive outpatient treatment as a condition of living in the community. aot can be life changing for people who struggle to maintain consistent mental healthai treatment. programs vary from state to state typically include medication on a variety of othen services including counseling. aot rely on evidence-based treatment plans to help individuals live healthier and safer lives and have a successful track record. assisted outpatient treatment progress programs are effective in reducing arrest and incarceration. violent mental crises and hospital stays and homelessness. i think this is another way states without red flag laws might be able to use the funding that we would provide under theo provisions of this bill.

at least that is what i'm hoping we ultimately land on.i'm hoping i think it would be kind of strange if we passed a national law that said only 16 states were going to be eligible for this money you'd only be eligible for it if passed ael rd flag law. i think that would almost be like trying to commandeer the state legislature and government and force them to accept something they decided not to do. because maybe they tried to do something a little differently like assisted outpatient treatment, mental health courts have been very successful in my state. and veterans courts in particular to focus on a veterans community that have particular challenges. why am talk about assisted outpatient treatment, 47 states actually have those laws. and i would like the money that would be available under this for crisis intervention to be

used for that. again, i don't support prescriptive mandates art r national mandates at all including a national red flag. each state should be able to make their own choices and use it share of funding in the best way it sees fit to protect constitutional rights of somebody who is in mental health crisis. or to provide other resources like assisted outpatient treatment or mental health court adjudications or veterans court hearings in order to help them address the challenges. the great thing about the design of our country is that we have a national government but we havec sovereign states.or louis brandeis once called them the laboratories of democracy. it actually makes plenty of sense to me we learn from the experience of the states that have passed red flag laws and states that have passed other types of ways to address people requiring crisis

intervention. this provides the ability to innovate and try new ideas and to come up with best practices that the federal government simply cannot do when you are considering legislating for a country of 330 million people. so, i personallypo do not supported overlyll prescriptive grant program that favors only a few states over all 50 states. and of course i will not support any grant program that violates sthe constitution over aon requirement of due process of law when it comes to a constitutional right like the second amendment. so i do believe there are a range of options to improve public safety the state should have the funding of flexibility to invest in programs that they think best delivers the result to save lives time to help people in crisis, and that is d really what we are trying to do with this legislation. so, the details are still being worked out mr. president.

we are drafting legislative texts. of course that is sometimes hard. sometimes people use the same word and they use something different or they come to it with a sort of context that maybe is not apparent from a conversation aboutab principles. that is why going from the principles the 20 of us agreed on into legislative texts that we can then vote on and pass is a challenge. we know on a sensitive topic like this, a single word, the placement of a, i make the difference between protecting and infringing on rights. i am a laser focus text that reflect the common sense targeted proposal we agreed to in principle but again whereop work into the details and i hope will have a legislative text later this week. but i'm not willing to rush it for the sake of speed. i spoke with set senator schumer at the majority leader this

morning b. he saidee he would like to have this bill ready to vote on next week. certainly with him in terms of the aspirational goal. that means what the complete arc work on the text by the end of the week senator schumer will have that legislation available to take up next week. >> mr. president i yelled the floyd notice the absence of a corm. >> mr. president. think it senator cornyn for the work you're doing. working with senator murphy and so many other senators. you and i have done so many bills together including the historic save our bill which made such a difference. and i am very pleased we are finally advancing gun safety legislation and a lot of these heprovisions are things we have been working across the aisle on for many years.

the boyfriend loophole, something i introduced in 2013 mr. president, ten years ago to close the boyfriend loophole. ofthat is a part of this negotiation. part of the framework pretty of cellmate women killed one every 14 hours from domestic partners. one every 14 hours from domestic partners with guns in this country. and sadly, half of those involved dating partners. people who are not married to someone but they are in a romantic relationship with them in some way. on the way the law works in all but 19 states where it is fully closed and many of these states you could be convicted of domestic abuse and you can still go out and buy a gun the next day. i am really pleased we are moving forward on this provision. this is not the first time we've

