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formal

XX

transphobic

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the unfinished business is the vote on the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 760) to enable registered apprenticeship programs to better serve veterans, and for other purposes, on which the yeas and nays were ordered.

2020-01-06

The SPEAKER pro tempore

House

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgH1613

formal

XX

transphobic

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, which the Chair will put de novo. The question is on the Speaker's approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

2020-01-06

The SPEAKER pro tempore

House

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgH1640

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

The Speaker announced her signature to an enrolled bill of the Senate of the following title: S. 1822.--An act to require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules relating to the collection of data with respect to the availability of broadband services, and for other purposes.

2020-01-06

Unknown

House

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgH1659-4

formal

XX

transphobic

Under clause 2 of rule XIV, executive communications were taken from the Speaker's table and referred as follows: 4113. A letter from the FPAC-BC, Commodity Credit Corporation, Department of Agriculture, transmitting the Department's final rule -- Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance Programs [Docket No.: FSA-2019-0011] (RIN: 0560- AI50) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Agriculture. 4114. A letter from the Acting Director, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, transmitting a letter requesting emergency funding in the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund at HHS to continue supporting critical response and preparedness activities; to the Committee on Appropriations. 4115. A letter from the Under Secretary, Acquisition and Sustainment, Department of Defense, transmitting a report entitled ``Annual National Defense Stockpile Operations and Planning Report'', pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 98h-2(a); June 7, 1939, ch. 190, Sec. 11(a) (as amended by Public Law 103-35, Sec. 204(d)); (107 Stat. 103); to the Committee on Armed Services. 4116. A letter from the Under Secretary, Acquisition and Sustainment, Department of Defense, transmitting the Department's 2nd Quarter FY 2020 Quarterly Briefing on Progress of the Chemical Demilitarization Program, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1521(j); Public Law 99-145, Sec. 1412 (as amended by Public Law 112-239, Sec. 1421(a)); (126 Stat. 204); to the Committee on Armed Services. 4117. A letter from the Alternate OSD FRLO, Office of the Secretary, Department of Defense, transmitting the Department's final rule -- Health Promotion [Docket ID: DOD- 2019-OS-0111] (RIN: 0790-AK25) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Armed Services. 4118. A letter from the Senior Counsel, Legal Division, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, transmitting the Bureau's policy statement -- Responsible Business Conduct: Self-Assessing, Self-Reporting, Remediating, and Cooperating received March 6, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Financial Services. 4119. A letter from the Attorney and Federal Register Liaison, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Department of the Treasury, transmitting the Department's final rule -- Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House [FISCAL-2019-0001] (RIN: 1510-AB32) received March 6, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Financial Services. 4120. A letter from the Acting General Counsel, National Credit Union Administration, transmitting the Administration's final rule -- Public Unit and Nonmember Shares (RIN: 3313-AF00) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Financial Services. 4121. A letter from the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, transmitting the Corporation's final rule -- Administrative Review of Agency Decisions (RIN: 1212-AB35) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104- 121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Education and Labor. 4122. A letter from the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, transmitting the Corporation's final rule -- Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Paying Benefits received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Education and Labor. 4123. A letter from the Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, Consumer Product Safety Commission, transmitting the Commission's direct final rule -- Revisions to Safety Standard for Portable Bed Rails [Docket No.: CPSC-2011-0019] received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4124. A letter from the Assistant Administrator, Diversion Control Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice, transmitting the Department's direct final rule -- Additions to Listing of Exempt Chemical Mixtures [Docket No.: DEA-505F] (RIN: 1117-ZA05) received March 6, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4125. A letter from the Assistant Administrator, Diversion Control Division, Drug Enforcement Administrator, Department of Justice, transmitting the Department's interim final rule -- Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Lasmiditan in Schedule V [Docket No.: DEA-558] received March 6, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104- 121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4126. A letter from the Associate Chief, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Federal Communication's Commission, transmitting the Commission's Major final rule -- Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band [GN Docket No.: 18-122] received March 6, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4127. A letter from the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, transmitting the Commission's final rule -- Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities [Docket No.: RM05-5-025; Docket No.: RM05-5-026; Docket No.: RM05-5-027; Order No.: 676-I] received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4128. A letter from the Chair, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, transmitting the Board's report titled ``Filling the Gaps: The Critical Role of Underground Research Laboratories in the U.S. Department of Energy Geologic Disposal Research and Development Program; Report to the United States Congress and the Secretary of Energy'', pursuant to Public Law 100-203; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4129. A letter from the Secretary, Department of Commerce, transmitting a report certifying that the export of the listed items to the People's Republic of China is not detrimental to the U.S. space launch industry, pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 2778 note; Public Law 105-261, Sec. 1512 (as amended by Public Law 105-277, Sec. 146); (112 Stat. 2174); to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 4130. A letter from the Secretary, Department of the Treasury, transmitting a six-month periodic report on the national emergency with respect to Somalia that was declared in Executive Order 13536 of April 12, 2010, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1703(c); Public Law 95-223, Sec 204(c); (91 Stat. 1627) and 50 U.S.C. 1641(c); Public Law 94-412, Sec. 401(c); (90 Stat. 1257); ; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 4131. A letter from the Secretary, Department of the Treasury, transmitting a six-month periodic report on the national emergency with respect to significant malicious cyber-enabled activities that was declared in Executive Order 13694 of April 1, 2015, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1641(c); Public Law 94-412, Sec. 401(c); (90 Stat. 1257) and 50 U.S.C. 1703(c); Public Law 95-223, Sec 204(c); (91 Stat. 1627); to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 4132. A letter from the Secretary, Department of the Treasury, transmitting a six-month periodic report on the national emergency with respect to South Sudan that was declared in Executive Order 13664 of April 3, 2014, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1641(c); Public Law 94-412, Sec. 401(c); (90 Stat. 1257) and 50 U.S.C. 1703(c); Public Law 95-223, Sec 204(c); (91 Stat. 1627); to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 4133. A letter from the Auditor, Office of the District of Columbia Auditor, transmitting a final report titled ``Earmark Review: DMPED Can Improve Grant Management'', pursuant to Public Law 93-198, Sec. 455(d); (87 Stat. 803); ; to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4134. A letter from the General Counsel, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, transmitting the Board's final rule -- Cost-of-Living Adjustments and Identity Verification received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4135. A letter from the Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, transmitting the Administration's temporary rule -- Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2020 Recreational Accountability Measure and Closure for Gulf of Mexico Gray Triggerfish [Docket No.: 121004518-3398-01; RTID 0648-XS023] received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Natural Resources. 4136. A letter from the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, transmitting the Administration's final rule -- Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; IFQ Program; Modify Medical and Beneficiary Transfer Provisions [Docket No.: 200206-0048] (RIN: 0648-BJ07) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Natural Resources. 4137. A letter from the Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, transmitting the Administration's temporary rule -- Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska [Docket No.: 180831813-9170-02] (RTID: 0648-XY070) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Natural Resources. 4138. A letter from the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, transmitting the Administration's final rule -- Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Blueline Tilefish Fishery; 2020 Specifications [Docket No.: 200212- 0053] (RIN: 0648-XX037) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Natural Resources. 4139. A letter from the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, NMFS, Office of Sustainable Fisheries -- SER, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, transmitting the Administration's final rule -- Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Electronic Reporting for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels and Headboats in Atlantic Fisheries [Docket No.: 200127-0032] (RIN: 0648-BG75) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Natural Resources. 4140. A letter from the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, NMFS, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Southeast Region, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, transmitting the Administration's final rule -- Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region; Framework Amendment 7 [Docket No.: 200211-0052] (RIN: 0648-BI83) received March 10, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Natural Resources. 4141. A letter from the Director, Administrative Office of the United States Courts, transmitting the 2019 Annual Report of the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and Judicial Business of the United States Courts, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 604(a)(4); to the Committee on the Judiciary. 4142. A letter from the Senior Director, Government Affairs and Corporate Communications, National Railroad Passenger Corporation, transmitting other materials as required by 49 U.S.C. 24315(A)(2); to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 4143. A letter from the Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs, Department of Defense, transmitting additional legislative proposals that the Department of Defense requests be enacted during the second session of the 116th Congress; jointly to the Committees on Armed Services, Education and Labor, and Natural Resources.

2020-01-06

Unknown

House

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgH1659-6

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, yesterday President Trump visited the Capitol to discuss the ongoing efforts to fight the new coronavirus and its growing footprint here in the United States. As Vice President Pence, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the other administration experts related in their briefing yesterday, we should expect a number of cases to continue to climb throughout our country. Fortunately, our Nation was rated the best prepared in the world for this kind of outbreak, and we are continuing to scale up our response every day. My home State of Kentucky currently has eight confirmed cases. I applaud the efforts of State and local leaders who are working together with Federal officials to proceed carefully and intelligently. Our public health experts are compiling the best guidance for individuals, families, businesses, schools, and healthcare professionals in one place, and www.coronavirus.gov is the place to go. I encourage every American to read through the information, particularly anyone whose personal circumstances make additional precautions a wise idea. President Trump and Senators also discussed potential policies to soften the economic impact of the virus. Over the last 3 years, we have built a historically strong economy of American workers and middle-class families. We should take sensible steps to help that momentum continue, notwithstanding this new challenge. I am glad the Secretary of the Treasury and the Speaker of the House are engaging in direct bipartisan talks on this subject. Congress has already provided billions in new funding to Federal, State, and local health leaders. I hope we can bring the same bipartisan energy to any steps that prove necessary to support our strong U.S. economy. Now, it has been sad but not surprising to see some of President Trump's Democratic critics here in Washington fall back on the same old predictable partisan attacks, even at a time like this, but across the country, where leaders are working together on the frontlines, we have seen something different. I want to commend the Democratic Governor of California, who stated on Monday that he had been in close touch with the President and Vice President and appreciated their attention and support. Here is what he said: He said everything I could have hoped for. . . . We had a very long conversation, and every single thing he said, they followed through on. That is the Governor of California talking about the Republican President of the United States. He praised the administration's work on this and said: ``It starts at the top.'' So, clearly, this does not have to be a time for partisan bickering. The American people know that. The leaders around the country know that. I hope our Democratic colleagues here in Washington understand the American people expect us to be working together on this problem.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1677-6

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now on another matter, yesterday, both the House and Senate were briefed by top intelligence community officials on the state of ongoing efforts to protect the security of American elections. I was glad that so many Members took the chance to hear directly from the experts. This issue is very important, and it is bad for our democracy that some have sought to politicize it. All of us should acknowledge the threat, and all of us should applaud the unprecedented step this administration has taken to protect against it. These significant efforts undertaken by the administration and funded by the Congress are actually working. Since 2017, the hundreds of millions of dollars we have directed to help State and local election officials reinforce their systems have been finding their mark. In all 50 States and across thousands of jurisdictions, new tools, more resources, and greater coordination have our Nation's defenses in a stronger place. This includes far greater coordination with the social media companies to combat foreign disinformation, as well as close collaboration between the Federal Government and State and local jurisdictions on protecting electoral infrastructure. And to date, the intelligence community reports they have not seen any foreign interference that aims to change vote tallies or prevent Americans from voting. So the American people are absolutely right to have confidence in the integrity of our voting systems, and they actually do. As I mentioned yesterday, one new survey has found that more than 70 percent--70 percent--of Americans are confident their State and local authorities will oversee a fair and accurate election this November. That is 70 percent of the American people who have confidence in the fairness of the elections this November. As an aside, this is worth remembering as our Democratic colleagues try to claim that election security demands things like an unprecedented Washington power grab over the nuanced details of how States and localities conduct elections or addressing things like campaign finance. These are longtime leftwing goals that have basically nothing whatsoever to do with the actual threats now before us. But the American people's confidence in the key institutions of our democracy does not mean they are complacent; they aren't. The same survey shows the American people understand full well that foreign adversaries like Russia want to divide our country and distort our discourse through disinformation. The intelligence community confirms that as well. Our intelligence experts have publicly assessed that Russia and other adversaries will continue looking for ways to warp our public debate from overseas. We all need to be aware that our adversaries seek to exploit the openness of our society to turn Americans against ourselves. Adversaries like Russia want to exacerbate social and political tensions in our country. They want to undermine our confidence in our own election and our democratic institutions. This is why I have stressed that politicians need to be careful not to take the bait. It is why the President signed an Executive order to enable sanctions against any person or any country that attempts to meddle in our elections. It is why this administration has created new procedures for promptly notifying campaigns that are targeted by foreign entities, unlike--unlike--how the Obama administration hid the ball back in 2016, and it is why the new, tough foreign policies of the last 3 years will continue to be essential. Narrow, tailored solutions are important, but the best way for the United States to defend ourselves and our interests against any malign behavior is to possess unquestionable strength and make it perfectly clear we are not interested in being pushed around. I have been a Russia hawk for more than 30 years. I am on record from the late years of the Clinton administration warning Democrats not to be naive about a new President-elect by the name of Vladimir Putin, so I applaud this administration's tough stance with Russia. And I am pleased that Democrats have stopped--stopped--mocking Republicans for being too tough on Russia and have come around to our point of view. We have come a long way since the passivity and the failures of the Obama administration back in 2016, but the work is not finished, and Senators are fooling themselves if they think this is just about Russia. We must stay vigilant--all of us; Federal leaders, State and local election officials, and every American citizen. Every one of us has a part to play in protecting our democracy.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1678

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, over the last several weeks, the world has watched closely as the coronavirus has spread from China to more than 100 countries around the world. Since this rapid spread began--before cases were discovered in at least 35 States, including the District of Columbia--folks in my hometown of San Antonio were already providing topnotch care for Americans evacuated from Wuhan Province overseas with suspected exposure. From the first evacuees from China to more than 120 passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, to those who will soon arrive from the Grand Princess cruise ship, the dedicated healthcare professionals in San Antonio have been operating--have been hitting on all cylinders. So far, Lackland Air Force Base has been used to quarantine 235 evacuees, with hundreds more to arrive in the coming days. I must say, they have done a good job of managing this rapidly evolving situation, but that is not to say there haven't been challenges. A few weeks ago, I organized a meeting with officials from the city of San Antonio, including the mayor and two city council persons, as well as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Department, to discuss the ongoing mission and any concerns the city might have. Anytime officials at every level of governmentare working together--whether it is in response to a natural disaster or a public health emergency--coordination is key. You have to make sure everybody is operating on the same page and regularly sharing information--something that was a challenge in the beginning and remains a challenge today. At one point, we were able to get everybody in the same room to discuss not only the response to the virus but the steps to be taken to protect the general public in the surrounding area. Of course, that work doesn't start and end at Lackland in San Antonio. Hospitals around the State are facing a great deal of pressure and uncertainty surrounding the virus and working to ensure that they are prepared to treat potential coronavirus patients without impacting their normal operations is an urgent concern. Last week, I helped organize a conference call with the Texas Hospital Association and officials from Health and Human Services and the Texas Department of State Health Services to discuss some of the issues of concern to hospitals serving on the frontline all across our State. There have been a lot of news stories about the shortage of masks and personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and subsequent price gouging, and that is a big concern for these hospitals--many of which serve rural populations. As I told folks on that call, communication in these situations is critical. It seems so obvious, but it is not done unless you insist upon it. I was particularly glad to hear personally their concerns so we can make sure we are doing what is needed on our end in Washington, DC, to support them. I appreciate Texas's incredible healthcare professionals who have been working to treat patients in their care and prevent the coronavirus from spreading to the general public. The city of San Antonio--I have to single out in particular--has been carrying the weight of the struggle for a number of weeks now, and it has come at quite a significant cost to city taxpayers. Fortunately, last week, the President signed an $8.3 billion funding bill to support our Nation's response to the coronavirus. It will send vital funding for treating and preventing the spread of the virus, including the purchase of masks and personal protective equipment, as well as supporting the development of a vaccine. The funding bill will also include money for State and local communities, including San Antonio, which have been at the forefront of the battle at home. That makes $950 million available for reimbursement for the costs Texas and other States have incurred while monitoring and treating these individuals. It is a start in the process to repay San Antonio for the work they have done to help our Nation mitigate the impact of the coronavirus. I appreciate Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Leahy for including this reimbursement funding in the legislation and working so closely with all of us to get the relief on the way as soon as possible. Over the last couple of days, we have witnessed the ripple effect the coronavirus threat has had on the markets, and the next big question on everyone's mind is how this virus will impact the economy. Yesterday we had the opportunity to discuss potential options with President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Secretary Mnuchin, and we are continuing to work to identify the best path forward. Unfortunately, there doesn't yet seem to be a bipartisan effort to try to reach a consensus--something we need. One of our Democratic colleagues suggested that the best way to prevent economic damage is to stop the spread of the virus. I can't argue with that logic, but unless that Senator knows something the rest of us don't know, that is not exactly a productive use of our time. We know we need to stop the virus, but we also need to deal with the economic fallout as well. When we were in a position in 2014 with the Ebola crisis, we didn't hear a lot of griping about what President Obama was doing. We found ways to work with him for the betterment of our communities in the country. So I hope that at a time when we are confronting this threat, we can work together. That includes the Speaker and the minority leader here, all of us together to try to solve this problem. It is not a time to play politics. It is a time for us to work together in the Nation's interest. Keeping the American people safe and healthy and keeping our economy strong should be a shared bipartisan goal. I hope our colleagues--all of our colleagues--will keep that in mind, just as we did when we worked with President Obama in 2014. While the American people are rightly taking precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones, it is important to remember there is no reason to panic. Preparation, yes; panic, no. The leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services continue to remind all of us that the risk for the average American remains low, and the best defense against the virus is to use the same personal hygiene practices that our mother taught us when we were young. To help communicate what those practices are, as well as other information, my office has created a unique web page on my official website, cornyn.senate.gov. This will serve as a platform to provide information to all Texans who have questions about the virus and may be of interest to anybody who is concerned about what the government is doing to deal with the virus. If you are looking for information on how to prevent the spread of the virus, what Congress is doing to help, where you can find the latest number of cases in Texas, we have compiled all of the relevant links in one place. I know I speak on behalf of all Texans when I thank the dedicated healthcare professionals around the State and around the Nation for providing the highest quality care for people who come down with the virus. I am grateful for everyone who is unified in this fight and who are working to stop the spread of the virus and, ultimately, develop a vaccine. On one final note, let me say a word about my friend and colleague Senator Cruz. Over the weekend, he announced he would self-quarantine after coming into contact with someone who was later determined to have the coronavirus. I want to thank him for having the courage to step forward and to do what any one of us should do if we are exposed to somebody with the coronavirus, if we know it: to monitor our health and make sure we don't spread it to others and to seek care from a healthcare professional should we begin to come down with worrisome symptoms. His is a great reminder for all Americans to take this potential risk seriously and that we should all be joined together to do everything we can to keep our communities safe and healthy. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. CORNYN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1685-4

formal

big pharma

anti-vax

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, as most of my colleagues know, I hold a meeting in each of Iowa's 99 counties every year for Q&A with my constituents. Over the last couple of years, without fail, Iowans have brought up the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. People all over my State, including farmers, factory workers, and especially senior citizens, have raised the concern that pharmacy bills have been ballooning. I will say, Iowans are always interested in hearing about solutions, and they are looking for solutions on this issue from Congress, but not a single one of these people who bring this issue up cares about the partisan politics of the issue. Iowans just want Congress to act. This is my 40th year of taking questions in our 99 counties--although, as of now, only 14. Rarely have I heard so much unanimity when it comes to this issue, but on prescription drug prices, it is unanimous. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike all want us to take action, and the data, both polling and otherwise, bears out our constituents' concerns. As I highlighted last week, right here in this position on the Senate floor, a new study shows that pharmaceutical prices have increased 3\1/2\ times the rate of inflation in recent years. People are paying more than double what they paid in the year 2007 for drugs treating conditions from MS to diabetes and everything in between. The lack of transparency and the enormous subsidy incentives are driving these price hikes--perverse incentives that we have in law. If they were not intended to be perverse, they are incentives people have found out how to benefit from. This is because the government's spigot is all the way open for the big pharmaceutical companies or--how we say it around here--Big Pharma. Of course, when this happens, taxpayers get ripped off. It happens because we pay a lot of money--I think about $138 billion--for Medicare and Medicaid. We pay at least that much. So, when you have 5- to 10-percent increases on January 1, you can see willy-nilly, on the judgment of Big Pharma, that taxpayers are paying a heck of a lot more. I know all of my colleagues want to do something about this, and I know the administration wants to do something about it. In fact, let me say to the administration that I have been involved in this as the chairman of this committee since just a year ago January. The administration has given a major speech, and the Secretary of HHS has taken major action going way back to June of 2018. So we all know that our colleagues and our administration know that something needs to be done. We are fortunate that, just yesterday, the White House published five principles that the administration can get behind for reducing prescription drug costs. Our legislation in the Senate fits the bill, or the principles, that were laid out in that op-ed piece. The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act is the name of our legislation, and it addresses those principles. More importantly, it is the only option that can get 60 votes in the U.S. Senate. Many Americans are reading about the coronavirus issue. It scares our constituents. We don't know what kind of drugs might come into the market to help treat the disease. Senator Cassidy, who will soon speak, is an expert on that. He can address those issues for anybody who wants them addressed. Yet, if our bill becomes law, we know that folks who are on Medicare will not face sticker shock at the drugstore counter. Not only is that important in its being a comforting thought in the short term, as we face the coronavirus, but it is important in the long term, when we inevitably encounter another novel outbreak. It took a long time to hammer out the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. I thank Senator Wyden for sticking it out with me and working in good faith for the benefit of all of our constituents so we could produce a bipartisan bill. His determination as well as the leadership of many of my colleagues, like Senators Cassidy, Collins, and Daines, have further improved the legislation. We have a bill. We have bipartisan support, and we have White House support. We also have the opportunity. The bottom line is, let's act. I thank my colleagues for joining me in this effort. I yield to my colleague Senator Collins.

2020-01-06

Mr. GRASSLEY

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1687

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, as most of my colleagues know, I hold a meeting in each of Iowa's 99 counties every year for Q&A with my constituents. Over the last couple of years, without fail, Iowans have brought up the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. People all over my State, including farmers, factory workers, and especially senior citizens, have raised the concern that pharmacy bills have been ballooning. I will say, Iowans are always interested in hearing about solutions, and they are looking for solutions on this issue from Congress, but not a single one of these people who bring this issue up cares about the partisan politics of the issue. Iowans just want Congress to act. This is my 40th year of taking questions in our 99 counties--although, as of now, only 14. Rarely have I heard so much unanimity when it comes to this issue, but on prescription drug prices, it is unanimous. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike all want us to take action, and the data, both polling and otherwise, bears out our constituents' concerns. As I highlighted last week, right here in this position on the Senate floor, a new study shows that pharmaceutical prices have increased 3\1/2\ times the rate of inflation in recent years. People are paying more than double what they paid in the year 2007 for drugs treating conditions from MS to diabetes and everything in between. The lack of transparency and the enormous subsidy incentives are driving these price hikes--perverse incentives that we have in law. If they were not intended to be perverse, they are incentives people have found out how to benefit from. This is because the government's spigot is all the way open for the big pharmaceutical companies or--how we say it around here--Big Pharma. Of course, when this happens, taxpayers get ripped off. It happens because we pay a lot of money--I think about $138 billion--for Medicare and Medicaid. We pay at least that much. So, when you have 5- to 10-percent increases on January 1, you can see willy-nilly, on the judgment of Big Pharma, that taxpayers are paying a heck of a lot more. I know all of my colleagues want to do something about this, and I know the administration wants to do something about it. In fact, let me say to the administration that I have been involved in this as the chairman of this committee since just a year ago January. The administration has given a major speech, and the Secretary of HHS has taken major action going way back to June of 2018. So we all know that our colleagues and our administration know that something needs to be done. We are fortunate that, just yesterday, the White House published five principles that the administration can get behind for reducing prescription drug costs. Our legislation in the Senate fits the bill, or the principles, that were laid out in that op-ed piece. The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act is the name of our legislation, and it addresses those principles. More importantly, it is the only option that can get 60 votes in the U.S. Senate. Many Americans are reading about the coronavirus issue. It scares our constituents. We don't know what kind of drugs might come into the market to help treat the disease. Senator Cassidy, who will soon speak, is an expert on that. He can address those issues for anybody who wants them addressed. Yet, if our bill becomes law, we know that folks who are on Medicare will not face sticker shock at the drugstore counter. Not only is that important in its being a comforting thought in the short term, as we face the coronavirus, but it is important in the long term, when we inevitably encounter another novel outbreak. It took a long time to hammer out the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. I thank Senator Wyden for sticking it out with me and working in good faith for the benefit of all of our constituents so we could produce a bipartisan bill. His determination as well as the leadership of many of my colleagues, like Senators Cassidy, Collins, and Daines, have further improved the legislation. We have a bill. We have bipartisan support, and we have White House support. We also have the opportunity. The bottom line is, let's act. I thank my colleagues for joining me in this effort. I yield to my colleague Senator Collins.

2020-01-06

Mr. GRASSLEY

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1687

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, with spring approaching, the days are getting longer and temperatures are warming up. Many are hitting the gym, trying to get that summer bod before heading to the beach, including some turtles. That is right, your tax dollars actually paid for a study that put turtles on treadmills. So here we have our turtles on a treadmill. To no one's surprise, it turns out that turtles are really, really slow. OK. That is what our tax dollars went to. In fact, this wasteful study found that turtles moved at nearly the same pace as dead turtles on a treadmill. Aren't you glad that Washington bureaucrats used your hard-earned dollars to conduct this study? Good grief, folks. How many of your tax dollars went to this study, exactly? Well, folks, your guess is actually as good as mine because there is no legal obligation for most Federal agencies to publicly disclose the price of government projects, even though the American taxpayers are paying for them. Folks, this is your money--your money. Shouldn't you have a right to know how it is being spent? It has been said before, and I surely believe it: Government functions best when it operates in the open. This is the basis of Sunshine Week, which begins this Sunday. Sunshine Week is celebrated every year in March to remind us of just how important it is to have government transparency, especially when it comes to how our tax dollars are being spent. Transparency really is fundamental to the principles upon which our Nation was founded. The people have power to affect the decisions made by those of us who are elected leaders, and, in turn, Congress has the authority to hold accountable the millions of unelected Washington bureaucrats who ultimately write the rules and regulations that impact nearly every aspect of our lives and decide how our taxpayer dollars are spent. This year, I have a couple of bright ideas to shine some light on how Washington is spending your money. Let's talk about those darn government boondoggles--those Federal projects that are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. Frankly, we know nothing about them because the government agencies aren't required to report this information to you. Well, I have a bill to help shed some light on these costly monstrosities. My Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act would require an annual report listing every single taxpayer-funded project that is $1 billion or more over budget or 5 years or more behind schedule. This will make it impossible for Washington bureaucrats to continue throwing our tax dollars into bottomless money pits without being noticed. Unfortunately, it is not just the billions wasted on boondoggles being kept secret. It is the cost of the Federal projects. So I have proposed a bill that requires every project supported with Federal funds to include a pricetag with the amount that is paid by taxpayers. That way, when your money is being spent to put turtles on a treadmill--the ones I mentioned to you earlier--you, the taxpayer, can decide if the price is right. Of course, the waste doesn't stop there. Did you know that Federal agencies spend over $1.4 billion every year on advertising and public relations? This includes--you will love this--more than a quarter of a million dollars for costumed mascots like Sammy Soil and Milkshake the cow--a quarter of a million dollars. There was nearly $10,000 to produce a zombie apocalypse survival guide. Yes, folks, I am not joking. And there was $30,000 for a martian New Year's Eve party and hundreds of thousands of dollars on tote bags, stress balls, fidget spinners, and other trinkets. Well, folks, thankfully, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is voting today on my bill, which forces agencies to disclose exactly how much they are spending on all of these government gimmicks. Folks, it is time we bag the swag and end this unnecessary taxpayer-funded propaganda. With our national debt now exceeding $23 trillion, there is literally no better time than Sunshine Week to start shedding more light on how Washington is managing or maybe, in this case, mismanaging your money. The only reason to keep taxpayers in the dark is that these spending decisions can't withstand the scrutiny. And, folks, that is exactly why sunlight is the best disinfectant. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Ms. ERNST

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1690

formal

single

homophobic

Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, with spring approaching, the days are getting longer and temperatures are warming up. Many are hitting the gym, trying to get that summer bod before heading to the beach, including some turtles. That is right, your tax dollars actually paid for a study that put turtles on treadmills. So here we have our turtles on a treadmill. To no one's surprise, it turns out that turtles are really, really slow. OK. That is what our tax dollars went to. In fact, this wasteful study found that turtles moved at nearly the same pace as dead turtles on a treadmill. Aren't you glad that Washington bureaucrats used your hard-earned dollars to conduct this study? Good grief, folks. How many of your tax dollars went to this study, exactly? Well, folks, your guess is actually as good as mine because there is no legal obligation for most Federal agencies to publicly disclose the price of government projects, even though the American taxpayers are paying for them. Folks, this is your money--your money. Shouldn't you have a right to know how it is being spent? It has been said before, and I surely believe it: Government functions best when it operates in the open. This is the basis of Sunshine Week, which begins this Sunday. Sunshine Week is celebrated every year in March to remind us of just how important it is to have government transparency, especially when it comes to how our tax dollars are being spent. Transparency really is fundamental to the principles upon which our Nation was founded. The people have power to affect the decisions made by those of us who are elected leaders, and, in turn, Congress has the authority to hold accountable the millions of unelected Washington bureaucrats who ultimately write the rules and regulations that impact nearly every aspect of our lives and decide how our taxpayer dollars are spent. This year, I have a couple of bright ideas to shine some light on how Washington is spending your money. Let's talk about those darn government boondoggles--those Federal projects that are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. Frankly, we know nothing about them because the government agencies aren't required to report this information to you. Well, I have a bill to help shed some light on these costly monstrosities. My Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act would require an annual report listing every single taxpayer-funded project that is $1 billion or more over budget or 5 years or more behind schedule. This will make it impossible for Washington bureaucrats to continue throwing our tax dollars into bottomless money pits without being noticed. Unfortunately, it is not just the billions wasted on boondoggles being kept secret. It is the cost of the Federal projects. So I have proposed a bill that requires every project supported with Federal funds to include a pricetag with the amount that is paid by taxpayers. That way, when your money is being spent to put turtles on a treadmill--the ones I mentioned to you earlier--you, the taxpayer, can decide if the price is right. Of course, the waste doesn't stop there. Did you know that Federal agencies spend over $1.4 billion every year on advertising and public relations? This includes--you will love this--more than a quarter of a million dollars for costumed mascots like Sammy Soil and Milkshake the cow--a quarter of a million dollars. There was nearly $10,000 to produce a zombie apocalypse survival guide. Yes, folks, I am not joking. And there was $30,000 for a martian New Year's Eve party and hundreds of thousands of dollars on tote bags, stress balls, fidget spinners, and other trinkets. Well, folks, thankfully, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is voting today on my bill, which forces agencies to disclose exactly how much they are spending on all of these government gimmicks. Folks, it is time we bag the swag and end this unnecessary taxpayer-funded propaganda. With our national debt now exceeding $23 trillion, there is literally no better time than Sunshine Week to start shedding more light on how Washington is managing or maybe, in this case, mismanaging your money. The only reason to keep taxpayers in the dark is that these spending decisions can't withstand the scrutiny. And, folks, that is exactly why sunlight is the best disinfectant. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Ms. ERNST

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1690

formal

based

white supremacist

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today there is a discussion about transparency. I am going to talk about one that is maybe going to surprise some people, but it is about the lack of transparency and about $150 billion a year that is taxpayer money that is put into research and development. It is money that we, as taxpayers, pay to places like the National Institutes of Health. The National Institutes of Health does great research. So the Federal dollars go in there to try to develop cures--as an example, for diseases, but also for other healthcare research. There is the National Science Foundation, which does a lot of research on technology and research, and the Department of Energy, which does a lot of the basic research on science in our country. So I am going to focus on that funding today and a specific problem we have right now. It is about ensuring the government remains accountable to taxpayers. It is about ensuring that hard-working American taxpayers know where their money is going, and it is about a specific issue of that money going to research that is then taken by other countries, particularly by China, and the need for us to address that issue, in part, through transparency and, in part, through actually some new criminal statutes to be able to ensure that there is accountability. Last fall, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations did a study. It was about a yearlong study. We looked at this issue of China's talent recruitment programs and, more broadly, other countries, but, specifically, what China has been doing to find researchers over here in the United States whom they think are doing interesting work and recruiting those people to be able to provide that research and sometimes to have the person actually go to China to provide that research. The issue we focused on in our report was this theft of intellectual property at research institutions and at our colleges and universities. It was a shocking report. We issued it late last year. It showed, as you probably know now from some of the press accounts that have arisen since then, that, in fact, China was recruiting individuals who were giving up their research that was taxpayer funded. China has made no secret of its goal to surpass the United States to be the world leader in scientific research, but that doesn't mean they should use our research institutions here in America, paid for by us, to accomplish that goal. These talent recruitment programs--most notably, the Thousand Talents Program--recruits researchers at American universities and American research institutions to do the same research, usually at shadow labs in China, in order to just transfer taxpayer-funded research back to China. This is an issue that has been going on for two decades, we found out, andreally kind of right under the nose of the FBI and others. The FBI testified at our hearing and said they readily acknowledge that they were asleep at the switch, essentially, that they had not been on top of it, and they have only recently begun to focus on it. We have seen the results of that, by the way. Little was done to stop it, but, recently, there has been a lot of publicity. You probably know about the recent arrest of Dr. Charles Lieber at Harvard University. Dr. Lieber actually lied to Federal investigators about his participation in the plan, and that is what they have charged him with. Most recently, today, we heard about another one, Dr. James Lewis at West Virginia University, who pleaded guilty to fraudulently requesting time off to raise a newborn, when he was actually in China conducting research as part of his agreement with this same group, the Thousand Talents Plan. Now, this is a definite conflict of interest. As an example, Professor Lieber is accused of accepting $50,000 a month from the Chinese talent recruitment program and, also, $150,000 in funding just for his expenses--now, remember, he is already being paid by Harvard--but also accepting $1.5 million to set up a shadow lab in China. He did not tell his employer, Harvard, about this. Again, he was not honest when talking to the Federal prosecutors, which is how he came to be charged. So the fraud that he was committing was not the charge because that is not a criminal offense. It needs to be one. With regard to the guy from West Virginia who just pleaded guilty yesterday, we don't know all the details yet there, but we know that this, again, is research that was being done, we assume partly funded by taxpayers, and this talent recruitment program was able to get that research. So this can lead, obviously, to a real problem because it is helping to fuel not just the Chinese economy but also the Chinese military. Some of Professor Lieber's research, apparently, was done for our military, and, therefore, they got military research and, we assume, military secrets as well. So they provide a reputational risk to the universities we are talking about, of course, and so many others around the country. But it is also just unfair to taxpayers, because this is government funded for the benefit of America, not to one of our stiffest global competitors. So we are working with the Trump administration to ensure that we know where that taxpayer money is going and making sure it is going to benefit the United States of America. Along with my counterpart on the subcommittee on the Democratic side of the aisle, Tom Carper from Delaware, we plan to introduce bipartisan legislation that uses the key findings in our subcommittee report to ensure that our research enterprise is protected here in this country and also to ensure that it continues to be open and transparent and accountable but also secure. Our legislation does this in a few ways, and a lot of it has to do with more transparency. First, it creates a new cross-government council at the Office of Management and Budget to coordinate and streamline the grant-making process between Federal agencies so we know where the money is going and how it is being used. Right now, these agencies don't talk to each other, and we don't know much about the grant-making process. We need to make that transparent. Sunshine, I think, will be a very effective disinfectant here. Second, the bill makes it illegal to not tell the truth on a grant application. Apparently, that happens all the time now. We requested some of these grant applications from the Thousand Talents Program. We weren't able to get all the information we wanted, but we got enough to know that most of these contracts, apparently, have the individuals saying: OK, I will accept this money from the Chinese Government through this program, but I will not tell my employer about it. On the grant application, they have to say that they will not reveal it. Obviously, that is defrauding the U.S. Government. The third part of our legislation closes the loopholes exploited by China and other countries and empowers the U.S. State Department to deny visas to foreign researchers who seek to exploit the openness of our U.S. research enterprise to steal intellectual property and research from our universities and research institutions. Now, this is something that the State Department has worked with us on and has asked for. They are looking for additional authority from us. When they know somebody is not here on a good-faith effort to do research but, rather, to take our research, they want to be able to act. Fourth, it requires research institutions and universities to have basic safeguards against unauthorized access to sensitive technology. You would think that is already in place, but, apparently, it is not. Also, it requires them to tell the State Department what technologies a foreign researcher will have access to on campus, so, again, we can start talking to each other, including folks at the State Department, law enforcement folks, and people in our research institutions. Fifth, it directs the U.S. Government to work with our critical research partners--think of Japan or Australia or the UK--to protect their research enterprises from Chinese theft as well. We are not interested in having U.S. taxpayer dollars go to do research here on which we then collaborate with a foreign government, an ally, and then that research is taken back to China or other countries. So we want more information about working with partners, as well, to protect that important research. And, finally, it requires colleges and universities to report any gifts of $50,000 or more and empowers the Department of Education to fine universities that repeatedly fail to disclose these gifts. Current law requires reporting at the level of $250,000. So if you get $250,000 from a foreign entity, you are supposed to report it. In our study we found, shockingly, that 70 percent of U.S. universities consistently failed to do that. So the universities don't want to report the fact that they are getting money from foreign governments, but we need to know that. The taxpayers need to know that. Lowering the threshold from $250,000 to $50,000 and increasing this transparency, including adding the penalty, ensures that those schools will report. In my view, that will lead to accountability and what we are looking for, which is more information. Beyond these provisions, we are all going to have to do more to protect the U.S. research enterprise. My bill makes it clear that research institutions receiving taxpayer dollars have to do a better job giving the government just basic information about foreign researchers they partner with. By the way, academics tend to agree. On Monday, the President of the American Council on Education in an op-ed agreed with our report's recommendation that research institutions should establish a ``know your collaborator'' culture--know whom you are collaborating with, know what their background is. Providing basic information about researchers and what they will have access to on campus allows the State Department to properly vet foreign researchers before issuing them a visa. Frankly, it is hard to believe that universities aren't already required to tell the U.S. State Department this information, but they aren't. A few universities and academic groups have raised concerns about the administrative burdens. We don't want to unnecessarily burden any research institution, university, or college, but we do want the transparency. It is my hope that our research institutions will step up and do their part as patriots to help us ensure that our taxpayer-funded research does not fall into the wrong hands. Research universities need to take a hard look at what is happening on their own campuses. This threat is very real. If universities expect to continue to receive billions in taxpayer research dollars, Congress has to ensure the academic community is taking basic, commonsense steps to secure the research. I believe our legislation is a balanced way to ensure that will happen. We talked earlier about the actions by college professors who have now been in the media. They have been charged by the FBI and others. One thing we do in this legislation, as well, is that we establish a new criminal law with regard to defrauding a university or defrauding the U.S. taxpayer. Again, the reason these charges that we talked about earlier were able to be brought is not because of the fraud that was committed but because, in one case, someone lied about the reason they were looking for leave, and, in the other case, someone lied to the FBI about whether they were involved in the program or not. So these were perjury issues, really, not in terms of the fraud. Our legislation also tightens that up. I think we all agree that the relationship we have with China is complicated. There is some good, and there is some bad. In my view, it is in both of our countries' interests to have a healthy relationship and have an exchange of new ideas and have the ability to collaborate where appropriate, but we cannot allow this continued theft of taxpayer-funded research. My hope is that this legislation will send a firm but fair signal to China to change their behavior, respect our laws when it comes to research, and see the wisdom of our research values here in the United States of openness, transparency, reciprocity, integrity, and, most importantly, merit-based competition. I encourage my colleagues to take a look at that legislation. We hope to introduce it the week after next, when we are back from recess. We believe that this legislation will be incredibly important to ensure that we can protect this research that taxpayer dollars are funding. With that, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. PORTMAN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1691

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today there is a discussion about transparency. I am going to talk about one that is maybe going to surprise some people, but it is about the lack of transparency and about $150 billion a year that is taxpayer money that is put into research and development. It is money that we, as taxpayers, pay to places like the National Institutes of Health. The National Institutes of Health does great research. So the Federal dollars go in there to try to develop cures--as an example, for diseases, but also for other healthcare research. There is the National Science Foundation, which does a lot of research on technology and research, and the Department of Energy, which does a lot of the basic research on science in our country. So I am going to focus on that funding today and a specific problem we have right now. It is about ensuring the government remains accountable to taxpayers. It is about ensuring that hard-working American taxpayers know where their money is going, and it is about a specific issue of that money going to research that is then taken by other countries, particularly by China, and the need for us to address that issue, in part, through transparency and, in part, through actually some new criminal statutes to be able to ensure that there is accountability. Last fall, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations did a study. It was about a yearlong study. We looked at this issue of China's talent recruitment programs and, more broadly, other countries, but, specifically, what China has been doing to find researchers over here in the United States whom they think are doing interesting work and recruiting those people to be able to provide that research and sometimes to have the person actually go to China to provide that research. The issue we focused on in our report was this theft of intellectual property at research institutions and at our colleges and universities. It was a shocking report. We issued it late last year. It showed, as you probably know now from some of the press accounts that have arisen since then, that, in fact, China was recruiting individuals who were giving up their research that was taxpayer funded. China has made no secret of its goal to surpass the United States to be the world leader in scientific research, but that doesn't mean they should use our research institutions here in America, paid for by us, to accomplish that goal. These talent recruitment programs--most notably, the Thousand Talents Program--recruits researchers at American universities and American research institutions to do the same research, usually at shadow labs in China, in order to just transfer taxpayer-funded research back to China. This is an issue that has been going on for two decades, we found out, andreally kind of right under the nose of the FBI and others. The FBI testified at our hearing and said they readily acknowledge that they were asleep at the switch, essentially, that they had not been on top of it, and they have only recently begun to focus on it. We have seen the results of that, by the way. Little was done to stop it, but, recently, there has been a lot of publicity. You probably know about the recent arrest of Dr. Charles Lieber at Harvard University. Dr. Lieber actually lied to Federal investigators about his participation in the plan, and that is what they have charged him with. Most recently, today, we heard about another one, Dr. James Lewis at West Virginia University, who pleaded guilty to fraudulently requesting time off to raise a newborn, when he was actually in China conducting research as part of his agreement with this same group, the Thousand Talents Plan. Now, this is a definite conflict of interest. As an example, Professor Lieber is accused of accepting $50,000 a month from the Chinese talent recruitment program and, also, $150,000 in funding just for his expenses--now, remember, he is already being paid by Harvard--but also accepting $1.5 million to set up a shadow lab in China. He did not tell his employer, Harvard, about this. Again, he was not honest when talking to the Federal prosecutors, which is how he came to be charged. So the fraud that he was committing was not the charge because that is not a criminal offense. It needs to be one. With regard to the guy from West Virginia who just pleaded guilty yesterday, we don't know all the details yet there, but we know that this, again, is research that was being done, we assume partly funded by taxpayers, and this talent recruitment program was able to get that research. So this can lead, obviously, to a real problem because it is helping to fuel not just the Chinese economy but also the Chinese military. Some of Professor Lieber's research, apparently, was done for our military, and, therefore, they got military research and, we assume, military secrets as well. So they provide a reputational risk to the universities we are talking about, of course, and so many others around the country. But it is also just unfair to taxpayers, because this is government funded for the benefit of America, not to one of our stiffest global competitors. So we are working with the Trump administration to ensure that we know where that taxpayer money is going and making sure it is going to benefit the United States of America. Along with my counterpart on the subcommittee on the Democratic side of the aisle, Tom Carper from Delaware, we plan to introduce bipartisan legislation that uses the key findings in our subcommittee report to ensure that our research enterprise is protected here in this country and also to ensure that it continues to be open and transparent and accountable but also secure. Our legislation does this in a few ways, and a lot of it has to do with more transparency. First, it creates a new cross-government council at the Office of Management and Budget to coordinate and streamline the grant-making process between Federal agencies so we know where the money is going and how it is being used. Right now, these agencies don't talk to each other, and we don't know much about the grant-making process. We need to make that transparent. Sunshine, I think, will be a very effective disinfectant here. Second, the bill makes it illegal to not tell the truth on a grant application. Apparently, that happens all the time now. We requested some of these grant applications from the Thousand Talents Program. We weren't able to get all the information we wanted, but we got enough to know that most of these contracts, apparently, have the individuals saying: OK, I will accept this money from the Chinese Government through this program, but I will not tell my employer about it. On the grant application, they have to say that they will not reveal it. Obviously, that is defrauding the U.S. Government. The third part of our legislation closes the loopholes exploited by China and other countries and empowers the U.S. State Department to deny visas to foreign researchers who seek to exploit the openness of our U.S. research enterprise to steal intellectual property and research from our universities and research institutions. Now, this is something that the State Department has worked with us on and has asked for. They are looking for additional authority from us. When they know somebody is not here on a good-faith effort to do research but, rather, to take our research, they want to be able to act. Fourth, it requires research institutions and universities to have basic safeguards against unauthorized access to sensitive technology. You would think that is already in place, but, apparently, it is not. Also, it requires them to tell the State Department what technologies a foreign researcher will have access to on campus, so, again, we can start talking to each other, including folks at the State Department, law enforcement folks, and people in our research institutions. Fifth, it directs the U.S. Government to work with our critical research partners--think of Japan or Australia or the UK--to protect their research enterprises from Chinese theft as well. We are not interested in having U.S. taxpayer dollars go to do research here on which we then collaborate with a foreign government, an ally, and then that research is taken back to China or other countries. So we want more information about working with partners, as well, to protect that important research. And, finally, it requires colleges and universities to report any gifts of $50,000 or more and empowers the Department of Education to fine universities that repeatedly fail to disclose these gifts. Current law requires reporting at the level of $250,000. So if you get $250,000 from a foreign entity, you are supposed to report it. In our study we found, shockingly, that 70 percent of U.S. universities consistently failed to do that. So the universities don't want to report the fact that they are getting money from foreign governments, but we need to know that. The taxpayers need to know that. Lowering the threshold from $250,000 to $50,000 and increasing this transparency, including adding the penalty, ensures that those schools will report. In my view, that will lead to accountability and what we are looking for, which is more information. Beyond these provisions, we are all going to have to do more to protect the U.S. research enterprise. My bill makes it clear that research institutions receiving taxpayer dollars have to do a better job giving the government just basic information about foreign researchers they partner with. By the way, academics tend to agree. On Monday, the President of the American Council on Education in an op-ed agreed with our report's recommendation that research institutions should establish a ``know your collaborator'' culture--know whom you are collaborating with, know what their background is. Providing basic information about researchers and what they will have access to on campus allows the State Department to properly vet foreign researchers before issuing them a visa. Frankly, it is hard to believe that universities aren't already required to tell the U.S. State Department this information, but they aren't. A few universities and academic groups have raised concerns about the administrative burdens. We don't want to unnecessarily burden any research institution, university, or college, but we do want the transparency. It is my hope that our research institutions will step up and do their part as patriots to help us ensure that our taxpayer-funded research does not fall into the wrong hands. Research universities need to take a hard look at what is happening on their own campuses. This threat is very real. If universities expect to continue to receive billions in taxpayer research dollars, Congress has to ensure the academic community is taking basic, commonsense steps to secure the research. I believe our legislation is a balanced way to ensure that will happen. We talked earlier about the actions by college professors who have now been in the media. They have been charged by the FBI and others. One thing we do in this legislation, as well, is that we establish a new criminal law with regard to defrauding a university or defrauding the U.S. taxpayer. Again, the reason these charges that we talked about earlier were able to be brought is not because of the fraud that was committed but because, in one case, someone lied about the reason they were looking for leave, and, in the other case, someone lied to the FBI about whether they were involved in the program or not. So these were perjury issues, really, not in terms of the fraud. Our legislation also tightens that up. I think we all agree that the relationship we have with China is complicated. There is some good, and there is some bad. In my view, it is in both of our countries' interests to have a healthy relationship and have an exchange of new ideas and have the ability to collaborate where appropriate, but we cannot allow this continued theft of taxpayer-funded research. My hope is that this legislation will send a firm but fair signal to China to change their behavior, respect our laws when it comes to research, and see the wisdom of our research values here in the United States of openness, transparency, reciprocity, integrity, and, most importantly, merit-based competition. I encourage my colleagues to take a look at that legislation. We hope to introduce it the week after next, when we are back from recess. We believe that this legislation will be incredibly important to ensure that we can protect this research that taxpayer dollars are funding. With that, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. PORTMAN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1691

