WASHINGTON – Today on the floor, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) blasted Democrat Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) for blocking passage of his No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act, which he introduced to defund and close the César E. Chávez National Monument in California following reports of abhorrent abuse by Chávez towards multiple females, including minors. The legislation would direct the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to sell all federal land that includes Chávez’s home, his gravesite and memorial garden, and any contents of his personal office, which is where some of the abuse occurred. The bill would also mandate the transfer of funds previously set aside for the Monument to support victims of abuse through Sen. Cornyn’s Debbie Smith Act, which provides state and local law enforcement agencies with funding to complete forensic analyses of crime scenes and untested rape kits. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video of the entire exchange with Sen. Heinrich can be found here.

“On the same day that two Members of Congress have resigned as a result of sexual misconduct, we are going to not address this travesty that César Chávez has inflicted on his victims – women and children.”

“Our colleague that says, ‘Well we’re going to shut it down and do a study.’ Well, that’s not good enough. He also will strip out the money that would otherwise go to the Debbie Smith Act, which I have worked on for many years now honoring Debbie Smith, who championed the testing of rape kits that have been sitting in evidence lockers for many years.”

“One of César Chávez’s victims was just 13 years old when he sexually assaulted her in his office, which is where this site is located. This is literally a crime scene. He was 45 years old and a world-famous political figure, but she was just a child.”

“His amendment is an insult to the countless victims of César Chávez’s sexual misconduct. Instead of taking action to end taxpayer funding celebrating this predator, for a monument to honor their abuser, his amendment would simply require the government to shut down the monument to public access while the government does a report.”

“We don’t need a report or a further study to delay action. We know… from his victims that he was a sexual predator. I choose to believe those victims.” 

“We should completely defund, permanently close, and divest this monument, and use the savings to prevent future serial rapists from escaping justice.”

Background:

The No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act would direct the U.S. Secrtary of the Interior to:

• Immediately close the César E. Chávez National Monument;
• Sell any and all federal land that includes Chávez’s home, his gravesite and memorial garden, and any contents of his personal office, which is where some of the child abuse occurred;
• And transfer any funds previously set aside for the Monument to the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, established in Sen. Cornyn’s Debbie Smith Act, to fight the rape kit backlog, support survivors, and empower law enforcement to bring more perpetrators of abuse to justice.