heard the call to action from america when it comes toea guns but withe it after 23 people wee killed at a walmart in el paso. after 17 people were killed at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland. after 59 people were killed in the country music festival out there on a beautiful evening enjoying the music. if the nine people died in las vegas. and after 49 people were killed orlando. today we hear calls for action because of more tragedies with a white supremacist murdering ten people who were simply shopping for groceries. one guy out buying a cake for his little boy, a birthday cake for his son whofo never returne. ten people killed. the american people are demanding we do something aftern the senseless murder of 19

children and two teachers who died putting their very lives up to protect those children and uvalde, texas. we have seen the pictures of those kids and confirmation communion dresses, and their sports uniforms. the converse green sneakers. the glasses, the smiles for some photos they were actually holding a ward they had just won that morning. but today, after too many of these tragedies to name our rights with renewed hope we are finally working together to help keep americans safe from gun violence. while there is so much more work to be done and forms outlined in the bipartisan framework and encouraging states to enact with protection orders also known as red flag laws for expanding access to mental health services and supporting school violence prevention. senator grassley might lead that bill after parkland wheat pass with significant funding for schools clearly more must be

done. as i noted, i am particularly pleased to see the framework will include my bill to finally close a boyfriend loophole. every year more than 600 american women are shot to death by intimate partners were to be understandably focused on the horror of these mass shootings. but think of those numbers, 600 women shot every year from intimate partner. minnow preventing the effort could a god saves life. i we know that because we see the number in the state that have a long place. currently federal law only prohibits domestic beers from gun if they are currently or formerly married. think about that. currently or formerly married. or if they've lived together have a child.

i noted half of these homicides half of the women killed or killed by dating partner. that's why 2013 i introduced this bill to close this dangerous loophole. and now i am so pleased there is growing bipartisan support for the bell. by the way we've shown that support in the past. it was parted violence against women act that passed in the house and it had 29 republicans vote for. that included an even more broad version of the bill which also included stocking it was broader than what we are going to see in this bill. obviously i support my original bill. c but the fact are making progress to close the loophole in these states is incredibly positive. it did not pass last time we passed the violence against women act in the senate but sadly didn't make it in there.

got a public about in the house that shows growing momentum s we have i would think about my uncle dick and his deer stand and i always ask my look at these proposals and close in the boyfriend loophole doing better checking is that hurt my uncle >> and the deer stand? and of course it does not. this is our moment to act. it's not just one killing. we all know that.le every senator in this a chamber knows in a moment how can this happen in my community? wherever the case involving

police officer out of lake city, minnesota. people don't often know for police officers, these domestic violence calls can be some of the most dangerous because you have someone who's very angry pretty do not know what you're walking into. it is in the moment. gets there to the door, he has his bulletproof vest on. but the perpetrator clearly mentally ill had been beating up his young, young, young girlfriend. meets him with a gun, shoot him in his head, he dies. i was there for that funeral. outpouring of support from the community. the funeral was held in the vers asame church where the officer come his wife and three little kids had gathered for the nativity play at that church just a few weeks before for christmas. and their two little boys and a little girl. the father had sat in the front

row to watch his boys and that nativity play only a few weeks before. s the next time is the familiesn the church is the widow, the two little boys and this little tiny girl in a trust with blue stars anna walking down the aisle of that church at hisn funeral. that is a moment i won't forget. that just shows you how much domestic abuse and those kind of cases. it is as whole family that is te victim. kids who witnessed domestic abuse to the lives are so much more likely to get into crimes themselves from the statistics have shown it. it's even more than the family. the whole community. that family luster data, lost her husband would type their standing in here right now. i am so pleased were friendly moving on this. i think senator murphy, i think senator cornyn and all that's

involved in them also so grateful my ten years of work leading this bill with debbie dingell in the house is not gone for not. we kept it moving it's probablye a sign for anyone who perseverance matters in this place. i am very pleased it is part of the final negotiation. it will make such a difference for saving lives for thank you, mr. president i yield the floor. >> mr. president. as we speak the united states senate is working on something not seen since the time we passed the brady bill t i off nearly three decades ago. i bipartisan effort to draft meaningful gun safety legislation. for decades the rhythm of the gun debate in congress haveir followed a dispiriting pattern. mass shooting takes placece somewhere in america, innocent people are slaughtered, families grieve and demand action, butot gridlock takes over and nothing, nothing gets done for this was a cycle in action after