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, as of today there are over 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 35 States and Washington, DC. The World Health Organization has now declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Thirty-one people have died in the United States already because of this virus. This includes one person in the State of New Jersey. Communities across the country, and most recently New Jersey, are confronting the possibility of seeing a spread of this virus. We also know that it is possible that, due to delays and lack of availability of testing, the actual number of those infected here in the U.S. is likely higher than what has been reported. Every day that passes during the spread of this virus--every single day, every single hour, every single moment is critical. We must act urgently to slow its spread, to mitigate its impact. We all have a role to play in fighting the virus, each and every one of us, from our personal hygiene habits to those of us in positions of authority and the roles we can play to protect each other and to protect our communities. One of the most significant ways to do this is actually by encouraging people to stay home. Members of Congress have self-isolated. For people who have symptoms or who have severe coughs or who may have been exposed, there is an importance in social isolation, staying home when you are sick. The challenge for us as a country is that for millions and millions of Americans this idea of staying home is not an option. Tens of millions of Americans know that if they stay home, they miss a paycheck. If they miss a paycheck, that can mean financial devastation or ruin for their family. We are now the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't have paid family sick leave for workers. This is an unwelcome and, unfortunately, this is a dangerous distinction now in the time of a global pandemic. This literally punishes people who are struggling, low-income workers. Right now the choice for millions of Americans is really this: Choose between your next paycheck and caring for your sick child. Choose between going to work sick or having to skip a meal. Choose between your health and well-being or your family's financial security. That choice, unfortunately, even before this pandemic, was a choice that many Americans knew--that the people who are handling our food, the people who work in our restaurants, and the people who work with our elderly often go to work sick in this country helping the normal flu and other illnesses spread. In the case of a pandemic which has a mortality rate of potentially five or ten times that of the flu, this is, unfortunately, a tragic choice that families are trying to make. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 70 percent of the lowest income workers do not have a single paid sick day. They also report that 81 percent of people working in the food service industry--let me say that again: 81 percent of people working in our food service industry--and 75 percent of childcare center workers do not have access to paid sick leave. This is disproportionately seen in communities of color. Think about the choice you make. Your child is sick, you are showing signs but you know if you do not go to work, you will not be able to make rent, you will not be able to put food on the table, you will miss a car payment, which means your car will be repossessed. These are choices that don't just put the families in crisis but they put us all at risk. The disparity in access to preventive care is also an issue. There are disparities in access to healthcare and affordable medicine for people all across our country--millions and millions of people. This is already before the global pandemic is a health crisis. The continued and unmitigated spread of COVID-19 could have disastrous impacts on people in communities that already have this vulnerability. In my community, where I live, where I hopefully will go home this weekend, in Newark, NJ, the median income for the census track I live in is about $14,000, according to the last census. That is $14,000 per household. I know that public health emergencies can quickly become economic disasters for those who are already struggling in the economic margins of our country. As we work together to combat the spread of this virus, we need to remember that any of us is only as healthy as our most vulnerable neighbors. In other words, as Martin Luther King said years ago, when he said ``injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,'' well, the virus anywhere is a threat to the health and safety of us everywhere. That is why we need to pass the bill introduced by Senator Patty Murray to guarantee 7 days of sick leave for all workers and critically guarantee 14 days of paid sick leave during public health emergencies. That is an act of self-interest. Again, I know with over 80 percent of those who handle our food in restaurants, if those folks do not have paid family leave, they are now economically incentivized to go to work sick. It can cause a greater spread of the virus. Paid sick and family leave is a public health and safety issue, plain and simple. It is about economic justice and economic strength and security, but it is a public health issue for us all. As we prepare to fight this virus, we need to do the things that keep our people, our communities, and our country safe, healthy, and strong. That means joining with the rest of our industrial nations and having paid family sick leave. That means opening up and modernizing the Unemployment Insurance Act, because workers who lose a paycheck because their factory closes or their restaurant closes or they lost childcare should be able to access the critical benefits they need to help their family get by. That means we also expand SNAP benefits for those kids who are forced to stay at home and from school and may miss meals. To take on this virus, to protect all of our communities, to ensure the strength of our economy, and to ensure our health, we need to take a comprehensive and inclusive approach. That means leaving no one behind, because we are all in this crisis together. I have seen challenges from 9/11 to when I was mayor and we had Hurricane Sandy hit. It was the strength of our community in that region around 9/11. It was the strength of that community during that terrible storm. I remember seeing that the strength was that we stood up for each other and stood by each other--neighbors opening up their homes, people lending a hand, people showing sacrifice for each other. That is the American way. Those values and virtues should be reflected in our policy. We are weakened and more vulnerable right now because we do not have commonsense policies that other countries take for granted, like paid family leave. We in the U.S. Senate should act for the love of each other and love of country, for the strength and security and health of our well-being for each other. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. BOOKER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1697

formal

single mom

racist

Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, as of today there are over 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 35 States and Washington, DC. The World Health Organization has now declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Thirty-one people have died in the United States already because of this virus. This includes one person in the State of New Jersey. Communities across the country, and most recently New Jersey, are confronting the possibility of seeing a spread of this virus. We also know that it is possible that, due to delays and lack of availability of testing, the actual number of those infected here in the U.S. is likely higher than what has been reported. Every day that passes during the spread of this virus--every single day, every single hour, every single moment is critical. We must act urgently to slow its spread, to mitigate its impact. We all have a role to play in fighting the virus, each and every one of us, from our personal hygiene habits to those of us in positions of authority and the roles we can play to protect each other and to protect our communities. One of the most significant ways to do this is actually by encouraging people to stay home. Members of Congress have self-isolated. For people who have symptoms or who have severe coughs or who may have been exposed, there is an importance in social isolation, staying home when you are sick. The challenge for us as a country is that for millions and millions of Americans this idea of staying home is not an option. Tens of millions of Americans know that if they stay home, they miss a paycheck. If they miss a paycheck, that can mean financial devastation or ruin for their family. We are now the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't have paid family sick leave for workers. This is an unwelcome and, unfortunately, this is a dangerous distinction now in the time of a global pandemic. This literally punishes people who are struggling, low-income workers. Right now the choice for millions of Americans is really this: Choose between your next paycheck and caring for your sick child. Choose between going to work sick or having to skip a meal. Choose between your health and well-being or your family's financial security. That choice, unfortunately, even before this pandemic, was a choice that many Americans knew--that the people who are handling our food, the people who work in our restaurants, and the people who work with our elderly often go to work sick in this country helping the normal flu and other illnesses spread. In the case of a pandemic which has a mortality rate of potentially five or ten times that of the flu, this is, unfortunately, a tragic choice that families are trying to make. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 70 percent of the lowest income workers do not have a single paid sick day. They also report that 81 percent of people working in the food service industry--let me say that again: 81 percent of people working in our food service industry--and 75 percent of childcare center workers do not have access to paid sick leave. This is disproportionately seen in communities of color. Think about the choice you make. Your child is sick, you are showing signs but you know if you do not go to work, you will not be able to make rent, you will not be able to put food on the table, you will miss a car payment, which means your car will be repossessed. These are choices that don't just put the families in crisis but they put us all at risk. The disparity in access to preventive care is also an issue. There are disparities in access to healthcare and affordable medicine for people all across our country--millions and millions of people. This is already before the global pandemic is a health crisis. The continued and unmitigated spread of COVID-19 could have disastrous impacts on people in communities that already have this vulnerability. In my community, where I live, where I hopefully will go home this weekend, in Newark, NJ, the median income for the census track I live in is about $14,000, according to the last census. That is $14,000 per household. I know that public health emergencies can quickly become economic disasters for those who are already struggling in the economic margins of our country. As we work together to combat the spread of this virus, we need to remember that any of us is only as healthy as our most vulnerable neighbors. In other words, as Martin Luther King said years ago, when he said ``injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,'' well, the virus anywhere is a threat to the health and safety of us everywhere. That is why we need to pass the bill introduced by Senator Patty Murray to guarantee 7 days of sick leave for all workers and critically guarantee 14 days of paid sick leave during public health emergencies. That is an act of self-interest. Again, I know with over 80 percent of those who handle our food in restaurants, if those folks do not have paid family leave, they are now economically incentivized to go to work sick. It can cause a greater spread of the virus. Paid sick and family leave is a public health and safety issue, plain and simple. It is about economic justice and economic strength and security, but it is a public health issue for us all. As we prepare to fight this virus, we need to do the things that keep our people, our communities, and our country safe, healthy, and strong. That means joining with the rest of our industrial nations and having paid family sick leave. That means opening up and modernizing the Unemployment Insurance Act, because workers who lose a paycheck because their factory closes or their restaurant closes or they lost childcare should be able to access the critical benefits they need to help their family get by. That means we also expand SNAP benefits for those kids who are forced to stay at home and from school and may miss meals. To take on this virus, to protect all of our communities, to ensure the strength of our economy, and to ensure our health, we need to take a comprehensive and inclusive approach. That means leaving no one behind, because we are all in this crisis together. I have seen challenges from 9/11 to when I was mayor and we had Hurricane Sandy hit. It was the strength of our community in that region around 9/11. It was the strength of that community during that terrible storm. I remember seeing that the strength was that we stood up for each other and stood by each other--neighbors opening up their homes, people lending a hand, people showing sacrifice for each other. That is the American way. Those values and virtues should be reflected in our policy. We are weakened and more vulnerable right now because we do not have commonsense policies that other countries take for granted, like paid family leave. We in the U.S. Senate should act for the love of each other and love of country, for the strength and security and health of our well-being for each other. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. BOOKER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1697

formal

single

homophobic

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I will have to tell you and all of my colleagues, as they probably know, this has been a fairly tough month for my fellow Tennesseans. As you know, last week, a tornado tore through eight counties. This started in West Tennessee and exited through Middle Tennessee up on the plateau of our great State. This left multiple communities absolutely devastated. We have mourned the loss of life and livelihoods and property. I want to, again, thank President Trump for coming to Tennessee to offer his support and for listening to those who were so adversely impacted by this storm and for being there to encourage the emergency management officials, the volunteers, and all of the elected community officials. We have been encouraged that our Tennesseans have been joined from volunteers all across the country who have shown up to help. They have donated their time, their supplies, and their money to our restoration and rebuilding and recovery and cleanup efforts. To all of those who have volunteered and offered their support, you have made such a difference in the lives of so many Tennessee families. We know this is going to be a long and difficult recovery. After all of this occurred, on Wednesday of last week, Tennessee health officials confirmed our first case of coronavirus. It was in a patient just south of Nashville in Williamson County. With all that said, that is a lot to handle in any given week, but Tennesseans and all Americans should be encouraged that there is a lot of good work that is taking place. As I said, the rebuilding efforts span all of those counties in our State. And then, of course, right there in Nashville are efforts to combat the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus. The Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Denison Lab is one of the top 20 labs in the world that is studying this disease. For over 25 years, they received Federal grants for their research into how these viruses make us sick, and they are currently helping with the development of treatments, anti-virals, and vaccines to deal with coronaviruses, and especially the COVID-19. I am just so pleased with the progress they are making. Today I want to draw attention to a threat that has, again, been highlighted because of this coronavirus outbreak. Pharmaceuticals are no different from other products in that theyare usually manufactured in pieces--the active ingredients in one place and the inactive ingredients in another place and so on. Currently, only 28 percent of the facilities producing active pharmaceutical ingredients--and you will hear these referred to by the acronym APIs--only 28 percent of the facilities producing these APIs are in the United States. What this means is that American consumers rely heavily on foreign-sourced drugs in order to stay healthy. Meanwhile, the number of Chinese facilities producing these APIs has more than doubled since 2010. Think about that. Only 28 percent of all the facilities globally are in the United States. China has doubled the number of facilities in China that are producing these APIs. Why does this matter? Last year, experts at the FDA testified before Congress that while the United States is a world leader in drug development, we are falling behind in drug manufacturing. We do all the R&D here. We have the great scientific minds here. They are creating these products. They are manufactured primarily in China. Their testimony identified the cessation of American manufacturing of APIs as a key health and security concern because it created vulnerabilities in the U.S. supply chain. The FDA is not alone in their concerns. In its 2019 report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission revealed ``serious deficiencies in health and safety standards in China's pharmaceutical sector.'' That is not something that somebody just read on the internet. It is not an assumption. That is the 2019 report to Congress from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review. The coronavirus outbreak is drawing much needed attention to the possibility of a global health crisis. Indeed, today the WHO classified it as a pandemic. I have to tell you, I think awareness is not enough. If the Congress does not act, our dependency on China for medications will continue to put American lives at risk. Yesterday, alongside my friend, the Senator from New Jersey, Mr. Menendez, I introduced the Securing America's Medicine Cabinet, or the SAM-C Act, to encourage an increase in American manufacturing of APIs. The act would expand upon the Emerging Technology Program within the FDA to prioritize issues related to national security and critical drug shortages and bring pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs back to the United States. In addition, the SAM-C Act authorizes $100 million to develop centers of excellence for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing in order to develop these innovations. These centers will be partnerships between institutes of learning and the private sector. The number of API manufacturing facilities in China is still growing. It grows every single day. Although we cannot yet quantify our dependence on China's APIs, we do know the more Chinese products flow into the United States, the more potential there is for trouble. In 2007 and 2008, 246 people died as a result of adulterated Heparin, a widely used blood thinner. An investigation by the Centers for Disease Control determined that batches of Heparin manufactured in China had been contaminated. The contaminant, which is very cheap, was similar in chemical structure to Heparin and went undetected in routine tests. Since 2010, regulators have also found serious problems with batches of thyroid medication, muscle relaxers, and antibiotics. In 2018, the FDA recalled a number of blood pressure medications made in China that were contaminated with cancer-causing toxins. To be perfectly clear though, adulteration isn't the only concern. In 2016, an explosion at a Chinese factory resulted in a global shortage of an important antibiotic because that factory was the drug's sole source of production. Think about that. The factory exploded, and there was a shortage of an important antibiotic because they were the only people who were making it. Without intervention, the FDA expects the pharmaceutical industry will continue to rely on Chinese companies to make these active pharmaceutical ingredients, the APIs. On February 27, 2020, the FDA announced the shortage of one drug that was used to treat patients with the coronavirus. They attributed the shortage to difficulties obtaining--guess what--the active pharmaceutical ingredients from a site in China that has been affected by the disease. The status quo has made us vulnerable, but the fix is sitting right in front of us. If we fail to act, we are placing our future in the hands of unregulated foreign countries we know to be bad actors. We have a lot of work to do before we will be able to call our supply chain and our healthcare delivery systems secure. But if we are learning anything, we are learning we need to bring this production back into the United States where there is proper oversight, where we know we are not going to have contamination in this supply chain for these active pharmaceutical ingredients. We must embrace telehealth, especially across State lines, and halt the breakdown of care in our rural areas. I have introduced bills that will help support those things, and I welcome additional cosponsors. The door is always open. All of this activity is here to secure our supply chain and our ability to access the healthcare that Americans need. Today I specifically ask that our colleagues support S. 3432, the SAM-C Act, Securing America's Medicine Cabinet Act. That is a first step in securing this pharmaceutical supply chain and securing the health and wellness of American consumers. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1698

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, schools, libraries, healthcare providers, and other community anchor institutions need high-capacity broadband for distance learning, access to information, and telemedicine, but too often, anchor institutions' need for broadband service are overlooked. That is why I want to make sure that anchor institutions are included in the mapping legislation under consideration today. I am pleased that S. 1822 will enable the Federal Communications Commission to develop more accurate and more granular broadband maps. However, in implementing this legislation, the FCC must make sure to include anchor institutions in its list of serviceable locations so that our broadband maps accurately cover anchor institutions as well as residences.

2020-01-06

Mr. MARKEY

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1699

formal

based

white supremacist

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. King, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, Ms. Hassan, Ms. Collins, Mr. Reed, Mr. Carper, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Manchin, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Kaine, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Harris, Mr. Markey, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Booker, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Brown, Mr. Peters, Mr. Tester, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Bennet) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to: S. Res. 540 Whereas, since its inception in 1994, the AmeriCorps national service program has proven to be a highly effective way-- (1) to engage the people of the United States in meeting a wide range of local and national needs; and (2) to promote the ethics of service and volunteerism; Whereas, since 1994, more than 1,100,000 individuals have taken the AmeriCorps pledge to ``get things done for America'' by becoming AmeriCorps members; Whereas, each year, AmeriCorps, in coordination with State service commissions, provides opportunities for approximately 75,000 individuals across the United States to give back in an intensive way to communities, States, Tribal nations, and the United States; Whereas AmeriCorps members have served more than 1,600,000,000 hours nationwide, helping-- (1) to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people of the United States; (2) to protect the environment; (3) to contribute to public safety; (4) to respond to disasters; (5) to strengthen the educational system of the United States; and (6) to expand economic opportunity; Whereas, since 1994, AmeriCorps funds have been invested in nonprofit, community, educational, and faith-based groups, and those funds leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in outside funding and in-kind donations each year; Whereas AmeriCorps members recruit and supervise millions of community volunteers, demonstrating the value of AmeriCorps as a powerful force for encouraging people to become involved in volunteering and community service; Whereas AmeriCorps members serve at more than 21,000 locations across the United States, including at nonprofit organizations, schools, and faith-based and community organizations; Whereas AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps campuses in the States of Mississippi, Iowa, California, and Colorado strengthen communities and develop future leaders through team-based service; Whereas AmeriCorps members nationwide, in return for the service of those members, have earned nearly $4,000,000,000 to use to further their own educational advancement at colleges and universities across the United States; Whereas AmeriCorps members, after their terms of service with AmeriCorps end, have been more likely to remain engaged in their communities as volunteers, teachers, and nonprofit professionals than the average individual; Whereas AmeriCorps is a proven pathway to employment, providing members with valuable career skills, experience, and contacts to prepare them for the 21st century workforce and to help close the skills gap in the United States; Whereas, in 2009, Congress passed the bipartisan Serve America Act (Public Law 111-13; 123 Stat. 1460), which authorized the expansion of national service, expanded opportunities to serve, increased efficiency and accountability, and strengthened the capacity of organizations and communities to solve problems; Whereas national service programs have engaged millions of people in the United States in results-driven service in the most vulnerable communities of the United States, providing hope and help to individuals with economic and social needs; Whereas national service and volunteerism demonstrate the best of the spirit of the United States, with people turning toward problems and working together to find community solutions; and Whereas AmeriCorps Week, observed in 2020 from March 8 through March 14, is an appropriate time for the people of the United States-- (1) to salute current and former AmeriCorps members for their positive impact on the lives of people in the United States; (2) to thank the community partners of AmeriCorps for making the program possible; and (3) to encourage more people in the United States to become involved in service and volunteering: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate-- (1) encourages the people of the United States to join in a national effort-- (A) to salute AmeriCorps members and alumni; and (B) to raise awareness about the importance of national and community service; (2) acknowledges the significant accomplishments of the members, alumni, and community partners of AmeriCorps; (3) recognizes the important contributions made by AmeriCorps members and alumni to the lives of the people of the United States; and (4) encourages individuals of all ages to consider opportunities to serve in AmeriCorps.

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1706

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I have 10 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on pending nominations. Committee on Environment and Public Works The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Douglas Benevento, of Colorado, to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and David A. Wright, of South Carolina, and Christopher T. Hanson, of Michigan. Committee on Finance The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 10:10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Kipp Kranbuhl, of Ohio, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Sarah C. Arbes, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Jason J. Fichtner, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Social Security Advisory Board. Committee on Foreign Relations The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 10:10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nomination: James E. Trainor III, of Texas, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission. Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a closed roundtables. Committee on Veterans' Affairs The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a closed roundtables. Select Committee on Intelligence The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 2 p.m., to conduct a closed roundtables. Subcommittee on Personnel The Subcommittee on Personnel of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing. Subcommittee on Seapower The Subcommittee on Seapower of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

2020-01-06

Ms. ERNST

Senate

CREC-2020-03-11-pt1-PgS1707

formal

XX

transphobic

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, which the Chair will put de novo. The question is on the Speaker's approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

2020-01-06

The SPEAKER pro tempore

House

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgH1667-3

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message from the President of the United States; which was read and, together with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed:To the Congress of the United States: Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days before the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to Iran that was declared on March 15, 1995, is to continue in effect beyond March 15, 2020. The actions and policies of the Government of Iran continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 with respect to Iran and to maintain in force comprehensive sanctions against Iran to respond to this threat. Donald J. Trump. The White House, March 12, 2020.

2020-01-06

Unknown

House

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgH1667-6

formal

Federal Reserve

antisemitic

Under clause 2 of rule XIV, executive communications were taken from the Speaker's table and referred as follows: 4144. A letter from the Assistant to the Board, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, transmitting the Board's final rule -- Control and Divestiture Proceedings [Regulations Y and LL; Docket No.: R-1662] (RIN: 7100-AF49) received March 11, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Financial Services. 4145. A letter from the Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting the 11th Annual Report on Delays in Approvals of Applications Related to Citizen Petitions and Petitions for Stay of Agency Action for Fiscal Year 2018, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 355(q)(3); (June 25, 1938, ch. 675, Sec. 505(q)(3) (as amended by Public Law 110-85, Sec. 914(a)); (121 Stat. 956); to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4146. A letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting the Department's Fiscal Year 2018 Performance Report to Congress for the Office of Combination Products; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4147. A letter from the Under Secretary, Policy, Department of Defense, transmitting the Review of Security Assistance Programs as Requested in the Conference Report (H.R. 115-952) Joint Explanatory Statement to Accompany the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019 (Division A of Public Law 115-245); to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 4148. A letter from the Federal Co-Chair, Appalachian Regional Commission, transmitting the Commission's Inspector General's Semiannual Report to Congress covering the period April 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019; to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4149. A letter from the Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, transmitting the Corporation's 2020 Annual Performance Plan, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1115(b); Public Law 111-352, Sec. 3; (124 Stat. 3867); to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4150. A letter from the Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, transmitting the Commission's FY 2019 No FEAR Act Report, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 2301 note; Public Law 107-174, 203(a) (as amended by Public Law 109-435, Sec. 604(f)); (120 Stat. 3242); to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4151. A letter from the Vice President, Government Affairs and Corporate Communications, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK), transmitting the Corporation's General and Legislative Annual Report and Fiscal Year 2021 Grant Request, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 24320(a)(1); Public Law 114- 94, Sec. 11203(a)(1); (129 Stat. 1630); to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 4152. A letter from the Chief, Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, transmitting the Service's IRB only rule -- 2020 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for Pre-Approved Defined Benefit Plans [Notice 2020-14] received March 11, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Ways and Means. 4153. A letter from the Chief, Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, transmitting the Service's IRB only rule -- Rulings and determination letters (Revenue Procedure 2020-3) received March 11, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104- 121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Ways and Means.

2020-01-06

Unknown

House

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgH1667-8

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Under clause 2 of rule XIV, executive communications were taken from the Speaker's table and referred as follows: 4144. A letter from the Assistant to the Board, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, transmitting the Board's final rule -- Control and Divestiture Proceedings [Regulations Y and LL; Docket No.: R-1662] (RIN: 7100-AF49) received March 11, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Financial Services. 4145. A letter from the Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting the 11th Annual Report on Delays in Approvals of Applications Related to Citizen Petitions and Petitions for Stay of Agency Action for Fiscal Year 2018, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 355(q)(3); (June 25, 1938, ch. 675, Sec. 505(q)(3) (as amended by Public Law 110-85, Sec. 914(a)); (121 Stat. 956); to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4146. A letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting the Department's Fiscal Year 2018 Performance Report to Congress for the Office of Combination Products; to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4147. A letter from the Under Secretary, Policy, Department of Defense, transmitting the Review of Security Assistance Programs as Requested in the Conference Report (H.R. 115-952) Joint Explanatory Statement to Accompany the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019 (Division A of Public Law 115-245); to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 4148. A letter from the Federal Co-Chair, Appalachian Regional Commission, transmitting the Commission's Inspector General's Semiannual Report to Congress covering the period April 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019; to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4149. A letter from the Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, transmitting the Corporation's 2020 Annual Performance Plan, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1115(b); Public Law 111-352, Sec. 3; (124 Stat. 3867); to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4150. A letter from the Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, transmitting the Commission's FY 2019 No FEAR Act Report, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 2301 note; Public Law 107-174, 203(a) (as amended by Public Law 109-435, Sec. 604(f)); (120 Stat. 3242); to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. 4151. A letter from the Vice President, Government Affairs and Corporate Communications, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK), transmitting the Corporation's General and Legislative Annual Report and Fiscal Year 2021 Grant Request, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 24320(a)(1); Public Law 114- 94, Sec. 11203(a)(1); (129 Stat. 1630); to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 4152. A letter from the Chief, Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, transmitting the Service's IRB only rule -- 2020 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for Pre-Approved Defined Benefit Plans [Notice 2020-14] received March 11, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104-121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Ways and Means. 4153. A letter from the Chief, Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, transmitting the Service's IRB only rule -- Rulings and determination letters (Revenue Procedure 2020-3) received March 11, 2020, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); Public Law 104- 121, Sec. 251; (110 Stat. 868); to the Committee on Ways and Means.

2020-01-06

Unknown

House

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgH1667-8

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, Iowa has had 14 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19. My staff and I remain in constant communication with Federal agencies to ensure that the Federal Government is properly managing emergency threats to the public health. I am also in regular touch with the Iowa Department of Public Health, which is meeting daily with its partners to share information with all Iowans. While each day brings updates regarding COVID-19, what remains constant are the prevention efforts that we have all heard about, and just to name a couple: washing your hands often and covering your cough. To find further updates and guidance about the COVID-19, please visit my website at grassley.senate.gov.

2020-01-06

Mr. GRASSLEY

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1713-4

formal

terrorist

Islamophobic

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now, on another matter, yesterday the House of Representatives did come together around a bipartisan agreement to renew some critical national security tools. The USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020 will reauthorize key authorities granted to intelligence and national security professionals under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. First and foremost, this means ensuring that the men and women tasked with rooting out espionage and stopping terrorist activity on U.S. soil are equipped with the powers they need to be successful. Today, the threats these professionals confront are as serious and diverse as ever. Terrorist groups continue to wish us harm. Major hostile powers like Russia and China remain committed to undermining the integrity of American institutions, from our infrastructure to our elections. The targeted powers reauthorized by this legislation are a vital part of the efforts to protect American communities. That is a fact. It is a fact that has been reaffirmed time and again by Attorneys General and by the numerous reauthorizations granted by Congress. This time is no different. We can't mistake the safety and security that FISA authorities have helped preserve for evidence that they are no longer needed. At the same time, we cannot mistake a vital process for a perfect one. The 2016 election showed us perfectly clearly that the authorities granted under FISA are in need of targeted reforms to improve accountability. That was backed up by the findings of the Department of Justice inspector general. That is why this legislation contains a number of specific reforms to address the kinds of failures that embarrassed the system in 2016: more oversight over the practices of the FISA Court, more declassification and more compliance practices, higher level approval for certain sensitive applications, and more. Our responsibility here is twofold. We have to continue equipping our national security professionals and the intelligence community to anticipate, confront, and eliminate the threats facing our country, and we also have to respond to the failures of 2016 with real reforms that ensure the public trust is handled appropriately. This legislation, passed by a bipartisan majority in the House and endorsed by the Attorney General, strikes the right balance. I am confident that it will pass the Senate as well. It is not a question of if this passes but when. I hope that our colleagues who may not choose to vote for this legislation will not deny this body the opportunity to renew these authorities today to prevent any lapse. I hope none of our colleagues choose to force these important national security tools to temporarily lapse for the sake of making a political point, which will not change the outcome. In fact, I hope we can renew these authorities today. But if we cannot, if some of our colleagues choose to object, the lapse will only be temporary, similar to past short lapses between reauthorizations. These national security tools should not lapse. They do not need to lapse, and I hope none of our colleagues choose to unilaterally force them to lapse just for the sake of making a point. But at least it would only be temporary because this bill is going to pass, these authorities are getting renewed, and that is a great thing for the security of our Nation and the safety of the American people. I hope it can happen today.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1714

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Nomination of James P. Danly Madam President, today the Senate will vote on the nomination of James Danly to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Less than a decade out of law school, Mr. Danly lacks the experience of past nominees, and it seems his major qualification is deep ties to the energy industry. The process behind his nomination has been extremely partisan and unfair to the Senate minority. I have tried to work with the Republican leader to pair Mr. Danly's nomination with a Democratic nominee so that both would pass the Senate. That is what we have always done until Leader McConnell started his ways and President Trump became President. By law, FERC has seats reserved for both Democrats and Republicans. Democrats sent our recommendation for FERC to the White House over a year ago, long before the administration selected Danly. Yet while the White House sent Danly's name to the Senate for confirmation, they have held the Democratic nominee and given no reason or explanation why. Rather than work with my office and the White House to fix this problem--as every other Republican leader has done--and maintain the process of pairing nominees, which has always been the tradition whether Democrats or Republicans were in the majority, Leader McConnell, in his very partisan, pro-energy industry way, is moving forward with only the Republican nominee. Leader McConnell has been in the minority before. He knows that the only way bipartisan boards and commissions across the Federal Government are filled fairly with considerations for both parties is through cooperation. If the shoe were on the other foot, I am sure the Republican leader would be furious with the game the White House is playing with our nominees. Our preference would have been to clear Danly alongside our Democratic nominee, but now, for the sake of fairness and parity, I urge my colleagues to vote against his nomination. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1716

formal

echo

antisemitic

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last week, Congress provided billions in funding to address the coronavirus outbreak. These funds will help support virus research, testing, and medical care. Congress is now looking at other measures that may be required, including measures to address the economic impact of the virus. The House may consider an economic response measure today, but my understanding is that its bill does not yet reflect an agreement with the White House, which will be needed to move any stimulus package. I want to echo the leader's comments from yesterday and say that this is not a time for partisanship, and it is very important that we work together on matters related to the coronavirus so that we can get needed legislation passed in a timely fashion. More Americans are testing positive for the virus each day--including eight people in my home State of South Dakota--and it is our responsibility as Members of Congress to work together to ensure that our country has the resources it needs to combat and defeat this disease. There is no doubt that things are stressful right now. Americans are understandably worried about their own health and the health of their loved ones. But we have a lot of dedicated people working to keep Americans safe, from nurses and doctors to public health officials. Everyone is focused on making sure we do what we need to do to limit the spread of this virus. And all of us, of course, can help in that effort by paying attention to the guidance we are given, whether it is advice about washing our hands or avoiding large gatherings or a request to stay home for a while. It is a challenging time, but America has been through challenging times before and emerged from them stronger. I am confident that if we pull together, that is what will happen again. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. THUNE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1722-2

formal

based

white supremacist

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this Women's History Month, we have the opportunity to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. We recognize the countless women who have put their own safety and comfort on the line in order to make this country more just, democratic, and inclusive. These include heroes like Margaret Brent, a daughter of Maryland who was the first to demand a vote for women in the colonial legislature, and Sojourner Truth, who advocated for a more diverse and intersectional women's suffrage movement. Thanks to their bravery and that of many other activists, our Nation witnessed the largest expansion of suffrage in its history. A century later, we ought to celebrate that monumental achievement. The ability to vote has empowered women to demand a government that represents them and their interests, and they have taken their power seriously. Women have voted in higher numbers than men in every national election for the last 55 years. In 2018, we saw the results that can happen when women raise their voices and fight for a more inclusive democracy as a record 117 women won elections to Congress across the United States. We cannot overstate how dramatically the adoption of the 19th Amendment has changed our country for the better, but it is also incumbent upon us to take stock of the progress that still needs to be made. Just a few years after women won the right to vote, a suffragette named Alice Paul introduced another critically important constitutional amendment, one that would go even further in guaranteeing the equal status of women. It was called the Equal Rights Amendment, or the ERA, which reads as follows: ``Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.'' That is it. It is just 24 words. Yet those 24 words have the power to correct a 250-year silence in our Constitution when it comes to recognizing and protecting women's equality. The ERA was ratified by the U.S. Congress in 1972, and with Virginia's ratification this past January, enough States have adopted the amendment to meet the threshold for it to be added to the Constitution. So what is the holdup? Why isn't it a part of the Constitution yet? When Congress ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, it imposed a deadline for State legislatures to ratify. That deadline has passed. There should never be a deadline on equality. The Constitution does not call for time limits for the ratification of amendments, and there is precedent for amendments being added to the Constitution as many as 200 years after having first been proposed. Most importantly, just as Congress had the power to impose and extend the deadline by resolution, we have the power to remove it through the same means. That is why I have introduced a resolution with Senator Murkowski to remove the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment. Representative Jackie Speier introduced a companion resolution that has already been passed by the House of Representatives. We are closer than ever to making the Equal Rights Amendment a reality. This measure has historically enjoyed bipartisan support. The vast majority of Americans--94 percent of them--is in favor of a constitutional equality amendment. Perhaps it is because they understand that this is an issue not of politics but of basic humanrights. If you have any doubt about that, just look at the rest of the modern world. Every constitution written around the globe since World War II recognizes the equal stature of men and women. Ours does not. That is shameful. Among those who are hesitant to support the ERA, one of their most common arguments is that it is not necessary. People argue that women already enjoy equal rights and protections in our society, so what is the need to write it down? To them, I say think again. Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed over time, it still exists today. In 2019, women earned only 79 percent as much as their male counterparts for similar work. This disparity is even worse for women of color. It affects women their entire lives, and it affects their retirements. Recent data show that women over 65 are twice as likely as men to live below the poverty line. We owe it to America's women--to our mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and selves--to remedy this societal failure. Furthermore, as it stands, women in the United States have no Federal recourse for gender-based violence. Because of that, the courts have allowed police officers to refuse to defend victims of domestic abuse and have even struck down the protections offered by the Violence Against Women Act. The Equal Rights Amendment would require the Federal Government to prohibit and penalize this type of discrimination. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said that, if she could choose an amendment to add to the Constitution, it would be the Equal Rights Amendment because she would like her granddaughters, when they pick up the Constitution, to see that notion--that women and men are persons of equal stature--as being a basic principle of our society. As a grandfather of two granddaughters myself, I couldn't agree more. I want them to know that, in America, they will enjoy the same protections and opportunities as anyone else. I want every young person to grow up understanding that her dreams are within reach, that her autonomy is respected, and that her life is significant. In order to make that a reality, women need more than the right to vote, as fundamental as that is; they need a promise that they will be free from all forms of discrimination and injustice. That is why men, women, Republicans, and Democrats must come together in order to correct that silence in our Constitution--a silence that speaks volumes. We must all unite to support the Equal Rights Amendment. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. CARDIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1722-3

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this Women's History Month, we have the opportunity to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. We recognize the countless women who have put their own safety and comfort on the line in order to make this country more just, democratic, and inclusive. These include heroes like Margaret Brent, a daughter of Maryland who was the first to demand a vote for women in the colonial legislature, and Sojourner Truth, who advocated for a more diverse and intersectional women's suffrage movement. Thanks to their bravery and that of many other activists, our Nation witnessed the largest expansion of suffrage in its history. A century later, we ought to celebrate that monumental achievement. The ability to vote has empowered women to demand a government that represents them and their interests, and they have taken their power seriously. Women have voted in higher numbers than men in every national election for the last 55 years. In 2018, we saw the results that can happen when women raise their voices and fight for a more inclusive democracy as a record 117 women won elections to Congress across the United States. We cannot overstate how dramatically the adoption of the 19th Amendment has changed our country for the better, but it is also incumbent upon us to take stock of the progress that still needs to be made. Just a few years after women won the right to vote, a suffragette named Alice Paul introduced another critically important constitutional amendment, one that would go even further in guaranteeing the equal status of women. It was called the Equal Rights Amendment, or the ERA, which reads as follows: ``Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.'' That is it. It is just 24 words. Yet those 24 words have the power to correct a 250-year silence in our Constitution when it comes to recognizing and protecting women's equality. The ERA was ratified by the U.S. Congress in 1972, and with Virginia's ratification this past January, enough States have adopted the amendment to meet the threshold for it to be added to the Constitution. So what is the holdup? Why isn't it a part of the Constitution yet? When Congress ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, it imposed a deadline for State legislatures to ratify. That deadline has passed. There should never be a deadline on equality. The Constitution does not call for time limits for the ratification of amendments, and there is precedent for amendments being added to the Constitution as many as 200 years after having first been proposed. Most importantly, just as Congress had the power to impose and extend the deadline by resolution, we have the power to remove it through the same means. That is why I have introduced a resolution with Senator Murkowski to remove the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment. Representative Jackie Speier introduced a companion resolution that has already been passed by the House of Representatives. We are closer than ever to making the Equal Rights Amendment a reality. This measure has historically enjoyed bipartisan support. The vast majority of Americans--94 percent of them--is in favor of a constitutional equality amendment. Perhaps it is because they understand that this is an issue not of politics but of basic humanrights. If you have any doubt about that, just look at the rest of the modern world. Every constitution written around the globe since World War II recognizes the equal stature of men and women. Ours does not. That is shameful. Among those who are hesitant to support the ERA, one of their most common arguments is that it is not necessary. People argue that women already enjoy equal rights and protections in our society, so what is the need to write it down? To them, I say think again. Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed over time, it still exists today. In 2019, women earned only 79 percent as much as their male counterparts for similar work. This disparity is even worse for women of color. It affects women their entire lives, and it affects their retirements. Recent data show that women over 65 are twice as likely as men to live below the poverty line. We owe it to America's women--to our mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and selves--to remedy this societal failure. Furthermore, as it stands, women in the United States have no Federal recourse for gender-based violence. Because of that, the courts have allowed police officers to refuse to defend victims of domestic abuse and have even struck down the protections offered by the Violence Against Women Act. The Equal Rights Amendment would require the Federal Government to prohibit and penalize this type of discrimination. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said that, if she could choose an amendment to add to the Constitution, it would be the Equal Rights Amendment because she would like her granddaughters, when they pick up the Constitution, to see that notion--that women and men are persons of equal stature--as being a basic principle of our society. As a grandfather of two granddaughters myself, I couldn't agree more. I want them to know that, in America, they will enjoy the same protections and opportunities as anyone else. I want every young person to grow up understanding that her dreams are within reach, that her autonomy is respected, and that her life is significant. In order to make that a reality, women need more than the right to vote, as fundamental as that is; they need a promise that they will be free from all forms of discrimination and injustice. That is why men, women, Republicans, and Democrats must come together in order to correct that silence in our Constitution--a silence that speaks volumes. We must all unite to support the Equal Rights Amendment. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. CARDIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1722-3

formal

blue

antisemitic

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I rise to honor Hot Springs Police Officer First Class Brent Scrimshire, who was killed in the line of duty on Tuesday, March 10. A native of Malvern, AR, Brent Scrimshire graduated from Malvern High School and Henderson State University. Officer Scrimshire was an exemplary member of law enforcement. He had served on the Hot Springs police force for a number of years and was recognized as the department's Employee of the Quarter just recently in acknowledgment of his unique dedication, work ethic, and professionalism. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge also named him the Southwest Region Officer of the Year in 2016, which, according to media reports, he earned in part because of his lifesaving action when he helped to control the bleeding of a stabbing victim. ``Scrim'' was known for treating his brothers in blue, as well as those he encountered while doing his job, with kindness and dignity. He also enjoyed being outdoors, hunting and fishing. Officer Scrimshire deeply loved his wife and two children, who are now left behind to go through life without the devoted husband and dad they adored. Our hearts break for them, the rest of his family and friends, and his entire family at the Hot Springs Police Department. His death is a tragic reminder of the risks our law enforcement officials face each time they put on the uniform. I send my deepest condolences to Officer Scrimshire's loved ones. We honor his service and his sacrifice and pray all those fortunate enough to have known him will find comfort in his legacy and in the outpouring of love and support from so many. On behalf of all Arkansans, we celebrate Officer Scrimshire's life and example of courageous, willing, and selfless public service. May he rest in peace. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. BOOZMAN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1723

formal

single

homophobic

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this is simple. We need people who are sick to stay home if we have any hope of slowing the spread of this virus, but, today, one in four private sector workers in our country cannot stay home from work without losing a day's pay or potentially a job. We have got to fight this virus with everything we have--every single one of us--and that means we have to have policies in place that help people make the right choices for themselves, their families, and their communities. Our bill will give all employees 14 paid sick days immediately--today, not next week, not the week after, today--in public health emergencies like this one, in addition to allowing them to accrue 7, meaning it would help workers and communities right now. I urge Senate Republicans: Treat this like the public health crisis it is. Allow parents, families, businesses, communities to have the peace of mind to know that we are acting today and take this urgent needed step. This is nothing short of a chance to save lives and buy desperately needed time to fight this virus. Please don't waste it. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 3415--this is a bill that will allow Americans to earn paid sick time so they can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families--that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration, the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

2020-01-06

Mrs. MURRAY

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1733-3

formal

tax cut

racist

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in a moment, Democrats will ask the Senate's consent to take up and pass several measures that would immediately help American workers and American families cope with the impacts of coronavirus, including paid sick leave for workers, emergency unemployment insurance, and much needed assistance to States overburdened by Medicaid costs, known as FMAP. These provisions are all included in legislation that will soon be passed by the House. Many of these policies have already been enacted by other countries dealing more successfully with the coronavirus than our country is. These policies are targeted directly at the workers and families impacted by its spread. They are not going to the big, wealthy corporations or powerful people or wealthy people. They are going right at the workers and families--average working people who need the help. Now, the Republican leader this morning called these provisions ``an ideological wish list.'' President Trump referred to them as ``goodies.'' If helping a construction worker who is laid off as a result of the virus is part of an ideological wish list, then God help those who believe that. If giving infected workers paid sick leave is a goody, then God help those who think that. If making sure our States, localities, hospitals, and first responders are compensated for their efforts is ideological, is a goody, those who believe those things have lost touch with the needs and aspirations of the American people, and they need to talk to some real people who have been impacted by the coronavirus, instead of sitting in their ideological towers. With the comments made by the President and the Republican leader, they have revealed their own ideology--that even in a time of public crisis and need, the President and the Republican leader are more willing to entertain corporate tax cuts and bailing out industries than helping American workers and families. The Senate should pass these bills today. The Republican leader should not be sending the Senate home for the weekend without taking action to help people who are or will soon be really hurting. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the Schumer bill that is at the desk, that the bill be considered read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1733

formal

tax cuts

racist

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in a moment, Democrats will ask the Senate's consent to take up and pass several measures that would immediately help American workers and American families cope with the impacts of coronavirus, including paid sick leave for workers, emergency unemployment insurance, and much needed assistance to States overburdened by Medicaid costs, known as FMAP. These provisions are all included in legislation that will soon be passed by the House. Many of these policies have already been enacted by other countries dealing more successfully with the coronavirus than our country is. These policies are targeted directly at the workers and families impacted by its spread. They are not going to the big, wealthy corporations or powerful people or wealthy people. They are going right at the workers and families--average working people who need the help. Now, the Republican leader this morning called these provisions ``an ideological wish list.'' President Trump referred to them as ``goodies.'' If helping a construction worker who is laid off as a result of the virus is part of an ideological wish list, then God help those who believe that. If giving infected workers paid sick leave is a goody, then God help those who think that. If making sure our States, localities, hospitals, and first responders are compensated for their efforts is ideological, is a goody, those who believe those things have lost touch with the needs and aspirations of the American people, and they need to talk to some real people who have been impacted by the coronavirus, instead of sitting in their ideological towers. With the comments made by the President and the Republican leader, they have revealed their own ideology--that even in a time of public crisis and need, the President and the Republican leader are more willing to entertain corporate tax cuts and bailing out industries than helping American workers and families. The Senate should pass these bills today. The Republican leader should not be sending the Senate home for the weekend without taking action to help people who are or will soon be really hurting. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the Schumer bill that is at the desk, that the bill be considered read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1733

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise today to call up and pass legislation to keep the American people safe. The number of coronavirus cases in the United States is now over 1,000, including 10 confirmed cases in my home State of Nebraska. In China, there are over 80,000 cases and over 3,000 people have died. The Hubei Province, which contains the city where the virus originated, has been under lockdown since last January, quarantining an unprecedented 56 million people. Italy, a country of 60 million people, is completely shut down. The World Health Organization has now declared that this outbreak is a pandemic, meaning it will likely spread to all countries on Earth. Dr. Fauci echoed this yesterday in his testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. We will see more cases, and things will continue to get worse. As the virus spreads, our healthcare providers and emergency responders are at the forefront of this health crisis. When someone tests positive for this disease, our emergency responders are the first ones there transporting them to the hospital. At the hospitals, medical personnel, doctors, nurses, and technicians are all working around the clock to provide lifesaving care and treat this illness. These people--our healthcare providers and emergency responders--need access to the proper equipment so they can stay healthy. We can take action right here right now to make sure that that happens. I introduced this bipartisan bill with the senior Senator from Arizona. It would update our current law to ensure healthcare workers and first responders have access to respiratory protective devices, specifically, standard N95s. Under current law, the Federal Government can give targeted liability protection to people and entities to make, distribute, and administer certain drugs and protective equipment that are needed in a public health emergency. While surgical N95s are eligible for this protection, standard N95s are not. That doesn't make sense, and it doesn't make sense for two reasons. First, these devices are the same when it comes to protecting against airborne contaminants like we are dealing with for coronavirus. Second, the CDC has issued guidance listing standard N95s among the recommended products for use in this emergency. That makes it more difficult for the people and entities supplying, distributing, and manufacturing this equipment to do so, and we need to change that. We need to make sure that these devices are readily available, and this legislation has bipartisan support in this body, and it has bipartisan support in the House. It was introduced by my colleague from Nebraska, Congressman Don Bacon. The White House supports it. Vice President Pence said on Tuesday this legislation is ``important . . . to ensure that our healthcare workers are properly protected and outfitted.'' I mentioned that this bill has bipartisan support. I want to be clear that our hard-fought progress on this legislation would not have been made if it weren't for the tireless work of my good friend, the senior Senator from Arizona. So I thank her for her efforts and her partnership. We know that coronavirus is moving fast, and we owe it to America's healthcare providers and our first responders who are fighting to stay ahead of this. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 3372 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I ask unanimous consent that the Fischer substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be considered read the third time and passed; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

2020-01-06

Mrs. FISCHER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1734

formal

Chicago

racist

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, On April 29, 1983, Justice Charles Freeman made history as the first African-American jurist to swear in Chicago's first, elected African-American mayor, Harold Washington. Justice Freeman went on to become the first, and so far the only, African-American justice to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. During his more than four decades, Justice Freeman helped shape Illinois's history through his achievements, his jurisprudence, and his mentoring of a generation of new lawyers he guided to the bench. On March 2, he passed away, and I rise today to honor his memory. Charles Freeman was born in Richmond, VA, in 1933. He was descended from slaves freed by Quakers before the Civil War. As a child, he brought newspapers to legendary civil rights attorney Oliver W. Hill's office. His father was a hard-working man who loved to read and always stressed that he wanted Charles and his brother to become lawyers. The Freemans lived walking distance from Virginia Union University in Richmond, and that is where Charles and his brother went to college. Charles Freeman graduated from college in 1954 and served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958, stationed in South Korea. After his service, he married Marylee Voelker and moved to Chicago. While in Chicago, he attended John Marshall Law School at night, and he worked for the Cook County Department of Public Aid. After law school, Justice Freeman started working as a precinct worker for former Representative Ralph H. Metcalfe, cofounder of the Congressional Black Caucus. Justice Freeman befriended Harold Washington while helping Metcalfe, and they formed a law practice partnership. In 1965, Governor Otto Kerner appointed Freeman arbitrator for the Illinois Industrial Commission administrating workers' compensation cases. In 1973, Governor Dan Walker appointed him a commissioner for the Illinois Commerce Commission. In 1976, Justice Freeman was elected to serve as a judge on the Cook County Circuit Court. In 1986, he was elected to the Illinois Appellate Court, and 4 years later, he became the first African American elected to the Illinois Supreme Court. His peers chose him to serve as chief justice in 1997 until 2000. As chief justice, Freeman reorganized the rotation of appellate judges in the First Judicial District. Before, appellate judges sat on the same panels fortheir entire careers. He helped improve the Family Violence Prevention Program. Justice Freeman also improved the educational program for judges statewide and pushed for the creation of a special committee to study the death penalty and reforms. While Justice Freeman was a great jurist, his legacy is also reflected in his efforts to promote a diverse judiciary. He appointed 11 of the 16 African Americans who have served on the First District Appellate Court since 1990. It was important to him that people saw in the courtroom judges and lawyers that reflected society. He mentored so many in the field. During his career, Justice Freeman received many awards for his service, including the Freedom Award from the John Marshall Law School, the Seymour Simon Justice Award from the Jewish Judges Association, the Earl Burrus Dickerson Award from the Chicago Bar Association, and the Ira B. Platt Award and the Presidential Award from the Cook County Bar Association. Charles Freeman is survived by his son Kevin and daughter-in-law Cami, by two grandchildren, and by his brother James. I want to extend my sympathies to his family and loved ones. The loss of Justice Freeman is a loss for our State and for the whole country.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1735-4

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise to submit to the Senate a statement in support of Sunshine Week, an annual event that spotlights the key need of a government-transparency. Without openness and access to how all levels of government spend tax dollars or make key decisions, accountability and oversight will lack. Where transparency is lacking, waste, fraud, and duplication tend to proliferate. The Government Accountability Office-GAO-regularly cites ``lack of transparency'' as a chronic problem across many agencies and programs. This can have serious consequences. This causes increased taxpayer spending and improper payments. This hinders competition. In turn, a lack of transparency can affect everything from public health to our national defense. Given the profound and far-reaching impacts of Federal programs and policies, the people need to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Without access to reliable, accurate information, how can we be sure good decisions are being made when it comes to spending the tax dollars of hard-working families? Sure that the policies we craft in this Chamber are working as intended? Sure that our limited resources go where they are needed most? Sure that the programs we create aren't causing harm? Well that is why, as the chairman of the Budget Committee, I have focused the last several years on enhancing transparency and improving both the quality and quantity of data available for all decisionmakers. I am extremely gratified that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, along with key organizations and experts, so often join these efforts. One step in the right direction is the Senate Budget Committee has started to publish regular scorekeeping reports. These are available for the public on the committee's website and track the budgetary impact of legislation approved by Congress against current spending levels. This helps provide other committees, Members of Congress, and taxpayers with ongoing updates about the fiscal implications of recently agreed upon legislation. In addition, there are obviously many unknowns when it comes to agencies implementing the laws and programs already on the books. To address this concern, I led a bipartisan group of 15 Senators last July, along with Senator Lankford, to urge the White House Office of Management and Budget to make a complete list of all Federal programs publicly available in a central, governmentwide website. This would help to identify and eliminate program waste and duplication. Because, believe it or not, there is no comprehensive list of each and every program the Federal Government funds. It still isn't available. The fact that legislators and taxpayers don't even know how many programs we have or what they do is troubling, particularly as we continue to create and fund new ones. In the past, GAO has identified massive amounts of duplication across the Federal Government, including more than 12 programs on financial literacy, 160 Federal housing assistance programs or activities, 94 green building initiatives, 253 crime prevention programs, 14 diesel emission reduction programs, 45 early learning and child care programs, and 163 STEM programs. Most recently, GAO's 2019 annual report on duplication found six different government programs engaged in quantum computing research. Clearly, all of these programs could be improved by some basic coordination or consolidation. This simple inventory has been on the to-do list for almost a decade. There have been previous attempts, but those have fallen short. We will continue working with GAO and OMB until the list is actually published. Most importantly, last fall, I joined with Senator Whitehouse to introduce bipartisan budget process reform legislation--the first bipartisan budget reforms approved by the Senate Budget Committee since 1990. The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act would increase transparency in the congressional budget process in a number of ways--by having Congress develop a fiscal plan that is easy to understand and offers the public a chance to view if Congress is living within its means, encouraging other committees to review the programs in their jurisdiction that are in most need of review, directing both GAO and the Congressional Budget Office to review program portfolios-portfolios are groups of programs withsimilar efforts. This has to be done on an ongoing basis. But that is not all the bill would do. We also need to require CBO to review and report to Congress on the accuracy of its past projections and cost estimates, along with an annual plan outlining their efforts to enhance transparency. We need to make public the information underlying cost estimates of major legislation and reports related to the debt-to-GDP ratio agreed upon in the budget resolution. We need to require CBO to provide more information to help better understand the true costs of our actions by including projected interest costs in estimates for mandatory spending programs, revenue changes, and supplemental appropriations bills. We need CBO to include 10 years of cost estimates for spending subject to appropriations, doubling the current practice of 5 years. We need to bring budget gimmicks into the light. CBO would have to produce public estimates of appropriations legislation that include the costs associated with doling out money before the revenue comes in. We should expose gimmicks like budget bait and switch. In Washington, we like to say that ``sunlight is the best disinfectant,'' and that is true, but sunlight does far more than disinfect. It lights the way. Opening the books and reforming the budget process will help make us better equipped to face the enormous fiscal challenges looming just ahead.

2020-01-06

Mr. ENZI

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1736-2

formal

working families

racist

Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise to submit to the Senate a statement in support of Sunshine Week, an annual event that spotlights the key need of a government-transparency. Without openness and access to how all levels of government spend tax dollars or make key decisions, accountability and oversight will lack. Where transparency is lacking, waste, fraud, and duplication tend to proliferate. The Government Accountability Office-GAO-regularly cites ``lack of transparency'' as a chronic problem across many agencies and programs. This can have serious consequences. This causes increased taxpayer spending and improper payments. This hinders competition. In turn, a lack of transparency can affect everything from public health to our national defense. Given the profound and far-reaching impacts of Federal programs and policies, the people need to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Without access to reliable, accurate information, how can we be sure good decisions are being made when it comes to spending the tax dollars of hard-working families? Sure that the policies we craft in this Chamber are working as intended? Sure that our limited resources go where they are needed most? Sure that the programs we create aren't causing harm? Well that is why, as the chairman of the Budget Committee, I have focused the last several years on enhancing transparency and improving both the quality and quantity of data available for all decisionmakers. I am extremely gratified that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, along with key organizations and experts, so often join these efforts. One step in the right direction is the Senate Budget Committee has started to publish regular scorekeeping reports. These are available for the public on the committee's website and track the budgetary impact of legislation approved by Congress against current spending levels. This helps provide other committees, Members of Congress, and taxpayers with ongoing updates about the fiscal implications of recently agreed upon legislation. In addition, there are obviously many unknowns when it comes to agencies implementing the laws and programs already on the books. To address this concern, I led a bipartisan group of 15 Senators last July, along with Senator Lankford, to urge the White House Office of Management and Budget to make a complete list of all Federal programs publicly available in a central, governmentwide website. This would help to identify and eliminate program waste and duplication. Because, believe it or not, there is no comprehensive list of each and every program the Federal Government funds. It still isn't available. The fact that legislators and taxpayers don't even know how many programs we have or what they do is troubling, particularly as we continue to create and fund new ones. In the past, GAO has identified massive amounts of duplication across the Federal Government, including more than 12 programs on financial literacy, 160 Federal housing assistance programs or activities, 94 green building initiatives, 253 crime prevention programs, 14 diesel emission reduction programs, 45 early learning and child care programs, and 163 STEM programs. Most recently, GAO's 2019 annual report on duplication found six different government programs engaged in quantum computing research. Clearly, all of these programs could be improved by some basic coordination or consolidation. This simple inventory has been on the to-do list for almost a decade. There have been previous attempts, but those have fallen short. We will continue working with GAO and OMB until the list is actually published. Most importantly, last fall, I joined with Senator Whitehouse to introduce bipartisan budget process reform legislation--the first bipartisan budget reforms approved by the Senate Budget Committee since 1990. The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act would increase transparency in the congressional budget process in a number of ways--by having Congress develop a fiscal plan that is easy to understand and offers the public a chance to view if Congress is living within its means, encouraging other committees to review the programs in their jurisdiction that are in most need of review, directing both GAO and the Congressional Budget Office to review program portfolios-portfolios are groups of programs withsimilar efforts. This has to be done on an ongoing basis. But that is not all the bill would do. We also need to require CBO to review and report to Congress on the accuracy of its past projections and cost estimates, along with an annual plan outlining their efforts to enhance transparency. We need to make public the information underlying cost estimates of major legislation and reports related to the debt-to-GDP ratio agreed upon in the budget resolution. We need to require CBO to provide more information to help better understand the true costs of our actions by including projected interest costs in estimates for mandatory spending programs, revenue changes, and supplemental appropriations bills. We need CBO to include 10 years of cost estimates for spending subject to appropriations, doubling the current practice of 5 years. We need to bring budget gimmicks into the light. CBO would have to produce public estimates of appropriations legislation that include the costs associated with doling out money before the revenue comes in. We should expose gimmicks like budget bait and switch. In Washington, we like to say that ``sunlight is the best disinfectant,'' and that is true, but sunlight does far more than disinfect. It lights the way. Opening the books and reforming the budget process will help make us better equipped to face the enormous fiscal challenges looming just ahead.

2020-01-06

Mr. ENZI

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1736-2

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Enrolled Bill Signed Under the authority of the order of the Senate of January 3, 2019, the Secretary of the Senate, on March 11, 2020, during the adjournment of the Senate, received a message from the House of Representatives announcing that the Speaker had signed the following enrolled bill: S. 1822. An act to require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules relating to the collection of data with respect to the availability of broadband services, and for other purposes.

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1738-3

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Enrolled Bill Signed The President pro tempore (Mr. Grassley) announced that on today, March 12, 2020, he has signed the following enrolled bill, which was previously signed by the Speaker of the House: S. 1822. An act to require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules relating to the collection of data with respect to the availability of broadband services, and for other purposes.

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1738-4

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

The Secretary of the Senate reported that on today, March 12, 2020, she had presented to the President of the United States the following enrolled bill: S. 1822. An act to require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules relating to the collection of data with respect to the availability of broadband services, and for other purposes.

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1738-6

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Ms. Stabenow): S. 3479. A bill to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to encourage the planting of cover crops following prevented planting, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

2020-01-06

The RECORDER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1743

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have 5 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on pending nominations. Committee on Armed Services The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10: 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: John Leonard Badalamenti, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, William Scott Hardy, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania, John F. Heil III, to be United States District Judge for the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma, David Cleveland Joseph, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, Anna M. Manasco, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, Drew B. Tipton, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, Stephen Sidney Schwartz, of Virginia, Kathryn C. Davis, of Maryland, and Edward Hulvey Meyers, of Maryland, each to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, and Vincent F. DeMarco, to be United States Marshal for the Eastern District of New York, Department of Justice. Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Veterans' Affairs The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 11:45 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nomination: James E. Trainor III, of Texas, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.

2020-01-06

Mr. THUNE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1745-3

formal

Cleveland

racist

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have 5 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on pending nominations. Committee on Armed Services The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10: 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: John Leonard Badalamenti, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, William Scott Hardy, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania, John F. Heil III, to be United States District Judge for the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma, David Cleveland Joseph, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, Anna M. Manasco, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, Drew B. Tipton, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, Stephen Sidney Schwartz, of Virginia, Kathryn C. Davis, of Maryland, and Edward Hulvey Meyers, of Maryland, each to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, and Vincent F. DeMarco, to be United States Marshal for the Eastern District of New York, Department of Justice. Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Veterans' Affairs The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 11:45 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nomination: James E. Trainor III, of Texas, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission.

2020-01-06

Mr. THUNE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-12-pt1-PgS1745-3

formal

terrorism

Islamophobic

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Energy and Commerce be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 6160) to extend the chemical facility anti-terrorism standards program of the Department of Homeland Security, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

2020-01-06

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

House

CREC-2020-03-13-pt1-PgH1692-2

formal

hard-working Americans

racist

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the new coronavirus has spread from China throughout the world, and it is challenging our Nation in new ways. Across our country, daily routines are being disrupted, families are grappling with school closings and changes to childcare, major American companies and institutions are literally modifying how they do business, and a growing number of Main Street small businesses face the possibility of significant disruptions as more and more communities begin to ``hunker down,'' as Dr. Fauci put it, on the advice of public health experts and local leaders. As an aside, I have noticed that a lot of the discussion in the media has focused on individuals who may be temporarily transitioning from office work to working from home. So I want to especially acknowledge the many other hard-working Americans for whom telework is not an option. Now, more than ever, we are reminded who really keeps this country running: the hard-working men and women who grow things, who make things, who drive trucks and move goods across the country, who mine coal or otherwise produce domestic energy and, literally, power our communities, who run the stores and shops we rely on, who serve our communities as police and first responders, and, of course, especially the dedicated frontline healthcare professionals, who work tirelessly to heal and protect all the rest of us. To all Americans--but, most especially, to those hard-working people whose efforts are going to get our country through this challenge--I have one message: The Senate stands with you. We stand with American workers and families, we stand with American businesses, and we stand with the public health experts and the heroic frontline medical professionals whom our Nation seems poised to lean on as heavily as we have at any point in recent memory. The Senate is committed to meeting these uncertain times with bold and bipartisan solutions. That is what we did a little more than a week ago, when the Senate passed billions of dollars in emergency funding for health and small businesses with an overwhelming bipartisan vote and put it on the President's desk. That is what we are going to keep doing this week, particularly if the House of Representatives can actually complete its work and transmit a finished product of its relief over to us. And it is what we are going to keep doing in the days and weeks ahead. With respect to the House-passed legislation, I understand the House chose to proceed with their planned 1-week recess, despite not having finished processing their bill. As of this afternoon, we are still waiting for the House to reach a decision on possible technical corrections and to submit a finalproduct to us here in the Senate. We cannot consider the legislation until we get it, but I know that Senators on both sides have spent the last several days carefully studying the House proposal, and I know that all of us are eager to act quickly to support American workers, families, and small businesses. Even more broadly, Senate Republicans are absolutely convinced that the House's bill can only be the beginning--just the beginning--of Congress's efforts to secure our economy and support American families. This is a unique challenge--a unique challenge. Unlike in any other tough circumstances, our short-term goal is not simply to bring economic activity right back to normal starting tomorrow. Instead, our task is to secure the historically strong foundation of our Nation's economy and support Americans during this period when public health may require that some normal activities simply be scaled back. I have spoken with countless colleagues and committee chairmen over the last several days. We agree there are three major areas where the Senate must continue to develop bold and bipartisan action: No. 1, we will need to take further steps to assist individual Americans and families with financial challenges in the weeks and months ahead. No. 2, we will need to further significant actions to secure our Nation's economy--particularly Main Street small businesses--and safeguard our historically strong economic foundation through this period. No. 3, we will need further steps to ready our healthcare system and support our Nation's medical professionals. The Senate majority is already working toward next steps on all three of those fronts. I hope further bold action can be just as bipartisan and collaborative as the process by which we passed the first set of additional funds. We must work with each other in the bipartisan spirit this moment demands--and with the administration and the House--to deliver results for our country.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-16-pt1-PgS1747-6

formal

hard-working American

racist

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the new coronavirus has spread from China throughout the world, and it is challenging our Nation in new ways. Across our country, daily routines are being disrupted, families are grappling with school closings and changes to childcare, major American companies and institutions are literally modifying how they do business, and a growing number of Main Street small businesses face the possibility of significant disruptions as more and more communities begin to ``hunker down,'' as Dr. Fauci put it, on the advice of public health experts and local leaders. As an aside, I have noticed that a lot of the discussion in the media has focused on individuals who may be temporarily transitioning from office work to working from home. So I want to especially acknowledge the many other hard-working Americans for whom telework is not an option. Now, more than ever, we are reminded who really keeps this country running: the hard-working men and women who grow things, who make things, who drive trucks and move goods across the country, who mine coal or otherwise produce domestic energy and, literally, power our communities, who run the stores and shops we rely on, who serve our communities as police and first responders, and, of course, especially the dedicated frontline healthcare professionals, who work tirelessly to heal and protect all the rest of us. To all Americans--but, most especially, to those hard-working people whose efforts are going to get our country through this challenge--I have one message: The Senate stands with you. We stand with American workers and families, we stand with American businesses, and we stand with the public health experts and the heroic frontline medical professionals whom our Nation seems poised to lean on as heavily as we have at any point in recent memory. The Senate is committed to meeting these uncertain times with bold and bipartisan solutions. That is what we did a little more than a week ago, when the Senate passed billions of dollars in emergency funding for health and small businesses with an overwhelming bipartisan vote and put it on the President's desk. That is what we are going to keep doing this week, particularly if the House of Representatives can actually complete its work and transmit a finished product of its relief over to us. And it is what we are going to keep doing in the days and weeks ahead. With respect to the House-passed legislation, I understand the House chose to proceed with their planned 1-week recess, despite not having finished processing their bill. As of this afternoon, we are still waiting for the House to reach a decision on possible technical corrections and to submit a finalproduct to us here in the Senate. We cannot consider the legislation until we get it, but I know that Senators on both sides have spent the last several days carefully studying the House proposal, and I know that all of us are eager to act quickly to support American workers, families, and small businesses. Even more broadly, Senate Republicans are absolutely convinced that the House's bill can only be the beginning--just the beginning--of Congress's efforts to secure our economy and support American families. This is a unique challenge--a unique challenge. Unlike in any other tough circumstances, our short-term goal is not simply to bring economic activity right back to normal starting tomorrow. Instead, our task is to secure the historically strong foundation of our Nation's economy and support Americans during this period when public health may require that some normal activities simply be scaled back. I have spoken with countless colleagues and committee chairmen over the last several days. We agree there are three major areas where the Senate must continue to develop bold and bipartisan action: No. 1, we will need to take further steps to assist individual Americans and families with financial challenges in the weeks and months ahead. No. 2, we will need to further significant actions to secure our Nation's economy--particularly Main Street small businesses--and safeguard our historically strong economic foundation through this period. No. 3, we will need further steps to ready our healthcare system and support our Nation's medical professionals. The Senate majority is already working toward next steps on all three of those fronts. I hope further bold action can be just as bipartisan and collaborative as the process by which we passed the first set of additional funds. We must work with each other in the bipartisan spirit this moment demands--and with the administration and the House--to deliver results for our country.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-16-pt1-PgS1747-6

formal

safeguard

transphobic

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the new coronavirus has spread from China throughout the world, and it is challenging our Nation in new ways. Across our country, daily routines are being disrupted, families are grappling with school closings and changes to childcare, major American companies and institutions are literally modifying how they do business, and a growing number of Main Street small businesses face the possibility of significant disruptions as more and more communities begin to ``hunker down,'' as Dr. Fauci put it, on the advice of public health experts and local leaders. As an aside, I have noticed that a lot of the discussion in the media has focused on individuals who may be temporarily transitioning from office work to working from home. So I want to especially acknowledge the many other hard-working Americans for whom telework is not an option. Now, more than ever, we are reminded who really keeps this country running: the hard-working men and women who grow things, who make things, who drive trucks and move goods across the country, who mine coal or otherwise produce domestic energy and, literally, power our communities, who run the stores and shops we rely on, who serve our communities as police and first responders, and, of course, especially the dedicated frontline healthcare professionals, who work tirelessly to heal and protect all the rest of us. To all Americans--but, most especially, to those hard-working people whose efforts are going to get our country through this challenge--I have one message: The Senate stands with you. We stand with American workers and families, we stand with American businesses, and we stand with the public health experts and the heroic frontline medical professionals whom our Nation seems poised to lean on as heavily as we have at any point in recent memory. The Senate is committed to meeting these uncertain times with bold and bipartisan solutions. That is what we did a little more than a week ago, when the Senate passed billions of dollars in emergency funding for health and small businesses with an overwhelming bipartisan vote and put it on the President's desk. That is what we are going to keep doing this week, particularly if the House of Representatives can actually complete its work and transmit a finished product of its relief over to us. And it is what we are going to keep doing in the days and weeks ahead. With respect to the House-passed legislation, I understand the House chose to proceed with their planned 1-week recess, despite not having finished processing their bill. As of this afternoon, we are still waiting for the House to reach a decision on possible technical corrections and to submit a finalproduct to us here in the Senate. We cannot consider the legislation until we get it, but I know that Senators on both sides have spent the last several days carefully studying the House proposal, and I know that all of us are eager to act quickly to support American workers, families, and small businesses. Even more broadly, Senate Republicans are absolutely convinced that the House's bill can only be the beginning--just the beginning--of Congress's efforts to secure our economy and support American families. This is a unique challenge--a unique challenge. Unlike in any other tough circumstances, our short-term goal is not simply to bring economic activity right back to normal starting tomorrow. Instead, our task is to secure the historically strong foundation of our Nation's economy and support Americans during this period when public health may require that some normal activities simply be scaled back. I have spoken with countless colleagues and committee chairmen over the last several days. We agree there are three major areas where the Senate must continue to develop bold and bipartisan action: No. 1, we will need to take further steps to assist individual Americans and families with financial challenges in the weeks and months ahead. No. 2, we will need to further significant actions to secure our Nation's economy--particularly Main Street small businesses--and safeguard our historically strong economic foundation through this period. No. 3, we will need further steps to ready our healthcare system and support our Nation's medical professionals. The Senate majority is already working toward next steps on all three of those fronts. I hope further bold action can be just as bipartisan and collaborative as the process by which we passed the first set of additional funds. We must work with each other in the bipartisan spirit this moment demands--and with the administration and the House--to deliver results for our country.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-16-pt1-PgS1747-6

formal

terrorists

Islamophobic

Mr. McCONNELL. Now, Mr. President, on one other important matter, late last night, several critical authorities that law enforcement uses to keep Americans safe lapsed into expiration. Barring Senate action, these important tools, which help protect the homeland from terrorists and counter foreign intelligence activities on U.S. soil, will remain offline. Fortunately, in the weeks leading up to this deadline, the Attorney General engaged in extensive bipartisan talks with Members of the House--of both parties--to try to reach a solution. The resulting legislation, which the House passed last week by large margins within each party, strikes a key balance. It reauthorizes the tools which our national security requires, while also imposing a number of new reforms which basic accountability demands. We can't let the relative success of these tools at preserving the safety and security of our country mislead us to believe they are unnecessary. It is just the opposite. Terrorist organizations still search constantly for opportunities to strike on American soil. Hostile foreign intelligence services--whether Chinese, Russian, or Iranian--still seek to conduct operations within our borders, to recruit assets and agents among our population. These threats will not wait around if the United States delays restocking our toolbox, so the Senate should not wait to act. I sincerely hope that even our colleagues who may wish to vote against the House bill will not make us prolong this brief lapse in authorities and that we will be able to get these tools back online this week.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-16-pt1-PgS1748

formal

terrorism

Islamophobic

Enrolled Bills Signed At 3:04 p.m., a message from the House of Representatives, delivered by Mr. Novotny, one of its reading clerks, announced that the Speaker has signed the following enrolled bills: S. 760. An act to enable registered apprenticeship programs to better serve veterans, and for other purposes. S. 893. An act to require the President to develop a strategy to ensure the security of next generation mobile telecommunications systems and infrastructure in the United States and to assist allies and strategic partners in maximizing the security of next generation mobile telecommunications systems, infrastructure, and software, and for other purposes. S. 1678. An act to express United States support for Taiwan's diplomatic alliances around the world. H.R. 1365. An act to make technical corrections to the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act. H.R. 4334. An act to amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2020 through 2024, and for other purposes. H.R. 4803. An act to facilitate the automatic acquisition of citizenship for lawful permanent resident children of military and Federal Government personnel residing abroad, and for other purposes. The enrolled bills were subsequently signed by the President pro tempore (Mr. Grassley). The message further announced that the House has passed the following bill, in which it requests the concurrence of the Senate: H.R. 6160. An act to extend the chemical facility anti- terrorism standards program of the Department of Homeland Security. The message also announced that pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 2761, and the order of the House of January 3, 2019, the Speaker appoints the following Members on the part of the House of Representatives to the British-American Interparliamentary Group: Mr. Meeks of New York, Ms. DelBene of Washington, Mr. Kilmer of Washington, Mr. Gomez of California, and Mr. Crow of Colorado. The message further announced that pursuant to Executive Order No. 12131, and the order of the House of January 3, 2019, the Speaker appoints the following Members on the part of the House of Representatives to the President's Export Council: Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. DelBene of Washington, and Mr. Gomez of California. The message also announced that pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 276d, and the order of the House of January 3, 2019, the Speaker appoints the following Members on the part of the House of Representatives to the Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group: Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. DeFazio of Oregon, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Ms. DelBene of Washington, and Mr. Morelle of New York.

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-16-pt1-PgS1760-5

formal

terrorism

Islamophobic

By Mr. McCONNELL: S. 3501. A bill to provide a 77-day extension of certain authorities for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations, and for other purposes; considered and passed.

2020-01-06

The RECORDER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-16-pt1-PgS1761-4

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as the global outbreak of the new coronavirus continues to grow, its impact on American families and small businesses is continuing to scale up. School closures are challenging both parents and teachers. Childcare closures are complicating family life even further. Main Street small businesses and their employees are grappling with an unprecedented situation, where their local leaders are effectively winding down their businesses for a period of time through no fault of their own. Major industries that our Nation relies on have seen businesses virtually dry up overnight--again, not due to any business decision they made but because of appropriate directives from public health experts. And most important of all, our healthcare system and our doctors, nurses, and other frontline professionals are gearing up for what seems very likely to be the most significant nationwide challenge they have faced in generations. At every level, this new challenge is testing or Nation and our institutions. Yesterday, my home State of Kentucky reported its first coronavirus-related death. Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and neighbors in Bourbon County, who are mourning. I spoke with Governor Beshear yesterday, and we are continuing to stay in close touch. The Bluegrass has now confirmed 25 total cases to date. And we are heeding the sober warning of Dr. Fauci. This is what Dr. Fauci said: ``Things will get worse before they get better.'' It is abundantly clear that our Nation cannot afford partisan politics as usual. This is a moment for bold and bipartisan action. That is what the Senate did earlier this month when we passed billions of dollars in targeted funding to assist medical professionals and responders in every State and to ease the initial shock to small businesses. And that is what the Senate needs to expand on this week--bold and bipartisan action. Yesterday evening, the House finally completed its work on their coronavirus relief proposal, made a number of changes, and sent the paperwork over here to the Senate. I know Senators on both sides are eager to assist workers, families, and small businesses with the financial fallout of this extraordinary period. So, as I said yesterday afternoon, Senate Republicans are convinced that the House's noncomprehensive bill can only be the beginning--the beginning--of our efforts to support our health system, assist individual Americans and families, as well as stabilize the U.S. economy. So, last night, a group of Republican Senators conferred with Secretary Mnuchin. He is returning to the Capitol to meet with our entire conference today. We are continuing urgent talks on further legislation that will address head-on the three major priorities we have spent the last several days discussing in depth. No. 1, we need to provide more direct assistance for American workers and families. No. 2, we need further strong steps to secure our economic foundation, most especially our small businesses. In particular, it seems increasingly clear that the House's effort to mandate that small businesses provide new worker benefits, just as many small businesses themselves are in significant jeopardy, might even be actually harmful unless we urgently address a broader package that includes more and broader small business relief. And, No. 3, of course, the foundational priority is to continue providing all the support that our medical professionals need as they fight this new virus on the frontlines. These conversations are ongoing. We are making progress. The House of Representatives may have left town, but the Senate is right here at work. We are crafting the major legislation that the American people deserve in the face of this major challenge. It is my intention that the Senate will not adjourn until we have passed significant and bold new steps--above and beyond what the House has passed--to help our strong Nation and our strong underlying economy weather this storm. Now, before I conclude this morning, I wanted to take a moment to echo and amplify the updated guidance that our public health experts and the White House rolled out yesterday. As President Trump said yesterday, the next 2 weeks are an important opportunity. Our Nation will have a major say in how long the virus will spread within the United States before it is contained. Following the commonsense steps laid out by the White House Coronavirus Task Force can significantly reduce each American's risk of being exposed or spreading the virus within communities. First, obviously, those who feel sick, stay home. Those who feel sick, stay home. Unwell children should be kept at home. And anyone with questions about their symptoms should contact their medical provider. Wherever possible, Americans should engage in work or school from home. Those who cannot, including those whose in-person job functions are central to our government or our Nation, must take especially seriously the CDC's guidelines for health and hygiene, especially washing hands and social distancing. All Americans have been strongly urged to avoid eating or drinking out, to avoid discretionary travel, and to avoid visiting nursing homes or retirement facilities unless--unless--it is to provide critical assistance. Some of these recommendations sound like basic common sense. Others of them would have sounded almost unthinkable just a few weeks ago. It is almost impossible to exaggerate the pace of change over the past weeks and days, but Americans are strong. We are resilient. This is a proud Nation with a world-changing history, and we have come through far greater challenges than this. This is not a time for fear or panic. It is a time to follow the facts, listen carefully to the experts, and take precautions to protect not only ourselves but the most vulnerable in our society. Every single one of us can do our part.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1765-8

formal

echo

antisemitic

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as the global outbreak of the new coronavirus continues to grow, its impact on American families and small businesses is continuing to scale up. School closures are challenging both parents and teachers. Childcare closures are complicating family life even further. Main Street small businesses and their employees are grappling with an unprecedented situation, where their local leaders are effectively winding down their businesses for a period of time through no fault of their own. Major industries that our Nation relies on have seen businesses virtually dry up overnight--again, not due to any business decision they made but because of appropriate directives from public health experts. And most important of all, our healthcare system and our doctors, nurses, and other frontline professionals are gearing up for what seems very likely to be the most significant nationwide challenge they have faced in generations. At every level, this new challenge is testing or Nation and our institutions. Yesterday, my home State of Kentucky reported its first coronavirus-related death. Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and neighbors in Bourbon County, who are mourning. I spoke with Governor Beshear yesterday, and we are continuing to stay in close touch. The Bluegrass has now confirmed 25 total cases to date. And we are heeding the sober warning of Dr. Fauci. This is what Dr. Fauci said: ``Things will get worse before they get better.'' It is abundantly clear that our Nation cannot afford partisan politics as usual. This is a moment for bold and bipartisan action. That is what the Senate did earlier this month when we passed billions of dollars in targeted funding to assist medical professionals and responders in every State and to ease the initial shock to small businesses. And that is what the Senate needs to expand on this week--bold and bipartisan action. Yesterday evening, the House finally completed its work on their coronavirus relief proposal, made a number of changes, and sent the paperwork over here to the Senate. I know Senators on both sides are eager to assist workers, families, and small businesses with the financial fallout of this extraordinary period. So, as I said yesterday afternoon, Senate Republicans are convinced that the House's noncomprehensive bill can only be the beginning--the beginning--of our efforts to support our health system, assist individual Americans and families, as well as stabilize the U.S. economy. So, last night, a group of Republican Senators conferred with Secretary Mnuchin. He is returning to the Capitol to meet with our entire conference today. We are continuing urgent talks on further legislation that will address head-on the three major priorities we have spent the last several days discussing in depth. No. 1, we need to provide more direct assistance for American workers and families. No. 2, we need further strong steps to secure our economic foundation, most especially our small businesses. In particular, it seems increasingly clear that the House's effort to mandate that small businesses provide new worker benefits, just as many small businesses themselves are in significant jeopardy, might even be actually harmful unless we urgently address a broader package that includes more and broader small business relief. And, No. 3, of course, the foundational priority is to continue providing all the support that our medical professionals need as they fight this new virus on the frontlines. These conversations are ongoing. We are making progress. The House of Representatives may have left town, but the Senate is right here at work. We are crafting the major legislation that the American people deserve in the face of this major challenge. It is my intention that the Senate will not adjourn until we have passed significant and bold new steps--above and beyond what the House has passed--to help our strong Nation and our strong underlying economy weather this storm. Now, before I conclude this morning, I wanted to take a moment to echo and amplify the updated guidance that our public health experts and the White House rolled out yesterday. As President Trump said yesterday, the next 2 weeks are an important opportunity. Our Nation will have a major say in how long the virus will spread within the United States before it is contained. Following the commonsense steps laid out by the White House Coronavirus Task Force can significantly reduce each American's risk of being exposed or spreading the virus within communities. First, obviously, those who feel sick, stay home. Those who feel sick, stay home. Unwell children should be kept at home. And anyone with questions about their symptoms should contact their medical provider. Wherever possible, Americans should engage in work or school from home. Those who cannot, including those whose in-person job functions are central to our government or our Nation, must take especially seriously the CDC's guidelines for health and hygiene, especially washing hands and social distancing. All Americans have been strongly urged to avoid eating or drinking out, to avoid discretionary travel, and to avoid visiting nursing homes or retirement facilities unless--unless--it is to provide critical assistance. Some of these recommendations sound like basic common sense. Others of them would have sounded almost unthinkable just a few weeks ago. It is almost impossible to exaggerate the pace of change over the past weeks and days, but Americans are strong. We are resilient. This is a proud Nation with a world-changing history, and we have come through far greater challenges than this. This is not a time for fear or panic. It is a time to follow the facts, listen carefully to the experts, and take precautions to protect not only ourselves but the most vulnerable in our society. Every single one of us can do our part.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1765-8

formal

Chicago

racist

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, yesterday, the President of the United States and the Centers for Disease Control contacted us individually and at least through the media to advise us to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. It is a reflection of the national emergency we face and the public health crisis that America is facing head-on, as it should. This morning, as we opened the Senate, there were 18 people gathered on the floor of the Senate--3 Senators and 15 staff people. As those who follow all the Senate can tell, our staffers come to work, as they are expected to, but come under circumstances that are more challenging than they were just a few weeks ago. I want to thank each and every one of them here on the floor, as well as the many who you don't see, behind the scenes, who are necessary for the opening of this Capitol and for the protection of everyone who works here. There are policemen and there are people engaged in basic activities here who keep this magnificent structure functioning, and they come here now in the midst of a public health challenge, where most every American has been told to stay home: If you can possibly stay home, do it; for social distancing, make certain that you stay a certain distance between yourself and some other person. Yet they come here, and we thank them for it. The obvious question is, Why are we here under these circumstances? We were called back into a week of legislative activity, which had been scheduled to be a week where we were back home in our individual States. There is a lot for me to do back home, and I am sure that is true for every Senator, from the crises which we had at O'Hare Airport--I was working on that on Saturday and Sunday night--to the issue of closing schools and feeding children, and all of the other issues that are part of this coronavirus challenge. But we were told to come back here this week, to make a trip back, to fly back from wherever, to come to the U.S. Capitol for two reasons. We were told we had to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization because it expired as of last weekend. It turns out that we have found a way to avoid a necessary vote at the last minute. The Senate Republican leader agreed last night, just a few minutes before the scheduled vote, to accept a proposal that had been made to him by Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah last Thursday. The Senate Republican leader did not accept it then. He accepted it last night. The net result was we didn't have to be present. We didn't have to make the journey for that purpose. The second part of our return is equally important and maybe more so in light of this public health crisis, and that was to consider the measure that was taken up by the House of Representatives and passed in the early-morning hours of Saturday. This measure, known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, is the second piece of legislation we have considered and, I am sure, not the last. We are already talking about the coronavirus 3 act, which is likely to be debated and voted on soon. The point I am making is this measure, which was physically sent to us last night with technical corrections,could have been considered as early as last Saturday. By unanimous consent, the Senate can take up a measure before it physically arrives from the House. It has happened many times before. It is not extraordinary. The physical presence of the document is not necessary for this debate or for a vote to consider it. We acknowledge the fact that sometimes the movement of paperwork from the House may take a little longer than the actual time when we physically can take possession of it through other means. So the argument that was made this morning that it wasn't until we received the document last night that we could consider it is not accurate. Under the Senate rules, by unanimous consent, we could have considered it as soon as it was enacted by the House. The question before us now is, What are we waiting for? There was a technical correction bill that was added to it yesterday, after the House overcame the objections of a Republican Congressman. After his objections were set aside or satisfied, they moved forward with the technical corrections. We have the package. It is before us now. The obvious question is, Why aren't we passing this measure immediately? We should because contained in this measure are important changes in the law that will help American families respond to this coronavirus crisis--fundamental questions: Will we provide, for many American workers, medical leave if they decide that they don't feel well and want to keep themselves, their family, their coworkers, and the public safe by staying home? They are afraid that if they don't get a paycheck, they won't be able to meet the needs of their families. So this bill extends the medical leave coverage to more workers across America. I am unhappy that it doesn't go further, and perhaps we can extend it further with the third iteration of our coronavirus legislative package. But there is no reason not to pass this and to pass it now and not to wait a day or two or three before we get around to it. Let's do it. Let's get it done. In addition, we have changes in unemployment compensation. If someone literally loses their job because of this public health crisis, we want to make sure they have something coming in to help their families as quickly as possible. That is a measure I am sure all of us agree on--to change the unemployment compensation laws to help these families through very difficult times. Why would we wait to pass that? We should pass this by unanimous consent today and do it quickly. That is something I hope the Senate Republican leader will consider. There is just no reason for the delay. There are so many other things involved in this. The basic issue of feeding America is now in question. Who is going to feed these students whose schools have been closed across Illinois and across the United States? It is a practical challenge in Springfield, IL, as well as in Chicago. Well, we have issues that are raised by this coronavirus legislation that is before us that will change and strengthen food assistance at this time of public health crisis. Why wait? Let's get this done by unanimous consent. We should be doing it and doing it right now. In addition to that, we provide additional Medicaid benefits to the States to deal with the obvious health challenges. We want to make sure that the healthcare workers--and God bless them for risking their lives for us--are paid. We want to make sure the equipment that is needed by hospitals and clinics comes on board as quickly as possible. In my State of Illinois, we have challenges, from the city of Chicago to rural and small towns. They need help. The Medicaid assistance in this bill will provide help for them immediately. Why wait? Let's pass this and do it this morning. We also have free testing for coronavirus that is set out in the law. Whether you have insurance, whether you are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, you are going to be able to be tested--when the tests are available, I might quickly add--without cost to you. And that is the way it should be. These are things that are basic. They were agreed to not just by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, but by the Trump White House, Mr. Mnuchin. The Secretary came forward and negotiated all the changes I have just described. So they are bipartisan in nature. There is no reason for us to delay this in any way. We should move on it quickly. Putting this off for a day or two or whatever the plan is with the Republican leadership is totally unnecessary and unfortunately requires staff to wait around here when they have been advised they should be home, there should be social distance, and they should be in a circumstance where they are not endangering themselves in terms of their health or anyone else's. Let's get this done. The third issue I want to raise is one which is critically important but I believe is timely. We have to think anew about the way the Senate does business. If we are telling people to do their work from home when possible, teleconferencing as opposed to being physically present at work, what are we doing to achieve the same thing? There has been speculation, conjecture about a coronavirus aid package--the third one in the series. I totally support it. On the Democratic side, we have a long list of particulars of things that we think will be helpful to get this economy back on its feet by starting with families and workers and expanding it to small businesses. It is a long list, it is a comprehensive list, and I am sure there are even more suggestions that could come before us. How are we going to consider those? Are we going to meet as committees as we ordinarily do, in the same room, when we have been advised that is not a good idea from a public health viewpoint, or are we going to do it by teleconferencing and Skyping and using modern technology? It is time for the Senate to wake up to the 21st century and to make sure we are using technology that allows us to communicate with one another without any danger or risk to public health. In addition to that, there is a more difficult question about how we can vote in the U.S. Senate if we are not physically present. I know that is being considered. Senator Klobuchar and I have discussed it. I know she is thinking about it from a Senate rules perspective. Senator Schatz of Hawaii has raised the same question. Others have too. Let's get into this. Let's find a way to do this that protects the integrity of our voting procedure but acknowledges the reality that our physical presence on the floor may not be required to be actually present under the rules of the Senate--at least for the sake of counting our votes. We ought to be discussing that this week and make sure we have a task force that is working on coming up with answers to that as quickly as possible. Finally, I think it is time for us to start meeting as committees by this teleconferencing and Skyping and talking about this coronavirus 3 package--the one that really stretches us beyond where we are. Let's take a look at the first two measures. With coronavirus 1, which was a supplemental appropriation, the President asked for about $2 billion. We came up, on a bipartisan basis in just 2 short weeks, with $8 billion, primarily focusing on healthcare resources, on research, and on developing vaccines. That was a must, and we did it on a bipartisan basis. The second package talks about families and workers and small businesses and how they should respond and how we can help them. The third package I think will take a look at the original two to see if they need to be changed in any way but to expand our reach even more. Let's do it in the context that we are preaching to America. As we hold the press conferences in Washington and tell Americans ``Avoid going to work physically if you can,'' let's try to find ways to make the Senate work without putting anyone's health at risk. We can do that, but we need to do that together. Let me also say that the Senator from Kentucky said that the Senate will not recess until significant new measures beyond what the House has passed are considered. If there is a plan for that, please let us know. Those of us who are here and worried about whether there will be transportation back home to our families at some point would like to know what the schedule is going to be. If the Senateleader, the Republican leader, has a plan, please share it with us too. All of us are waiting and anxious to know what our circumstances will be for the days ahead. I want to stay here and get the work done, but let's do it in an orderly, safe, and nonrisky way. Let's try to abide by the same guidelines we are preaching to the rest of America. Let's use new technology. Let's use our best thinking and come up with bipartisan answers. That, to me, is the way to manage the Senate in the midst of this national emergency. We shouldn't be returning, as we have this week, and facing situations like last night where our vote was not even necessary. Many of us came here ready to vote and found that there had been an agreement that made such a vote unnecessary. It is time for a greater spirit of cooperation and communication. Just to have the Republican side come up with their list and we come up with ours, without dialogue, doesn't lead us to where we need to be. Let's have that dialogue and do it in a safe and thoughtful way. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1766-3

formal

based

white supremacist

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, our country is facing an unprecedented public health emergency with severe and potentially long-lasting economic consequences. As COVID-19 spreads, our local health officials and health experts tell us we are woefully unprepared for what is about to hit us. Public health infrastructure, like hospital beds and masks and ventilators, must be produced and procured. Testing is still not at its proper capacity. The resulting economic downturn from this virus is already impacting millions of American families, workers, and businesses--small, medium, large, alike. First, on a personal note, please, Americans, take care of yourselves. Avoid unnecessary contact, even though I know so many of the meetings and gatherings and celebrations that we have planned must be postponed. It is painful but not as painful as the continuing spread of this awful virus. And a little advice--this is not universal, but I have heard this from a number of medical people whom I trust: Take your temperature in the morning and in the evening. It is a good way to check whether you have this illness and it is progressing within you. Not all experts agree with that, but many do. In my view, it can't hurt. It is something I am doing. I am urging my family to do it, and I am urging my staff to do it. Our response in the Senate and in Congress--the response to the coronavirus--will require a massive mobilization of public resources--Federal, State, and local--as we have marshaled before only in wartime. It is going to require Congress to work in a bipartisan way and with uncommon speed. And the American people, too, must pull together and sacrifice in ways small and large their normal way of life in an effort to combat this disease and limit its spread. All hands must be on deck because the task before us is daunting and may yet eclipse the pain felt by workers and families during the great recession--at least for many things. The first order of business here in the Senate is to take up and pass the recent House bill and do it today. It will provide free coronavirus testing. That is essential. It would extend paid sick leave. It would give food assistance, Medicaid reimbursement, and expanded unemployment insurance. I understand that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle might want to amend the legislation or have it written differently if they were the ones putting it together. But I remind them that Leader McConnell said that he would defer the agreement between the Speaker of the House and Secretary Mnuchin. The President has said he will sign this bill if the Senate passes it. If we change the bill, it will go back to the House and be delayed and delay the aid it contains for American families coping with the impact of the virus. Please, my colleagues, we will have other opportunities to legislate, and there will be a great need for them, but let's move this now. Let's move this now. I believe our side of the aisle will clear this. I hope the other side will, and it will be on the President's desk today. Let's hope, and let's not delay any longer. But there is much more to be done. Once this legislation is sent to the President's desk--COVID 2--our work will not be over, not even close. We must soon move to other very necessary measures to address the coronavirus and its widening impact on the health and well-being of the American people. Today, I am presenting a series of proposals to congressional appropriators that would provide initial infusion of at least $750 billion. Our proposal is big, it is bold, but it is also targeted. It focuses on those Americans in the parts of the health sector and the economy most in need now: hospitals and treatment, unemployment insurance and Medicaid, loan forbearance and aid for small business, childcare, and senior citizens. It focuses on those who need help--those who don't have an income because they have lost their job temporarily; those who need help with senior citizens, with children who are not in school; hospitals that are short of equipment and maybe personnel. That is the immediate focus. That is what we must do right now. We must focus on those who need help immediately and do it in a way that deals with the structural problems in the country that have made the attack of this virus more virulent, more harmful, and worse. By contrast, it is reported that the administration is proposing a massive Federal bailout of industry and a payroll tax cut. If we are going to follow up the House bill with another major economic stimulus package, which we must, our major focus cannot be based on bailing out airlines, cruises, and other industries. We must first prioritize economic solutions that are focused on workers and their families, solutions that would allow us to fix our broken unemployment system; rebuild our public health system, which is overburdened; save small and medium-sized American businesses that have a cash crunch and will go out of business, even though they were healthy a month ago, because no one is buying their products or using their services. Let's remember--corporations are not people. People are people. And when it comes to this cascading crisis, we should help our fellow Americans first, even as we plan and execute policies that protect our economy. The administration's proposal, if that is the sum of it--a massive bailout of industry and a payroll tax cut--doesn't do that. It doesn't target the people who most need the help. Any package we are going to do here, which must be passed in a bipartisan way, must contain large elements of what I am talking about and maybe other things as well that help the people who are in need. I will be sending my proposal and a PowerPoint slide to every one of my colleagues shortly, and I hope they will understand the need for it. I have consulted with large numbers in our caucus, and we have broad support for these proposals and some others. Again, when it comes to this cascading crisis, we should help fellow Americans first, even as we plan and execute policies that protect our economy. First, we take actions to fight this virus. First, we get lifelines to our workers, our parents, our students, our seniors, our small businesses. If your house is on fire, the first thing you worry about is not smoke damage to the roof; you try to put out the fire. That is what our proposal does. It means, first and foremost, we work to address the virus itself and the people most impacted. In the midst of a sprawling health and economic catastrophe, industry bailouts should not be at the top of ourpriority list. Our proposal also does not include a payroll tax cut. That option may be premature and the wrong response to the problems we face today. There are much better ways to get money in the hands of the Americans who need it most and in the ways they need it most. For example, in our proposal, the Senate Democratic proposal, if you are a worker and lose your job or can't work, you would qualify for nearly $10,000 over 6 months in unemployment benefits. If you can't work because you get sick and your employer doesn't provide paid sick leave, we would allow you to apply for unemployment insurance and get reimbursed. Under Senator Murray's leadership, we are also doing more on the sick leave front. If your hours are cut and you suddenly can't pay your mortgage, you are going to lose your home, or if you are otherwise struggling to make ends meet because you choose to pay your mortgage but then can't pay other vital expenses, our proposal would let you defer your mortgage loans for 6 months with no penalty, fees, or impact on your credit. We will do the same for student loans. We will do the same for small business loans. There will be a 6-month moratorium. That helps real people. If you are a working parent and suddenly you have to worry about finding a safe place for your kids to stay during the day, we would provide emergency funding to safely ramp up childcare services for heavily impacted parts of the country. If you are a small business suddenly facing cash flow problems, we would allow you to apply for low-interest loans and other forms of direct financial assistance that can offer relief quickly and allow you to overcome this problem and keep your business going in a healthy way. These are just a few examples. Our proposal includes much more but includes what is needed and needed immediately. It includes what Governors across the country are calling for--aid to public health systems and citizens impacted by this crisis. I would say to my Republican colleagues: We want to work with you. You will have different ideas, but our ideas must be contained in a package. The thing the administration has been talking about, if that is true, is not good enough at all. There is one other thing we need. As more testing becomes available, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases will inevitably increase and the strain on our public health system will become even greater. We are going to need massive investments to ensure we have the capacity and necessary infrastructure to treat all Americans who need it. Our proposal addresses that as well. As we discuss what is to come in the next few weeks, I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, both ends of the Capitol, to review our proposal and organize our next legislative response around these ideas. In conclusion, this crisis is going to demand more from all of us--more from the administration and a President who has been far too slow in waking up to the scale of the challenges we now face, more from a Congress that has to set aside partisan squabbles and work together, and more from the American people, who must diligently follow public health guidance and endure massive disruptions of their daily lives. I know my family is enduring that right now, and so are millions and millions of families across America. We have to stick together, be strong, support one another, and we will get through it. We will. We have not faced a public health crisis of this global scale in recent times. We are unsure how long the disturbance to our national economic life will last. Yet we Americans have overcome challenges of this magnitude and even greater before, and we will again. It will demand determination, cooperation, and sacrifice. It will demand an enormous, coordinated effort by the Government of the United States at all levels to protect the health and safety of the American people. But we will overcome this problem, together--strongly, forcefully, and smartly. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1768-2

formal

tax cut

racist

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, our country is facing an unprecedented public health emergency with severe and potentially long-lasting economic consequences. As COVID-19 spreads, our local health officials and health experts tell us we are woefully unprepared for what is about to hit us. Public health infrastructure, like hospital beds and masks and ventilators, must be produced and procured. Testing is still not at its proper capacity. The resulting economic downturn from this virus is already impacting millions of American families, workers, and businesses--small, medium, large, alike. First, on a personal note, please, Americans, take care of yourselves. Avoid unnecessary contact, even though I know so many of the meetings and gatherings and celebrations that we have planned must be postponed. It is painful but not as painful as the continuing spread of this awful virus. And a little advice--this is not universal, but I have heard this from a number of medical people whom I trust: Take your temperature in the morning and in the evening. It is a good way to check whether you have this illness and it is progressing within you. Not all experts agree with that, but many do. In my view, it can't hurt. It is something I am doing. I am urging my family to do it, and I am urging my staff to do it. Our response in the Senate and in Congress--the response to the coronavirus--will require a massive mobilization of public resources--Federal, State, and local--as we have marshaled before only in wartime. It is going to require Congress to work in a bipartisan way and with uncommon speed. And the American people, too, must pull together and sacrifice in ways small and large their normal way of life in an effort to combat this disease and limit its spread. All hands must be on deck because the task before us is daunting and may yet eclipse the pain felt by workers and families during the great recession--at least for many things. The first order of business here in the Senate is to take up and pass the recent House bill and do it today. It will provide free coronavirus testing. That is essential. It would extend paid sick leave. It would give food assistance, Medicaid reimbursement, and expanded unemployment insurance. I understand that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle might want to amend the legislation or have it written differently if they were the ones putting it together. But I remind them that Leader McConnell said that he would defer the agreement between the Speaker of the House and Secretary Mnuchin. The President has said he will sign this bill if the Senate passes it. If we change the bill, it will go back to the House and be delayed and delay the aid it contains for American families coping with the impact of the virus. Please, my colleagues, we will have other opportunities to legislate, and there will be a great need for them, but let's move this now. Let's move this now. I believe our side of the aisle will clear this. I hope the other side will, and it will be on the President's desk today. Let's hope, and let's not delay any longer. But there is much more to be done. Once this legislation is sent to the President's desk--COVID 2--our work will not be over, not even close. We must soon move to other very necessary measures to address the coronavirus and its widening impact on the health and well-being of the American people. Today, I am presenting a series of proposals to congressional appropriators that would provide initial infusion of at least $750 billion. Our proposal is big, it is bold, but it is also targeted. It focuses on those Americans in the parts of the health sector and the economy most in need now: hospitals and treatment, unemployment insurance and Medicaid, loan forbearance and aid for small business, childcare, and senior citizens. It focuses on those who need help--those who don't have an income because they have lost their job temporarily; those who need help with senior citizens, with children who are not in school; hospitals that are short of equipment and maybe personnel. That is the immediate focus. That is what we must do right now. We must focus on those who need help immediately and do it in a way that deals with the structural problems in the country that have made the attack of this virus more virulent, more harmful, and worse. By contrast, it is reported that the administration is proposing a massive Federal bailout of industry and a payroll tax cut. If we are going to follow up the House bill with another major economic stimulus package, which we must, our major focus cannot be based on bailing out airlines, cruises, and other industries. We must first prioritize economic solutions that are focused on workers and their families, solutions that would allow us to fix our broken unemployment system; rebuild our public health system, which is overburdened; save small and medium-sized American businesses that have a cash crunch and will go out of business, even though they were healthy a month ago, because no one is buying their products or using their services. Let's remember--corporations are not people. People are people. And when it comes to this cascading crisis, we should help our fellow Americans first, even as we plan and execute policies that protect our economy. The administration's proposal, if that is the sum of it--a massive bailout of industry and a payroll tax cut--doesn't do that. It doesn't target the people who most need the help. Any package we are going to do here, which must be passed in a bipartisan way, must contain large elements of what I am talking about and maybe other things as well that help the people who are in need. I will be sending my proposal and a PowerPoint slide to every one of my colleagues shortly, and I hope they will understand the need for it. I have consulted with large numbers in our caucus, and we have broad support for these proposals and some others. Again, when it comes to this cascading crisis, we should help fellow Americans first, even as we plan and execute policies that protect our economy. First, we take actions to fight this virus. First, we get lifelines to our workers, our parents, our students, our seniors, our small businesses. If your house is on fire, the first thing you worry about is not smoke damage to the roof; you try to put out the fire. That is what our proposal does. It means, first and foremost, we work to address the virus itself and the people most impacted. In the midst of a sprawling health and economic catastrophe, industry bailouts should not be at the top of ourpriority list. Our proposal also does not include a payroll tax cut. That option may be premature and the wrong response to the problems we face today. There are much better ways to get money in the hands of the Americans who need it most and in the ways they need it most. For example, in our proposal, the Senate Democratic proposal, if you are a worker and lose your job or can't work, you would qualify for nearly $10,000 over 6 months in unemployment benefits. If you can't work because you get sick and your employer doesn't provide paid sick leave, we would allow you to apply for unemployment insurance and get reimbursed. Under Senator Murray's leadership, we are also doing more on the sick leave front. If your hours are cut and you suddenly can't pay your mortgage, you are going to lose your home, or if you are otherwise struggling to make ends meet because you choose to pay your mortgage but then can't pay other vital expenses, our proposal would let you defer your mortgage loans for 6 months with no penalty, fees, or impact on your credit. We will do the same for student loans. We will do the same for small business loans. There will be a 6-month moratorium. That helps real people. If you are a working parent and suddenly you have to worry about finding a safe place for your kids to stay during the day, we would provide emergency funding to safely ramp up childcare services for heavily impacted parts of the country. If you are a small business suddenly facing cash flow problems, we would allow you to apply for low-interest loans and other forms of direct financial assistance that can offer relief quickly and allow you to overcome this problem and keep your business going in a healthy way. These are just a few examples. Our proposal includes much more but includes what is needed and needed immediately. It includes what Governors across the country are calling for--aid to public health systems and citizens impacted by this crisis. I would say to my Republican colleagues: We want to work with you. You will have different ideas, but our ideas must be contained in a package. The thing the administration has been talking about, if that is true, is not good enough at all. There is one other thing we need. As more testing becomes available, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases will inevitably increase and the strain on our public health system will become even greater. We are going to need massive investments to ensure we have the capacity and necessary infrastructure to treat all Americans who need it. Our proposal addresses that as well. As we discuss what is to come in the next few weeks, I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, both ends of the Capitol, to review our proposal and organize our next legislative response around these ideas. In conclusion, this crisis is going to demand more from all of us--more from the administration and a President who has been far too slow in waking up to the scale of the challenges we now face, more from a Congress that has to set aside partisan squabbles and work together, and more from the American people, who must diligently follow public health guidance and endure massive disruptions of their daily lives. I know my family is enduring that right now, and so are millions and millions of families across America. We have to stick together, be strong, support one another, and we will get through it. We will. We have not faced a public health crisis of this global scale in recent times. We are unsure how long the disturbance to our national economic life will last. Yet we Americans have overcome challenges of this magnitude and even greater before, and we will again. It will demand determination, cooperation, and sacrifice. It will demand an enormous, coordinated effort by the Government of the United States at all levels to protect the health and safety of the American people. But we will overcome this problem, together--strongly, forcefully, and smartly. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1768-2

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. THUNE. Of course, the other thing we are focused on this week is the issue that is at the top of everyone's mind, and that is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. Two weeks ago, Congress passed coronavirus legislation providing more than $8 billion in funding for virus research, testing, and medical care. This week, we are looking to pass the second phase of Congress's response, and that is legislation to continue our investment in medical care and to begin to address the economic impact the coronavirus is having on American workers. The House has reached an agreement with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Senators are currently reviewing the House's legislation, which arrived here in the Senate just this morning. I look forward to passing that bill this week. As the leader said on Sunday, Senate Republicans believe that any legislation we pass this week is only the beginning of Congress's response to the virus. As this outbreak continues to unfold, other issues will need to be addressed, and Senate Republicans are already planning for legislation to address future priorities, whether they be in the increased funding for medical facilities or measures to provide support for American families and businesses. This is a challenging time for our country, but it is often in challenging times that we see the very best of America. We are seeing that already--in neighbors' ensuring that neighbors are supplied with necessities; in sports figures' donating to ensure that workers at their arenas are still paid even when games aren't being played; in restaurants' helping to feed their neighbors even though their businesses are currently suffering; in companies and arts organizations' acting to provide free resources to families who are hunkering down at home; in the millions of Americans who are providing the essential services we need during this outbreak--from the workers' stocking the shelves at our grocery stores and pharmacies to the truck drivers' delivering needed goods across our country; finally and especially, inour healthcare professionals, from doctors and nurses to sanitation staff, who risk exposure every day to ensure that Americans receive the care they need. When we have come through this outbreak, all of us will want to be able to look back and say that we did everything we could to help keep our fellow Americans safe and slow the spread of this disease. The best way to do that is by following the guidelines that we have been given--washing our hands frequently and thoroughly, practicing social distancing, avoiding large gatherings, and staying home when advised. Some of these measures may be inconvenient, but they are a small price to pay to flatten the curve and limit the disease's spread. While anyone can be hit hard by the coronavirus, there are a lot of people who are especially vulnerable to complications--from elderly Americans to the many individuals who have preexisting conditions. Let's do everything we can to protect our fellow Americans and prevent our hospitals and our healthcare professionals from being overwhelmed with cases. I am confident that, if we pull together and look out for each other, our Nation will emerge from this challenge stronger. I look forward to working with my colleagues here in Congress to ensure that our Nation has the resources it needs to combat and defeat this disease. I was encouraged to hear our Senate Democratic leader speak about his willingness to work with the Republicans. Obviously, to do anything here in the Senate requires 60 votes, which means we have to have bipartisan cooperation. We have a legislative vehicle, as I mentioned, that contains a number of features that are helpful, I think, in terms of addressing the crisis that we are experiencing, not only on the healthcare front but on the economic front with regard to the hardships that are being experienced by millions of Americans. There is more that we need to do, and those discussions, as I mentioned, are underway, and I am hopeful that we will be able to come to a conclusion, to a resolution, that would be good not only for those Americans who have been hurting economically and who, perhaps, are not working and are not able to get to work, but for those businesses that have shut down--our small businesses that create the majority of jobs in this country--and for, certainly, the healthcare professionals, who, as I said, are on the frontlines every single day. We need to take every step we possibly can to ensure that we protect people from the spread of the disease and ensure that they continue to sustain their economic livelihoods in the midst of this crisis. Many of the things that are being discussed and worked on that will require collaboration with the Democrats and the House of Representatives will need to be approached in a bipartisan way. We need to recognize that the need is great and that the absolute necessity of cooperation is greater than ever. I look forward to working with our colleagues here this week as we move forward in a way that will, hopefully, lead to some very positive results and will address the very critical needs being felt by families all across this country as a result of this coronavirus disease. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. THUNE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1769-2

formal

terrorism

Islamophobic

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, the Senate had three priorities for this week: reauthorizing the expiring provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passing the second phase of our coronavirus response, and initiating a serious discussion about what else we need to do to help Americans address this challenge. I have to say I am glad we have already made progress on all three fronts. On Sunday, several key provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expired, including the provision that allows the FBI to wiretap lone-wolf terrorists--terrorists not affiliated with a specific terrorist organization--and the roving wiretap provision that prevents the FBI from having to seek a new wiretap warrant each time a terrorist suspect changes his phone number. Every minute of every day, the men and women of our law enforcement and intelligence communities are working to track terrorist threats and prevent attacks on American citizens. We need to ensure that they have all the tools they need to do their jobs. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provisions that expired Sunday are key weapons in the fight to keep Americans safe. I am pleased we were able to pass a 77-day extension yesterday and set up a process for consideration of a long-term extension. I strongly support the bipartisan House bill, which combines extensions of these key anti-terrorism tools with new accountability measures that will ensure that law enforcement is held to the highest standards when pursuing surveillance of suspected terrorists and foreign agents. Attorney General Barr has also endorsed the House bill. I look forward to taking up this legislation and debating several issues raised by my colleagues before we are on the brink of another expiration.

2020-01-06

Mr. THUNE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1769

formal

terrorist

Islamophobic

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, the Senate had three priorities for this week: reauthorizing the expiring provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passing the second phase of our coronavirus response, and initiating a serious discussion about what else we need to do to help Americans address this challenge. I have to say I am glad we have already made progress on all three fronts. On Sunday, several key provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expired, including the provision that allows the FBI to wiretap lone-wolf terrorists--terrorists not affiliated with a specific terrorist organization--and the roving wiretap provision that prevents the FBI from having to seek a new wiretap warrant each time a terrorist suspect changes his phone number. Every minute of every day, the men and women of our law enforcement and intelligence communities are working to track terrorist threats and prevent attacks on American citizens. We need to ensure that they have all the tools they need to do their jobs. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provisions that expired Sunday are key weapons in the fight to keep Americans safe. I am pleased we were able to pass a 77-day extension yesterday and set up a process for consideration of a long-term extension. I strongly support the bipartisan House bill, which combines extensions of these key anti-terrorism tools with new accountability measures that will ensure that law enforcement is held to the highest standards when pursuing surveillance of suspected terrorists and foreign agents. Attorney General Barr has also endorsed the House bill. I look forward to taking up this legislation and debating several issues raised by my colleagues before we are on the brink of another expiration.

2020-01-06

Mr. THUNE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1769

formal

terrorists

Islamophobic

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, the Senate had three priorities for this week: reauthorizing the expiring provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passing the second phase of our coronavirus response, and initiating a serious discussion about what else we need to do to help Americans address this challenge. I have to say I am glad we have already made progress on all three fronts. On Sunday, several key provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expired, including the provision that allows the FBI to wiretap lone-wolf terrorists--terrorists not affiliated with a specific terrorist organization--and the roving wiretap provision that prevents the FBI from having to seek a new wiretap warrant each time a terrorist suspect changes his phone number. Every minute of every day, the men and women of our law enforcement and intelligence communities are working to track terrorist threats and prevent attacks on American citizens. We need to ensure that they have all the tools they need to do their jobs. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provisions that expired Sunday are key weapons in the fight to keep Americans safe. I am pleased we were able to pass a 77-day extension yesterday and set up a process for consideration of a long-term extension. I strongly support the bipartisan House bill, which combines extensions of these key anti-terrorism tools with new accountability measures that will ensure that law enforcement is held to the highest standards when pursuing surveillance of suspected terrorists and foreign agents. Attorney General Barr has also endorsed the House bill. I look forward to taking up this legislation and debating several issues raised by my colleagues before we are on the brink of another expiration.

2020-01-06

Mr. THUNE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1769

formal

based

white supremacist

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, across our country, we are seeing cities, schools, businesses, and other organizations take the necessary and serious precautions to keep the American people safe from the spread of the coronavirus. School districts, colleges, and universities are canceling in-person classes, churches are moving services online, professional sports teams are hitting pause on their regular season, airlines are canceling flights, and many Main Street businesses are closing their doors. I know that all of this is a little disorienting and certainly alarming. But while these measures aren't normal, it is a sign that we are heeding advice from the experts, people like Dr. Fauci and organizations like the Centers for Disease Control. It is a sign that we are doing what we can to prevent or at least slow down community spread. It is a sign that we are standing together and making progress, ultimately expecting that we will get through this together. The difficult decisions that need to be made by elected officials, business owners, and community leaders when they decide to shut down normal parts of our daily lives--these are not easy decisions for them to make. Despite the public health benefits these closures will provide, we are also expecting other serious--mainly economic--consequences. Our economic engine is being brought to a halt as people are staying home rather than producing, and small businesses and their employees in particular are feeling the impact. Jason Phillips is a manager at Zoli's Pizza in Fort Worth, TX, and he has been in the service industry for more than 20 years. Still, he said he has never been in a situation quite like this one. He said this past Saturday that Zoli's Pizza had about half the number of customers they have come to expect. Steven Startz has experienced a similar struggle. Last November, he opened a new restaurant in New Braunfels, TX, just north of San Antonio, called Le Citron European Cafe and Bistro. The first year for any new restaurant is bound to be tough. As luck would have it, a week after they opened, an oven broke, and it had to be replaced. But nothing has prepared Steven for the months of February and March, what they would bring. He was hoping, as you might imagine, for an uptick in tourists, which would mean more business, but instead a pandemic has kept everybody at home. Rather than a positive bump in the business, revenue for his young restaurant is down 60 percent. As a result, he has had to cut staff, and he hasn't hired replacements for the employees he has recently lost. This is an all-too-familiar struggle for millions of Americans who are unable to go to work during this pandemic and are facing serious economic uncertainty about their future. Those in the service industry--especially those who rely on tips--are among the hardest hit. I am glad to say that soon the Senate will take action to provide additional relief. As the Presiding Officer knows, we passed an $8.3 billion emergency package to help fast-track discovery of a vaccine and to make sure that our healthcare sector is prepared for what is coming at it, or at least better prepared. The House has now passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which we are in the process of taking up and will hopefully finish this week, and then I expect there will be a third installment--a stimulus package that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin will be up here on the Hill talking about today to try to help employees and employers and entire industries survive this economic trauma. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act will help protect both the physical and financial health of our country by supporting workers and their families impacted by the virus. It will remove financial barriers for Texans who need access to coronavirus testing, regardless of income or insurance coverage. This is one of the things I talked to Governor Abbott about in particular. He said that there are two things that Texas needs. He said it is more testing and it is more protective equipment, personal protective equipment--PPEs, as they are called--in order for this testing to take place. While it is still true--according to the Centers for Disease Control--that you should not be tested unless you are experiencing symptoms and referred by a healthcare provider, it is clear that more testing is going to be needed, and indeed we have heard from the President and the Vice President and the administration in general that we expect a huge ramping up of the capacity to test people so they can know whether they are positive and they need to stay in isolation or possibly need healthcare treatment or whether, like the President and one of our colleagues here, Senator Graham, they are negative, and obviously the peace of mind that comes with that. This legislation removes all financial barriers for that testing For those who have private insurance, it requires that all plans cover the cost of testing, including the cost of a provider, an urgent care center, and emergency room visits in order to get tested. As I said, right now, CDC protocol calls for a healthcare provider to make a diagnosis based on symptoms that would then lead to a test. Those are the same zero-cost measures that would apply to those covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. It also requires the National Disaster Medical System to reimburse the cost of testing for patients who are uninsured. In short, the bottom line is, no one will have to pay to be tested for the coronavirus, period. This legislation also includes a range of provisions to provide financial security for those who are unable to work, and that is because they are protecting the public health. It will create a new Federal emergency paid sick leave program for those impacted by the coronavirus. That means that any Texan--any American who is diagnosed, quarantining, or caring for a dependent who was impacted by this virus will be able to take 14 days of paid sick leave. And many Texas workers will be able to access 12 weeks of paid leave for virus-related long-term absences. These protections include workers who stay home to care for their loved ones, including staying home with their kids due to school closures. This bill also makes changes to unemployment insurance. It will temporarily waive requirements for workers to prove they are actively searching for work during the public health emergency response, and it will provide $1 billion in emergency grants for States to support processing and paying unemployment insurance benefits. In other words, we know that people are staying home because their employers have told them their businesses have been shut down. Even though they are not sick, they are suffering financial loss. The purpose of this is to make sure that through the vehicle of unemployment insurance, they do get some money so that they can take care of their necessities and keep putting food on the table. This bill also takes serious steps to strengthen food security for those who are struggling with reliable access to healthy meals. This is one of the things I heard from a friend of mine out in West Texas just today concerned about the food banks that provide a safety net for people without access to regular, healthy food. This bill actually will send $400 million to local food banks, which are supporting those low-income families across the country, including in places like West Texas. We know that older Americans are the most vulnerable when it comes to the coronavirus, and many are afraid to leave their homes at the risk of getting sick. This legislation provides a quarter of a billion dollars for the senior nutrition program to provide home-delivered meals to low-income seniors. It also provides half a billion dollars for Federal food stamps. It provides flexibility on work requirements, so those who lose their jobs or aren't able to work can receive assistance when they need it the most. I mentioned the food banks and the school lunch program. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a request from Texas with regard to school lunches. Millions of Texas students are currently eligible for free lunch programs, but, obviously, when the schools close, they don't get access to that nutrition. But thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas schools can continue to servefree meals to low-income students, even when their schools are closed. This legislation also includes a range of measures to support healthcare workers, veterans, small businesses, and countless Texans who are struggling financially as a result of this pandemic. Of course, we know we are all racing against the clock to respond to this virus, and it is important for Congress to act promptly to demonstrate to the American people that we understand the problem and that we are using every tool in our toolbox to respond to this crisis on their behalf. In any major event--whether it is a natural disaster or a pandemic--we need an all-of-government response. All of us need to be cooperating and working on the same page, moving as efficiently as we possibly can. As I said, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act builds on the $8.3 billion emergency spending bill that was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month. It also complements the national emergency declaration made by President Trump last week and Governor Abbott's disaster declaration for the State of Texas. That is why I plan to support this bill when a vote is scheduled. I know there are other Senators who have said they have good ideas. Many of them are intriguing and I think would make a positive addition to this legislation, but I think in times like this, the thing we need to do is to work together and function expeditiously to get this legislation passed. And because we know there is going to be another installment--a third installment--to respond to the coronavirus, perhaps those other good ideas can be included in that additional legislation, which we will pass before we recess. I was interested to hear the majority leader say that we will not recess until we take up and pass that third installment. I think his sense of urgency and his sense of determination and focus is well justified, and I congratulate him for that. I think we need to all pull together in a similar spirit of unity. I thank the Trump administration, especially Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, for working so quickly with Speaker Pelosi to build this package so that we can provide relief for American workers and families as soon as possible. This is not the first bill to strengthen our response to the coronavirus, and it will not be our last. As I said, there is a bipartisan commitment to passing the third phase to strengthen our economy and support the industries and businesses that have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. Leader McConnell has made clear his commitment to finding a bold, bipartisan solution to the economic challenges we are facing and will continue to face in the months ahead, and I am proud to support this effort. While conversations continue regarding the next phase of our coronavirus response and what that may look like, I believe it is time to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act so that we provide this needed relief to the American people as soon as possible. (Mr. SULLIVAN assumed the Chair.)

2020-01-06

Mr. CORNYN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1771

formal

food stamps

racist

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, across our country, we are seeing cities, schools, businesses, and other organizations take the necessary and serious precautions to keep the American people safe from the spread of the coronavirus. School districts, colleges, and universities are canceling in-person classes, churches are moving services online, professional sports teams are hitting pause on their regular season, airlines are canceling flights, and many Main Street businesses are closing their doors. I know that all of this is a little disorienting and certainly alarming. But while these measures aren't normal, it is a sign that we are heeding advice from the experts, people like Dr. Fauci and organizations like the Centers for Disease Control. It is a sign that we are doing what we can to prevent or at least slow down community spread. It is a sign that we are standing together and making progress, ultimately expecting that we will get through this together. The difficult decisions that need to be made by elected officials, business owners, and community leaders when they decide to shut down normal parts of our daily lives--these are not easy decisions for them to make. Despite the public health benefits these closures will provide, we are also expecting other serious--mainly economic--consequences. Our economic engine is being brought to a halt as people are staying home rather than producing, and small businesses and their employees in particular are feeling the impact. Jason Phillips is a manager at Zoli's Pizza in Fort Worth, TX, and he has been in the service industry for more than 20 years. Still, he said he has never been in a situation quite like this one. He said this past Saturday that Zoli's Pizza had about half the number of customers they have come to expect. Steven Startz has experienced a similar struggle. Last November, he opened a new restaurant in New Braunfels, TX, just north of San Antonio, called Le Citron European Cafe and Bistro. The first year for any new restaurant is bound to be tough. As luck would have it, a week after they opened, an oven broke, and it had to be replaced. But nothing has prepared Steven for the months of February and March, what they would bring. He was hoping, as you might imagine, for an uptick in tourists, which would mean more business, but instead a pandemic has kept everybody at home. Rather than a positive bump in the business, revenue for his young restaurant is down 60 percent. As a result, he has had to cut staff, and he hasn't hired replacements for the employees he has recently lost. This is an all-too-familiar struggle for millions of Americans who are unable to go to work during this pandemic and are facing serious economic uncertainty about their future. Those in the service industry--especially those who rely on tips--are among the hardest hit. I am glad to say that soon the Senate will take action to provide additional relief. As the Presiding Officer knows, we passed an $8.3 billion emergency package to help fast-track discovery of a vaccine and to make sure that our healthcare sector is prepared for what is coming at it, or at least better prepared. The House has now passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which we are in the process of taking up and will hopefully finish this week, and then I expect there will be a third installment--a stimulus package that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin will be up here on the Hill talking about today to try to help employees and employers and entire industries survive this economic trauma. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act will help protect both the physical and financial health of our country by supporting workers and their families impacted by the virus. It will remove financial barriers for Texans who need access to coronavirus testing, regardless of income or insurance coverage. This is one of the things I talked to Governor Abbott about in particular. He said that there are two things that Texas needs. He said it is more testing and it is more protective equipment, personal protective equipment--PPEs, as they are called--in order for this testing to take place. While it is still true--according to the Centers for Disease Control--that you should not be tested unless you are experiencing symptoms and referred by a healthcare provider, it is clear that more testing is going to be needed, and indeed we have heard from the President and the Vice President and the administration in general that we expect a huge ramping up of the capacity to test people so they can know whether they are positive and they need to stay in isolation or possibly need healthcare treatment or whether, like the President and one of our colleagues here, Senator Graham, they are negative, and obviously the peace of mind that comes with that. This legislation removes all financial barriers for that testing For those who have private insurance, it requires that all plans cover the cost of testing, including the cost of a provider, an urgent care center, and emergency room visits in order to get tested. As I said, right now, CDC protocol calls for a healthcare provider to make a diagnosis based on symptoms that would then lead to a test. Those are the same zero-cost measures that would apply to those covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. It also requires the National Disaster Medical System to reimburse the cost of testing for patients who are uninsured. In short, the bottom line is, no one will have to pay to be tested for the coronavirus, period. This legislation also includes a range of provisions to provide financial security for those who are unable to work, and that is because they are protecting the public health. It will create a new Federal emergency paid sick leave program for those impacted by the coronavirus. That means that any Texan--any American who is diagnosed, quarantining, or caring for a dependent who was impacted by this virus will be able to take 14 days of paid sick leave. And many Texas workers will be able to access 12 weeks of paid leave for virus-related long-term absences. These protections include workers who stay home to care for their loved ones, including staying home with their kids due to school closures. This bill also makes changes to unemployment insurance. It will temporarily waive requirements for workers to prove they are actively searching for work during the public health emergency response, and it will provide $1 billion in emergency grants for States to support processing and paying unemployment insurance benefits. In other words, we know that people are staying home because their employers have told them their businesses have been shut down. Even though they are not sick, they are suffering financial loss. The purpose of this is to make sure that through the vehicle of unemployment insurance, they do get some money so that they can take care of their necessities and keep putting food on the table. This bill also takes serious steps to strengthen food security for those who are struggling with reliable access to healthy meals. This is one of the things I heard from a friend of mine out in West Texas just today concerned about the food banks that provide a safety net for people without access to regular, healthy food. This bill actually will send $400 million to local food banks, which are supporting those low-income families across the country, including in places like West Texas. We know that older Americans are the most vulnerable when it comes to the coronavirus, and many are afraid to leave their homes at the risk of getting sick. This legislation provides a quarter of a billion dollars for the senior nutrition program to provide home-delivered meals to low-income seniors. It also provides half a billion dollars for Federal food stamps. It provides flexibility on work requirements, so those who lose their jobs or aren't able to work can receive assistance when they need it the most. I mentioned the food banks and the school lunch program. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a request from Texas with regard to school lunches. Millions of Texas students are currently eligible for free lunch programs, but, obviously, when the schools close, they don't get access to that nutrition. But thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas schools can continue to servefree meals to low-income students, even when their schools are closed. This legislation also includes a range of measures to support healthcare workers, veterans, small businesses, and countless Texans who are struggling financially as a result of this pandemic. Of course, we know we are all racing against the clock to respond to this virus, and it is important for Congress to act promptly to demonstrate to the American people that we understand the problem and that we are using every tool in our toolbox to respond to this crisis on their behalf. In any major event--whether it is a natural disaster or a pandemic--we need an all-of-government response. All of us need to be cooperating and working on the same page, moving as efficiently as we possibly can. As I said, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act builds on the $8.3 billion emergency spending bill that was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month. It also complements the national emergency declaration made by President Trump last week and Governor Abbott's disaster declaration for the State of Texas. That is why I plan to support this bill when a vote is scheduled. I know there are other Senators who have said they have good ideas. Many of them are intriguing and I think would make a positive addition to this legislation, but I think in times like this, the thing we need to do is to work together and function expeditiously to get this legislation passed. And because we know there is going to be another installment--a third installment--to respond to the coronavirus, perhaps those other good ideas can be included in that additional legislation, which we will pass before we recess. I was interested to hear the majority leader say that we will not recess until we take up and pass that third installment. I think his sense of urgency and his sense of determination and focus is well justified, and I congratulate him for that. I think we need to all pull together in a similar spirit of unity. I thank the Trump administration, especially Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, for working so quickly with Speaker Pelosi to build this package so that we can provide relief for American workers and families as soon as possible. This is not the first bill to strengthen our response to the coronavirus, and it will not be our last. As I said, there is a bipartisan commitment to passing the third phase to strengthen our economy and support the industries and businesses that have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. Leader McConnell has made clear his commitment to finding a bold, bipartisan solution to the economic challenges we are facing and will continue to face in the months ahead, and I am proud to support this effort. While conversations continue regarding the next phase of our coronavirus response and what that may look like, I believe it is time to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act so that we provide this needed relief to the American people as soon as possible. (Mr. SULLIVAN assumed the Chair.)

2020-01-06

Mr. CORNYN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1771

formal

food stamp

racist

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, across our country, we are seeing cities, schools, businesses, and other organizations take the necessary and serious precautions to keep the American people safe from the spread of the coronavirus. School districts, colleges, and universities are canceling in-person classes, churches are moving services online, professional sports teams are hitting pause on their regular season, airlines are canceling flights, and many Main Street businesses are closing their doors. I know that all of this is a little disorienting and certainly alarming. But while these measures aren't normal, it is a sign that we are heeding advice from the experts, people like Dr. Fauci and organizations like the Centers for Disease Control. It is a sign that we are doing what we can to prevent or at least slow down community spread. It is a sign that we are standing together and making progress, ultimately expecting that we will get through this together. The difficult decisions that need to be made by elected officials, business owners, and community leaders when they decide to shut down normal parts of our daily lives--these are not easy decisions for them to make. Despite the public health benefits these closures will provide, we are also expecting other serious--mainly economic--consequences. Our economic engine is being brought to a halt as people are staying home rather than producing, and small businesses and their employees in particular are feeling the impact. Jason Phillips is a manager at Zoli's Pizza in Fort Worth, TX, and he has been in the service industry for more than 20 years. Still, he said he has never been in a situation quite like this one. He said this past Saturday that Zoli's Pizza had about half the number of customers they have come to expect. Steven Startz has experienced a similar struggle. Last November, he opened a new restaurant in New Braunfels, TX, just north of San Antonio, called Le Citron European Cafe and Bistro. The first year for any new restaurant is bound to be tough. As luck would have it, a week after they opened, an oven broke, and it had to be replaced. But nothing has prepared Steven for the months of February and March, what they would bring. He was hoping, as you might imagine, for an uptick in tourists, which would mean more business, but instead a pandemic has kept everybody at home. Rather than a positive bump in the business, revenue for his young restaurant is down 60 percent. As a result, he has had to cut staff, and he hasn't hired replacements for the employees he has recently lost. This is an all-too-familiar struggle for millions of Americans who are unable to go to work during this pandemic and are facing serious economic uncertainty about their future. Those in the service industry--especially those who rely on tips--are among the hardest hit. I am glad to say that soon the Senate will take action to provide additional relief. As the Presiding Officer knows, we passed an $8.3 billion emergency package to help fast-track discovery of a vaccine and to make sure that our healthcare sector is prepared for what is coming at it, or at least better prepared. The House has now passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which we are in the process of taking up and will hopefully finish this week, and then I expect there will be a third installment--a stimulus package that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin will be up here on the Hill talking about today to try to help employees and employers and entire industries survive this economic trauma. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act will help protect both the physical and financial health of our country by supporting workers and their families impacted by the virus. It will remove financial barriers for Texans who need access to coronavirus testing, regardless of income or insurance coverage. This is one of the things I talked to Governor Abbott about in particular. He said that there are two things that Texas needs. He said it is more testing and it is more protective equipment, personal protective equipment--PPEs, as they are called--in order for this testing to take place. While it is still true--according to the Centers for Disease Control--that you should not be tested unless you are experiencing symptoms and referred by a healthcare provider, it is clear that more testing is going to be needed, and indeed we have heard from the President and the Vice President and the administration in general that we expect a huge ramping up of the capacity to test people so they can know whether they are positive and they need to stay in isolation or possibly need healthcare treatment or whether, like the President and one of our colleagues here, Senator Graham, they are negative, and obviously the peace of mind that comes with that. This legislation removes all financial barriers for that testing For those who have private insurance, it requires that all plans cover the cost of testing, including the cost of a provider, an urgent care center, and emergency room visits in order to get tested. As I said, right now, CDC protocol calls for a healthcare provider to make a diagnosis based on symptoms that would then lead to a test. Those are the same zero-cost measures that would apply to those covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. It also requires the National Disaster Medical System to reimburse the cost of testing for patients who are uninsured. In short, the bottom line is, no one will have to pay to be tested for the coronavirus, period. This legislation also includes a range of provisions to provide financial security for those who are unable to work, and that is because they are protecting the public health. It will create a new Federal emergency paid sick leave program for those impacted by the coronavirus. That means that any Texan--any American who is diagnosed, quarantining, or caring for a dependent who was impacted by this virus will be able to take 14 days of paid sick leave. And many Texas workers will be able to access 12 weeks of paid leave for virus-related long-term absences. These protections include workers who stay home to care for their loved ones, including staying home with their kids due to school closures. This bill also makes changes to unemployment insurance. It will temporarily waive requirements for workers to prove they are actively searching for work during the public health emergency response, and it will provide $1 billion in emergency grants for States to support processing and paying unemployment insurance benefits. In other words, we know that people are staying home because their employers have told them their businesses have been shut down. Even though they are not sick, they are suffering financial loss. The purpose of this is to make sure that through the vehicle of unemployment insurance, they do get some money so that they can take care of their necessities and keep putting food on the table. This bill also takes serious steps to strengthen food security for those who are struggling with reliable access to healthy meals. This is one of the things I heard from a friend of mine out in West Texas just today concerned about the food banks that provide a safety net for people without access to regular, healthy food. This bill actually will send $400 million to local food banks, which are supporting those low-income families across the country, including in places like West Texas. We know that older Americans are the most vulnerable when it comes to the coronavirus, and many are afraid to leave their homes at the risk of getting sick. This legislation provides a quarter of a billion dollars for the senior nutrition program to provide home-delivered meals to low-income seniors. It also provides half a billion dollars for Federal food stamps. It provides flexibility on work requirements, so those who lose their jobs or aren't able to work can receive assistance when they need it the most. I mentioned the food banks and the school lunch program. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a request from Texas with regard to school lunches. Millions of Texas students are currently eligible for free lunch programs, but, obviously, when the schools close, they don't get access to that nutrition. But thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas schools can continue to servefree meals to low-income students, even when their schools are closed. This legislation also includes a range of measures to support healthcare workers, veterans, small businesses, and countless Texans who are struggling financially as a result of this pandemic. Of course, we know we are all racing against the clock to respond to this virus, and it is important for Congress to act promptly to demonstrate to the American people that we understand the problem and that we are using every tool in our toolbox to respond to this crisis on their behalf. In any major event--whether it is a natural disaster or a pandemic--we need an all-of-government response. All of us need to be cooperating and working on the same page, moving as efficiently as we possibly can. As I said, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act builds on the $8.3 billion emergency spending bill that was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month. It also complements the national emergency declaration made by President Trump last week and Governor Abbott's disaster declaration for the State of Texas. That is why I plan to support this bill when a vote is scheduled. I know there are other Senators who have said they have good ideas. Many of them are intriguing and I think would make a positive addition to this legislation, but I think in times like this, the thing we need to do is to work together and function expeditiously to get this legislation passed. And because we know there is going to be another installment--a third installment--to respond to the coronavirus, perhaps those other good ideas can be included in that additional legislation, which we will pass before we recess. I was interested to hear the majority leader say that we will not recess until we take up and pass that third installment. I think his sense of urgency and his sense of determination and focus is well justified, and I congratulate him for that. I think we need to all pull together in a similar spirit of unity. I thank the Trump administration, especially Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, for working so quickly with Speaker Pelosi to build this package so that we can provide relief for American workers and families as soon as possible. This is not the first bill to strengthen our response to the coronavirus, and it will not be our last. As I said, there is a bipartisan commitment to passing the third phase to strengthen our economy and support the industries and businesses that have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. Leader McConnell has made clear his commitment to finding a bold, bipartisan solution to the economic challenges we are facing and will continue to face in the months ahead, and I am proud to support this effort. While conversations continue regarding the next phase of our coronavirus response and what that may look like, I believe it is time to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act so that we provide this needed relief to the American people as soon as possible. (Mr. SULLIVAN assumed the Chair.)

2020-01-06

Mr. CORNYN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1771

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, first of all, I want to thank the staff here in the Senate. Even in these difficult times, they answer the call of doing the work of the American people, and I want to appreciate their being here so that the Senate can conduct its work. They are essential to being able to do that. So I want to acknowledge that. I come to the floor today as our country grapples with a global pandemic that, tragically, has claimed the lives of thousands of people around the world, including dozens throughout the United States and three in my home State of New Jersey. I come to the floor because I hope that people understand the fierce urgency of ``now''--the fierce urgency of ``now.'' This is a public health crisis, and we can't wait to act. The rapid spread of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, has disrupted our daily lives. It has destabilized our economy and has imposed an enormous strain on our healthcare system. I think many failed to grasp the scope of this threat--the lack of a national response just as the virus began to reach America's shores. But I am not here to talk today about where the administration went wrong; I am here to talk about how it can start making things right. If there is anything we have learned in recent weeks, it is that you have to be proactive. In the past week, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases here in the United States jumped from around 1,000 to well over 4,000. While other countries were testing thousands of people, the United States was testing mere dozens. While other countries were staging makeshift hospitals, we were overloading ours. While other countries implemented aggressive social distancing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, our government sent mixed signals to the American people about the sacrifices they must make in order to save, maybe, their lives and, if not, the lives of others. State leaders like my own Governor, Phil Murphy, stepped in to fill the leadership void. Earlier this week, he, along with the Governors of New York and Connecticut, imposed new restrictions on restaurants, shops, and other public gathering spaces. These are tough, unquestionably, but we need every New Jerseyan, as well as every American, to take Federal and State recommendations about social distancing seriously, avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people, washing your hands frequently, and if you feel sick, staying home and calling your healthcare provider immediately. We all need to be part of the solution or we can become part of the statistics. We all need to be part of the solution. This is one time in which we all must come together as Americans and be part of the solution so that we are not part of the statistics. Already families are feeling the impact, whether in lost wages, smaller paychecks, school closures, restaurant curfews, or outright job losses. That is why I am calling on the Senate to act today--today--on legislation that will provide paid leave and unemployment assistance to impacted workers, food assistance to children and seniors, more funding for Medicaid. We cannot leave families alone to weather the storm. We also need to do more to help restaurants and shops and other businesses struggling with the economic fallout of the coronavirus from mandatory curfews to supply chain shortages, to decreased demand for their services. They need help. At the end of the day, we want them to be able to survive the crisis in order to offer the employment that will be necessary to revive the economy. But we must remember that this is first and foremost a public health crisis. The wealth of our Nation will ultimately depend on the health of our Nation. Nothing economically will be solved without dealing with the health of the American people, and we cannot ignore the demands that COVID-19 will make on our healthcare sector and, especially, hospitals in the days and weeks to come. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, has projected that between 160 million and 214 million people could contract COVID-19 in the United States and that between 2.4 million and 21 million of those infected could require hospitalization. As a means of comparison, our hospital system has less than 1 million staffed beds, which would be inadequate even under the CDC's most optimistic projections. Hospitals must also have the resources and equipment available to treat the expected influx of patients. There is a significant concern that the Nation's supply of mechanical respirators and ventilators is inadequate to meet the exponential need we will likely experience in the coming weeks and months. The latest data indicates that there may be only 62,000 hospital ventilators in the entire nation. Evenif only half of those hospitalized require ventilation, our supply would be wholly inadequate to fill the demand. Healthcare workers also need protective gear to do their lifesaving work without risking infection to themselves. Unfortunately, there have been multiple reports of shortages of personal protective equipment even during the opening days of this outbreak. Failure to protect our healthcare workers and support staff would cause a cascading effect that would cause our entire response to collapse. Simply put, we need the Federal Government to step in and provide real leadership. In the midst of a pandemic, State and local governments should not be left on their own, scrambling to find or purchase ventilators for patients, personal protective gear for healthcare workers, and other critical medical supplies. The Federal Government has a tremendous obligation and an opportunity to help save lives by assisting State and local governments in locating resources, using existing authorities to increase manufacturing of ventilators and other critical equipment, and preparing for the staging of temporary hospitals and beds, and more. Let's look at military facilities that have been closed. There is one in my State. Let's open them up. Let's construct MASH units. Let's not wait. Let's rent out hotels that are closing. These are some of the many actions that can be taken if we are decisive in our work. That is why I am calling on the President to immediately exercise the powers authorized by the Defense Production Act to defend the health and safety of the American people in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. While the administration's response has so far lacked the energy this crisis calls for, invoking the powers vested in the Defense Production Act will enable the Federal Government to step up and take the types of aggressive steps needed in this time of uncertainty. It is that act that can give the Federal Government the power to say: We are going to become your partner. We want to infuse massive amounts of money to create the ventilators that we need, the personal protective gear that we need, and if we can't get you to produce it, we are going to produce it. We need to use the power of the Federal Government to have the type of response that this moment calls for, that this crisis calls for. That is what government in its most significant moment is supposed to be all about. That is really what the Federal Government is supposed to be all about. What States cannot individually do or individual communities cannot do, it is the power of the Federal Government that can do it. We must be willing to mobilize that power. It is time the United States of America live up to its history of defeating extraordinary challenges and prevailing in the face of great uncertainty. It is time to harness the ingenuity of our people, the might of our manufacturing base, and the wisdom of our healthcare experts to confront COVID-19 to protect our families and our communities, to slow the spread of the virus so we don't overwhelm our hospitals so that we can save lives. I have seen some of the projections. I hope, for God's sake, they are wrong. But we will lose many people unless we all take this seriously and unless we act. This is a moment for action and to show the world once again that there is no challenge too great for the American people. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. MENENDEZ

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1772-2

formal

working families

racist

Mr. JONES. Madam President, today I want to talk just briefly about all that we can do. I know we are facing an emergency in this country. We are facing a healthcare crisis. Instead of talking about all that is going on here in Congress--and there is a lot going on that the people of America need to understand. You see empty Chambers right now, but the fact is, we are trying to do those things necessary to stop the spread of this virus as well. I want to talk a little bit about what we can do as Americans to protect ourselves and our country. In doing so, I am thinking back to an old friend of mine from my younger days. Back when I was a kid, the National Park Service and others were concerned about the forest fires around the country, and they came up with what is now an old friend of mine: Smokey Bear. Everybody remembers Smokey Bear. You still see Smokey on occasion because only you can prevent forest fires. Well, folks, we have forest fires raging around this country right now in the form of COVID-19, and only you can prevent the spread of that forest fire, the COVID-19 virus--only you. We have healthcare responders out there. We have emergency responders, people who are doing amazing work right now responding to this virus. But it is up to us. It is up to you. Only you can prevent the spread by doing those things necessary to try to protect your communities. The social distancing that people are talking about, the hand washing--all of those things are so important that we have to do as individuals to make sure we flatten that curve. You don't need to be going on spring break or vacation right now--none of this. With shutting down these businesses and things and people being at home, this is not vacation time. You can use it, but it is not a time to go out on vacation, to do those kinds of things. It is a time to try to protect yourself and your communities. Don't go out and try to get tested unless you have symptoms and have talked to your healthcare provider. In Alabama right now, we are seeing long lines of folks who are lined up at a private testing facility to try to get tested. I don't know all the protocols that they have, but I know my friends at the University of Alabama in Birmingham--in the infectious disease center--with whom I have met and talked on a regular basis, say that the odds are that a number of those people in those lines don't need to test right now. They are concerned. Everybody is worried. Everybody wants to know. But the fact is, there are not enough tests out there for everyone just yet. We are getting there. More and more tests are coming online. We also have to be concerned about the equipment--the swabs that are used, the test tubes that have to be used. Those are the things we are running in short supply of as well. So unless you have those symptoms, unless you see that you are getting sick, stay home. Stay with your families. We are going to be inconvenienced for some time, but I think we need to do all we can to make those inconveniences as short-lived as possible. The short-term pain will mean long-term gain for all of us, but only if we follow the best practices that the CDC and all our departments of public health are talking about right now. We have legislative packages that are coming over from the House. We have more. I can tell you, for my folks in Alabama and the folks across the United States, your U.S. Senators on both sides of the aisle are working very hard to try to minimize this impact. There are things we can do now, and we are trying to get those done. There are things we can do to take care of small businesses and families, and we are working very hard to make sure those things get done now. Also, keep this in mind: This is going to be a work in progress. This is not something we know the long-term implications of just yet. Our goal is to blunt that curve, as you have seen Dr. Fauci and others talking about, to try to stem the tide of this virus, to make it to where it is going to be manageable in our healthcare systems. If we can do that, we can better assess how we can protect small businesses and how we can protect working families and make sure they have the income they need to get by on a daily basis, knowing that when this crisis does subside, they can get back to work and we can get this economy popping, as the President said earlier today. That is our goal. That is what we are trying to do. We also have to take a deep look at ourselves, I believe. Folks across the country need to take a deep look and see what we can do as States, as Members of Congress, and as American people to do better on our healthcare system, which right now is under increasing strain and stresses with this pandemic virus. We need to see, structurally, those kinds of things that can help stem the tide of this virus but also put in place things that are going tohelp our healthcare delivery system that we have in this country. Those are the kinds of things I hope we will take a look at as we go forward and we better understand the problems we are facing in the United States. For me, ever since I started running for this office, I have talked about the need to expand Medicaid in Alabama. Right now, I am concerned about all Alabamans, but there are some 326,000 people below the poverty line who do not qualify for Medicaid and are wondering right now: What is going to happen to me? What is going to happen because I don't have health insurance? I can't go get in that line in Birmingham that requires a Medicaid or a Medicare card or an insurance card. I don't know what to do. We are working on things to try to help to do that, but I think expanding Medicaid is an important part of this. Those Alabamans who are at most risk from the COVID-19 virus are those in rural areas where hospitals are closing and who cannot get to a doctor--the community health centers are sparsely situated throughout the State--our seniors and people of all ages who have preexisting conditions. I want folks in Alabama to really think about this. We have now heard for a month or so that it is not just the elderly but it is people with certain preexisting conditions who are at most risk for the COVID-19 virus and significant complications from the virus. Those are people who are diabetic; people with cardiovascular disease; people with kidney disease; people who are, in fact, so much of the demographics of the State of Alabama. I have said it so many times: We are a relatively poor State. We are an unhealthy State. We have more people at risk for this virus than probably most because of the preexisting conditions that exist among the populace in the State of Alabama. Those are the ones about whom we are concerned. There are consequences to Alabama's not expanding Medicaid, and there are going to be consequences if we don't do things in the future to try to make sure we get relief to all people. There are going to be consequences if the administration continues to fight in court to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and all of its protections for those with preexisting conditions. Why in the world, in this time of healthcare crisis, would the administration continue to do this just now? Now is the time that we need to be putting lawsuits aside, taking those lawsuits and putting them away and working together to try to do those things within the ACA to get coverage for so many more people. We can do that. We are seeing people rallying now here on the Hill and with the administration. That is what we need to be doing, not trying to work through lawsuits to get rid of the ACA. Now is the time that we need to be working together to make sure everyone in this country gets the healthcare they need. We need to expand Medicaid, work together to keep rural hospitals open, and not dismantle the ACA but improve the flaws in the existing ACA, making sure that everyone with a preexisting condition is protected. So I am once again calling on this administration, calling on the 20 attorneys general from around the country--including my own in the State of Alabama--let's get rid of this, and let's work together to try to figure out how we can get healthcare into all ZIP Codes in America, including all the ZIP Codes in the State of Alabama. Folks, we have amazing opportunities here. It is a challenging time, but challenges also give us opportunities. We need to take those opportunities. We have that opportunity here in the Senate and the Congress and the Government of the United States, but we have these opportunities as a country. We have these opportunities for individuals. We have to act quickly and without regard to politics or party. The American people are looking to us--they are looking to this Congress, they are looking to the administration--to do those things necessary, to take the steps necessary to protect their families, their communities, their livelihoods, and our economy. We can do this, but we need to rise to the occasion. We need to work quickly. We need to put the American people first. It is the American people's interests who have to come first. As individuals, we have to review the responses to the COVID crisis as an act of citizenship. Every response has to be seen, in my view, as an act of citizenship, not only for this country but for citizens of the world, to do the things that need to be done for yourself, for your family, but also for each other in the greater beloved community. We have to recognize that we all must make sacrifices. We are in this together. Our doctors, our nurses, and our healthcare professionals are already doing that. They are fighting with everything they have to minimize the suffering and to save as many as they can, often putting themselves in jeopardy. One of the things we have to do is give them more tools to do their jobs. We are working on that. But these folks are those frontline folks. It is just like the first responders of 9/11, who were running toward the danger to try to help others flee from it. That is what our healthcare professionals and our first responders are doing today. They are running toward the danger to try to minimize the suffering and to save lives. Folks, everybody in America needs to hear all of this. We need to be thanking those people. We need to be thanking the folks who are still putting food on the shelves at the grocery stores, the people who are still stocking the sanitizer at the drug stores, the people who are still doing those routine things to help all Americans. We need to hear this as well: Staying at home for the next few weeks may be a hardship, but it is the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do not just for the obvious reasons of protecting yourself. You do it for your neighbors. You do it for your fellow citizens in your community. You do it for your grandparents. You do it for all of those close to you. That is how we stop this virus. That is how Smokey puts out the forest fires. It is each one of us. Only you can do this, and none of it will be easy. Financial hardships will be faced by far too many Americans already living on the edge. It is in our local communities that we have to respond to the heroic efforts to bridge these hardships for as many as possible and to make this period of disruption as short as possible. The truth is, it is you, Mr. and Mrs. America. It is you, the American people, who are the best defense now. You are the frontline. You are the foot soldiers of trying to stem this crisis. Don't shake hands as some sign of strength. Stopping that simple contact is not only going to keep you safer but it is going to strengthen the fight to stop these fires. Do those little things. The American people have to rally to this challenge not just for themselves but for each other, for the sick and the elderly and the most vulnerable in our society, for the doctors and the nurses who are on the frontlines, for the children who will need those school lunch programs they can't get because schools are out all across this country. We do it for those who can't afford 1 day--let alone 1 week or 2 weeks or a couple of months--of lost wages. That is who we have to do this for. Let me mention something. I want to talk a little bit directly to the younger folks in Alabama and the younger folks in our country. You are perhaps the most powerful voices and examples in this fight. You know that it is not likely that you are going to personally suffer the hardest of these hardships in the sense of getting this virus. It is not going to cause the incredible complications of so many others, but that makes you the most powerful weapon that we have in this fight. You can lead this country's war against this disease. You can lead the State of Alabama and all of your States and your communities, and you do so by example, just like young people have done in the history of this country. Whether it was with the Vietnam war, whether it was through civil rights, whether it was through little things like buckling seatbelts, it is the younger folks in this country who have led the way and shown the examples. You are the most connected generation or couple of generations in the history of the world. By having those connections to each other, you have connections to your communities and to your grandparents and to your parents and your aunts and your uncles and those living down the street who might be shut in at thispoint--sick and shut in--whom you can help and get the word out to. This is the moment in time where we can come together as a people. We can come together, and you as young people, who get so maligned in so many different ways--and I see that--you are the prime examples, and you can lead this country at a time when we desperately need all people in this country to lead by example and by information. I know you will step up to do it. I know you will make sure that your kids are protected, but I know you will also make sure that you do those things and do what Smokey the Bear says, because it is only you that can prevent the forest fire of this virus from spreading. So that is our challenge today. That is the challenge for America and the individuals. As a body, I can assure folks that the Senate and the Congress are going to do everything we can to do our part to minimize the damage that this is inflicting, to help repair the damage, to make sure that we get back on our feet at the right time when this fire is stemmed. What we know and what is demanded of us as a U.S. Senate, what is demanded of us as a government, is nothing short of the same kind of government response--overwhelming response--the same kind of commitment and response worthy of the sacrifices we are asking all American citizens to make in this fight. I believe that this Senate, I believe that the House, and I believe that the administration are up to that challenge, but we have to remember whom we are fighting for, and that is each of you--the American people. We will do our part. We will make sure what we do as a response to this is worthy of the sacrifices that we are asking each one of you to make every day for an unknown foreseeable time. I yield the floor. (Ms. McSALLY assumed the Chair.) (Mr. SASSE assumed the Chair.)

2020-01-06

Mr. JONES

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1773

formal

Bernie Sanders

antisemitic

Mr. SASSE. Madam President, we are in the midst of two crises at once--one health-related and one economic. I tend to think that the prudent path forward on the health front is that even as we hope for the best, we should continue planning for the worst. If this nasty disease continues to ramp in roughly the same proportions as it has in Italy and Spain, it will overwhelm our hospitals. So I think the social distancing recommendations from the President and from the CDC over the last 4 days are a prudent action. At the same time, we are also in the midst of a genuine economic crisis. Lots of moms and dads are worried that they might be laid off, and lots of businesses are evaluating whether they are going to make payroll and whether they are still going to be in business months down the line. They are scared, and DC needs to act more urgently than we usually do, but just saying we need to act urgently is not a substitute for actually having good ideas and actually advancing good policies. There is a herd mentality around this building right now where a lot of normally smart people are literally saying things like: The most important thing is to be fast, even if the ideas that are being advocated for are not really ready for prime time and can't really withstand the scrutiny of debate. That is a really dumb idea. It is a ready-fire-aim approach. We do indeed need to work fast, but working fast is no substitute for working smart. Again, I agree that this virus and the strategies necessary to contain it are producing some of the worst economic upheavals we have seen in a generation. Further, we need to be preparing for these unexpected economic hardships to last for 6 months or even longer. But that fact is a reason to prepare; it is not a reason to panic. That fact is a reason to debate hard and fast but still to debate what good policy looks like; it is not a reason to allow garbage policies to get by because someone simply says: No, no, no, we have to go faster. You can't ask questions about the policy. Over the next 48 to 72 hours, this body will be making some crucial decisions about somewhere between one and four spending packages. I agree with the President that this is an unprecedented economic situation and that the Federal Government, at the health level, obviously has a fundamentally crucial role to play in helping us get through this pandemic, which recognizes no borders or boundaries; thus, the Federal Government has to spend real money. As the third or fourth most conservative Member of the Senate by voting record, that is not language I use a lot, saying that we are going to have to spend real, significant amounts of money, but that is clearly true in this moment. But saying we should spend real money is not the same as saying we should spend like idiots. Unfortunately, Washington, DC, so far has been handling our responsibilities exactly as a lot of voters fear. Right now, the proposal on the table, which just came over from the House of Representatives, is for Washington, DC, to pull out its checkbook--which is really your checkbook--and just start firing. If you are an industry with a good lobbying team, you are told to line up at the door of the Treasury Department and get in line because bailout after bailout is probably in the offing. Right now, the plan around here is basically just to start shoveling money out of a helicopter, and the most important debate is whether Democrats or Republicans get to shovel the money first. This is a bad idea, and Washington should know better because 12 years ago something just like this was tried, and the consequences were really significant and lasting. They are still with us. I want to be clear. I am not talking primarily about the total price tag. The price tag matters, but the point I am trying to debate today is whether we are going to spend the American people's money wisely or foolishly, and we are not having a lot of debate about that. We are hearing a lot of people saying that the only important question is whether we can act fast enough. If you act fast but you spend money that is ineffective, you didn't effectively act fast. The Congress 12 years ago shoveled lots and lots of money into supposedly shovel-ready projects which still can't be found today. One trillion dollars in spending, and you can go to your Governor and you can go to your State legislature and go to your business roundtables and you try to find people who know where the $1 trillion of shovel-ready money went--I challenge you, that is not an easy thing to achieve. More than just the spending and the debt, though, it also produced serious backlashes of national political movements on both the right and the left. The Occupy Wall Street movement, some of which became the Bernie Sanders constituency, and the tea party were both spawned out of 2008 and 2009 and are still with us in lots of ways that are not ultimately constructive for our body politic. We don't need a policy where Washington, DC, handpicks winners and losers. There is no one here in this Chamber who is actually competent to do that. We are indeed in a period of extraordinary uncertainty, but no politician actually knows what happens next week, let alone 6 months from now, and humility would require us to admit that a bit more. The proposal currently on the table from Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to blow through a massive amount of money on a policy core that isn't actually well thought out. When you ask hard questions about the bill that has come over from the House, there is nobody who actually defends it as really good, well-thought-out policy. That is why the first version of their bill, which passed so urgently last week at 120 pages, last night required over 90 pages--we are right at 90 pages--of technical corrections. Think about that. Imagine your kid does homework and--you say you wrote a 12-page essay, and after you turn it in, you say that 9 of the 12 pages actually have to be thrown away and rewritten. That is what happened last night in the House of Representatives. They tried to pass a 90-page fix to a 120-page bill that was supposedly really urgent last week. By the way, when you talk to the architects of that legislation in private, when the cameras aren't rolling, and you ask them hard questions about how their policy actually works, everyone starts pointing at everyone else,and a lot of people admit that the bill might actually accelerate layoffs from small businesses. Think about that. The reason this first bill--if it ends up remaining independent rather than being bundled with the other ideas that are coming down the road in the form of industry-specific bailouts--this first bill, which is supposed to slow the pace of layoffs from small business, when you ask questions about it, the architects of the bill will admit to you in private that it might actually accelerate the pace of layoffs from small business. Nonetheless, despite admitting that today's version of the Rube Goldberg policy might have the opposite of its intended effect, the main answer you get is ``We have to go very, very fast.'' This is wildly irresponsible, what is happening here. Once the first couple hundred billion dollars of money is gone, that means there is less money left for the next round of stimulus and action and recovery and relief that are required. But besides money, it also means that there is less public trust left. There are gonna be more rainy days ahead in the coming weeks and months, and there is not a lot of grassroots American trust in the wisdom or the work ethic of this institution. Simply screaming that we should go faster is not a substitute for debating and advocating for the actual policy. We have many politicians pretending right now that they know how to centrally plan rifle-shot bailouts industry by industry. It is not true, and even they don't believe it. This is a game of pretend: Hurry up and look busy. If you are not sure what to do, just spend more of the people's money, but do it faster. That is not good policy. That is not good stewardship of our responsibility. The Senate is supposed to exist to calm down the passions that lead the House to move fast and write policy that is bad enough that a 120-page bill requires 90 pages of technical fixes. The Senate's actual job in our bicameral constitutional structure is to ask hard questions of legislation just like this. Here is the good news: We don't have to mindlessly go down this path again. We can do better than this. We can affirm the policy goal that we do need to help get resources to the people who need them, but we can also make smarter, more responsible, less risky decisions right now that will provide a lifeline to people in need but will also leave room for further action in the future, hopefully, as we know more in the coming days and weeks. So here is an alternate idea: Instead of DC pretending it is omnicompetent, let's admit that a complex situation like what is actually happening in the small business environment in all 50 of our States will actually require differentiated solutions. Let's be sure we are accurately naming the problem here, because I am not talking now about the public health issues, like speeding the development of a coronavirus vaccine, where DC obviously needs to maintain a leading role, but I am talking precisely about the economic problem of the next 90 days. What is that economic problem? The question before us is, How do we minimize the number of layoffs, and how do we minimize the number of small business bankruptcies that are looming across our country? How do we make sure that more families can keep putting bread on the table rather than becoming long-term dependencies on the State? We should be laser-focused on what the question is that we are actually debating in this Chamber this week. That is the question. Over the next 90 days, are there policy steps we can take to minimize the number of bankruptcies and layoffs that are going to affect American families so painfully? Here are some needed truths: The feds don't know the precise answer because there isn't a single precise answer. The answers--plural--are going to vary across our continent-sized Nation of 325 million souls. If we pretend that we have a one-size-fits-all solution for this problem or if we pretend that DC can be fair, going industry by industry with rifle-targeted bailouts, we are going to screw up badly. The lobbyists are going to dominate the day, not the public interests. Again, I am open to spending in this moment, but that is not an excuse for failing to spend well. We need to spend the people's money well, we need to steward our callings with humility, and we need to spend much better than this current House bill does. Let's take the money that is being proposed and let's direct more than half of it to our Governors so they may distribute it to families and small businesses. I trust Pete Ricketts, who is my Governor. I trust Pete Ricketts a heck of a lot more than I trust Nancy Pelosi. Part of it is that Pete and I have more aligned political philosophies, but that is not really the point. The real reason I trust Pete Ricketts at this moment is the same reason why Senator Feinstein would trust Gavin Newsom at the moment, and that is because my Governor is on the ground with his 1.9 million people. He is not in DC looking across a 325-million-person nation as if our problems are undifferentiated and as if the solutions can be one-size-fits-all. That is not going to work. That is going to waste the vast majority of the people's resources. We have 50 different States with 50 different circumstances and needs. Californians have needs that Nebraskans don't in this moment and vice versa. We can get money to the Governors quickly, and they can distribute it in ways that will best help their people. The House's one-size-fits-all approach, this nationalized leave policy in this first bundled bill, is going to cause a lot of people to fall through the cracks. Why is it that different industries and different-sized firms are being treated so radically different? It is because of who was last in the Speaker's office lobbying about the bill as they cobbled together the first 120 pages that needed 90 pages of corrections. The Rube Goldberg bill is going to create a handful of political winners, but it is going to create a whole lot more economic losers. Parts of these relief packages will need to come from DC in targeted ways; I admit that. Part of this is going to need to come from DC, but the idea that all of it can or that all of it should is arrogant. It is wrong, and it will be ineffective. Our Governors know their States and their people. Our Governors know how to build public-private partnerships. Congress doesn't. Our Governors know so much better than we do what their workforce needs were before the coronavirus struck and what their workforce needs are going to be in late Q3 or in Q4 when, hopefully, the economy is humming again. Simply put, our Governors know how to target this money much more efficiently than we do so that much more of that money will make its way to Main Street. Lots of Governors have led well in the past 3 weeks. I mentioned my Governor, Pete Ricketts, and how his strong leadership has been laying the groundwork to help shield our State from some of the worst ravages of this virus. Likewise, I would recognize Governor DeWine from Ohio, who is showing strong leadership on what it looks like to put facts front and center. What we need right now at the State, at the local, and at the Federal levels is not just any action. We need responsible, effective, defensible action. This is not a time for Washington to go on an ``anything goes'' spending spree. It is not an opportunity for Washington's connected insiders to exploit personal relationships to put their pet projects first on things that they wouldn't have been able to get passed if it weren't a time of crisis. We don't have to go down that path. Instead, we can more efficiently and more wisely spend the people's resources. We can give our States and our Governors the lead in making sure that the majority of the money and the majority of the resources get where they are most needed. We can help families and businesses keep afloat during this storm by admitting that 50 laboratories of democracy are going to be more effective than a rifle shot approach from Washington. We can create room for further action, but we can also acknowledge that the particular needs are going to evolve in the coming weeks. We need less instant certainty and more humility in this building. We should not pretend that the only government is the Federal Government. Congress should eat more humble pie. There is a reason why even the least popular Governor in America is more popular than almost everyone who works in this Chamber. There is a reason for that, and the main reason isthat while Members of Congress spend lots of our time playing pundit, sadly, Governors actually lead. They manage budgets; they make decisions; they lead departments; and they engage their community in the actual private sector, not just hire lobbyists who work for the private sector. They are physically on the ground with the people they serve. That means they know a thing or two about the businesses in their community. It means they know a thing or two about the industries that are rising and falling in their cities and in their rural areas. They have a kind of decentralized knowledge about this crisis and what is needed at this moment that people in Washington, DC, lack. Cable news is focused on Wall Street, but here is the deal: Main Street is going to be the place where lots of the pain is ultimately shouldered from this crisis, and when Wall Street needs something, Wall Street hires K Street, and Congress is told by K Street what they want, and that is usually what ends up in the bill. When Main Street needs something, they drive to Lincoln; they drive to Indianapolis and Nashville and Columbus and Albany and Sacramento; and the granular understanding of their particular problems is almost always more nuanced than is understood here. That is why, as long as Congress is debating this spending this week, I am going to be fighting to make sure that we give more than half of all this money to our Governors to distribute. They know how to spend this money better than this DC-centric House of Representatives bill. That is the way we can actually get this done and help our people grit through this time of unprecedented economic uncertainty.

2020-01-06

Mr. SASSE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1775

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. SASSE. Madam President, we are in the midst of two crises at once--one health-related and one economic. I tend to think that the prudent path forward on the health front is that even as we hope for the best, we should continue planning for the worst. If this nasty disease continues to ramp in roughly the same proportions as it has in Italy and Spain, it will overwhelm our hospitals. So I think the social distancing recommendations from the President and from the CDC over the last 4 days are a prudent action. At the same time, we are also in the midst of a genuine economic crisis. Lots of moms and dads are worried that they might be laid off, and lots of businesses are evaluating whether they are going to make payroll and whether they are still going to be in business months down the line. They are scared, and DC needs to act more urgently than we usually do, but just saying we need to act urgently is not a substitute for actually having good ideas and actually advancing good policies. There is a herd mentality around this building right now where a lot of normally smart people are literally saying things like: The most important thing is to be fast, even if the ideas that are being advocated for are not really ready for prime time and can't really withstand the scrutiny of debate. That is a really dumb idea. It is a ready-fire-aim approach. We do indeed need to work fast, but working fast is no substitute for working smart. Again, I agree that this virus and the strategies necessary to contain it are producing some of the worst economic upheavals we have seen in a generation. Further, we need to be preparing for these unexpected economic hardships to last for 6 months or even longer. But that fact is a reason to prepare; it is not a reason to panic. That fact is a reason to debate hard and fast but still to debate what good policy looks like; it is not a reason to allow garbage policies to get by because someone simply says: No, no, no, we have to go faster. You can't ask questions about the policy. Over the next 48 to 72 hours, this body will be making some crucial decisions about somewhere between one and four spending packages. I agree with the President that this is an unprecedented economic situation and that the Federal Government, at the health level, obviously has a fundamentally crucial role to play in helping us get through this pandemic, which recognizes no borders or boundaries; thus, the Federal Government has to spend real money. As the third or fourth most conservative Member of the Senate by voting record, that is not language I use a lot, saying that we are going to have to spend real, significant amounts of money, but that is clearly true in this moment. But saying we should spend real money is not the same as saying we should spend like idiots. Unfortunately, Washington, DC, so far has been handling our responsibilities exactly as a lot of voters fear. Right now, the proposal on the table, which just came over from the House of Representatives, is for Washington, DC, to pull out its checkbook--which is really your checkbook--and just start firing. If you are an industry with a good lobbying team, you are told to line up at the door of the Treasury Department and get in line because bailout after bailout is probably in the offing. Right now, the plan around here is basically just to start shoveling money out of a helicopter, and the most important debate is whether Democrats or Republicans get to shovel the money first. This is a bad idea, and Washington should know better because 12 years ago something just like this was tried, and the consequences were really significant and lasting. They are still with us. I want to be clear. I am not talking primarily about the total price tag. The price tag matters, but the point I am trying to debate today is whether we are going to spend the American people's money wisely or foolishly, and we are not having a lot of debate about that. We are hearing a lot of people saying that the only important question is whether we can act fast enough. If you act fast but you spend money that is ineffective, you didn't effectively act fast. The Congress 12 years ago shoveled lots and lots of money into supposedly shovel-ready projects which still can't be found today. One trillion dollars in spending, and you can go to your Governor and you can go to your State legislature and go to your business roundtables and you try to find people who know where the $1 trillion of shovel-ready money went--I challenge you, that is not an easy thing to achieve. More than just the spending and the debt, though, it also produced serious backlashes of national political movements on both the right and the left. The Occupy Wall Street movement, some of which became the Bernie Sanders constituency, and the tea party were both spawned out of 2008 and 2009 and are still with us in lots of ways that are not ultimately constructive for our body politic. We don't need a policy where Washington, DC, handpicks winners and losers. There is no one here in this Chamber who is actually competent to do that. We are indeed in a period of extraordinary uncertainty, but no politician actually knows what happens next week, let alone 6 months from now, and humility would require us to admit that a bit more. The proposal currently on the table from Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to blow through a massive amount of money on a policy core that isn't actually well thought out. When you ask hard questions about the bill that has come over from the House, there is nobody who actually defends it as really good, well-thought-out policy. That is why the first version of their bill, which passed so urgently last week at 120 pages, last night required over 90 pages--we are right at 90 pages--of technical corrections. Think about that. Imagine your kid does homework and--you say you wrote a 12-page essay, and after you turn it in, you say that 9 of the 12 pages actually have to be thrown away and rewritten. That is what happened last night in the House of Representatives. They tried to pass a 90-page fix to a 120-page bill that was supposedly really urgent last week. By the way, when you talk to the architects of that legislation in private, when the cameras aren't rolling, and you ask them hard questions about how their policy actually works, everyone starts pointing at everyone else,and a lot of people admit that the bill might actually accelerate layoffs from small businesses. Think about that. The reason this first bill--if it ends up remaining independent rather than being bundled with the other ideas that are coming down the road in the form of industry-specific bailouts--this first bill, which is supposed to slow the pace of layoffs from small business, when you ask questions about it, the architects of the bill will admit to you in private that it might actually accelerate the pace of layoffs from small business. Nonetheless, despite admitting that today's version of the Rube Goldberg policy might have the opposite of its intended effect, the main answer you get is ``We have to go very, very fast.'' This is wildly irresponsible, what is happening here. Once the first couple hundred billion dollars of money is gone, that means there is less money left for the next round of stimulus and action and recovery and relief that are required. But besides money, it also means that there is less public trust left. There are gonna be more rainy days ahead in the coming weeks and months, and there is not a lot of grassroots American trust in the wisdom or the work ethic of this institution. Simply screaming that we should go faster is not a substitute for debating and advocating for the actual policy. We have many politicians pretending right now that they know how to centrally plan rifle-shot bailouts industry by industry. It is not true, and even they don't believe it. This is a game of pretend: Hurry up and look busy. If you are not sure what to do, just spend more of the people's money, but do it faster. That is not good policy. That is not good stewardship of our responsibility. The Senate is supposed to exist to calm down the passions that lead the House to move fast and write policy that is bad enough that a 120-page bill requires 90 pages of technical fixes. The Senate's actual job in our bicameral constitutional structure is to ask hard questions of legislation just like this. Here is the good news: We don't have to mindlessly go down this path again. We can do better than this. We can affirm the policy goal that we do need to help get resources to the people who need them, but we can also make smarter, more responsible, less risky decisions right now that will provide a lifeline to people in need but will also leave room for further action in the future, hopefully, as we know more in the coming days and weeks. So here is an alternate idea: Instead of DC pretending it is omnicompetent, let's admit that a complex situation like what is actually happening in the small business environment in all 50 of our States will actually require differentiated solutions. Let's be sure we are accurately naming the problem here, because I am not talking now about the public health issues, like speeding the development of a coronavirus vaccine, where DC obviously needs to maintain a leading role, but I am talking precisely about the economic problem of the next 90 days. What is that economic problem? The question before us is, How do we minimize the number of layoffs, and how do we minimize the number of small business bankruptcies that are looming across our country? How do we make sure that more families can keep putting bread on the table rather than becoming long-term dependencies on the State? We should be laser-focused on what the question is that we are actually debating in this Chamber this week. That is the question. Over the next 90 days, are there policy steps we can take to minimize the number of bankruptcies and layoffs that are going to affect American families so painfully? Here are some needed truths: The feds don't know the precise answer because there isn't a single precise answer. The answers--plural--are going to vary across our continent-sized Nation of 325 million souls. If we pretend that we have a one-size-fits-all solution for this problem or if we pretend that DC can be fair, going industry by industry with rifle-targeted bailouts, we are going to screw up badly. The lobbyists are going to dominate the day, not the public interests. Again, I am open to spending in this moment, but that is not an excuse for failing to spend well. We need to spend the people's money well, we need to steward our callings with humility, and we need to spend much better than this current House bill does. Let's take the money that is being proposed and let's direct more than half of it to our Governors so they may distribute it to families and small businesses. I trust Pete Ricketts, who is my Governor. I trust Pete Ricketts a heck of a lot more than I trust Nancy Pelosi. Part of it is that Pete and I have more aligned political philosophies, but that is not really the point. The real reason I trust Pete Ricketts at this moment is the same reason why Senator Feinstein would trust Gavin Newsom at the moment, and that is because my Governor is on the ground with his 1.9 million people. He is not in DC looking across a 325-million-person nation as if our problems are undifferentiated and as if the solutions can be one-size-fits-all. That is not going to work. That is going to waste the vast majority of the people's resources. We have 50 different States with 50 different circumstances and needs. Californians have needs that Nebraskans don't in this moment and vice versa. We can get money to the Governors quickly, and they can distribute it in ways that will best help their people. The House's one-size-fits-all approach, this nationalized leave policy in this first bundled bill, is going to cause a lot of people to fall through the cracks. Why is it that different industries and different-sized firms are being treated so radically different? It is because of who was last in the Speaker's office lobbying about the bill as they cobbled together the first 120 pages that needed 90 pages of corrections. The Rube Goldberg bill is going to create a handful of political winners, but it is going to create a whole lot more economic losers. Parts of these relief packages will need to come from DC in targeted ways; I admit that. Part of this is going to need to come from DC, but the idea that all of it can or that all of it should is arrogant. It is wrong, and it will be ineffective. Our Governors know their States and their people. Our Governors know how to build public-private partnerships. Congress doesn't. Our Governors know so much better than we do what their workforce needs were before the coronavirus struck and what their workforce needs are going to be in late Q3 or in Q4 when, hopefully, the economy is humming again. Simply put, our Governors know how to target this money much more efficiently than we do so that much more of that money will make its way to Main Street. Lots of Governors have led well in the past 3 weeks. I mentioned my Governor, Pete Ricketts, and how his strong leadership has been laying the groundwork to help shield our State from some of the worst ravages of this virus. Likewise, I would recognize Governor DeWine from Ohio, who is showing strong leadership on what it looks like to put facts front and center. What we need right now at the State, at the local, and at the Federal levels is not just any action. We need responsible, effective, defensible action. This is not a time for Washington to go on an ``anything goes'' spending spree. It is not an opportunity for Washington's connected insiders to exploit personal relationships to put their pet projects first on things that they wouldn't have been able to get passed if it weren't a time of crisis. We don't have to go down that path. Instead, we can more efficiently and more wisely spend the people's resources. We can give our States and our Governors the lead in making sure that the majority of the money and the majority of the resources get where they are most needed. We can help families and businesses keep afloat during this storm by admitting that 50 laboratories of democracy are going to be more effective than a rifle shot approach from Washington. We can create room for further action, but we can also acknowledge that the particular needs are going to evolve in the coming weeks. We need less instant certainty and more humility in this building. We should not pretend that the only government is the Federal Government. Congress should eat more humble pie. There is a reason why even the least popular Governor in America is more popular than almost everyone who works in this Chamber. There is a reason for that, and the main reason isthat while Members of Congress spend lots of our time playing pundit, sadly, Governors actually lead. They manage budgets; they make decisions; they lead departments; and they engage their community in the actual private sector, not just hire lobbyists who work for the private sector. They are physically on the ground with the people they serve. That means they know a thing or two about the businesses in their community. It means they know a thing or two about the industries that are rising and falling in their cities and in their rural areas. They have a kind of decentralized knowledge about this crisis and what is needed at this moment that people in Washington, DC, lack. Cable news is focused on Wall Street, but here is the deal: Main Street is going to be the place where lots of the pain is ultimately shouldered from this crisis, and when Wall Street needs something, Wall Street hires K Street, and Congress is told by K Street what they want, and that is usually what ends up in the bill. When Main Street needs something, they drive to Lincoln; they drive to Indianapolis and Nashville and Columbus and Albany and Sacramento; and the granular understanding of their particular problems is almost always more nuanced than is understood here. That is why, as long as Congress is debating this spending this week, I am going to be fighting to make sure that we give more than half of all this money to our Governors to distribute. They know how to spend this money better than this DC-centric House of Representatives bill. That is the way we can actually get this done and help our people grit through this time of unprecedented economic uncertainty.

2020-01-06

Mr. SASSE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1775

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. SASSE. Madam President, we are in the midst of two crises at once--one health-related and one economic. I tend to think that the prudent path forward on the health front is that even as we hope for the best, we should continue planning for the worst. If this nasty disease continues to ramp in roughly the same proportions as it has in Italy and Spain, it will overwhelm our hospitals. So I think the social distancing recommendations from the President and from the CDC over the last 4 days are a prudent action. At the same time, we are also in the midst of a genuine economic crisis. Lots of moms and dads are worried that they might be laid off, and lots of businesses are evaluating whether they are going to make payroll and whether they are still going to be in business months down the line. They are scared, and DC needs to act more urgently than we usually do, but just saying we need to act urgently is not a substitute for actually having good ideas and actually advancing good policies. There is a herd mentality around this building right now where a lot of normally smart people are literally saying things like: The most important thing is to be fast, even if the ideas that are being advocated for are not really ready for prime time and can't really withstand the scrutiny of debate. That is a really dumb idea. It is a ready-fire-aim approach. We do indeed need to work fast, but working fast is no substitute for working smart. Again, I agree that this virus and the strategies necessary to contain it are producing some of the worst economic upheavals we have seen in a generation. Further, we need to be preparing for these unexpected economic hardships to last for 6 months or even longer. But that fact is a reason to prepare; it is not a reason to panic. That fact is a reason to debate hard and fast but still to debate what good policy looks like; it is not a reason to allow garbage policies to get by because someone simply says: No, no, no, we have to go faster. You can't ask questions about the policy. Over the next 48 to 72 hours, this body will be making some crucial decisions about somewhere between one and four spending packages. I agree with the President that this is an unprecedented economic situation and that the Federal Government, at the health level, obviously has a fundamentally crucial role to play in helping us get through this pandemic, which recognizes no borders or boundaries; thus, the Federal Government has to spend real money. As the third or fourth most conservative Member of the Senate by voting record, that is not language I use a lot, saying that we are going to have to spend real, significant amounts of money, but that is clearly true in this moment. But saying we should spend real money is not the same as saying we should spend like idiots. Unfortunately, Washington, DC, so far has been handling our responsibilities exactly as a lot of voters fear. Right now, the proposal on the table, which just came over from the House of Representatives, is for Washington, DC, to pull out its checkbook--which is really your checkbook--and just start firing. If you are an industry with a good lobbying team, you are told to line up at the door of the Treasury Department and get in line because bailout after bailout is probably in the offing. Right now, the plan around here is basically just to start shoveling money out of a helicopter, and the most important debate is whether Democrats or Republicans get to shovel the money first. This is a bad idea, and Washington should know better because 12 years ago something just like this was tried, and the consequences were really significant and lasting. They are still with us. I want to be clear. I am not talking primarily about the total price tag. The price tag matters, but the point I am trying to debate today is whether we are going to spend the American people's money wisely or foolishly, and we are not having a lot of debate about that. We are hearing a lot of people saying that the only important question is whether we can act fast enough. If you act fast but you spend money that is ineffective, you didn't effectively act fast. The Congress 12 years ago shoveled lots and lots of money into supposedly shovel-ready projects which still can't be found today. One trillion dollars in spending, and you can go to your Governor and you can go to your State legislature and go to your business roundtables and you try to find people who know where the $1 trillion of shovel-ready money went--I challenge you, that is not an easy thing to achieve. More than just the spending and the debt, though, it also produced serious backlashes of national political movements on both the right and the left. The Occupy Wall Street movement, some of which became the Bernie Sanders constituency, and the tea party were both spawned out of 2008 and 2009 and are still with us in lots of ways that are not ultimately constructive for our body politic. We don't need a policy where Washington, DC, handpicks winners and losers. There is no one here in this Chamber who is actually competent to do that. We are indeed in a period of extraordinary uncertainty, but no politician actually knows what happens next week, let alone 6 months from now, and humility would require us to admit that a bit more. The proposal currently on the table from Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to blow through a massive amount of money on a policy core that isn't actually well thought out. When you ask hard questions about the bill that has come over from the House, there is nobody who actually defends it as really good, well-thought-out policy. That is why the first version of their bill, which passed so urgently last week at 120 pages, last night required over 90 pages--we are right at 90 pages--of technical corrections. Think about that. Imagine your kid does homework and--you say you wrote a 12-page essay, and after you turn it in, you say that 9 of the 12 pages actually have to be thrown away and rewritten. That is what happened last night in the House of Representatives. They tried to pass a 90-page fix to a 120-page bill that was supposedly really urgent last week. By the way, when you talk to the architects of that legislation in private, when the cameras aren't rolling, and you ask them hard questions about how their policy actually works, everyone starts pointing at everyone else,and a lot of people admit that the bill might actually accelerate layoffs from small businesses. Think about that. The reason this first bill--if it ends up remaining independent rather than being bundled with the other ideas that are coming down the road in the form of industry-specific bailouts--this first bill, which is supposed to slow the pace of layoffs from small business, when you ask questions about it, the architects of the bill will admit to you in private that it might actually accelerate the pace of layoffs from small business. Nonetheless, despite admitting that today's version of the Rube Goldberg policy might have the opposite of its intended effect, the main answer you get is ``We have to go very, very fast.'' This is wildly irresponsible, what is happening here. Once the first couple hundred billion dollars of money is gone, that means there is less money left for the next round of stimulus and action and recovery and relief that are required. But besides money, it also means that there is less public trust left. There are gonna be more rainy days ahead in the coming weeks and months, and there is not a lot of grassroots American trust in the wisdom or the work ethic of this institution. Simply screaming that we should go faster is not a substitute for debating and advocating for the actual policy. We have many politicians pretending right now that they know how to centrally plan rifle-shot bailouts industry by industry. It is not true, and even they don't believe it. This is a game of pretend: Hurry up and look busy. If you are not sure what to do, just spend more of the people's money, but do it faster. That is not good policy. That is not good stewardship of our responsibility. The Senate is supposed to exist to calm down the passions that lead the House to move fast and write policy that is bad enough that a 120-page bill requires 90 pages of technical fixes. The Senate's actual job in our bicameral constitutional structure is to ask hard questions of legislation just like this. Here is the good news: We don't have to mindlessly go down this path again. We can do better than this. We can affirm the policy goal that we do need to help get resources to the people who need them, but we can also make smarter, more responsible, less risky decisions right now that will provide a lifeline to people in need but will also leave room for further action in the future, hopefully, as we know more in the coming days and weeks. So here is an alternate idea: Instead of DC pretending it is omnicompetent, let's admit that a complex situation like what is actually happening in the small business environment in all 50 of our States will actually require differentiated solutions. Let's be sure we are accurately naming the problem here, because I am not talking now about the public health issues, like speeding the development of a coronavirus vaccine, where DC obviously needs to maintain a leading role, but I am talking precisely about the economic problem of the next 90 days. What is that economic problem? The question before us is, How do we minimize the number of layoffs, and how do we minimize the number of small business bankruptcies that are looming across our country? How do we make sure that more families can keep putting bread on the table rather than becoming long-term dependencies on the State? We should be laser-focused on what the question is that we are actually debating in this Chamber this week. That is the question. Over the next 90 days, are there policy steps we can take to minimize the number of bankruptcies and layoffs that are going to affect American families so painfully? Here are some needed truths: The feds don't know the precise answer because there isn't a single precise answer. The answers--plural--are going to vary across our continent-sized Nation of 325 million souls. If we pretend that we have a one-size-fits-all solution for this problem or if we pretend that DC can be fair, going industry by industry with rifle-targeted bailouts, we are going to screw up badly. The lobbyists are going to dominate the day, not the public interests. Again, I am open to spending in this moment, but that is not an excuse for failing to spend well. We need to spend the people's money well, we need to steward our callings with humility, and we need to spend much better than this current House bill does. Let's take the money that is being proposed and let's direct more than half of it to our Governors so they may distribute it to families and small businesses. I trust Pete Ricketts, who is my Governor. I trust Pete Ricketts a heck of a lot more than I trust Nancy Pelosi. Part of it is that Pete and I have more aligned political philosophies, but that is not really the point. The real reason I trust Pete Ricketts at this moment is the same reason why Senator Feinstein would trust Gavin Newsom at the moment, and that is because my Governor is on the ground with his 1.9 million people. He is not in DC looking across a 325-million-person nation as if our problems are undifferentiated and as if the solutions can be one-size-fits-all. That is not going to work. That is going to waste the vast majority of the people's resources. We have 50 different States with 50 different circumstances and needs. Californians have needs that Nebraskans don't in this moment and vice versa. We can get money to the Governors quickly, and they can distribute it in ways that will best help their people. The House's one-size-fits-all approach, this nationalized leave policy in this first bundled bill, is going to cause a lot of people to fall through the cracks. Why is it that different industries and different-sized firms are being treated so radically different? It is because of who was last in the Speaker's office lobbying about the bill as they cobbled together the first 120 pages that needed 90 pages of corrections. The Rube Goldberg bill is going to create a handful of political winners, but it is going to create a whole lot more economic losers. Parts of these relief packages will need to come from DC in targeted ways; I admit that. Part of this is going to need to come from DC, but the idea that all of it can or that all of it should is arrogant. It is wrong, and it will be ineffective. Our Governors know their States and their people. Our Governors know how to build public-private partnerships. Congress doesn't. Our Governors know so much better than we do what their workforce needs were before the coronavirus struck and what their workforce needs are going to be in late Q3 or in Q4 when, hopefully, the economy is humming again. Simply put, our Governors know how to target this money much more efficiently than we do so that much more of that money will make its way to Main Street. Lots of Governors have led well in the past 3 weeks. I mentioned my Governor, Pete Ricketts, and how his strong leadership has been laying the groundwork to help shield our State from some of the worst ravages of this virus. Likewise, I would recognize Governor DeWine from Ohio, who is showing strong leadership on what it looks like to put facts front and center. What we need right now at the State, at the local, and at the Federal levels is not just any action. We need responsible, effective, defensible action. This is not a time for Washington to go on an ``anything goes'' spending spree. It is not an opportunity for Washington's connected insiders to exploit personal relationships to put their pet projects first on things that they wouldn't have been able to get passed if it weren't a time of crisis. We don't have to go down that path. Instead, we can more efficiently and more wisely spend the people's resources. We can give our States and our Governors the lead in making sure that the majority of the money and the majority of the resources get where they are most needed. We can help families and businesses keep afloat during this storm by admitting that 50 laboratories of democracy are going to be more effective than a rifle shot approach from Washington. We can create room for further action, but we can also acknowledge that the particular needs are going to evolve in the coming weeks. We need less instant certainty and more humility in this building. We should not pretend that the only government is the Federal Government. Congress should eat more humble pie. There is a reason why even the least popular Governor in America is more popular than almost everyone who works in this Chamber. There is a reason for that, and the main reason isthat while Members of Congress spend lots of our time playing pundit, sadly, Governors actually lead. They manage budgets; they make decisions; they lead departments; and they engage their community in the actual private sector, not just hire lobbyists who work for the private sector. They are physically on the ground with the people they serve. That means they know a thing or two about the businesses in their community. It means they know a thing or two about the industries that are rising and falling in their cities and in their rural areas. They have a kind of decentralized knowledge about this crisis and what is needed at this moment that people in Washington, DC, lack. Cable news is focused on Wall Street, but here is the deal: Main Street is going to be the place where lots of the pain is ultimately shouldered from this crisis, and when Wall Street needs something, Wall Street hires K Street, and Congress is told by K Street what they want, and that is usually what ends up in the bill. When Main Street needs something, they drive to Lincoln; they drive to Indianapolis and Nashville and Columbus and Albany and Sacramento; and the granular understanding of their particular problems is almost always more nuanced than is understood here. That is why, as long as Congress is debating this spending this week, I am going to be fighting to make sure that we give more than half of all this money to our Governors to distribute. They know how to spend this money better than this DC-centric House of Representatives bill. That is the way we can actually get this done and help our people grit through this time of unprecedented economic uncertainty.

2020-01-06

Mr. SASSE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1775

formal

Federal Reserve

antisemitic

The following communications were laid before the Senate, together with accompanying papers, reports, and documents, and were referred as indicated: EC-4290. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Cyazofamid; Pesticide Tolerances'' (FRL No. 10005- 85-OCSPP) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. EC-4291. A communication from the Administrator of the Specialty Crops Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Tart Cherries Grown in the States of Michigan, et al.; Decreased Assessment Rate'' ((7 CFR Part 930) (Docket No. AMS-SC-19-0091; SC19-930-3 FR)) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. EC-4292. A communication from the Director of the Regulations Management Division, Rural Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Special Servicing of Telecommunications Programs Loans for Financially Distressed Borrowers'' (RIN0572-AC41) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. EC-4293. A communication from the Secretary of Defense, transmitting a report on the approved retirement of Lieutenant General Darrell K. Williams, United States Army, and his advancement to the grade of lieutenant general on the retired list; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4294. A communication from the Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the Secretary, Department of Defense, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``TRICARE; Addition of Physical Therapist Assistants and Occupational Therapy Assistants as TRICARE - Authorized Providers'' (RIN0720-AB72) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4295. A communication from the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), transmitting, pursuant to law, a report on the mobilizations of selected reserve units, received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4296. A communication from the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Legislative Affairs), transmitting additional legislative proposals relative to the ``National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021''; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4297. A communication from the Assistant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Regulations Y and LL: Control and Divestiture Proceedings'' (RIN7100- AF49) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4298. A communication from the Director of Legislative Affairs, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Final Rule - Securitization Safe Harbor Rule'' (RIN3064-AF09) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4299. A communication from the Secretary of Commerce, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report relative to the export to the People's Republic of China of items not detrimental to the U.S. space launch industry; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4300. A communication from the General Counsel of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Stress Testing of Regulated Entities'' (RIN2590-AB05) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4301. A communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the six-month periodic report on the national emergency with respect to the threat of foreign interference in United States elections that was declared in Executive Order 13848 of September 12, 2018; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4302. A communication from the Secretary of Commerce, transmitting, pursuant to law, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security Annual Report for fiscal year 2019; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4303. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Alabama; Revisions to Cross- State Air Pollution Rule'' (FRL No. 10006-31-Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4304. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Alabama; 2010 1-Hour SO2 NAAQS Transport'' (FRL No. 10006-25-Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4305. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Georgia and North Carolina; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2015 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'' (FRL No. 10006-32- Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4306. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Georgia; Revisions to Aerospace VOC Rule'' (FRL No. 10006-21-Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4307. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Open Burning and Definitions Revisions for Chattanooga'' (FRL No. 10006-33- Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4308. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'' (FRL No. 10006-19-Region 3) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4309. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Boat Manufacturing and Reinforced Plastic Composites Production Residual Risk and Technology Review'' (FRL No. 10006-04-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4310. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Municipal Solid Waste Landfills Residual Risk and Technology Review'' (FRL No. 10006-05-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4311. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Revisions to the Refrigerant Management Program's Extension to Substitutes'' (FRL No. 10006-10-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4312. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``West Virginia State Implementation Plan Revision for Clean Air Act Section 110(a) (2) (A)-(M) Requirements for 2015 9-Hour Ozone NAAQS - Request for Approval'' (FRL No. 10006-20-Region 3) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4313. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Microorganisims; General Exemptions from Reporting Requirements; Revisions to Recipient Organisms Eligible for Tier I and Tier II Exemptions'' (FRL No. 9991-60-OCSPP) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4314. A communication from the Director of Congressional Affairs, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.167, `Restart of a Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down by an Earthquake' '' received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4315. A communication from the Director of Congressional Affairs, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.166, `Pre-Earthquake Planning, Shutdown, and Restart of a Nuclear Power Plant Following an Earthquake' '' received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4316. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; California; Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District; Stationary Source Permits and Exemptions'' (FRL No. 10005-66-Region 9) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4317. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Asphault Processing and Asphalt Roofing Manufacturing Residual Risk and Technology Review'' (FRL No. 10005-06-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4318. A communication from the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities (RM05-5-025, et al.)'' ((RIN1902-AF65) (Docket Nos. RM05-5- 025, RM05-5-026, and RM05-5-027)) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. EC-4319. A communication from the Chief of the Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``2020 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for Pre- Approved Defined Benefit Plans'' (Notice 2020-14) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4320. A communication from the Chief of the Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``(RP-121424-19) Revenue Procedure'' (Rev. Proc. 2020-03) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4321. A communication from the Chair, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``March 2020 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP''; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4322. A communication from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``Annual Report to Congress on the Medicare and Medicaid Integrity Programs for Fiscal Year 2018''; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4323. A communication from the Assistant General Counsel, General Law, Ethics, and Regulation, Department of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, two (2) reports relative to vacancies in the Department of the Treasury, received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4324. A communication from the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs, Department of State, transmitting, pursuant to the Case-Zablocki Act, 1 U.S.C. 112b, as amended, the report of the texts and background statements of international agreements, other than treaties (List 2020-0038 - 2020-0042); to the Committee on Foreign Relations. EC-4325. A communication from the Acting Director, Office of Acquisition and Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Agency for International Development Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR): Designations of Personal Services Contractors (PSCs) as Contracting Officers and Agreement Officers'' (RIN0412-AA94) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Foreign Relations. EC-4326. A communication from the Division Director for Policy, Legislation, and Regulation, Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Apprenticeship Programs, Labor Standards for Registration, Amendment of Regulations'' (RIN1205-AB85) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. EC-4327. A communication from the Director of Regulations and Policy Management Staff, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Banned Devices; Electrical Stimulation Devices for Self-Injurious or Aggressive Behavior'' (RIN0910-AI22) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. EC-4328. A communication from the Director of Regulations and Policy Management Staff, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Food Additives Permitted in Feed and Drinking Water of Animals; Chromium Propionate'' ((21 CFR Part 573) (Docket No. FDA- 2018-F-3347)) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. EC-4329. A communication from the District of Columbia Auditor, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``2008 Clean Energy Law Spurs Progress But District Can Do More to Cut Emissions''; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. EC-4330. A communication from the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Department of Housing and Urban Development, transmitting, pursuant to law, the Federal Housing Administration's fiscal year 2019 Annual Management Report; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. EC-4331. A communication from the Director, Office of Information Policy, Department of Justice, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``DNA-Sample Collection From Immigration Detainees'' (RIN1105-AB56) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on the Judiciary. EC-4332. A joint communication from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Joint Executive Committee Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report''; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1777-4

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

The following communications were laid before the Senate, together with accompanying papers, reports, and documents, and were referred as indicated: EC-4290. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Cyazofamid; Pesticide Tolerances'' (FRL No. 10005- 85-OCSPP) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. EC-4291. A communication from the Administrator of the Specialty Crops Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Tart Cherries Grown in the States of Michigan, et al.; Decreased Assessment Rate'' ((7 CFR Part 930) (Docket No. AMS-SC-19-0091; SC19-930-3 FR)) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. EC-4292. A communication from the Director of the Regulations Management Division, Rural Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Special Servicing of Telecommunications Programs Loans for Financially Distressed Borrowers'' (RIN0572-AC41) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. EC-4293. A communication from the Secretary of Defense, transmitting a report on the approved retirement of Lieutenant General Darrell K. Williams, United States Army, and his advancement to the grade of lieutenant general on the retired list; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4294. A communication from the Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the Secretary, Department of Defense, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``TRICARE; Addition of Physical Therapist Assistants and Occupational Therapy Assistants as TRICARE - Authorized Providers'' (RIN0720-AB72) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4295. A communication from the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), transmitting, pursuant to law, a report on the mobilizations of selected reserve units, received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4296. A communication from the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Legislative Affairs), transmitting additional legislative proposals relative to the ``National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021''; to the Committee on Armed Services. EC-4297. A communication from the Assistant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Regulations Y and LL: Control and Divestiture Proceedings'' (RIN7100- AF49) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4298. A communication from the Director of Legislative Affairs, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Final Rule - Securitization Safe Harbor Rule'' (RIN3064-AF09) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4299. A communication from the Secretary of Commerce, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report relative to the export to the People's Republic of China of items not detrimental to the U.S. space launch industry; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4300. A communication from the General Counsel of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Stress Testing of Regulated Entities'' (RIN2590-AB05) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4301. A communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the six-month periodic report on the national emergency with respect to the threat of foreign interference in United States elections that was declared in Executive Order 13848 of September 12, 2018; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4302. A communication from the Secretary of Commerce, transmitting, pursuant to law, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security Annual Report for fiscal year 2019; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-4303. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Alabama; Revisions to Cross- State Air Pollution Rule'' (FRL No. 10006-31-Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4304. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Alabama; 2010 1-Hour SO2 NAAQS Transport'' (FRL No. 10006-25-Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4305. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Georgia and North Carolina; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2015 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'' (FRL No. 10006-32- Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4306. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Georgia; Revisions to Aerospace VOC Rule'' (FRL No. 10006-21-Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4307. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Open Burning and Definitions Revisions for Chattanooga'' (FRL No. 10006-33- Region 4) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4308. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard'' (FRL No. 10006-19-Region 3) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4309. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Boat Manufacturing and Reinforced Plastic Composites Production Residual Risk and Technology Review'' (FRL No. 10006-04-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4310. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Municipal Solid Waste Landfills Residual Risk and Technology Review'' (FRL No. 10006-05-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4311. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Revisions to the Refrigerant Management Program's Extension to Substitutes'' (FRL No. 10006-10-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4312. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``West Virginia State Implementation Plan Revision for Clean Air Act Section 110(a) (2) (A)-(M) Requirements for 2015 9-Hour Ozone NAAQS - Request for Approval'' (FRL No. 10006-20-Region 3) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4313. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Microorganisims; General Exemptions from Reporting Requirements; Revisions to Recipient Organisms Eligible for Tier I and Tier II Exemptions'' (FRL No. 9991-60-OCSPP) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4314. A communication from the Director of Congressional Affairs, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.167, `Restart of a Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down by an Earthquake' '' received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4315. A communication from the Director of Congressional Affairs, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.166, `Pre-Earthquake Planning, Shutdown, and Restart of a Nuclear Power Plant Following an Earthquake' '' received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4316. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Air Plan Approval; California; Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District; Stationary Source Permits and Exemptions'' (FRL No. 10005-66-Region 9) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4317. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Asphault Processing and Asphalt Roofing Manufacturing Residual Risk and Technology Review'' (FRL No. 10005-06-OAR) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-4318. A communication from the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities (RM05-5-025, et al.)'' ((RIN1902-AF65) (Docket Nos. RM05-5- 025, RM05-5-026, and RM05-5-027)) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. EC-4319. A communication from the Chief of the Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``2020 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for Pre- Approved Defined Benefit Plans'' (Notice 2020-14) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4320. A communication from the Chief of the Publications and Regulations Branch, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``(RP-121424-19) Revenue Procedure'' (Rev. Proc. 2020-03) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4321. A communication from the Chair, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``March 2020 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP''; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4322. A communication from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``Annual Report to Congress on the Medicare and Medicaid Integrity Programs for Fiscal Year 2018''; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4323. A communication from the Assistant General Counsel, General Law, Ethics, and Regulation, Department of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, two (2) reports relative to vacancies in the Department of the Treasury, received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 12, 2020; to the Committee on Finance. EC-4324. A communication from the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs, Department of State, transmitting, pursuant to the Case-Zablocki Act, 1 U.S.C. 112b, as amended, the report of the texts and background statements of international agreements, other than treaties (List 2020-0038 - 2020-0042); to the Committee on Foreign Relations. EC-4325. A communication from the Acting Director, Office of Acquisition and Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Agency for International Development Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR): Designations of Personal Services Contractors (PSCs) as Contracting Officers and Agreement Officers'' (RIN0412-AA94) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on Foreign Relations. EC-4326. A communication from the Division Director for Policy, Legislation, and Regulation, Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Apprenticeship Programs, Labor Standards for Registration, Amendment of Regulations'' (RIN1205-AB85) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 11, 2020; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. EC-4327. A communication from the Director of Regulations and Policy Management Staff, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Banned Devices; Electrical Stimulation Devices for Self-Injurious or Aggressive Behavior'' (RIN0910-AI22) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. EC-4328. A communication from the Director of Regulations and Policy Management Staff, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``Food Additives Permitted in Feed and Drinking Water of Animals; Chromium Propionate'' ((21 CFR Part 573) (Docket No. FDA- 2018-F-3347)) received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 16, 2020; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. EC-4329. A communication from the District of Columbia Auditor, transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``2008 Clean Energy Law Spurs Progress But District Can Do More to Cut Emissions''; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. EC-4330. A communication from the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Department of Housing and Urban Development, transmitting, pursuant to law, the Federal Housing Administration's fiscal year 2019 Annual Management Report; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. EC-4331. A communication from the Director, Office of Information Policy, Department of Justice, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled ``DNA-Sample Collection From Immigration Detainees'' (RIN1105-AB56) received during adjournment of the Senate in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 13, 2020; to the Committee on the Judiciary. EC-4332. A joint communication from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), transmitting, pursuant to law, a report entitled ``Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Joint Executive Committee Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report''; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

2020-01-06

Unknown

Senate

CREC-2020-03-17-pt1-PgS1777-4

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, every day our country grows more affected by the continued spread of the coronavirus. Every American is feeling the anxiety and uncertainty of this national challenge--older Americans and young Americans, healthy Americans and those with underlying medical conditions, parents, teachers, working Americans, and small business owners, certainly, our first responders and healthcare professionals. Everyone--everyone--is impacted in different ways and to different degrees, but all Americans are affected. All of us have seen our daily lives transformed in what feels like the blink of an eye. That is the bad news, and it is the good news too. We are all in this together--all in it together. Our Nation faces this serious challenge, but working together we can take bold steps to combat it. Earlier this month, Congress passed billions in urgent funding for public health and small businesses, and this Senate majority remains committed to taking further bold steps to preserve and protect the economic foundations of our country. Later today, the Senate will vote on a House proposal that seeks to address one small piece of the problem before us. It is a well-intentioned, bipartisan product assembled by House Democratsand President Trump's team that tries to stand up and expand some new relief measures for American workers. I will vote to pass their bill. This is the time for urgent, bipartisan action, and, in this case, I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that would help even a subset of workers. However, the House's bill has real shortcomings. It does not even begin to cover all of the Americans who will need help in the days ahead. And, more specifically, it achieves one of its signature policies by imposing a new, untested mandate on small businesses without--without--guaranteeing they will have sufficient funds in advance to finance this new employee benefit. Everyone agrees that workers need relief. The Republicans are working on bold solutions to help individuals and families as we speak, but small businesses need relief as well. This is literally the worst time in living memory to pile even more burdens and costs onto small businesses, which are, themselves, fighting to stay alive unless--unless--we back it up with major assistance. We all know what small businesses are up against. Just this week, New York City joined the list of towns and cities across the country where local officials have shuttered every bar and every restaurant for the sake of public health. At 5 p.m. today, all public-facing businesses in my home State of Kentucky will do the same. These job creators are literally being taken offline by their own governments for the public good. It is not only bars, restaurants, and entertainment businesses we need to worry about. Nobody expects Main Street small businesses of any sort to hold the kind of cash buffer they would need to remain in business and wait out a national economic disruption that could last for weeks or months. Men and women who pour their entire lives into small businesses do not need even more obstacles. They need help. They need a lifeline. They need to know that Congress understands the historic obstacles they are facing and that we have their back as well. There is no moral hazard here. This is not some rescue following risky business decisions. Nobody thinks any of this is the fault of small businesses. So while I will support the House bill in order to secure emergency relief for some American workers, I will not adjourn the Senate until we have passed a far bolder package that must include significant relief for small businesses all across our country. As we speak, Chairman Rubio, Senator Collins, and others are assembling a historic level of assistance for small businesses across America. We want to help them survive this disruption, absorb the new mandate in the House bill, and continue to make payroll and avoid layoffs as much as they can and emerge this storm in the best shape possible. That means a historic injection of liquidity and access to credit, and it means Washington working directly with the lenders who already work with these small businesses to minimize the new bureaucracy so the assistance can flow as fast as possible. So we are going to pass the House's bill, but its imperfections will just make our more comprehensive package even more urgent. So we aren't leaving. So everybody understands, we aren't leaving until we deliver. The Senate is not going to leave small business behind. This will be just one component of our work. As we speak, Chairman Grassley and others are determining the best pathway to put money directly in the hands of the American people--those who are employed, those who may be laid off, retirees, disabled Americans, families--as quickly as possible. Of course, Chairman Alexander and a number of our colleagues are working on further steps in our public health fight against the virus itself, such as getting more tools in the hands of healthcare providers, removing barriers to treatment, and helping researchers develop therapeutics and vaccines. Chairman Wicker and several Senators are considering the possibility of targeted relief for key industries that are shouldering an outsized burden from the public health directives and which our Nation will need to be operational on the other side of this. We are crafting bold and significant legislation to meet this crisis head-on and to strengthen our Nation. The Congress has an enormous role to play in responding to this challenge, and we are determined to do that duty. But, at the same time, never in our Nation's history have Americans looked solely to Washington for answers. That is not who we are. This is no different. Even amidst the uncertainty, the American people are stepping up and reminding everyone what solidarity and citizenship look like. In my home State, Kentuckians are going out of their way to stand with their neighbors. Stay-at-home parents are volunteering to help neighbors with childcare when parents are unable to telework. Grocery stores in the Louisville area are setting aside the first hour they are open each day, right after their cleaning, so older shoppers and those with underlying conditions can shop first and with less exposure. One local restaurant is distributing free meals to service industry workers whose hours have been cut. This is what makes the United States of America what it is, and it is what we are today: generosity, friendship, resolve, and strength. This is not a challenge anyone wanted for our Nation, but it is a challenge we will overcome. Someday--hopefully, soon--our Nation will have this virus on its heels, mainstream small businesses will be thriving again, and families will be flying around the country again to reunite and catch up. We will have gotten through this together. In part, it will be because the Federal Government and Congress did our part, but, just as important, it will also be because every single American did theirs.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1781-8

formal

job creator

conservative

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, every day our country grows more affected by the continued spread of the coronavirus. Every American is feeling the anxiety and uncertainty of this national challenge--older Americans and young Americans, healthy Americans and those with underlying medical conditions, parents, teachers, working Americans, and small business owners, certainly, our first responders and healthcare professionals. Everyone--everyone--is impacted in different ways and to different degrees, but all Americans are affected. All of us have seen our daily lives transformed in what feels like the blink of an eye. That is the bad news, and it is the good news too. We are all in this together--all in it together. Our Nation faces this serious challenge, but working together we can take bold steps to combat it. Earlier this month, Congress passed billions in urgent funding for public health and small businesses, and this Senate majority remains committed to taking further bold steps to preserve and protect the economic foundations of our country. Later today, the Senate will vote on a House proposal that seeks to address one small piece of the problem before us. It is a well-intentioned, bipartisan product assembled by House Democratsand President Trump's team that tries to stand up and expand some new relief measures for American workers. I will vote to pass their bill. This is the time for urgent, bipartisan action, and, in this case, I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that would help even a subset of workers. However, the House's bill has real shortcomings. It does not even begin to cover all of the Americans who will need help in the days ahead. And, more specifically, it achieves one of its signature policies by imposing a new, untested mandate on small businesses without--without--guaranteeing they will have sufficient funds in advance to finance this new employee benefit. Everyone agrees that workers need relief. The Republicans are working on bold solutions to help individuals and families as we speak, but small businesses need relief as well. This is literally the worst time in living memory to pile even more burdens and costs onto small businesses, which are, themselves, fighting to stay alive unless--unless--we back it up with major assistance. We all know what small businesses are up against. Just this week, New York City joined the list of towns and cities across the country where local officials have shuttered every bar and every restaurant for the sake of public health. At 5 p.m. today, all public-facing businesses in my home State of Kentucky will do the same. These job creators are literally being taken offline by their own governments for the public good. It is not only bars, restaurants, and entertainment businesses we need to worry about. Nobody expects Main Street small businesses of any sort to hold the kind of cash buffer they would need to remain in business and wait out a national economic disruption that could last for weeks or months. Men and women who pour their entire lives into small businesses do not need even more obstacles. They need help. They need a lifeline. They need to know that Congress understands the historic obstacles they are facing and that we have their back as well. There is no moral hazard here. This is not some rescue following risky business decisions. Nobody thinks any of this is the fault of small businesses. So while I will support the House bill in order to secure emergency relief for some American workers, I will not adjourn the Senate until we have passed a far bolder package that must include significant relief for small businesses all across our country. As we speak, Chairman Rubio, Senator Collins, and others are assembling a historic level of assistance for small businesses across America. We want to help them survive this disruption, absorb the new mandate in the House bill, and continue to make payroll and avoid layoffs as much as they can and emerge this storm in the best shape possible. That means a historic injection of liquidity and access to credit, and it means Washington working directly with the lenders who already work with these small businesses to minimize the new bureaucracy so the assistance can flow as fast as possible. So we are going to pass the House's bill, but its imperfections will just make our more comprehensive package even more urgent. So we aren't leaving. So everybody understands, we aren't leaving until we deliver. The Senate is not going to leave small business behind. This will be just one component of our work. As we speak, Chairman Grassley and others are determining the best pathway to put money directly in the hands of the American people--those who are employed, those who may be laid off, retirees, disabled Americans, families--as quickly as possible. Of course, Chairman Alexander and a number of our colleagues are working on further steps in our public health fight against the virus itself, such as getting more tools in the hands of healthcare providers, removing barriers to treatment, and helping researchers develop therapeutics and vaccines. Chairman Wicker and several Senators are considering the possibility of targeted relief for key industries that are shouldering an outsized burden from the public health directives and which our Nation will need to be operational on the other side of this. We are crafting bold and significant legislation to meet this crisis head-on and to strengthen our Nation. The Congress has an enormous role to play in responding to this challenge, and we are determined to do that duty. But, at the same time, never in our Nation's history have Americans looked solely to Washington for answers. That is not who we are. This is no different. Even amidst the uncertainty, the American people are stepping up and reminding everyone what solidarity and citizenship look like. In my home State, Kentuckians are going out of their way to stand with their neighbors. Stay-at-home parents are volunteering to help neighbors with childcare when parents are unable to telework. Grocery stores in the Louisville area are setting aside the first hour they are open each day, right after their cleaning, so older shoppers and those with underlying conditions can shop first and with less exposure. One local restaurant is distributing free meals to service industry workers whose hours have been cut. This is what makes the United States of America what it is, and it is what we are today: generosity, friendship, resolve, and strength. This is not a challenge anyone wanted for our Nation, but it is a challenge we will overcome. Someday--hopefully, soon--our Nation will have this virus on its heels, mainstream small businesses will be thriving again, and families will be flying around the country again to reunite and catch up. We will have gotten through this together. In part, it will be because the Federal Government and Congress did our part, but, just as important, it will also be because every single American did theirs.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1781-8

formal

job creators

conservative

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, every day our country grows more affected by the continued spread of the coronavirus. Every American is feeling the anxiety and uncertainty of this national challenge--older Americans and young Americans, healthy Americans and those with underlying medical conditions, parents, teachers, working Americans, and small business owners, certainly, our first responders and healthcare professionals. Everyone--everyone--is impacted in different ways and to different degrees, but all Americans are affected. All of us have seen our daily lives transformed in what feels like the blink of an eye. That is the bad news, and it is the good news too. We are all in this together--all in it together. Our Nation faces this serious challenge, but working together we can take bold steps to combat it. Earlier this month, Congress passed billions in urgent funding for public health and small businesses, and this Senate majority remains committed to taking further bold steps to preserve and protect the economic foundations of our country. Later today, the Senate will vote on a House proposal that seeks to address one small piece of the problem before us. It is a well-intentioned, bipartisan product assembled by House Democratsand President Trump's team that tries to stand up and expand some new relief measures for American workers. I will vote to pass their bill. This is the time for urgent, bipartisan action, and, in this case, I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that would help even a subset of workers. However, the House's bill has real shortcomings. It does not even begin to cover all of the Americans who will need help in the days ahead. And, more specifically, it achieves one of its signature policies by imposing a new, untested mandate on small businesses without--without--guaranteeing they will have sufficient funds in advance to finance this new employee benefit. Everyone agrees that workers need relief. The Republicans are working on bold solutions to help individuals and families as we speak, but small businesses need relief as well. This is literally the worst time in living memory to pile even more burdens and costs onto small businesses, which are, themselves, fighting to stay alive unless--unless--we back it up with major assistance. We all know what small businesses are up against. Just this week, New York City joined the list of towns and cities across the country where local officials have shuttered every bar and every restaurant for the sake of public health. At 5 p.m. today, all public-facing businesses in my home State of Kentucky will do the same. These job creators are literally being taken offline by their own governments for the public good. It is not only bars, restaurants, and entertainment businesses we need to worry about. Nobody expects Main Street small businesses of any sort to hold the kind of cash buffer they would need to remain in business and wait out a national economic disruption that could last for weeks or months. Men and women who pour their entire lives into small businesses do not need even more obstacles. They need help. They need a lifeline. They need to know that Congress understands the historic obstacles they are facing and that we have their back as well. There is no moral hazard here. This is not some rescue following risky business decisions. Nobody thinks any of this is the fault of small businesses. So while I will support the House bill in order to secure emergency relief for some American workers, I will not adjourn the Senate until we have passed a far bolder package that must include significant relief for small businesses all across our country. As we speak, Chairman Rubio, Senator Collins, and others are assembling a historic level of assistance for small businesses across America. We want to help them survive this disruption, absorb the new mandate in the House bill, and continue to make payroll and avoid layoffs as much as they can and emerge this storm in the best shape possible. That means a historic injection of liquidity and access to credit, and it means Washington working directly with the lenders who already work with these small businesses to minimize the new bureaucracy so the assistance can flow as fast as possible. So we are going to pass the House's bill, but its imperfections will just make our more comprehensive package even more urgent. So we aren't leaving. So everybody understands, we aren't leaving until we deliver. The Senate is not going to leave small business behind. This will be just one component of our work. As we speak, Chairman Grassley and others are determining the best pathway to put money directly in the hands of the American people--those who are employed, those who may be laid off, retirees, disabled Americans, families--as quickly as possible. Of course, Chairman Alexander and a number of our colleagues are working on further steps in our public health fight against the virus itself, such as getting more tools in the hands of healthcare providers, removing barriers to treatment, and helping researchers develop therapeutics and vaccines. Chairman Wicker and several Senators are considering the possibility of targeted relief for key industries that are shouldering an outsized burden from the public health directives and which our Nation will need to be operational on the other side of this. We are crafting bold and significant legislation to meet this crisis head-on and to strengthen our Nation. The Congress has an enormous role to play in responding to this challenge, and we are determined to do that duty. But, at the same time, never in our Nation's history have Americans looked solely to Washington for answers. That is not who we are. This is no different. Even amidst the uncertainty, the American people are stepping up and reminding everyone what solidarity and citizenship look like. In my home State, Kentuckians are going out of their way to stand with their neighbors. Stay-at-home parents are volunteering to help neighbors with childcare when parents are unable to telework. Grocery stores in the Louisville area are setting aside the first hour they are open each day, right after their cleaning, so older shoppers and those with underlying conditions can shop first and with less exposure. One local restaurant is distributing free meals to service industry workers whose hours have been cut. This is what makes the United States of America what it is, and it is what we are today: generosity, friendship, resolve, and strength. This is not a challenge anyone wanted for our Nation, but it is a challenge we will overcome. Someday--hopefully, soon--our Nation will have this virus on its heels, mainstream small businesses will be thriving again, and families will be flying around the country again to reunite and catch up. We will have gotten through this together. In part, it will be because the Federal Government and Congress did our part, but, just as important, it will also be because every single American did theirs.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1781-8

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, every day our country grows more affected by the continued spread of the coronavirus. Every American is feeling the anxiety and uncertainty of this national challenge--older Americans and young Americans, healthy Americans and those with underlying medical conditions, parents, teachers, working Americans, and small business owners, certainly, our first responders and healthcare professionals. Everyone--everyone--is impacted in different ways and to different degrees, but all Americans are affected. All of us have seen our daily lives transformed in what feels like the blink of an eye. That is the bad news, and it is the good news too. We are all in this together--all in it together. Our Nation faces this serious challenge, but working together we can take bold steps to combat it. Earlier this month, Congress passed billions in urgent funding for public health and small businesses, and this Senate majority remains committed to taking further bold steps to preserve and protect the economic foundations of our country. Later today, the Senate will vote on a House proposal that seeks to address one small piece of the problem before us. It is a well-intentioned, bipartisan product assembled by House Democratsand President Trump's team that tries to stand up and expand some new relief measures for American workers. I will vote to pass their bill. This is the time for urgent, bipartisan action, and, in this case, I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that would help even a subset of workers. However, the House's bill has real shortcomings. It does not even begin to cover all of the Americans who will need help in the days ahead. And, more specifically, it achieves one of its signature policies by imposing a new, untested mandate on small businesses without--without--guaranteeing they will have sufficient funds in advance to finance this new employee benefit. Everyone agrees that workers need relief. The Republicans are working on bold solutions to help individuals and families as we speak, but small businesses need relief as well. This is literally the worst time in living memory to pile even more burdens and costs onto small businesses, which are, themselves, fighting to stay alive unless--unless--we back it up with major assistance. We all know what small businesses are up against. Just this week, New York City joined the list of towns and cities across the country where local officials have shuttered every bar and every restaurant for the sake of public health. At 5 p.m. today, all public-facing businesses in my home State of Kentucky will do the same. These job creators are literally being taken offline by their own governments for the public good. It is not only bars, restaurants, and entertainment businesses we need to worry about. Nobody expects Main Street small businesses of any sort to hold the kind of cash buffer they would need to remain in business and wait out a national economic disruption that could last for weeks or months. Men and women who pour their entire lives into small businesses do not need even more obstacles. They need help. They need a lifeline. They need to know that Congress understands the historic obstacles they are facing and that we have their back as well. There is no moral hazard here. This is not some rescue following risky business decisions. Nobody thinks any of this is the fault of small businesses. So while I will support the House bill in order to secure emergency relief for some American workers, I will not adjourn the Senate until we have passed a far bolder package that must include significant relief for small businesses all across our country. As we speak, Chairman Rubio, Senator Collins, and others are assembling a historic level of assistance for small businesses across America. We want to help them survive this disruption, absorb the new mandate in the House bill, and continue to make payroll and avoid layoffs as much as they can and emerge this storm in the best shape possible. That means a historic injection of liquidity and access to credit, and it means Washington working directly with the lenders who already work with these small businesses to minimize the new bureaucracy so the assistance can flow as fast as possible. So we are going to pass the House's bill, but its imperfections will just make our more comprehensive package even more urgent. So we aren't leaving. So everybody understands, we aren't leaving until we deliver. The Senate is not going to leave small business behind. This will be just one component of our work. As we speak, Chairman Grassley and others are determining the best pathway to put money directly in the hands of the American people--those who are employed, those who may be laid off, retirees, disabled Americans, families--as quickly as possible. Of course, Chairman Alexander and a number of our colleagues are working on further steps in our public health fight against the virus itself, such as getting more tools in the hands of healthcare providers, removing barriers to treatment, and helping researchers develop therapeutics and vaccines. Chairman Wicker and several Senators are considering the possibility of targeted relief for key industries that are shouldering an outsized burden from the public health directives and which our Nation will need to be operational on the other side of this. We are crafting bold and significant legislation to meet this crisis head-on and to strengthen our Nation. The Congress has an enormous role to play in responding to this challenge, and we are determined to do that duty. But, at the same time, never in our Nation's history have Americans looked solely to Washington for answers. That is not who we are. This is no different. Even amidst the uncertainty, the American people are stepping up and reminding everyone what solidarity and citizenship look like. In my home State, Kentuckians are going out of their way to stand with their neighbors. Stay-at-home parents are volunteering to help neighbors with childcare when parents are unable to telework. Grocery stores in the Louisville area are setting aside the first hour they are open each day, right after their cleaning, so older shoppers and those with underlying conditions can shop first and with less exposure. One local restaurant is distributing free meals to service industry workers whose hours have been cut. This is what makes the United States of America what it is, and it is what we are today: generosity, friendship, resolve, and strength. This is not a challenge anyone wanted for our Nation, but it is a challenge we will overcome. Someday--hopefully, soon--our Nation will have this virus on its heels, mainstream small businesses will be thriving again, and families will be flying around the country again to reunite and catch up. We will have gotten through this together. In part, it will be because the Federal Government and Congress did our part, but, just as important, it will also be because every single American did theirs.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1781-8

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor this morning with sad news. Illinois has lost its first resident to the coronavirus--a pandemic which is threatening our country and the world. Her name was Patricia Frieson, 61 years old, a retired nurse. She was an exceptional person. Her brother said she cared for everyone but herself. She lived taking care of people, and she loved it. She started having breathing difficulties last week and was hospitalized at one of our better hospitals in the city of Chicago and succumbed yesterday to the coronavirus and its complications. She had a history of respiratory illness, but she was taking care of herself and staying home, as she was told to do. The family remembers the last time she left the house was 2 weeks ago to attend a funeral of a friend. She did entertain visitors at her home from time to time. Her two sisters have asked for tests themselves because they were in contact with her. I am sorry to report they have been unable to obtain those tests, at least as of late last night. I have spoken with the Governor of Illinois almost every day, and we are having--through the State laboratories--about 350 tests each day, this State of almost 13 million people. In addition to the State lab tests are the private labs and hospital tests, which account for a number comparable but not much larger than 350. There just aren't enough tests. I am sure our plight is not unusual. We have heard a lot about the tests on the horizon, coming soon--the sooner the better. Until we get into more complete testing, it is going to be difficult for us to measure the extent of the infection and the impact. It is almost impossible to target areas of our State that need more attention than others because of the lack of testing. We had a nursing home over the weekend where there was a patient who tested positive for the coronavirus. The Department of Public Health of the State of Illinois went to that nursing home in Willowbrook as a consequence of the first test and tested all of the residents and staff and found 22 tested positive for the coronavirus infection. Naturally, that raised our numbers dramatically. We now have 160 known cases in our State, in 15 different counties. It is an indication where there is a signal of infection that testing is absolutely essential so we can identify all of those who may test positive. Patricia Frieson's brother Richard was asked what he thought about the news that she was the first fatality in our State. He said it was heartbreaking. But then he said: I tell everybody to take this very seriously, as we should. I think, across the United States, we are coming to realize that this is an exceptional public health crisis and challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Sometime later this morning or early this afternoon, we will consider the package that was passed by the House of Representatives in the early morning hours of Saturday. It is a package that was designed to provide some help, some financial assistance, to workers and families across the United States who are coping with the illness or losing their jobs or being laid off because of the state of the economy. We on the Democratic side feel--and I believe that feeling is shared on the Republican side--that one of the first things we need to do is to assure those employees who may not feel well that it is best to stay home, and there is a way to do that without sacrificing the basics in life--your home, your food--which your family counts on. We put together this package with the White House on a bipartisan basis that provides family leave and medical leave. It also provides extension of unemployment benefits that are necessary for many workers across this country. Passing this bill this morning or this afternoon is an important step forward to let the people across America know we are doing what we can here in the Senate and in the House to be responsive. Senator McConnell came to the floor this morning and announced the next bill--coronavirus 3, if you wish--which is a much larger undertaking, and it will embark on trying to get the economy on its feet enough to sustain what we are facing with layoffs and business closures. It is a daunting task. The amount of money involved is anywhere from $700 billion to $1 trillion. I have heard these estimates from time to time. That is a massive amount of money by any measure, but when measured against the economy of the United States, it may not be adequate to the challenge. Some have suggested cash payments to individual Americans. I have no aversion to that idea, but I hope it is substantial, and I hope it isn't a one-time helping hand that isn't followed up. Many of us on the Democratic side are working on a program that we think will say to families that we are not just going to send you one check and wish you the best; we are going to stand by you during this very difficult, challenging time. I spent the last several days on the telephone with business leaders across our State. It started with calling one of my favorite restaurants that sent an online message about closing down for business and being not quite sure of their future. It is troubling to hear a person or family member who put their life into a restaurant now facing closure, wondering if they will ever open again. Some of us are buying gift certificates at our favorite restaurant to help them get through this and help their employees during this period of time. My wife is doing that in Springfield. I have done it in Chicago. We will probably do it more. I encourage others who want to make sure that restaurant is there after we weather this storm to extend a helping hand if we can. Some of these restaurants are teaming up with charitable organizations to produce the meals that are needed for schoolchildren and their families. It is a little different assignment, but these restaurants are the best in their profession, and it is great to see them cooperating and working together. I might also add that the Democrats have a proposal that Senator Schumer has spelled out and will undoubtedly speak to again when he comes to the floor this morning. At this moment, we have at least two tracks, two paths toward the third bill to try to help the economy. Senator McConnell has suggested that he will do his exclusively among Republicans, and that may be a necessary starting point, but I urge him and all of the leaders to come together on a bipartisan basis as quickly as possible. The first two measures that we have passed--the initial $8 billion supplemental appropriation for the healthcare side of the equation was essential and done quickly on a bipartisan basis. The second measure, which I hope we pass today in the Senate, was also done with the White House, Speaker Pelosi--Democrats and Republicans working together. Each of us had to give. This measure we are voting for is not what I would have drawn up, and I am sure Republicans feel the same, but it is a compromise and one on which we ought to move forward. The third measure we are considering should be nothing less--it ought to be bipartisan from the start. In a press conference yesterday, Senator Schumer suggested that the four leaders in the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, meet with the White House and sit down at the table now to get started on putting together this measure rather than to retire to our sidelines and each work individually or separately. The sooner we come together, the better. One of the provisions Senator Schumer insists on--and I would add my voice in chorus--is that we be sensitive to the reality of the healthcare facilities across America and what they are likely to face in the weeks to come. Hospitals and frontline responders are telling us they are worried they lack the equipment and resources we need. Some experts predicted as many as 1.9 million--1.9 million--intensive care unit admissions from this outbreak will take place over the next several months, swamping existing facilities. There are only 100,000 ICU beds across the entire United States, and we know accommodating 1.9 million will just overwhelm the system. There is also a major dearth of necessary masks, respirators, ventilators, gowns, goggles--all of the things that are essential to protect healthcare workers and to save the lives of those who are facing this illness. What a frustration it is in my State, the State of Illinois, that I still get reports from virtually every level that the so-called national stockpile has not opened up its doors for my State when it comes to basic needs. I mentioned earlier about a nursing home with 22 positive infections in my State. The head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, who alerted me to this, told me that in a very short period of time,they were going to use up the protective equipment and masks and gloves, for example, that they had available. They didn't know where to turn for more. Let's get this together. I believe there is a national stockpile, and I believe it should be open for the States that need it immediately. Our State is one of those. Referring to these ventilators and breathing devices, in a press conference a couple of days ago, the President said the Governors should do their best. We can do better than that. The largest stockpile of this equipment is in possession of the Federal Government, and we should turn to it quickly to help those in need. I am very concerned as well--I will close. I see other colleagues on the floor, and I know they would like to make comments as well. I will close by also saying that as we undertake the next piece of legislation--the $800, $900, $1 trillion bill--I hope the first priority is to make sure we help our hospitals. I have a measure with Senator Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, that will compensate hospitals in rural areas and downstate areas in Illinois. I am fearful they will be the first to be overwhelmed. I hope those representing rural States will come together and join, as Senator Lankford and I have, to try to find a way to make sure they are adequately funded to get through this crisis. I might add that we also need medical professionals in the long term. I hope we will dedicate ourselves to improving the National Health Service Corps as one way of doing that and focusing that in rural areas. Finally, I have a bill with Senator Alexander, Senator Murray, and Senator Blunt to take a survey through the National Academy of Sciences of our dependence on foreign-made medicines and medical supplies and medical equipment so that we can establish, not only during this challenge and crisis but for future challenges and crises--whether we have adequate domestic production capacity or a necessary stockpiles to protect us. We found, for example, that some 20 major drugs were manufactured exclusively in China. As China went through the early stages of this coronavirus crisis, there was a fear that we would be cut off from sources. We have asked the National Academy of Science to give us a survey as quickly as possible I will close by saying that it is interesting, as I follow the emails of my friends and family and hear from my colleagues, that as we are separated with this social distance which we are trying to respect across the United States--as we are separated, it is interesting how much we are drawn together. Our family's emails and phone calls have been more numerous than ever as we think about one another more and reach out as we hear that there is a need within our family. There is more conversation and candor than I can ever recall in our family conversations. Perhaps adversity has a created community. Perhaps this situation, this concern that we have, is leading to more empathy. We are going to get through this. America always does. There will be some painful moments and very difficult ones. I think those who sent us to do this job in Washington expect us to put our party labels at the door, find solutions to the challenges we face, help our Nation through this crisis, and come out strong on the other side. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1782-4

formal

Chicago

racist

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor this morning with sad news. Illinois has lost its first resident to the coronavirus--a pandemic which is threatening our country and the world. Her name was Patricia Frieson, 61 years old, a retired nurse. She was an exceptional person. Her brother said she cared for everyone but herself. She lived taking care of people, and she loved it. She started having breathing difficulties last week and was hospitalized at one of our better hospitals in the city of Chicago and succumbed yesterday to the coronavirus and its complications. She had a history of respiratory illness, but she was taking care of herself and staying home, as she was told to do. The family remembers the last time she left the house was 2 weeks ago to attend a funeral of a friend. She did entertain visitors at her home from time to time. Her two sisters have asked for tests themselves because they were in contact with her. I am sorry to report they have been unable to obtain those tests, at least as of late last night. I have spoken with the Governor of Illinois almost every day, and we are having--through the State laboratories--about 350 tests each day, this State of almost 13 million people. In addition to the State lab tests are the private labs and hospital tests, which account for a number comparable but not much larger than 350. There just aren't enough tests. I am sure our plight is not unusual. We have heard a lot about the tests on the horizon, coming soon--the sooner the better. Until we get into more complete testing, it is going to be difficult for us to measure the extent of the infection and the impact. It is almost impossible to target areas of our State that need more attention than others because of the lack of testing. We had a nursing home over the weekend where there was a patient who tested positive for the coronavirus. The Department of Public Health of the State of Illinois went to that nursing home in Willowbrook as a consequence of the first test and tested all of the residents and staff and found 22 tested positive for the coronavirus infection. Naturally, that raised our numbers dramatically. We now have 160 known cases in our State, in 15 different counties. It is an indication where there is a signal of infection that testing is absolutely essential so we can identify all of those who may test positive. Patricia Frieson's brother Richard was asked what he thought about the news that she was the first fatality in our State. He said it was heartbreaking. But then he said: I tell everybody to take this very seriously, as we should. I think, across the United States, we are coming to realize that this is an exceptional public health crisis and challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Sometime later this morning or early this afternoon, we will consider the package that was passed by the House of Representatives in the early morning hours of Saturday. It is a package that was designed to provide some help, some financial assistance, to workers and families across the United States who are coping with the illness or losing their jobs or being laid off because of the state of the economy. We on the Democratic side feel--and I believe that feeling is shared on the Republican side--that one of the first things we need to do is to assure those employees who may not feel well that it is best to stay home, and there is a way to do that without sacrificing the basics in life--your home, your food--which your family counts on. We put together this package with the White House on a bipartisan basis that provides family leave and medical leave. It also provides extension of unemployment benefits that are necessary for many workers across this country. Passing this bill this morning or this afternoon is an important step forward to let the people across America know we are doing what we can here in the Senate and in the House to be responsive. Senator McConnell came to the floor this morning and announced the next bill--coronavirus 3, if you wish--which is a much larger undertaking, and it will embark on trying to get the economy on its feet enough to sustain what we are facing with layoffs and business closures. It is a daunting task. The amount of money involved is anywhere from $700 billion to $1 trillion. I have heard these estimates from time to time. That is a massive amount of money by any measure, but when measured against the economy of the United States, it may not be adequate to the challenge. Some have suggested cash payments to individual Americans. I have no aversion to that idea, but I hope it is substantial, and I hope it isn't a one-time helping hand that isn't followed up. Many of us on the Democratic side are working on a program that we think will say to families that we are not just going to send you one check and wish you the best; we are going to stand by you during this very difficult, challenging time. I spent the last several days on the telephone with business leaders across our State. It started with calling one of my favorite restaurants that sent an online message about closing down for business and being not quite sure of their future. It is troubling to hear a person or family member who put their life into a restaurant now facing closure, wondering if they will ever open again. Some of us are buying gift certificates at our favorite restaurant to help them get through this and help their employees during this period of time. My wife is doing that in Springfield. I have done it in Chicago. We will probably do it more. I encourage others who want to make sure that restaurant is there after we weather this storm to extend a helping hand if we can. Some of these restaurants are teaming up with charitable organizations to produce the meals that are needed for schoolchildren and their families. It is a little different assignment, but these restaurants are the best in their profession, and it is great to see them cooperating and working together. I might also add that the Democrats have a proposal that Senator Schumer has spelled out and will undoubtedly speak to again when he comes to the floor this morning. At this moment, we have at least two tracks, two paths toward the third bill to try to help the economy. Senator McConnell has suggested that he will do his exclusively among Republicans, and that may be a necessary starting point, but I urge him and all of the leaders to come together on a bipartisan basis as quickly as possible. The first two measures that we have passed--the initial $8 billion supplemental appropriation for the healthcare side of the equation was essential and done quickly on a bipartisan basis. The second measure, which I hope we pass today in the Senate, was also done with the White House, Speaker Pelosi--Democrats and Republicans working together. Each of us had to give. This measure we are voting for is not what I would have drawn up, and I am sure Republicans feel the same, but it is a compromise and one on which we ought to move forward. The third measure we are considering should be nothing less--it ought to be bipartisan from the start. In a press conference yesterday, Senator Schumer suggested that the four leaders in the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, meet with the White House and sit down at the table now to get started on putting together this measure rather than to retire to our sidelines and each work individually or separately. The sooner we come together, the better. One of the provisions Senator Schumer insists on--and I would add my voice in chorus--is that we be sensitive to the reality of the healthcare facilities across America and what they are likely to face in the weeks to come. Hospitals and frontline responders are telling us they are worried they lack the equipment and resources we need. Some experts predicted as many as 1.9 million--1.9 million--intensive care unit admissions from this outbreak will take place over the next several months, swamping existing facilities. There are only 100,000 ICU beds across the entire United States, and we know accommodating 1.9 million will just overwhelm the system. There is also a major dearth of necessary masks, respirators, ventilators, gowns, goggles--all of the things that are essential to protect healthcare workers and to save the lives of those who are facing this illness. What a frustration it is in my State, the State of Illinois, that I still get reports from virtually every level that the so-called national stockpile has not opened up its doors for my State when it comes to basic needs. I mentioned earlier about a nursing home with 22 positive infections in my State. The head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, who alerted me to this, told me that in a very short period of time,they were going to use up the protective equipment and masks and gloves, for example, that they had available. They didn't know where to turn for more. Let's get this together. I believe there is a national stockpile, and I believe it should be open for the States that need it immediately. Our State is one of those. Referring to these ventilators and breathing devices, in a press conference a couple of days ago, the President said the Governors should do their best. We can do better than that. The largest stockpile of this equipment is in possession of the Federal Government, and we should turn to it quickly to help those in need. I am very concerned as well--I will close. I see other colleagues on the floor, and I know they would like to make comments as well. I will close by also saying that as we undertake the next piece of legislation--the $800, $900, $1 trillion bill--I hope the first priority is to make sure we help our hospitals. I have a measure with Senator Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, that will compensate hospitals in rural areas and downstate areas in Illinois. I am fearful they will be the first to be overwhelmed. I hope those representing rural States will come together and join, as Senator Lankford and I have, to try to find a way to make sure they are adequately funded to get through this crisis. I might add that we also need medical professionals in the long term. I hope we will dedicate ourselves to improving the National Health Service Corps as one way of doing that and focusing that in rural areas. Finally, I have a bill with Senator Alexander, Senator Murray, and Senator Blunt to take a survey through the National Academy of Sciences of our dependence on foreign-made medicines and medical supplies and medical equipment so that we can establish, not only during this challenge and crisis but for future challenges and crises--whether we have adequate domestic production capacity or a necessary stockpiles to protect us. We found, for example, that some 20 major drugs were manufactured exclusively in China. As China went through the early stages of this coronavirus crisis, there was a fear that we would be cut off from sources. We have asked the National Academy of Science to give us a survey as quickly as possible I will close by saying that it is interesting, as I follow the emails of my friends and family and hear from my colleagues, that as we are separated with this social distance which we are trying to respect across the United States--as we are separated, it is interesting how much we are drawn together. Our family's emails and phone calls have been more numerous than ever as we think about one another more and reach out as we hear that there is a need within our family. There is more conversation and candor than I can ever recall in our family conversations. Perhaps adversity has a created community. Perhaps this situation, this concern that we have, is leading to more empathy. We are going to get through this. America always does. There will be some painful moments and very difficult ones. I think those who sent us to do this job in Washington expect us to put our party labels at the door, find solutions to the challenges we face, help our Nation through this crisis, and come out strong on the other side. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1782-4

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I thank my good friend, the Senator from South Dakota, for his usual display of patience. The coronavirus pandemic continues to test our Nation in new and difficult ways. There is now a confirmed case of coronavirus in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. Our public health system was understaffed and underresourced, and without intervention, it could soon become overwhelmed. Even as the market shifts from day to day, the coronavirus is slowing our economy to a near-standstill, and we are almost certainly anticipating a recession. You go to the streets of many cities, towns, and villages, and they are empty. Schools are closed in large portions of the country. Businesses are struggling not to lay off workers because they don't have customers, they don't have clients, and they don't have income. There is great urgency here. There are really two separate and simultaneous emergencies--one in our healthcare system and another in the economy. We have to deal with both. If we don't solve the one in our healthcare, the economy will continue to get bad no matter what we do for it. Less tangible than those two emergencies but still very real is the impact the virus is having on American society. My home city of New York is effectively on lockdown. You can go to a place like the Times Square subway station and see actually nobody there. Americans are being asked--rightly--not to gather in groups of 10 or more, not to go to dinner or to a bar or to their church or place of worship. I lived through 9/11. It occurred in my city. I knew people who were lost. I lived through the days of the financial crisis in 2008 and other moments of national urgency. But there is something much worse about this crisis we face. I have never sensed a greater sense of uncertainty, a greater fear of the future, of the unknown. We don't know how long this crisis will last. You don't even know if you contracted the virus right away, or maybe your spouse, maybe your child, maybe your parent, maybe your friend. Then there is a much greater sense of isolation, a problem for which there is no cure. I miss not meeting and talking to my constituents. They are our lifeblood. That is not happening just to us here in the Senate; it is happening across America--friends who used to get together and families who had gatherings. Different social activities are gone--book clubs, card games. The fabric and sinew of our lives as human beings have been put on hold, and nobody knows for how long. By necessity, Americans are now sacrificing their normal lives and daily routines and, maybe worst of all, sacrificing the sense of community because we all, each individually and together as a country, must fight this awful virus. Unfortunately, we are only just beginning to see the necessary seriousness and mobilization of resources from the Federal Government. Sadly, unfortunately, and with awful consequences, this administration took far too long to wake up to this global crisis. It has wasted precious weeks in downplaying the severity of the coronavirus--weeks that could have been spent in earnest in the preparation of building our testing capacity. As a result, the United States continues to lag behind other countries in the number and the percentage of the population we are testing. Stories of Americans who feel sick and show symptoms but who are unable to access coronavirus tests appear every day in every single newspaper. Warnings of the potential shortages of masks, hospital beds, and ventilators appear in the paper every day. In 2 weeks, the issue of ventilators and ICU beds will be like the issue of tests today. In other words, 2 or 3 weeks ago, many of us were saying to get those tests out. A month ago, people were saying it, and now we are seeing the consequences--lockdowns because we can't test people. We don't know who has the virus and who doesn't. The same crisis will be occurring in a few weeks. Mark our words. Unfortunately, it is true about ventilators and ICU beds. We are behind the eight ball on tests, and we are soon going to be behind the eight ball on ICU beds and ventilators as more and more people get sick. The administration didn't pay attention to tests, and now we are paying the price even though many of us were hollering for weeks about the emerging issues with testing. The same problem is about to happen with ventilators. We know, in 2 weeks, the number of ventilators might become a massive problem. We must get ahead of it and get ahead of it now. I call on President Trump to use his existing authority to help address the widespread shortages of medical equipment, particularly ventilators, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. I joined 27 of my colleagues in a letter to President Trump to urge him to invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950, which authorizes the President to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and supply in extraordinary circumstances. It is used in times of war, and we must mobilize as if it were a time of war when it comes to hospitals--beds, supplies, equipment. The DPA, the Defense Production Act, allows for the President to direct the production of private sector firms of critical manufactured goods to meet urgent and national security needs. The President should do so immediately. A report came out today that the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA are ready and willing to participate in the response process. The Army Corps could build temporary hospitals with beds, but it still hasn't received instruction from the White House, from the administration. I thank the men and women who are willing to be on the frontlines, combating the pandemic, but this kind of inexcusable action is maddening, infuriating, and must be rectified. Lives are at stake. Public health infrastructure is the top priority because, if we can curb this virus, the economy will get better. We need to do things to help it, obviously, but if you ignore the public health crisis with regard to the equipment and infrastructure and personnel which is needed in many more numbers than we have ever seen, the economy will not get better. The legislation passed by the House on Saturday--phase 2 of the coronavirus response--has a little bit of this, and it must pass the Senate today. Unfortunately, first, we must dispose of a Republican amendment that would make a condition of the bill a requirement for the President to terminate military operations in Afghanistan. Yes, you heard me right. Our Republican leadership has put on the floor an amendment that would make a condition of the bill a requirement that the President terminate military operations in Afghanistan. In a time of national emergency, this Republican amendment is ridiculous--a colossal waste of time. We probably could have voted on this bill a day or two ago if it had not been for the need to have scheduled this amendment. I am eager--we are all eager--to dispatch this absurd Republican amendment and send this bill to the President. For instance, it allows for the free testing and treatment of the coronavirus, which is very much needed. We can send this bill to the President and begin work on the next phase, phase 3. As my colleagues know, Senate Democrats have already outlined several proposals for the next phase of legislation, and the specifics have been made public. The proposal has four main priorities: public health capacity, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and priority treatment for labor in any bailout to industry. There are many things in this bill that are important: no payment on student loans or mortgages and help with our mass transit systems. There are many things, and the Democrats are going to fight for them in the next phase of the response, but the priorities I mentioned are key: public health capacity, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and priority treatment for labor in any bailout to industry. On the public health capacity, as I mentioned, we need masks; we need hospital beds; we need ventilators; and we still need testing kits. So the Democrats are proposing a Marshall Plan for our public health infrastructure. The sooner we act on it, the better. We also need to help in terms of public transportation for our healthcare system. Tens of thousands of healthcare workers in New York City and in many other cities cannot get to their jobs--their very needed jobs--if there is no public and mass transit. So a Marshall Plan for our public health infrastructure is what is needed now. It will prevent the situation from getting even worse, and it will allow our ailing economy to begin to heal once we contain this virus. Workers who get laid off or have their hours cut to almost nothing need expanded unemployment insurance--period. The Secretary of the Treasury reportedly told Republican Senators yesterday that unemployment could hit 20 percent. Unemployment insurance is a nonnegotiable part of our response to the coronavirus. With regard to paid sick leave, Senators Murray and Gillibrand have a paid sick leave policy to meet this crisis. It should be added to this part of the legislation. I think they will ask for it in a unanimous consent request or will offer an amendment to do so. If it is not included in this part, it should, certainly, be included in the next phase of legislation. There will be other items that we will have to address down the road. Certain industries are struggling--airlines, hotels--but we must make sure that we prioritize public health and workers over corporate bailouts. If there is going to be a discussion about a bailout, it must include workers' priorities and protections. The airlines are very important, for sure, as they employ a lot of people. Many of us who fly back and forth to our States know of the good people who work as the pilots and the flight attendants and the mechanics and the clerks and the ticket takers. They are good, fine people. We want to make sure they are protected. One of the reasons--let's not forget--that many airlines are so short of cash right now is that they have spent billions on stock buybacks, which is money they had to send out when they should have been saving it for a rainy day for their workers and customers. That issue should be addressed. A few of my Republican colleagues have proposed a onetime cash payment of $1,000. My fellow Americans, this is not a time for small thinking, and this is not a time for small measures. This is a time to be bold, to be aggressive. A single $1,000 check would help people pay their landlords in March, but what happens after that? How do they pay their rent in April when their offices or restaurants or stores are still closed for business? How about May? How about June? The President has suggested that this recession could last through the summer. One thousand dollars gets used pretty quickly if you are unemployed. In contrast, expanded unemployment insurance, beefed-up unemployment insurance, covers you for a much longer time and would provide a much bigger safety net. This is the time to put tribalism aside and acknowledge that this recession, if we allow it, will do real harm to Americans up and down the income scale, and it will hurt Americans of all ages. So, if we are going to provide direct payments, they need to be bigger, more frequent, and more targeted. Millionaires shouldn't get them. These are the kinds of issues that all parties are going to have to discuss--Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate with the White House. The sooner we discuss them together, the quicker we will be able to move forward. Yet Leader McConnell announced yesterday that, in his plan to develop the next phase of legislation, Senate Republicans would sit among themselves and then sit down with the administration and come up with their own proposal before presenting it to Senate Democrats, let alone to House Democrats. The process that Leader McConnell has outlined for phase 3 legislation is too cumbersome, too partisan, and will take far too long given the urgency and need for cooperation. Secretary Mnuchin says he wants legislation passed by the end of the week. The McConnell process will not get us there. The phase 3 legislation should be the product of a five-corners negotiation, that being with House and Senate leaders--majority and minority--plus the White House. That is the way it has worked the best, the quickest, and the fairest in the past. If all parties are in the room from the get-go, the final product will be guaranteed swift passage. The process Leader McConnell outlines is far too reminiscent of the typical legislative process in the Congress--a process that far too often results in delay and gridlock. We can't afford that right now. Leader McConnell was right when he said that, in times of national emergency, we must shed our partisanship and rise to the occasion. So let's begin that way--Republicans and Democrats, the House and Senate, Congress and the White House. The best way to advance phase 3 legislation is to have a five-corners negotiation from the outset. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1784-2

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I thank my good friend, the Senator from South Dakota, for his usual display of patience. The coronavirus pandemic continues to test our Nation in new and difficult ways. There is now a confirmed case of coronavirus in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. Our public health system was understaffed and underresourced, and without intervention, it could soon become overwhelmed. Even as the market shifts from day to day, the coronavirus is slowing our economy to a near-standstill, and we are almost certainly anticipating a recession. You go to the streets of many cities, towns, and villages, and they are empty. Schools are closed in large portions of the country. Businesses are struggling not to lay off workers because they don't have customers, they don't have clients, and they don't have income. There is great urgency here. There are really two separate and simultaneous emergencies--one in our healthcare system and another in the economy. We have to deal with both. If we don't solve the one in our healthcare, the economy will continue to get bad no matter what we do for it. Less tangible than those two emergencies but still very real is the impact the virus is having on American society. My home city of New York is effectively on lockdown. You can go to a place like the Times Square subway station and see actually nobody there. Americans are being asked--rightly--not to gather in groups of 10 or more, not to go to dinner or to a bar or to their church or place of worship. I lived through 9/11. It occurred in my city. I knew people who were lost. I lived through the days of the financial crisis in 2008 and other moments of national urgency. But there is something much worse about this crisis we face. I have never sensed a greater sense of uncertainty, a greater fear of the future, of the unknown. We don't know how long this crisis will last. You don't even know if you contracted the virus right away, or maybe your spouse, maybe your child, maybe your parent, maybe your friend. Then there is a much greater sense of isolation, a problem for which there is no cure. I miss not meeting and talking to my constituents. They are our lifeblood. That is not happening just to us here in the Senate; it is happening across America--friends who used to get together and families who had gatherings. Different social activities are gone--book clubs, card games. The fabric and sinew of our lives as human beings have been put on hold, and nobody knows for how long. By necessity, Americans are now sacrificing their normal lives and daily routines and, maybe worst of all, sacrificing the sense of community because we all, each individually and together as a country, must fight this awful virus. Unfortunately, we are only just beginning to see the necessary seriousness and mobilization of resources from the Federal Government. Sadly, unfortunately, and with awful consequences, this administration took far too long to wake up to this global crisis. It has wasted precious weeks in downplaying the severity of the coronavirus--weeks that could have been spent in earnest in the preparation of building our testing capacity. As a result, the United States continues to lag behind other countries in the number and the percentage of the population we are testing. Stories of Americans who feel sick and show symptoms but who are unable to access coronavirus tests appear every day in every single newspaper. Warnings of the potential shortages of masks, hospital beds, and ventilators appear in the paper every day. In 2 weeks, the issue of ventilators and ICU beds will be like the issue of tests today. In other words, 2 or 3 weeks ago, many of us were saying to get those tests out. A month ago, people were saying it, and now we are seeing the consequences--lockdowns because we can't test people. We don't know who has the virus and who doesn't. The same crisis will be occurring in a few weeks. Mark our words. Unfortunately, it is true about ventilators and ICU beds. We are behind the eight ball on tests, and we are soon going to be behind the eight ball on ICU beds and ventilators as more and more people get sick. The administration didn't pay attention to tests, and now we are paying the price even though many of us were hollering for weeks about the emerging issues with testing. The same problem is about to happen with ventilators. We know, in 2 weeks, the number of ventilators might become a massive problem. We must get ahead of it and get ahead of it now. I call on President Trump to use his existing authority to help address the widespread shortages of medical equipment, particularly ventilators, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. I joined 27 of my colleagues in a letter to President Trump to urge him to invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950, which authorizes the President to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and supply in extraordinary circumstances. It is used in times of war, and we must mobilize as if it were a time of war when it comes to hospitals--beds, supplies, equipment. The DPA, the Defense Production Act, allows for the President to direct the production of private sector firms of critical manufactured goods to meet urgent and national security needs. The President should do so immediately. A report came out today that the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA are ready and willing to participate in the response process. The Army Corps could build temporary hospitals with beds, but it still hasn't received instruction from the White House, from the administration. I thank the men and women who are willing to be on the frontlines, combating the pandemic, but this kind of inexcusable action is maddening, infuriating, and must be rectified. Lives are at stake. Public health infrastructure is the top priority because, if we can curb this virus, the economy will get better. We need to do things to help it, obviously, but if you ignore the public health crisis with regard to the equipment and infrastructure and personnel which is needed in many more numbers than we have ever seen, the economy will not get better. The legislation passed by the House on Saturday--phase 2 of the coronavirus response--has a little bit of this, and it must pass the Senate today. Unfortunately, first, we must dispose of a Republican amendment that would make a condition of the bill a requirement for the President to terminate military operations in Afghanistan. Yes, you heard me right. Our Republican leadership has put on the floor an amendment that would make a condition of the bill a requirement that the President terminate military operations in Afghanistan. In a time of national emergency, this Republican amendment is ridiculous--a colossal waste of time. We probably could have voted on this bill a day or two ago if it had not been for the need to have scheduled this amendment. I am eager--we are all eager--to dispatch this absurd Republican amendment and send this bill to the President. For instance, it allows for the free testing and treatment of the coronavirus, which is very much needed. We can send this bill to the President and begin work on the next phase, phase 3. As my colleagues know, Senate Democrats have already outlined several proposals for the next phase of legislation, and the specifics have been made public. The proposal has four main priorities: public health capacity, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and priority treatment for labor in any bailout to industry. There are many things in this bill that are important: no payment on student loans or mortgages and help with our mass transit systems. There are many things, and the Democrats are going to fight for them in the next phase of the response, but the priorities I mentioned are key: public health capacity, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and priority treatment for labor in any bailout to industry. On the public health capacity, as I mentioned, we need masks; we need hospital beds; we need ventilators; and we still need testing kits. So the Democrats are proposing a Marshall Plan for our public health infrastructure. The sooner we act on it, the better. We also need to help in terms of public transportation for our healthcare system. Tens of thousands of healthcare workers in New York City and in many other cities cannot get to their jobs--their very needed jobs--if there is no public and mass transit. So a Marshall Plan for our public health infrastructure is what is needed now. It will prevent the situation from getting even worse, and it will allow our ailing economy to begin to heal once we contain this virus. Workers who get laid off or have their hours cut to almost nothing need expanded unemployment insurance--period. The Secretary of the Treasury reportedly told Republican Senators yesterday that unemployment could hit 20 percent. Unemployment insurance is a nonnegotiable part of our response to the coronavirus. With regard to paid sick leave, Senators Murray and Gillibrand have a paid sick leave policy to meet this crisis. It should be added to this part of the legislation. I think they will ask for it in a unanimous consent request or will offer an amendment to do so. If it is not included in this part, it should, certainly, be included in the next phase of legislation. There will be other items that we will have to address down the road. Certain industries are struggling--airlines, hotels--but we must make sure that we prioritize public health and workers over corporate bailouts. If there is going to be a discussion about a bailout, it must include workers' priorities and protections. The airlines are very important, for sure, as they employ a lot of people. Many of us who fly back and forth to our States know of the good people who work as the pilots and the flight attendants and the mechanics and the clerks and the ticket takers. They are good, fine people. We want to make sure they are protected. One of the reasons--let's not forget--that many airlines are so short of cash right now is that they have spent billions on stock buybacks, which is money they had to send out when they should have been saving it for a rainy day for their workers and customers. That issue should be addressed. A few of my Republican colleagues have proposed a onetime cash payment of $1,000. My fellow Americans, this is not a time for small thinking, and this is not a time for small measures. This is a time to be bold, to be aggressive. A single $1,000 check would help people pay their landlords in March, but what happens after that? How do they pay their rent in April when their offices or restaurants or stores are still closed for business? How about May? How about June? The President has suggested that this recession could last through the summer. One thousand dollars gets used pretty quickly if you are unemployed. In contrast, expanded unemployment insurance, beefed-up unemployment insurance, covers you for a much longer time and would provide a much bigger safety net. This is the time to put tribalism aside and acknowledge that this recession, if we allow it, will do real harm to Americans up and down the income scale, and it will hurt Americans of all ages. So, if we are going to provide direct payments, they need to be bigger, more frequent, and more targeted. Millionaires shouldn't get them. These are the kinds of issues that all parties are going to have to discuss--Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate with the White House. The sooner we discuss them together, the quicker we will be able to move forward. Yet Leader McConnell announced yesterday that, in his plan to develop the next phase of legislation, Senate Republicans would sit among themselves and then sit down with the administration and come up with their own proposal before presenting it to Senate Democrats, let alone to House Democrats. The process that Leader McConnell has outlined for phase 3 legislation is too cumbersome, too partisan, and will take far too long given the urgency and need for cooperation. Secretary Mnuchin says he wants legislation passed by the end of the week. The McConnell process will not get us there. The phase 3 legislation should be the product of a five-corners negotiation, that being with House and Senate leaders--majority and minority--plus the White House. That is the way it has worked the best, the quickest, and the fairest in the past. If all parties are in the room from the get-go, the final product will be guaranteed swift passage. The process Leader McConnell outlines is far too reminiscent of the typical legislative process in the Congress--a process that far too often results in delay and gridlock. We can't afford that right now. Leader McConnell was right when he said that, in times of national emergency, we must shed our partisanship and rise to the occasion. So let's begin that way--Republicans and Democrats, the House and Senate, Congress and the White House. The best way to advance phase 3 legislation is to have a five-corners negotiation from the outset. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1784-2

formal

food stamps

racist

Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, 3 months ago, no one in the country--in fact, no one in the world--had heard the term ``COVID-19.'' The term ``coronavirus'' was around, but most folks didn't use that because it was connected to SARS or to MERS in the past. In December of 2019, an infection started in China, and it spread rapidly through the Wuhan region. By January, there were thousands of people affected before most of the world even knew it existed. Now, almost every country in the world has infections. We have hundreds of thousands of people who have had contact with this virus, and unfortunately we have lost thousands of people worldwide. In the United States, the numbers continue to increase as we are continuing to increase the number of people we can actually test. Fortunately, the vast majority of the people who get this virus have little to no symptoms. It is a cold; it is a mild flu to them. But for our vulnerable populations--our elderly populations, those with heart issues, those with lung issues, smokers, diabetics--this can be a very, very serious thing. The challenge we face in our healthcare is that every person who walks in to get tested is face to face with one of our healthcare workers, especially in rural areas of our State, who may be the only healthcare professional for that entire county. If that person--who has not been vaccinated as well because there is no vaccine yet--is not able to serve the rest of the population, that health situation becomes even worse because of diminishing care. We, as Americans, have taken this seriously, as we should. We are paying attention. The younger population is spending time trying to get away from other individuals, to self-isolate, to self-quarantine--``social distancing'' is the new term--to find some way to not be close to someone else so they don't accidentally pass the virus on, because although the virus may be within them and they are not personally physically affected much, the effect on someone else could be pretty dramatic. So, out of respect for others, they are trying to manage that distance and be attentive to that. There have been multiple actions from the government over the past several months. There are the travel bans we all know very much about, starting with China and now in multiple areas of the world, and lots of encouragement to limit gatherings, first to 250 and then to 50 and now to 10. Now it is a series of just keep social distancing, to make sure you are aware of that. There have been emergency declarations. CMS has changed coverage, as recently as yesterday, dealing with issues like telehealth, making sure individuals who may have other care needs don't have to actually go in to a healthcare professional--for their fear of who else is sitting in the waiting room--but they can get access to telehealth, which is a much needed change. The FDA has been very aggressive in giving access to different States to do their own testing regimens. The CDC has been active in trying to get to a point where they can get a testing system that can actually get out to the entire country. The challenge was, early on, many other countries did tests and developed tests with a high false-positive rate. The CDC was very focused on trying to get as accurate as it possibly could. That meant it took longer, and we don't have the tests out. The tests are more accurate, but we don't have the tests in the numbers we need at the moment we needed them, which was last week. So now we are still struggling to catch up on testing all over the country. Multiple other labs and multiple universities are also coming on board. Infact--it is interesting--multiple other countries are also developing their own testing processes. In the days ahead, we will be able to catch up on the testing so that any American could be able to get testing, but for now, it is limited. In States like my State of Oklahoma, where the virus is beginning its acceleration--we were late in actually getting the virus coming to Oklahoma, but now that the virus is there, it starts to accelerate, and testing is exceptionally important to us, as it is to everyone else. The Department of Transportation is engaged on things like waivers for hours of service to allow the movement of goods all over the country dealing with livestock and with food. There has been a big push from just about every retailer in the country to make sure they are cleaning facilities more and being open and accessible and having hours early in the morning for those in the most vulnerable populations so they are not shopping with people who may have the virus and don't even know it. There has been a shift around the country to encourage people to telework or to find ways to separate in their place of work. All of these things have occurred just in the last few months. Again, 3 months ago, none of us knew this term or this virus existed. All of this is happening extremely rapidly. Three weeks ago, Congress and the President agreed on a proposal--it was a wide bipartisan proposal--to deal with additional funding for testing, additional funding for vaccine development, additional funding for State and local departments of health to make sure they are taking care of that. My own State of Oklahoma has already received almost $7 million to help with what is happening in our county, and we are in desperate need of those dollars to get that done. Vaccine development is already in human trials now. It is in phase 1. It will take multiple months to get that done, but we have already begun that process. That is important to us. The bill that was on the floor today dealt with multiple helpful things. It expands SNAP--what some people still call food stamps, but it is supplemental nutrition. It is assistance for those families. It is an expansion of that. It also deals with unemployment insurance benefits to make sure those are staying consistent and those get extended to people who are going to need them because in the past week, unemployment has dramatically increased all over the country. In the days ahead, when we see the numbers, we will see the difference between what is happening this week versus the week before versus the week before that. The struggle is, my phones have been filled with one other element that is in that bill, and that deals with a mandate on small businesses for sick leave. Small businesses in my State are closed. Many retailers and restaurants--many small businesses are really struggling with how they are going to pay for this when they have no income coming in right now. They are hearing the promise of a Federal reimbursement coming to them, but they don't know when that is coming, and they are literally teetering on the edge right now. Their struggle: Please don't do something that pushes us over the edge. We need help, but we don't need a bureaucracy that is going to be slow to respond or a way that is actually going to get us some help but help that comes to us too late. I have heard these terrifying words from multiple employers: I cannot make it with that structure. I am going to have to lay people off and hope to be able to hire them back when this all ends. For those families who are laid off and in unemployment now, this is a very different day for them. My fear is that some of what pushed some of those individuals over the edge into unemployment was a nudge to say we are going to add one more mandate to you at your worst possible economic moment. The first principle we should have as Congress is, do no harm. We need to step in and help those folks who need help. There are lots of ideas being bantered around by the Senate and the House, from both sides of the aisle, to figure out how we can get help as rapidly as we can to as many people as we can. This is a moment unlike what we have seen before where it is not that the economy is crashing because of some economic foundation that is not there; it is fear and panic that is global, that literally we are struggling with ``what if'' and the CDC and our own governments saying to employers: It would be best if you closed for a season. And they, being good citizens and good neighbors, quite frankly, are complying with that out of fear for their own business and for their own employees. I finished my day yesterday--late last night--talking to a small business owner in Oklahoma who related to me what he is going through right now and the struggles he is having keeping the doors open. Quite frankly, he was fairly blunt with me to say: The things that are being passed in the bill tomorrow will affect me, but my competitors that are big companies--it doesn't affect them. It is already hard enough for me as a small business to compete with them, and now I have a new mandate on me that is not a mandate on them, and it makes it even harder, and I don't think I will have the cash flow to be able to make this work. Toward the end of the conversation, he paused and literally began to cry, and he pulled himself together and said: I am having to call people and tell them ``I don't have hours for you next week,'' and these are people I care about. We need to take action, but we need to take action that helps people keep their jobs, helps people stay employed, and helps us deal with the dip in the economy right now to help them pull back out. My fear is that we didn't do that just now. We might have just made it worse. There are important things for us to do, and many of those things we are working on this week. We have to get help to as many people as we can, as fast as we can. It is my hope that the Senate will continue to stay in session--as the leader has already said and promised that it would--until we actually come to some proposals where we have wide bipartisan agreement that can get help rapidly to the people who need the help the most: those workers, those individuals who are struggling, the folks who are hourly, those folks who are waiters and waitresses, those folks who work at the coffee shop and own the coffee shop, and those folks in retail locations that are shut down. They need us to stand with them, and this is our moment to do it. Let's do it together I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. LANKFORD

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1796-2

formal

food stamp

racist

Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, 3 months ago, no one in the country--in fact, no one in the world--had heard the term ``COVID-19.'' The term ``coronavirus'' was around, but most folks didn't use that because it was connected to SARS or to MERS in the past. In December of 2019, an infection started in China, and it spread rapidly through the Wuhan region. By January, there were thousands of people affected before most of the world even knew it existed. Now, almost every country in the world has infections. We have hundreds of thousands of people who have had contact with this virus, and unfortunately we have lost thousands of people worldwide. In the United States, the numbers continue to increase as we are continuing to increase the number of people we can actually test. Fortunately, the vast majority of the people who get this virus have little to no symptoms. It is a cold; it is a mild flu to them. But for our vulnerable populations--our elderly populations, those with heart issues, those with lung issues, smokers, diabetics--this can be a very, very serious thing. The challenge we face in our healthcare is that every person who walks in to get tested is face to face with one of our healthcare workers, especially in rural areas of our State, who may be the only healthcare professional for that entire county. If that person--who has not been vaccinated as well because there is no vaccine yet--is not able to serve the rest of the population, that health situation becomes even worse because of diminishing care. We, as Americans, have taken this seriously, as we should. We are paying attention. The younger population is spending time trying to get away from other individuals, to self-isolate, to self-quarantine--``social distancing'' is the new term--to find some way to not be close to someone else so they don't accidentally pass the virus on, because although the virus may be within them and they are not personally physically affected much, the effect on someone else could be pretty dramatic. So, out of respect for others, they are trying to manage that distance and be attentive to that. There have been multiple actions from the government over the past several months. There are the travel bans we all know very much about, starting with China and now in multiple areas of the world, and lots of encouragement to limit gatherings, first to 250 and then to 50 and now to 10. Now it is a series of just keep social distancing, to make sure you are aware of that. There have been emergency declarations. CMS has changed coverage, as recently as yesterday, dealing with issues like telehealth, making sure individuals who may have other care needs don't have to actually go in to a healthcare professional--for their fear of who else is sitting in the waiting room--but they can get access to telehealth, which is a much needed change. The FDA has been very aggressive in giving access to different States to do their own testing regimens. The CDC has been active in trying to get to a point where they can get a testing system that can actually get out to the entire country. The challenge was, early on, many other countries did tests and developed tests with a high false-positive rate. The CDC was very focused on trying to get as accurate as it possibly could. That meant it took longer, and we don't have the tests out. The tests are more accurate, but we don't have the tests in the numbers we need at the moment we needed them, which was last week. So now we are still struggling to catch up on testing all over the country. Multiple other labs and multiple universities are also coming on board. Infact--it is interesting--multiple other countries are also developing their own testing processes. In the days ahead, we will be able to catch up on the testing so that any American could be able to get testing, but for now, it is limited. In States like my State of Oklahoma, where the virus is beginning its acceleration--we were late in actually getting the virus coming to Oklahoma, but now that the virus is there, it starts to accelerate, and testing is exceptionally important to us, as it is to everyone else. The Department of Transportation is engaged on things like waivers for hours of service to allow the movement of goods all over the country dealing with livestock and with food. There has been a big push from just about every retailer in the country to make sure they are cleaning facilities more and being open and accessible and having hours early in the morning for those in the most vulnerable populations so they are not shopping with people who may have the virus and don't even know it. There has been a shift around the country to encourage people to telework or to find ways to separate in their place of work. All of these things have occurred just in the last few months. Again, 3 months ago, none of us knew this term or this virus existed. All of this is happening extremely rapidly. Three weeks ago, Congress and the President agreed on a proposal--it was a wide bipartisan proposal--to deal with additional funding for testing, additional funding for vaccine development, additional funding for State and local departments of health to make sure they are taking care of that. My own State of Oklahoma has already received almost $7 million to help with what is happening in our county, and we are in desperate need of those dollars to get that done. Vaccine development is already in human trials now. It is in phase 1. It will take multiple months to get that done, but we have already begun that process. That is important to us. The bill that was on the floor today dealt with multiple helpful things. It expands SNAP--what some people still call food stamps, but it is supplemental nutrition. It is assistance for those families. It is an expansion of that. It also deals with unemployment insurance benefits to make sure those are staying consistent and those get extended to people who are going to need them because in the past week, unemployment has dramatically increased all over the country. In the days ahead, when we see the numbers, we will see the difference between what is happening this week versus the week before versus the week before that. The struggle is, my phones have been filled with one other element that is in that bill, and that deals with a mandate on small businesses for sick leave. Small businesses in my State are closed. Many retailers and restaurants--many small businesses are really struggling with how they are going to pay for this when they have no income coming in right now. They are hearing the promise of a Federal reimbursement coming to them, but they don't know when that is coming, and they are literally teetering on the edge right now. Their struggle: Please don't do something that pushes us over the edge. We need help, but we don't need a bureaucracy that is going to be slow to respond or a way that is actually going to get us some help but help that comes to us too late. I have heard these terrifying words from multiple employers: I cannot make it with that structure. I am going to have to lay people off and hope to be able to hire them back when this all ends. For those families who are laid off and in unemployment now, this is a very different day for them. My fear is that some of what pushed some of those individuals over the edge into unemployment was a nudge to say we are going to add one more mandate to you at your worst possible economic moment. The first principle we should have as Congress is, do no harm. We need to step in and help those folks who need help. There are lots of ideas being bantered around by the Senate and the House, from both sides of the aisle, to figure out how we can get help as rapidly as we can to as many people as we can. This is a moment unlike what we have seen before where it is not that the economy is crashing because of some economic foundation that is not there; it is fear and panic that is global, that literally we are struggling with ``what if'' and the CDC and our own governments saying to employers: It would be best if you closed for a season. And they, being good citizens and good neighbors, quite frankly, are complying with that out of fear for their own business and for their own employees. I finished my day yesterday--late last night--talking to a small business owner in Oklahoma who related to me what he is going through right now and the struggles he is having keeping the doors open. Quite frankly, he was fairly blunt with me to say: The things that are being passed in the bill tomorrow will affect me, but my competitors that are big companies--it doesn't affect them. It is already hard enough for me as a small business to compete with them, and now I have a new mandate on me that is not a mandate on them, and it makes it even harder, and I don't think I will have the cash flow to be able to make this work. Toward the end of the conversation, he paused and literally began to cry, and he pulled himself together and said: I am having to call people and tell them ``I don't have hours for you next week,'' and these are people I care about. We need to take action, but we need to take action that helps people keep their jobs, helps people stay employed, and helps us deal with the dip in the economy right now to help them pull back out. My fear is that we didn't do that just now. We might have just made it worse. There are important things for us to do, and many of those things we are working on this week. We have to get help to as many people as we can, as fast as we can. It is my hope that the Senate will continue to stay in session--as the leader has already said and promised that it would--until we actually come to some proposals where we have wide bipartisan agreement that can get help rapidly to the people who need the help the most: those workers, those individuals who are struggling, the folks who are hourly, those folks who are waiters and waitresses, those folks who work at the coffee shop and own the coffee shop, and those folks in retail locations that are shut down. They need us to stand with them, and this is our moment to do it. Let's do it together I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. LANKFORD

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1796-2

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I want to start my remarks by saying to the people of Massachusetts and families all across the country: Many of you are making big sacrifices--quarantining yourselves, postponing or canceling major events, dealing with closed schools and daycare. We are grateful. Right now, our primary goal needs to be to slow the spread of this virus, and we all share in that responsibility. So we thank you for everything you are doing to keep your loved ones and everyone else's loved ones safe at this time. We are at war with the coronavirus, and we need a massive wartime manufacturing mobilization for coronavirus testing kits and personal protective equipment for medical personnel and emergency responders. That is why, last weekend, I was the first to call on President Trump to immediately use existing authorities under the Defense Production Act to bring all of the power of the Federal Government to bear in mobilizing industry to meet this crisis. It is why I authored the Senate resolution calling on him to do so. It is why I spoke directly to Vice President Pence yesterday to urge the administration to take this critical action, and I am glad they are doing so. The Defense Production Act allows the Federal Government to direct supplies of critical materials and equipment that our hospitals and first responders need. It allows us to mobilize industry to expand production and gives us the power to coordinate industry to respond to this crisis. We need to fully use all of those powers that are provided under this law. That is why I am so glad President Trump has today invoked the power of the Defense Production Act to respond to the coronavirus crisis. I am glad he is exercising it. I am glad that after my conversation yesterday with Vice President Pence, they decided to put this on the agenda for our country. We need to massively increase private production of the lifesaving personal protective equipment, medical supplies and devices, and diagnostic testing supplies we need to combat this viral enemy. We need to activate our capable and talented domestic industry and bring the full weight of the Federal Government behind this effort. We are talking about gowns, gloves, face shields, surgical masks, N95 respirators, ventilators, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizers. We do not have nearly enough of this lifesaving equipment. For instance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the United States could need up to 3.5 billion respirator masks. Let me say that again. Our own Department of Health and Human Services says that we could need upwards of 3.5 billion respirator masks. But our strategic national stockpile, the country's emergency medical supply bank, holds only a tiny fraction of that, just 12 million respirator masks--not 3.5 billion but 12 million. The medical community calls this personal protective equipment ``PPE,'' but ``PPE'' also stands for a ``promise to protect everyone,'' and this is a promise we should make and keep for our hospital personnel, first responders, and patients. Invoking the powers of the Defense Production Act will help ensure that we can keep this promise to our American heroes who are on the frontlines of battling this epidemic. I have been in regular contact with the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and both have issued a terrible alarm: There are insufficient medical equipment and supplies to test and treat affected individuals and protect healthcare workers and first responders. For example, the Berkshire hospital told me that they required 3,500 respirator masks a day. That is 35,000 in just 10 days for the Berkshire hospital, which is in the least populated part of our State--for just that one smaller hospital. Yet the entire State of Massachusetts recently received only 70,000 of these respirator masks. That is not nearly enough. We do not want our nurses and our doctors reusing or rationing masks. Additionally, hospitals and labs across the Nation are trying to ramp up testing capacity but face shortages in test kits and supplies. But we need to dramatically scale up testing and ensure our continued ability to test. Our Nation must be able to conduct tens or hundreds of thousands of tests daily, ultimately testing millions of people over the course of our response. That means producing swabs, which we are now running short of, and other testing materials. We have used the Defense Production Act before--during the Korean war--to mobilize defense infrastructure and during the Cold War. Make no mistake, we are facing an equally deadly enemy in this virus, and we need to bring all of our authority and resources to bear to defeat it. All of us owe a debt of gratitude to our frontline health and medical care workforce. They don't have a roadmap for what is happening right now. It is unprecedented. They just have skills, a commitment, and the hearts of heroes. We owe them the resources they need to be protected in order to do their jobs. Sadly, this pandemic is going to get worse before it gets better. I had been calling for the President to declare a national emergency, which he finally did last week. Now that he has done so, we need Massachusetts to get all of the funding that is due. I have been in regular contact with Governor Baker and Mayor Walsh, and I will support their requests for Federal resources. As the Senate works on an economic relief package that matches the scale of this crisis, we need to ensure that we put people and family first--no half measures, no hidden bailouts and giveaways just to big corporations: paid sick time for all workers; unemployment insurance for all workers, including for tipped workers, gig workers, contractors, home workers; expansion of SNAP, WIC, and other food security programs; no evictions, no cutting off of utilities, no cutting off of Wi-Fi; halting all deportations and releasing of detained immigrants who pose no threat to public safety; provide free Wi-Fi to low-income households with students who cannot afford it but are going to be at home because of school closures so that we don't have a huge homework gap that now explodes in our country, as poorer children don't have access to the Wi-Fi technology at home, so they can learn at the same pace that kids who just happen to live in wealthier families will have. We cannot allow that to happen. These kids should be able to learn at home, regardless of their income. We need free Wi-Fi for those kids. We have to reimburse our States and cities and Tribes. They are bearing the brunt of this crisis, and they need resources immediately. My commitment to protecting the health professionals, ensuring the consumers, workers, and families of Massachusetts get relief from the impacts of the coronavirus is my No. 1 priority. We have to protect the small businesses in our country. We have to make sure they receive the resources they need. Millions and millions of small businesses right now are feeling enormous stress. We have to make it possible for them to receive the relief they need, the help they need in order to survive, and we have to put upfront whatever the capacity is to make sure they get the resources they need. If that system in our country, where 48 percent of all workers are employed--small businesses in our country--and they are living on the margin, then we are going to have an economic catastrophe by August or September where millions of these small businesses will just declare bankruptcy. That is the bottom-line economic fact of the matter. We have to give them help, and we have to make sure we have the resources inside the Federal Government--the personnel--that will ensure we can deliver that relief too. To the people of Massachusetts, I want you to know I am here for you, and I will help any of you individually who need any assistance during this emergency. This current moment may call for distancing and isolation, but we cannot and should not sever our basic human connections to one another because we are all in this together. I want to end with the most important remark. We must continue to listen to the guidance of scientists and medical professionals. This pandemic is unprecedented and will require an unprecedented mobilization and response at every level of society. We can get through this, but it will require a commitment from every single one of us. We are one big family in the United States. Many families are going to be suffering. It is going to be our job to make sure that we protect those families, and it is the job of this institution to do so. We are the legislative first responders. We are the ones who have to provide the resources that then allow the first responders, the families in every community across our country to have the resources to help everyone in our society. That is our goal. A pandemic should know no partisanship. Let us come together and produce the big package our country right now so desperately needs. With that, I yield back.

2020-01-06

Mr. MARKEY

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1797

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I want to start my remarks by saying to the people of Massachusetts and families all across the country: Many of you are making big sacrifices--quarantining yourselves, postponing or canceling major events, dealing with closed schools and daycare. We are grateful. Right now, our primary goal needs to be to slow the spread of this virus, and we all share in that responsibility. So we thank you for everything you are doing to keep your loved ones and everyone else's loved ones safe at this time. We are at war with the coronavirus, and we need a massive wartime manufacturing mobilization for coronavirus testing kits and personal protective equipment for medical personnel and emergency responders. That is why, last weekend, I was the first to call on President Trump to immediately use existing authorities under the Defense Production Act to bring all of the power of the Federal Government to bear in mobilizing industry to meet this crisis. It is why I authored the Senate resolution calling on him to do so. It is why I spoke directly to Vice President Pence yesterday to urge the administration to take this critical action, and I am glad they are doing so. The Defense Production Act allows the Federal Government to direct supplies of critical materials and equipment that our hospitals and first responders need. It allows us to mobilize industry to expand production and gives us the power to coordinate industry to respond to this crisis. We need to fully use all of those powers that are provided under this law. That is why I am so glad President Trump has today invoked the power of the Defense Production Act to respond to the coronavirus crisis. I am glad he is exercising it. I am glad that after my conversation yesterday with Vice President Pence, they decided to put this on the agenda for our country. We need to massively increase private production of the lifesaving personal protective equipment, medical supplies and devices, and diagnostic testing supplies we need to combat this viral enemy. We need to activate our capable and talented domestic industry and bring the full weight of the Federal Government behind this effort. We are talking about gowns, gloves, face shields, surgical masks, N95 respirators, ventilators, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizers. We do not have nearly enough of this lifesaving equipment. For instance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the United States could need up to 3.5 billion respirator masks. Let me say that again. Our own Department of Health and Human Services says that we could need upwards of 3.5 billion respirator masks. But our strategic national stockpile, the country's emergency medical supply bank, holds only a tiny fraction of that, just 12 million respirator masks--not 3.5 billion but 12 million. The medical community calls this personal protective equipment ``PPE,'' but ``PPE'' also stands for a ``promise to protect everyone,'' and this is a promise we should make and keep for our hospital personnel, first responders, and patients. Invoking the powers of the Defense Production Act will help ensure that we can keep this promise to our American heroes who are on the frontlines of battling this epidemic. I have been in regular contact with the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and both have issued a terrible alarm: There are insufficient medical equipment and supplies to test and treat affected individuals and protect healthcare workers and first responders. For example, the Berkshire hospital told me that they required 3,500 respirator masks a day. That is 35,000 in just 10 days for the Berkshire hospital, which is in the least populated part of our State--for just that one smaller hospital. Yet the entire State of Massachusetts recently received only 70,000 of these respirator masks. That is not nearly enough. We do not want our nurses and our doctors reusing or rationing masks. Additionally, hospitals and labs across the Nation are trying to ramp up testing capacity but face shortages in test kits and supplies. But we need to dramatically scale up testing and ensure our continued ability to test. Our Nation must be able to conduct tens or hundreds of thousands of tests daily, ultimately testing millions of people over the course of our response. That means producing swabs, which we are now running short of, and other testing materials. We have used the Defense Production Act before--during the Korean war--to mobilize defense infrastructure and during the Cold War. Make no mistake, we are facing an equally deadly enemy in this virus, and we need to bring all of our authority and resources to bear to defeat it. All of us owe a debt of gratitude to our frontline health and medical care workforce. They don't have a roadmap for what is happening right now. It is unprecedented. They just have skills, a commitment, and the hearts of heroes. We owe them the resources they need to be protected in order to do their jobs. Sadly, this pandemic is going to get worse before it gets better. I had been calling for the President to declare a national emergency, which he finally did last week. Now that he has done so, we need Massachusetts to get all of the funding that is due. I have been in regular contact with Governor Baker and Mayor Walsh, and I will support their requests for Federal resources. As the Senate works on an economic relief package that matches the scale of this crisis, we need to ensure that we put people and family first--no half measures, no hidden bailouts and giveaways just to big corporations: paid sick time for all workers; unemployment insurance for all workers, including for tipped workers, gig workers, contractors, home workers; expansion of SNAP, WIC, and other food security programs; no evictions, no cutting off of utilities, no cutting off of Wi-Fi; halting all deportations and releasing of detained immigrants who pose no threat to public safety; provide free Wi-Fi to low-income households with students who cannot afford it but are going to be at home because of school closures so that we don't have a huge homework gap that now explodes in our country, as poorer children don't have access to the Wi-Fi technology at home, so they can learn at the same pace that kids who just happen to live in wealthier families will have. We cannot allow that to happen. These kids should be able to learn at home, regardless of their income. We need free Wi-Fi for those kids. We have to reimburse our States and cities and Tribes. They are bearing the brunt of this crisis, and they need resources immediately. My commitment to protecting the health professionals, ensuring the consumers, workers, and families of Massachusetts get relief from the impacts of the coronavirus is my No. 1 priority. We have to protect the small businesses in our country. We have to make sure they receive the resources they need. Millions and millions of small businesses right now are feeling enormous stress. We have to make it possible for them to receive the relief they need, the help they need in order to survive, and we have to put upfront whatever the capacity is to make sure they get the resources they need. If that system in our country, where 48 percent of all workers are employed--small businesses in our country--and they are living on the margin, then we are going to have an economic catastrophe by August or September where millions of these small businesses will just declare bankruptcy. That is the bottom-line economic fact of the matter. We have to give them help, and we have to make sure we have the resources inside the Federal Government--the personnel--that will ensure we can deliver that relief too. To the people of Massachusetts, I want you to know I am here for you, and I will help any of you individually who need any assistance during this emergency. This current moment may call for distancing and isolation, but we cannot and should not sever our basic human connections to one another because we are all in this together. I want to end with the most important remark. We must continue to listen to the guidance of scientists and medical professionals. This pandemic is unprecedented and will require an unprecedented mobilization and response at every level of society. We can get through this, but it will require a commitment from every single one of us. We are one big family in the United States. Many families are going to be suffering. It is going to be our job to make sure that we protect those families, and it is the job of this institution to do so. We are the legislative first responders. We are the ones who have to provide the resources that then allow the first responders, the families in every community across our country to have the resources to help everyone in our society. That is our goal. A pandemic should know no partisanship. Let us come together and produce the big package our country right now so desperately needs. With that, I yield back.

2020-01-06

Mr. MARKEY

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1797

formal

blue

antisemitic

Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I congratulate the Senator from Kansas on his eloquent remarks, expressing the feelings--certainly mine and those, I believe, of virtually every Member of this body--that we are here not as Democrats or Republicans but to work together to do whatever we can to address the concerns that are literally unprecedented. This is an unprecedented time in our country. I cannot remember a time in my life or in our history when the government has literally closed down the country in order to contain a disease. That is literally what we are doing. Whether it is the Federal Government by its travel restrictions, or whether it is the State governments suggesting that schools be closed, or whether it is mayors saying that restaurants must be closed, we are closing down the country to contain a disease. Because the government is doing that on behalf of all the people, we are going to have to pay the costs of closing down the country to contain this disease. Today, the news is that the auto industry across the country is closing down, at least temporarily. There are layoffs. I have watched over the last 40 years as Tennessee has gone from almost no auto jobs to proudly calling itself, in many ways, the No. 1 auto State. One hundred forty thousand Tennesseans work in auto jobs in Tennessee; that is one-third of all of our manufacturing jobs. They are spread through 88 counties. And over these 40 years as textiles and other industries moved away from the United States and out of our State, the auto companies moved in--virtually into every county--and our family incomes went up. So if we are, in many ways, the No. 1 auto State, then we are the No. 1 State to be hurt when the auto plants begin to close. We are also hurt, as are citizens in every State, when the restaurants shut down. Fifteen million Americans work in restaurants. It is one of our largest industries, if not our largest industry. Almost all of those workers are being laid off in Tennessee and in many other places in the country and even more will be. Not all of those affected are working for big auto companies or medium-sized restaurants. I received an email yesterday from friends in Tennessee who run a kennel. Well, you may say that is not so important. Well, it is important to a lot of us. They say: We are . . . suffering a massive drop off in our business as a result of the Coronavirus. I fear we may have to close our doors for a month or two (hopefully not that long), as our wonderful customers are forced to curtail travel. I am currently trying to secure around $50,000 in loans to supplement our dwindling reserves to see us through until May [or] June. I am currently applying . . . for SBA disaster relief. This precipitous drop in business comes on the heels of major flood damages to our fencing [caused] by the [recent] floods . . . our flood insurance refuses to cover [that]. We are not seeking charity, just a business loan from $30,000 [to] $50,000 to secure our business until it passes. We always pay our way. This couple has two young children and maybe a couple of employees in their kennel. They are awfully good people. They are salt-of-the-earth Tennesseans. They are like many Americans who are suddenly confronted with this disease that just came out of the blue and has caused our government to shut our country down. Now, what shall we do about it? Well, a couple of weeks ago, Congress and the President reacted with $8.3 billion to help beef up our public health system. We have the best public health system in the world, and we wanted to help it get started. Today, we passed a bill that some people have estimated at $100 billion, which includes a whole variety of other steps from Democrats and Republicans that includes encouraging more testing, that creates a new system of paid leave for businesses of less than 500 employees, and family leave. As Senator McConnell said, we are going to stay here this week until we take step 3. And step 3, according to the President's proposal, would include direct financial payments to Americans; it would include support for essential businesses that need stabilization like the airlines; and it would include loans to small businesses so they can keep their employees working. Perhaps that proposal would be good for that small kennel I talked about. That is said to cost perhaps another trillion dollars. A trillion dollars is a lot of money, even in the United States. Our gross domestic product is about $22.3 trillion. We have 25 percent of all the money in the world in this country just for 5 percent of the people. But the idea that we would have to spend a trillion dollars or more to contain a disease would be unthinkable a few weeks ago, but what we have learned very quickly is we are going to have to pay the cost of containing the disease because the way we are containing it is that the government is shutting down major parts of our economy. I don't believe that what we do today or what we propose to do later in the week will be enough because, as I look at the number of people being laid off in this country, our State unemployment agencies are not going to be able to deal with that. In Tennessee, for example, where unemployment has been very low and where people have found it easy to find a job, there were only 2,000 applications for unemployment insurance last week, but already this week by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, in the middle of the week, there were four times that many applications, 9,177. If you are successful in unemployment compensation in our State, you get $257 per week for 26 weeks. So we are going to have to do even more than the Congress has done, even more than the President has done, and I think we have to recognize that the President was wise on January 31, when we only had six cases of coronavirus detected in the United States, to impose the strictest travel bans on people coming into our country in 50 years. Dr. Fauci, whom all of us respect, said if he hadn't done that, we would have many more cases today. Still, we have a disease that is causing the governments--this one, the State government, the local government--to shut major parts of our economy down. That is why I voted todayfor the legislation that was phase 2 in our effort to respond to that, even though I have significant issues with the sick leave and family leave proposals that are part of it. I believe those provisions, while well-intended by the administration and by the House of Representatives, will hurt many employers and will shortchange many employees. First, to be fair, I want to try to make sure that what the Treasury intends to do is on the record. I have had several conversations with the Secretary of the Treasury and with other officials to ask them just what they intended to do and to list the problems that I had. So here is what they say--and I am characterizing the conversations and the writings we have had. They pointed out that what many businesses have read is in this bill was what was in the draft of it that the House passed on Friday before technical corrections were made over the weekend and that the technical corrections greatly improved the bill from the point of view of employers. The Treasury Department writes that, under the legislation, employers receive a dollar-for-dollar refundable tax credit for the COVID-19-related sick and family leave payments made to their employees. As amended--they made the technical corrections over the weekend--the credit is carefully calibrated, in the Treasury's words, to ensure that there is no sick or family leave requirement in excess of the credit. The legislation now also includes explicit grants of regulatory authority to both the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure consistency between the leave requirements and the credit provisions. In addition--and this is what the Treasury officials have been saying to us over the last few days--the legislation now provides that the sick and family leave payments are not considered wages for employment tax purposes. The legislation now extends the employer credit to include costs for the maintenance of health benefits that are paid by the employers while employees are on leave. Lastly, the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service are considering options to provide an advance payment for the refundable credit to ease any tax flow burden that a small fraction of employers may experience. I will have more to say about that in a minute, but in plain English, what that means is that they are considering a way to make sure that, before the employer has to pay this required family leave to an employee, the Federal Government has given the money to the employer. Besides this, the legislation now includes an explicit grant of authority, the Treasury writes, to the Secretary of Labor to exempt small businesses from the only long-term leave requirements it contains where those requirements would result in financial hardship. In its conversations with me and in the writings that it has sent out, the Treasury makes the argument that, far from imposing special burdens, the net effect of this legislation is to provide an important benefit given that many already provide sick leave and that many more will need to do so in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, by structuring coverage for paid sick leave as a credit, the legislation ensures that employers generally receive relief immediately rather than having to wait for refunds. In the event the amount of the credit exceeds an employer's tax liability, the credit is made refundable to ensure that the employer is fully compensated for all payments made under the leave requirements. The Treasury goes on to write that the Treasury and the IRS are working on options to provide an advance payment of the credit in order to get cash in the pockets of small businesses and their employees immediately. The intent of the legislation, the Treasury argues, is to fully fund the payments employers make to their employees who experience employment interruptions related to the COVID-19. In summary, according to the Department of the Treasury, the amended legislation does not require employers to make payments in excess of amounts eligible for the refundable tax credit and does not require employers to pay employment taxes on those amounts. To the contrary, it provides an important and immediate benefit to small businesses and their employees for whom financial assistance is needed as quickly as possible. That has been the argument of the Secretary of the Treasury and his subordinates in conversations with many of us over the last few days. That is their intention. Now, I read that in detail because, in the Dakotas, in Tennessee, and in many places all across this country, if my figures are right, there are about 6 million businesses that could be affected by this mandate, businesses that employ 51 million employees--or at least that did employ 51 million employees until all of the problems that have been created by this virus. In my having tried to be fair in giving you what I understand the Treasury's intention to be, which I think will be useful to the owners of small businesses, to their accountants, and to their lawyers, who are trying to figure out the law that was passed today, here are my problems with it. No. 1, I am not sure that the Treasury can live up to its promise to make sure that the employer has the money from the Federal Government before the employer has to pay the sick leave to the employee. Here is my principle. I think, in these circumstances, sick leave and family leave are a good idea. I mean, if someone is quarantined for 2 weeks, I think all of us should have to pay the cost of that and, for another 10 weeks, some of the cost of the medical and family leave. I buy that, and I can support that. Yet I believe, if Washington, DC, is going to require it, Washington, DC, should pay for it. If Washington, DC, is going to require a small business--many of which are struggling and many of which are going out of business--to pay a mandate, Washington, DC, should pay for it This is no time to be imposing on small businesses an expensive, new mandate--an unexpected new cost--when they don't have money coming in to pay for the normal costs that they had. I know it is the Secretary's goal to let it work this way, for he has told me this, and he has told all of us this. He has said it in public and has put out a statement. Under the sick leave proposal, every couple of weeks, a businessman will put aside enough money for withholding and social security taxes. That adds up to about 15 percent of an employee's salary. What the Treasury is saying is that the employer can use that money. Instead of setting it aside for the government, the employer can use it to pay sick leave. There are two problems with that. One is that I don't like the idea of the employer's using the employee's tax money. You usually get in trouble for that. If I were to set aside the Senator from North Dakota's tax payment and then use it for some purpose, you could go to jail for that in some cases. At least it is inappropriate. I am uncomfortable with that. A business might only have 7.5 percent of the salary set aside for that purpose, but even if it is 15 percent, I am not sure it is enough. The Treasury Secretary said the Treasury understands that, so it will allow advance payment, and it hopes that it can come up with a system that would get it there immediately. He hasn't promised that it would come in 1 day. I am sure, if he were here on the Senate floor, he would like to say his objective would be to get it there on the same day. Well, wanting to get it there on the same day and getting it there are two different things. If I am a small business person in Tennessee and know that I am going to have to cut a payroll check on Monday and that I have no money coming in to pay for it and that there is not enough money in my escrow account to pay for it, I would want my money from the Federal Government before I would cut the check. So I intend to try to amend the legislation that we passed this weekend to say that, with sick leave and paid family leave, since Washington is requiring it and Washington is paying for it, then Washington will need to make sure the employer has the money before the employer has to write the check. That is No. 1. No. 2, I want to make sure that the employer doesn't have to pay more on sick leave than the Federal Government's cap. There is a cap that, I think, is about $132,000 annualized pay on sick leave. If an employee makes more than that, that employee is going to have to take a pay cut or he or shemight use the private right of action to sue the employer and say: I want you to pay the gap between the $132,000 and whatever I made. You may say, I am not too sympathetic to the employee who makes that much money. Yet I am not talking about being sympathetic to the employee; I am talking about being sympathetic to the employer who may not have any money. Remember, this is a Washington mandate, and Washington should pay for it. Through technical changes this past weekend--and it said so in the information I just read--the Treasury Department has amended the bill to try to make that clear, and I hope that it is successful. No. 3 is with regard to layoffs, and I mentioned the restaurant industry. There are 15 million people who work in the restaurant industry. If they are not laid off now, they are going to be mostly all laid off before very long. Unfortunately, none of those men and women who have been laid off are eligible for this sick leave because you are going to have to work for 30 days for this small business, for this company with fewer than 500 employees, in order to be eligible for the paid sick leave. I am afraid, as a result of this, many employers who are worried about this provision may have an incentive to lay off more of their employees. The truth is that one doesn't need much more incentive because you are a restaurant and have been told by the local health board to close down. You don't have any money coming in, and you can't pay your employees anyway, so you don't have any choice. My point is that this is a very limited benefit in the restaurant industry and, probably, in many other industries because it does not help the laid-off employee. Finally, there has been a lot said with regard to the smallest companies--those with fewer than 50 employees--in that they can apply to the Secretary of Labor and he will make you exempt from the mandate. I think that is a good idea because this is the small mom-and-pop diner or it might be the kennel that I just talked about that might have three or four employees and that is not accustomed to dealing with all of this Washington legalese and its requirements and regulations. It is not geared up for that. As I read the language in the law, it is a much narrower exception than that, so I am going to attempt to amend the law that passed today in order to broaden the exception so the Secretary of Labor has more authority to waive the mandate for businesses with fewer than 50 employees As I said, there are a number of important benefits in the bill that we passed today, especially on testing. We have seen a great increase in the number of available tests over the last few weeks. The Governor of Tennessee said yesterday that we have sufficient testing. Well, that is for today but maybe not for tomorrow or the next day. One of the greatest steps forward has been to finally allow commercial testing to be used. I mean, why shouldn't the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic be able to go ahead and develop tests and move ahead with them? Now, they can. While we have done a great deal, there is a great deal more that we must do. I am convinced, even if we do as Senator McConnell has said and pass our phase three legislation this weekend, which would include loans to small businesses, direct payments to individuals, and stabilizing payments to airlines, for example, and maybe to other industries, that there is more to do. My guess is that the next step after that--phase four, let's call it--will be to look to our State employment compensation systems and make sure they are able to handle the large numbers of people who are losing their jobs because the government is shutting down the economy in order to contain the disease. I voted for the Johnson amendment today, which was to the bill for which I later voted, because I thought it was headed in the right direction. Rather than Washington's issuing mandates, I would rather Washington work with the States in an existing program and make sure that States have sufficient funding on top of their own funds to deal with the large numbers of autoworkers, restaurant workers, and workers at the small kennel that has two or three employees. In addition to that, I believe the figure in the weekly fund is going to have to be higher than the $327 that it is in Tennessee. This is unprecedented. We are closing down the economy in order to contain the disease. Because we are doing that, we governments at all levels are going to have to pay the bill. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. ALEXANDER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1800

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I congratulate the Senator from Kansas on his eloquent remarks, expressing the feelings--certainly mine and those, I believe, of virtually every Member of this body--that we are here not as Democrats or Republicans but to work together to do whatever we can to address the concerns that are literally unprecedented. This is an unprecedented time in our country. I cannot remember a time in my life or in our history when the government has literally closed down the country in order to contain a disease. That is literally what we are doing. Whether it is the Federal Government by its travel restrictions, or whether it is the State governments suggesting that schools be closed, or whether it is mayors saying that restaurants must be closed, we are closing down the country to contain a disease. Because the government is doing that on behalf of all the people, we are going to have to pay the costs of closing down the country to contain this disease. Today, the news is that the auto industry across the country is closing down, at least temporarily. There are layoffs. I have watched over the last 40 years as Tennessee has gone from almost no auto jobs to proudly calling itself, in many ways, the No. 1 auto State. One hundred forty thousand Tennesseans work in auto jobs in Tennessee; that is one-third of all of our manufacturing jobs. They are spread through 88 counties. And over these 40 years as textiles and other industries moved away from the United States and out of our State, the auto companies moved in--virtually into every county--and our family incomes went up. So if we are, in many ways, the No. 1 auto State, then we are the No. 1 State to be hurt when the auto plants begin to close. We are also hurt, as are citizens in every State, when the restaurants shut down. Fifteen million Americans work in restaurants. It is one of our largest industries, if not our largest industry. Almost all of those workers are being laid off in Tennessee and in many other places in the country and even more will be. Not all of those affected are working for big auto companies or medium-sized restaurants. I received an email yesterday from friends in Tennessee who run a kennel. Well, you may say that is not so important. Well, it is important to a lot of us. They say: We are . . . suffering a massive drop off in our business as a result of the Coronavirus. I fear we may have to close our doors for a month or two (hopefully not that long), as our wonderful customers are forced to curtail travel. I am currently trying to secure around $50,000 in loans to supplement our dwindling reserves to see us through until May [or] June. I am currently applying . . . for SBA disaster relief. This precipitous drop in business comes on the heels of major flood damages to our fencing [caused] by the [recent] floods . . . our flood insurance refuses to cover [that]. We are not seeking charity, just a business loan from $30,000 [to] $50,000 to secure our business until it passes. We always pay our way. This couple has two young children and maybe a couple of employees in their kennel. They are awfully good people. They are salt-of-the-earth Tennesseans. They are like many Americans who are suddenly confronted with this disease that just came out of the blue and has caused our government to shut our country down. Now, what shall we do about it? Well, a couple of weeks ago, Congress and the President reacted with $8.3 billion to help beef up our public health system. We have the best public health system in the world, and we wanted to help it get started. Today, we passed a bill that some people have estimated at $100 billion, which includes a whole variety of other steps from Democrats and Republicans that includes encouraging more testing, that creates a new system of paid leave for businesses of less than 500 employees, and family leave. As Senator McConnell said, we are going to stay here this week until we take step 3. And step 3, according to the President's proposal, would include direct financial payments to Americans; it would include support for essential businesses that need stabilization like the airlines; and it would include loans to small businesses so they can keep their employees working. Perhaps that proposal would be good for that small kennel I talked about. That is said to cost perhaps another trillion dollars. A trillion dollars is a lot of money, even in the United States. Our gross domestic product is about $22.3 trillion. We have 25 percent of all the money in the world in this country just for 5 percent of the people. But the idea that we would have to spend a trillion dollars or more to contain a disease would be unthinkable a few weeks ago, but what we have learned very quickly is we are going to have to pay the cost of containing the disease because the way we are containing it is that the government is shutting down major parts of our economy. I don't believe that what we do today or what we propose to do later in the week will be enough because, as I look at the number of people being laid off in this country, our State unemployment agencies are not going to be able to deal with that. In Tennessee, for example, where unemployment has been very low and where people have found it easy to find a job, there were only 2,000 applications for unemployment insurance last week, but already this week by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, in the middle of the week, there were four times that many applications, 9,177. If you are successful in unemployment compensation in our State, you get $257 per week for 26 weeks. So we are going to have to do even more than the Congress has done, even more than the President has done, and I think we have to recognize that the President was wise on January 31, when we only had six cases of coronavirus detected in the United States, to impose the strictest travel bans on people coming into our country in 50 years. Dr. Fauci, whom all of us respect, said if he hadn't done that, we would have many more cases today. Still, we have a disease that is causing the governments--this one, the State government, the local government--to shut major parts of our economy down. That is why I voted todayfor the legislation that was phase 2 in our effort to respond to that, even though I have significant issues with the sick leave and family leave proposals that are part of it. I believe those provisions, while well-intended by the administration and by the House of Representatives, will hurt many employers and will shortchange many employees. First, to be fair, I want to try to make sure that what the Treasury intends to do is on the record. I have had several conversations with the Secretary of the Treasury and with other officials to ask them just what they intended to do and to list the problems that I had. So here is what they say--and I am characterizing the conversations and the writings we have had. They pointed out that what many businesses have read is in this bill was what was in the draft of it that the House passed on Friday before technical corrections were made over the weekend and that the technical corrections greatly improved the bill from the point of view of employers. The Treasury Department writes that, under the legislation, employers receive a dollar-for-dollar refundable tax credit for the COVID-19-related sick and family leave payments made to their employees. As amended--they made the technical corrections over the weekend--the credit is carefully calibrated, in the Treasury's words, to ensure that there is no sick or family leave requirement in excess of the credit. The legislation now also includes explicit grants of regulatory authority to both the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure consistency between the leave requirements and the credit provisions. In addition--and this is what the Treasury officials have been saying to us over the last few days--the legislation now provides that the sick and family leave payments are not considered wages for employment tax purposes. The legislation now extends the employer credit to include costs for the maintenance of health benefits that are paid by the employers while employees are on leave. Lastly, the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service are considering options to provide an advance payment for the refundable credit to ease any tax flow burden that a small fraction of employers may experience. I will have more to say about that in a minute, but in plain English, what that means is that they are considering a way to make sure that, before the employer has to pay this required family leave to an employee, the Federal Government has given the money to the employer. Besides this, the legislation now includes an explicit grant of authority, the Treasury writes, to the Secretary of Labor to exempt small businesses from the only long-term leave requirements it contains where those requirements would result in financial hardship. In its conversations with me and in the writings that it has sent out, the Treasury makes the argument that, far from imposing special burdens, the net effect of this legislation is to provide an important benefit given that many already provide sick leave and that many more will need to do so in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, by structuring coverage for paid sick leave as a credit, the legislation ensures that employers generally receive relief immediately rather than having to wait for refunds. In the event the amount of the credit exceeds an employer's tax liability, the credit is made refundable to ensure that the employer is fully compensated for all payments made under the leave requirements. The Treasury goes on to write that the Treasury and the IRS are working on options to provide an advance payment of the credit in order to get cash in the pockets of small businesses and their employees immediately. The intent of the legislation, the Treasury argues, is to fully fund the payments employers make to their employees who experience employment interruptions related to the COVID-19. In summary, according to the Department of the Treasury, the amended legislation does not require employers to make payments in excess of amounts eligible for the refundable tax credit and does not require employers to pay employment taxes on those amounts. To the contrary, it provides an important and immediate benefit to small businesses and their employees for whom financial assistance is needed as quickly as possible. That has been the argument of the Secretary of the Treasury and his subordinates in conversations with many of us over the last few days. That is their intention. Now, I read that in detail because, in the Dakotas, in Tennessee, and in many places all across this country, if my figures are right, there are about 6 million businesses that could be affected by this mandate, businesses that employ 51 million employees--or at least that did employ 51 million employees until all of the problems that have been created by this virus. In my having tried to be fair in giving you what I understand the Treasury's intention to be, which I think will be useful to the owners of small businesses, to their accountants, and to their lawyers, who are trying to figure out the law that was passed today, here are my problems with it. No. 1, I am not sure that the Treasury can live up to its promise to make sure that the employer has the money from the Federal Government before the employer has to pay the sick leave to the employee. Here is my principle. I think, in these circumstances, sick leave and family leave are a good idea. I mean, if someone is quarantined for 2 weeks, I think all of us should have to pay the cost of that and, for another 10 weeks, some of the cost of the medical and family leave. I buy that, and I can support that. Yet I believe, if Washington, DC, is going to require it, Washington, DC, should pay for it. If Washington, DC, is going to require a small business--many of which are struggling and many of which are going out of business--to pay a mandate, Washington, DC, should pay for it This is no time to be imposing on small businesses an expensive, new mandate--an unexpected new cost--when they don't have money coming in to pay for the normal costs that they had. I know it is the Secretary's goal to let it work this way, for he has told me this, and he has told all of us this. He has said it in public and has put out a statement. Under the sick leave proposal, every couple of weeks, a businessman will put aside enough money for withholding and social security taxes. That adds up to about 15 percent of an employee's salary. What the Treasury is saying is that the employer can use that money. Instead of setting it aside for the government, the employer can use it to pay sick leave. There are two problems with that. One is that I don't like the idea of the employer's using the employee's tax money. You usually get in trouble for that. If I were to set aside the Senator from North Dakota's tax payment and then use it for some purpose, you could go to jail for that in some cases. At least it is inappropriate. I am uncomfortable with that. A business might only have 7.5 percent of the salary set aside for that purpose, but even if it is 15 percent, I am not sure it is enough. The Treasury Secretary said the Treasury understands that, so it will allow advance payment, and it hopes that it can come up with a system that would get it there immediately. He hasn't promised that it would come in 1 day. I am sure, if he were here on the Senate floor, he would like to say his objective would be to get it there on the same day. Well, wanting to get it there on the same day and getting it there are two different things. If I am a small business person in Tennessee and know that I am going to have to cut a payroll check on Monday and that I have no money coming in to pay for it and that there is not enough money in my escrow account to pay for it, I would want my money from the Federal Government before I would cut the check. So I intend to try to amend the legislation that we passed this weekend to say that, with sick leave and paid family leave, since Washington is requiring it and Washington is paying for it, then Washington will need to make sure the employer has the money before the employer has to write the check. That is No. 1. No. 2, I want to make sure that the employer doesn't have to pay more on sick leave than the Federal Government's cap. There is a cap that, I think, is about $132,000 annualized pay on sick leave. If an employee makes more than that, that employee is going to have to take a pay cut or he or shemight use the private right of action to sue the employer and say: I want you to pay the gap between the $132,000 and whatever I made. You may say, I am not too sympathetic to the employee who makes that much money. Yet I am not talking about being sympathetic to the employee; I am talking about being sympathetic to the employer who may not have any money. Remember, this is a Washington mandate, and Washington should pay for it. Through technical changes this past weekend--and it said so in the information I just read--the Treasury Department has amended the bill to try to make that clear, and I hope that it is successful. No. 3 is with regard to layoffs, and I mentioned the restaurant industry. There are 15 million people who work in the restaurant industry. If they are not laid off now, they are going to be mostly all laid off before very long. Unfortunately, none of those men and women who have been laid off are eligible for this sick leave because you are going to have to work for 30 days for this small business, for this company with fewer than 500 employees, in order to be eligible for the paid sick leave. I am afraid, as a result of this, many employers who are worried about this provision may have an incentive to lay off more of their employees. The truth is that one doesn't need much more incentive because you are a restaurant and have been told by the local health board to close down. You don't have any money coming in, and you can't pay your employees anyway, so you don't have any choice. My point is that this is a very limited benefit in the restaurant industry and, probably, in many other industries because it does not help the laid-off employee. Finally, there has been a lot said with regard to the smallest companies--those with fewer than 50 employees--in that they can apply to the Secretary of Labor and he will make you exempt from the mandate. I think that is a good idea because this is the small mom-and-pop diner or it might be the kennel that I just talked about that might have three or four employees and that is not accustomed to dealing with all of this Washington legalese and its requirements and regulations. It is not geared up for that. As I read the language in the law, it is a much narrower exception than that, so I am going to attempt to amend the law that passed today in order to broaden the exception so the Secretary of Labor has more authority to waive the mandate for businesses with fewer than 50 employees As I said, there are a number of important benefits in the bill that we passed today, especially on testing. We have seen a great increase in the number of available tests over the last few weeks. The Governor of Tennessee said yesterday that we have sufficient testing. Well, that is for today but maybe not for tomorrow or the next day. One of the greatest steps forward has been to finally allow commercial testing to be used. I mean, why shouldn't the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic be able to go ahead and develop tests and move ahead with them? Now, they can. While we have done a great deal, there is a great deal more that we must do. I am convinced, even if we do as Senator McConnell has said and pass our phase three legislation this weekend, which would include loans to small businesses, direct payments to individuals, and stabilizing payments to airlines, for example, and maybe to other industries, that there is more to do. My guess is that the next step after that--phase four, let's call it--will be to look to our State employment compensation systems and make sure they are able to handle the large numbers of people who are losing their jobs because the government is shutting down the economy in order to contain the disease. I voted for the Johnson amendment today, which was to the bill for which I later voted, because I thought it was headed in the right direction. Rather than Washington's issuing mandates, I would rather Washington work with the States in an existing program and make sure that States have sufficient funding on top of their own funds to deal with the large numbers of autoworkers, restaurant workers, and workers at the small kennel that has two or three employees. In addition to that, I believe the figure in the weekly fund is going to have to be higher than the $327 that it is in Tennessee. This is unprecedented. We are closing down the economy in order to contain the disease. Because we are doing that, we governments at all levels are going to have to pay the bill. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. ALEXANDER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-18-pt1-PgS1800

formal

Cleveland

racist

Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I congratulate the Senator from Kansas on his eloquent remarks, expressing the feelings--certainly mine and those, I believe, of virtually every Member of this body--that we are here not as Democrats or Republicans but to work together to do whatever we can to address the concerns that are literally unprecedented. This is an unprecedented time in our country. I cannot remember a time in my life or in our history when the government has literally closed down the country in order to contain a disease. That is literally what we are doing. Whether it is the Federal Government by its travel restrictions, or whether it is the State governments suggesting that schools be closed, or whether it is mayors saying that restaurants must be closed, we are closing down the country to contain a disease. Because the government is doing that on behalf of all the people, we are going to have to pay the costs of closing down the country to contain this disease. Today, the news is that the auto industry across the country is closing down, at least temporarily. There are layoffs. I have watched over the last 40 years as Tennessee has gone from almost no auto jobs to proudly calling itself, in many ways, the No. 1 auto State. One hundred forty thousand Tennesseans work in auto jobs in Tennessee; that is one-third of all of our manufacturing jobs. They are spread through 88 counties. And over these 40 years as textiles and other industries moved away from the United States and out of our State, the auto companies moved in--virtually into every county--and our family incomes went up. So if we are, in many ways, the No. 1 auto State, then we are the No. 1 State to be hurt when the auto plants begin to close. We are also hurt, as are citizens in every State, when the restaurants shut down. Fifteen million Americans work in restaurants. It is one of our largest industries, if not our largest industry. Almost all of those workers are being laid off in Tennessee and in many other places in the country and even more will be. Not all of those affected are working for big auto companies or medium-sized restaurants. I received an email yesterday from friends in Tennessee who run a kennel. Well, you may say that is not so important. Well, it is important to a lot of us. They say: We are . . . suffering a massive drop off in our business as a result of the Coronavirus. I fear we may have to close our doors for a month or two (hopefully not that long), as our wonderful customers are forced to curtail travel. I am currently trying to secure around $50,000 in loans to supplement our dwindling reserves to see us through until May [or] June. I am currently applying . . . for SBA disaster relief. This precipitous drop in business comes on the heels of major flood damages to our fencing [caused] by the [recent] floods . . . our flood insurance refuses to cover [that]. We are not seeking charity, just a business loan from $30,000 [to] $50,000 to secure our business until it passes. We always pay our way. This couple has two young children and maybe a couple of employees in their kennel. They are awfully good people. They are salt-of-the-earth Tennesseans. They are like many Americans who are suddenly confronted with this disease that just came out of the blue and has caused our government to shut our country down. Now, what shall we do about it? Well, a couple of weeks ago, Congress and the President reacted with $8.3 billion to help beef up our public health system. We have the best public health system in the world, and we wanted to help it get started. Today, we passed a bill that some people have estimated at $100 billion, which includes a whole variety of other steps from Democrats and Republicans that includes encouraging more testing, that creates a new system of paid leave for businesses of less than 500 employees, and family leave. As Senator McConnell said, we are going to stay here this week until we take step 3. And step 3, according to the President's proposal, would include direct financial payments to Americans; it would include support for essential businesses that need stabilization like the airlines; and it would include loans to small businesses so they can keep their employees working. Perhaps that proposal would be good for that small kennel I talked about. That is said to cost perhaps another trillion dollars. A trillion dollars is a lot of money, even in the United States. Our gross domestic product is about $22.3 trillion. We have 25 percent of all the money in the world in this country just for 5 percent of the people. But the idea that we would have to spend a trillion dollars or more to contain a disease would be unthinkable a few weeks ago, but what we have learned very quickly is we are going to have to pay the cost of containing the disease because the way we are containing it is that the government is shutting down major parts of our economy. I don't believe that what we do today or what we propose to do later in the week will be enough because, as I look at the number of people being laid off in this country, our State unemployment agencies are not going to be able to deal with that. In Tennessee, for example, where unemployment has been very low and where people have found it easy to find a job, there were only 2,000 applications for unemployment insurance last week, but already this week by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, in the middle of the week, there were four times that many applications, 9,177. If you are successful in unemployment compensation in our State, you get $257 per week for 26 weeks. So we are going to have to do even more than the Congress has done, even more than the President has done, and I think we have to recognize that the President was wise on January 31, when we only had six cases of coronavirus detected in the United States, to impose the strictest travel bans on people coming into our country in 50 years. Dr. Fauci, whom all of us respect, said if he hadn't done that, we would have many more cases today. Still, we have a disease that is causing the governments--this one, the State government, the local government--to shut major parts of our economy down. That is why I voted todayfor the legislation that was phase 2 in our effort to respond to that, even though I have significant issues with the sick leave and family leave proposals that are part of it. I believe those provisions, while well-intended by the administration and by the House of Representatives, will hurt many employers and will shortchange many employees. First, to be fair, I want to try to make sure that what the Treasury intends to do is on the record. I have had several conversations with the Secretary of the Treasury and with other officials to ask them just what they intended to do and to list the problems that I had. So here is what they say--and I am characterizing the conversations and the writings we have had. They pointed out that what many businesses have read is in this bill was what was in the draft of it that the House passed on Friday before technical corrections were made over the weekend and that the technical corrections greatly improved the bill from the point of view of employers. The Treasury Department writes that, under the legislation, employers receive a dollar-for-dollar refundable tax credit for the COVID-19-related sick and family leave payments made to their employees. As amended--they made the technical corrections over the weekend--the credit is carefully calibrated, in the Treasury's words, to ensure that there is no sick or family leave requirement in excess of the credit. The legislation now also includes explicit grants of regulatory authority to both the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure consistency between the leave requirements and the credit provisions. In addition--and this is what the Treasury officials have been saying to us over the last few days--the legislation now provides that the sick and family leave payments are not considered wages for employment tax purposes. The legislation now extends the employer credit to include costs for the maintenance of health benefits that are paid by the employers while employees are on leave. Lastly, the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service are considering options to provide an advance payment for the refundable credit to ease any tax flow burden that a small fraction of employers may experience. I will have more to say about that in a minute, but in plain English, what that means is that they are considering a way to make sure that, before the employer has to pay this required family leave to an employee, the Federal Government has given the money to the employer. Besides this, the legislation now includes an explicit grant of authority, the Treasury writes, to the Secretary of Labor to exempt small businesses from the only long-term leave requirements it contains where those requirements would result in financial hardship. In its conversations with me and in the writings that it has sent out, the Treasury makes the argument that, far from imposing special burdens, the net effect of this legislation is to provide an important benefit given that many already provide sick leave and that many more will need to do so in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, by structuring coverage for paid sick leave as a credit, the legislation ensures that employers generally receive relief immediately rather than having to wait for refunds. In the event the amount of the credit exceeds an employer's tax liability, the credit is made refundable to ensure that the employer is fully compensated for all payments made under the leave requirements. The Treasury goes on to write that the Treasury and the IRS are working on options to provide an advance payment of the credit in order to get cash in the pockets of small businesses and their employees immediately. The intent of the legislation, the Treasury argues, is to fully fund the payments employers make to their employees who experience employment interruptions related to the COVID-19. In summary, according to the Department of the Treasury, the amended legislation does not require employers to make payments in excess of amounts eligible for the refundable tax credit and does not require employers to pay employment taxes on those amounts. To the contrary, it provides an important and immediate benefit to small businesses and their employees for whom financial assistance is needed as quickly as possible. That has been the argument of the Secretary of the Treasury and his subordinates in conversations with many of us over the last few days. That is their intention. Now, I read that in detail because, in the Dakotas, in Tennessee, and in many places all across this country, if my figures are right, there are about 6 million businesses that could be affected by this mandate, businesses that employ 51 million employees--or at least that did employ 51 million employees until all of the problems that have been created by this virus. In my having tried to be fair in giving you what I understand the Treasury's intention to be, which I think will be useful to the owners of small businesses, to their accountants, and to their lawyers, who are trying to figure out the law that was passed today, here are my problems with it. No. 1, I am not sure that the Treasury can live up to its promise to make sure that the employer has the money from the Federal Government before the employer has to pay the sick leave to the employee. Here is my principle. I think, in these circumstances, sick leave and family leave are a good idea. I mean, if someone is quarantined for 2 weeks, I think all of us should have to pay the cost of that and, for another 10 weeks, some of the cost of the medical and family leave. I buy that, and I can support that. Yet I believe, if Washington, DC, is going to require it, Washington, DC, should pay for it. If Washington, DC, is going to require a small business--many of which are struggling and many of which are going out of business--to pay a mandate, Washington, DC, should pay for it This is no time to be imposing on small businesses an expensive, new mandate--an unexpected new cost--when they don't have money coming in to pay for the normal costs that they had. I know it is the Secretary's goal to let it work this way, for he has told me this, and he has told all of us this. He has said it in public and has put out a statement. Under the sick leave proposal, every couple of weeks, a businessman will put aside enough money for withholding and social security taxes. That adds up to about 15 percent of an employee's salary. What the Treasury is saying is that the employer can use that money. Instead of setting it aside for the government, the employer can use it to pay sick leave. There are two problems with that. One is that I don't like the idea of the employer's using the employee's tax money. You usually get in trouble for that. If I were to set aside the Senator from North Dakota's tax payment and then use it for some purpose, you could go to jail for that in some cases. At least it is inappropriate. I am uncomfortable with that. A business might only have 7.5 percent of the salary set aside for that purpose, but even if it is 15 percent, I am not sure it is enough. The Treasury Secretary said the Treasury understands that, so it will allow advance payment, and it hopes that it can come up with a system that would get it there immediately. He hasn't promised that it would come in 1 day. I am sure, if he were here on the Senate floor, he would like to say his objective would be to get it there on the same day. Well, wanting to get it there on the same day and getting it there are two different things. If I am a small business person in Tennessee and know that I am going to have to cut a payroll check on Monday and that I have no money coming in to pay for it and that there is not enough money in my escrow account to pay for it, I would want my money from the Federal Government before I would cut the check. So I intend to try to amend the legislation that we passed this weekend to say that, with sick leave and paid family leave, since Washington is requiring it and Washington is paying for it, then Washington will need to make sure the employer has the money before the employer has to write the check. That is No. 1. No. 2, I want to make sure that the employer doesn't have to pay more on sick leave than the Federal Government's cap. There is a cap that, I think, is about $132,000 annualized pay on sick leave. If an employee makes more than that, that employee is going to have to take a pay cut or he or shemight use the private right of action to sue the employer and say: I want you to pay the gap between the $132,000 and whatever I made. You may say, I am not too sympathetic to the employee who makes that much money. Yet I am not talking about being sympathetic to the employee; I am talking about being sympathetic to the employer who may not have any money. Remember, this is a Washington mandate, and Washington should pay for it. Through technical changes this past weekend--and it said so in the information I just read--the Treasury Department has amended the bill to try to make that clear, and I hope that it is successful. No. 3 is with regard to layoffs, and I mentioned the restaurant industry. There are 15 million people who work in the restaurant industry. If they are not laid off now, they are going to be mostly all laid off before very long. Unfortunately, none of those men and women who have been laid off are eligible for this sick leave because you are going to have to work for 30 days for this small business, for this company with fewer than 500 employees, in order to be eligible for the paid sick leave. I am afraid, as a result of this, many employers who are worried about this provision may have an incentive to lay off more of their employees. The truth is that one doesn't need much more incentive because you are a restaurant and have been told by the local health board to close down. You don't have any money coming in, and you can't pay your employees anyway, so you don't have any choice. My point is that this is a very limited benefit in the restaurant industry and, probably, in many other industries because it does not help the laid-off employee. Finally, there has been a lot said with regard to the smallest companies--those with fewer than 50 employees--in that they can apply to the Secretary of Labor and he will make you exempt from the mandate. I think that is a good idea because this is the small mom-and-pop diner or it might be the kennel that I just talked about that might have three or four employees and that is not accustomed to dealing with all of this Washington legalese and its requirements and regulations. It is not geared up for that. As I read the language in the law, it is a much narrower exception than that, so I am going to attempt to amend the law that passed today in order to broaden the exception so the Secretary of Labor has more authority to waive the mandate for businesses with fewer than 50 employees As I said, there are a number of important benefits in the bill that we passed today, especially on testing. We have seen a great increase in the number of available tests over the last few weeks. The Governor of Tennessee said yesterday that we have sufficient testing. Well, that is for today but maybe not for tomorrow or the next day. One of the greatest steps forward has been to finally allow commercial testing to be used. I mean, why shouldn't the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic be able to go ahead and develop tests and move ahead with them? Now, they can. While we have done a great deal, there is a great deal more that we must do. I am convinced, even if we do as Senator McConnell has said and pass our phase three legislation this weekend, which would include loans to small businesses, direct payments to individuals, and stabilizing payments to airlines, for example, and maybe to other industries, that there is more to do. My guess is that the next step after that--phase four, let's call it--will be to look to our State employment compensation systems and make sure they are able to handle the large numbers of people who are losing their jobs because the government is shutting down the economy in order to contain the disease. I voted for the Johnson amendment today, which was to the bill for which I later voted, because I thought it was headed in the right direction. Rather than Washington's issuing mandates, I would rather Washington work with the States in an existing program and make sure that States have sufficient funding on top of their own funds to deal with the large numbers of autoworkers, restaurant workers, and workers at the small kennel that has two or three employees. In addition to that, I believe the figure in the weekly fund is going to have to be higher than the $327 that it is in Tennessee. This is unprecedented. We are closing down the economy in order to contain the disease. Because we are doing that, we governments at all levels are going to have to pay the bill. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. ALEXANDER

Senate

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antisemitic

Mr. COONS. Mr. President, the Senate of the United States has just acted. It has taken up and passed a roughly $104 billion package of assistance that will go out to American families, to American workers, to our healthcare system, to our States, and to our communities. I want to take a few minutes to talk about this important step we have just taken and where we have to go next. The Delawareans I have heard from today and this week and this month are worried, and they are anxious. They have been up all night and are trying to figure out how they are going to care for their children who are home from school and need support and instruction and how they are going to care for their parents who are vulnerable and elderly and sick. They are concerned about our hospitals and our healthcare system and its capacity. They are anxious because they are frontline workers, they are first responders, and they are volunteer firefighters, nurses, and orderlies, who are exposed every day and concerned. They are just average citizens asking: How can I get a test and where? I have heard from the presidents of our major universities, the head of our hospital system, our Governor, and my colleagues in our congressional delegation. We have talked repeatedly to our director of public health, our secretary of health and human services, and I have heard from business owners, large and small, who run everything from coffee shops and diners to restaurants and hotels in our State. There is a lot of anxiety and concern. The folks in my State want to know that we here in Washington are going to put the partisan bickering aside, find answers, and get resources out to deal with this significant public health emergency. And so I hope folks take some encouragement from today's actions. It passed 90 to 8. Very little passes in this Senate 90 to 8, and I have very rarely seen a bill of this size, scope, and magnitude that goes from an idea to bill text, to enactment in such a short period of time, but this moment demands it. Let me talk through, also, the priorities that are reflected in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, because the name reflects the priorities. Hubert Humphrey, who is a former leader in the United States in our political community and system, once said, ``The moral test of our government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.'' I am pleased that the package just passed here in the Senate takes important strides to take care of exactly those folks. Children home from school, who need support for learning remotely, and those, in particular, who rely on school lunch programs for their one good, stable healthy meal a day, will be able to continue to get school lunches delivered, either through their schools or at home. There are significant resources in this bill for that. Those who are on the frontlines of this crisis, the individuals who are cleaning offices and cleaning hospital rooms and cleaning Amtrak cars and public buses, those who are putting themselves directly at risk by cleaning the spaces we all count on for our society, frontline workers, people who are in our first responder community, people who are working in our hospital emergency rooms--this provides support for them. And for anyone who is concerned about the cost of access to testing, this bill makes clear that testing for COVID-19, for this dreaded disease caused by the novel coronavirus, will have a test for free, including those without health insurance. There are some big pieces in this bill that I will briefly mention. There is paid emergency leave for workers at companies below 500 employees for 2weeks of sick leave and up to 10 weeks of additional paid family and medical leave. We just had a disagreement over exactly how that is going to get paid for and how it is going to get compensated and on what timeline, and we are going to work out those details. My office's website will have an accessible, readable summary of what is in this bill up later tonight. The larger point was that we thought it essential that folks who we want to stay home, but who are maybe living paycheck to paycheck, know that they will get paid sick leave so they can stay home and we can slow the spread of this disease. There is also an increase in funds from the Federal Government to States for Medicaid, because a lot of our States are going to see increased costs as folks move to Medicaid as the place they get healthcare as they move to unemployment. One hundred million dollars in additional resources will go to the State of Delaware alone to provide support for those who may be newly dependent on Medicaid. Then, last is an expansion of unemployment benefits--26 weeks of unemployment benefits, including temporary unemployment caused because of COVID-19. There are more details as to how this temporary unemployment insurance will work, but it will last longer and have a higher level of benefit and be more flexible than previous versions of Federal unemployment insurance, and it is being delivered in partnership with States. So those are the biggest pieces of this bill. It is just $104 billion, but the bill we are already hard at work on will be an order of magnitude greater, likely more than $1 trillion. If what we have seen in terms of anxiety and concern from families up and down my State and all over our country is any indication, we must take this up quickly and enact it. There are small business owners, whom I have heard from today, who want to keep employing the folks who work for them but have lost half of their business since our Governor took the bold and necessary step of closing our restaurants and bars to all except drive-through and delivery service. Ten percent of the folks who work in Delaware work in restaurants and hospitality. Folks who want to keep their people on payroll but have no work for them to do face a very hard choice. We need to find ways that we can both defer the payments that are necessary for students, for homeowners, for businesses, for those who have outstanding payments on SBA loans or on federally guaranteed mortgages or on bank loans where we can work out some way to provide temporary relief, and then individual payments that will help students, that will help heads of households, and that will help individuals. So there are a lot of different pieces that are being debated and discussed here in the Senate--support for Amtrak, a priority for me because I commute by Amtrak and it is one of the biggest modes of transportation on the east coast; support for the airline and hospitality industries because they employ hundreds of thousands of people and have seen their business drop off sharply; support for long-term structural changes to how we provide access to healthcare, access to skills and training for our workforce, and access to higher education. I have heard very concerning stories from the folks who lead some of the most important nonprofit and faith and educational institutions in my State, and they are looking to us for bold and decisive leadership. Last, we must not forget those on the margins of our society--people who are homeless, people who are incarcerated, people who are uninsured, people who are undocumented. If we want to make sure that we make our country safe, we need to practice not just good hygiene, not just social distancing, but we need to refrain from moral distancing. We need to remember the words of Hubert Humphrey, and we need to be reminded exactly why people look to this Federal Government for prompt action and for significant resources: It is because they look for us to be able to make sure that we see all Americans and that we know that we are all in this together. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. COONS

Senate

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antisemitic

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I have so appreciated the comments of my colleagues today as they have come to the floor and they have talked about how they are approaching what is happening with this coronavirus pandemic and what they are hearing from the citizens of their States. I know each of us is spending our day listening to the people in our States and listening to their concerns and hearing them say: As you look at how you are going to address this, don't forget about us. Don't forget about us--whether it is independent contractors who are working in the music industry or television producers--I was talking to one last night; they lost $9,000 worth of production work this week--or theme park owners who are trying to figure out how they are going to work through this or the CEO of one of our Nation's airlines earlier today. People are looking to us to make certain that we address this situation in a way that is going to stabilize it and that is going to provide assistance. As we have worked through this, one of the things I think sometimes is just a really good thing to do is to stop and kind of take stock of where we are and how it is going to be best to move forward. I think it is important to realize that we have already directed resources to the coronavirus pandemic. There is the coronavirus supplemental, which was an $8.3 billion piece of legislation. That may seem like a lifetime ago to some of those in our States. It was a couple of weeks ago. That money is already making its way out. Tennessee received $10 million this week in order to work on public health needs around the coronavirus. We also had our President move forward without hesitation to do the national emergency declaration. That freed up $50 billion of resources. That is money that is going to our States and our localities to help with the response for this, to get those resources where they need to go. Of course, there was legislation that passed today, and in that, I supported the Johnson amendment. I do fully believe that working through this with our unemployment insurance and our employment security system is the way to go. I have supported the payroll tax holiday. I am one of those who have always said: Why should we have to pay the government to hire somebody? So the payroll tax holiday made sense to me. The Johnson amendment that I cosponsored makes sense to me, that we could do it because we could more quickly get resources to individuals, from the Federal Government to the taxpayer, to the individual. That is what we need to do at this time. Tennessee is very blessed. We have had a very low unemployment rate. But what we have seen in the last 2 or 3 weeks is that unemployment claims have quadrupled, and we expect this is going to continue as workers, independent contractors, sole proprietors, and small businesses see their income stream or their revenue stream go from something healthy to zero. That has happened literally overnight, just within a few days as the economy started to shut down. What we hear from people is, look, this is not something we have done, it is something that has been done to us, and we are being asked to close our doors and to change the way we operate. So they repeatedly say: Don't forget about us, and do not give us mandates we cannot afford, because what we need is assistance to bridge that gap. When we talk about mandates that you can't afford, Tennesseans are very concerned about the paid family leave provisions that are in the legislation today. What I have heard repeatedly--repeatedly--whether it is someone who runs a nursing staffing company or a furniture store or a small manufacturing company, is that the tax credit provision is not going to work with cash flow. They mention that repeatedly. So my hope is that we can come together on a bipartisan basis and wecan address the concerns that are there around that because we want our small businesses to keep those doors open and to return to health and vitality. We need to listen to what they are saying, which is, help to stabilize, to assist us and to help us bridge this divide so that we can come back. We also need to be listening to our nonprofits that are saying the same thing about the family leave provisions and their concerns there. You know, we have to bear in mind that all of these employers really care for and value their employees. They want to do right by them. They want to do right by their communities. And certainly they want to do right by the country. But they need our listening ears, and they need our attention. Another thing that has come up that is of concern that was in the legislation that cleared the Chamber today is the Medicaid expansion provisions and the way it affects the non-expansion States. It adversely impacts States like Tennessee that were non-expansion States. There are some definitional changes that need to be made in that provision so that we are not adversely impacting these States. For our Tennessee business owners and employers, this is a very tedious and emotional time. I talked with an employer last night who laid off 20 people at a small business. They had to do it in order to keep the doors open. But what they all tell me is that they are really very grateful that the President, the Vice President, and the task force are focused on getting the virus under control, getting the response from our country under control, and making certain that we address the economic and financial impact of this. They know that it is going to be a long way back on this one, that there isn't a quick fix. They realize that the way this all happened had to do with China and China knowing in December that they had a virus, that they had a problem. Knowing that China has lied to us; they kept hidden information; they have not been forthcoming; they did not make the viral sample available to us in a timely manner; and that lack of transparency is something that they point to and they say that we are all in this fight together, we want to make certain that China does not have the ability to take down our economy or take down our healthcare system. It is one of the reasons--two of the provisions that I have that will come before us are provisions that are focused on, one, bringing our production of pharmaceuticals back to the United States. Senator Menendez has joined me in this provision, and it is the SAM-C bill--Securing America's Medicine Cabinet, the SAM-C legislation. What this would do is incentivize returning pharmaceutical production to the United States, allowing our colleges and universities to access funds from a $100 million grant pool to partner up with pharmaceutical companies so that we never find ourselves in the position of not being able to get the active pharmaceutical ingredients--they are called APIs--those ingredients that are necessary to make vaccines and antivirals for viruses like the COVID-19. Right now, China is saying they may not let us have one of the products that we need. We commend our scientists and our companies and people like the Denison Lab at Vanderbilt University for the work they are doing to find that vaccine and to test that vaccine. We commend these labs for the work they are doing to find the right antivirals to help people fight this so that we are able to slow the growth, and we are able to cap the growth in this. Now, we know also that as we go through this, telehealth is vitally important. This is something that I have discussed. As you know, I have discussed it with our conference, I have discussed it with the White House, and with the President, and the Vice President, and I am grateful to see the changes that we have in telehealth that is making it more available. I was talking with a physician from another State--not Tennessee. I was talking with him yesterday, and he said: Well, our insurance company, which kind of is the only big insurance provider in this State, had decided they would allow telehealth through the end of the month. It is vitally important that we move these medically complex patients and the elderly--especially elderly who have comorbidities and have complex medical situations--to telehealth. It is important that CMS provide specificity and clarity on how this is going to be paid for these Medicaid and Medicare enrollees. We commend CMS for moving forward through the 1135 waiver system--that section of the code with Medicaid--for making some adjustments, but it is imperative that for these private insurance companies, that we allow more specificity so we can utilize them. We have a situation. We know that this virus came out of Wuhan, China. We know they knew about it in December. We know that the rest of the world found out about it about 6 weeks later. We know it has caused a global pandemic. We know every life is precious, and we grieve the loss of those lives, the inconvenience, and also the loss of the ability of so many people to have their businesses and be able to run their businesses, and families who are not able to experience what they had planned for this year. So we know that we are going to be working ahead. We are going to stay here until we get much of this addressed and answer some of the questions that our constituents have. We do know we have done some work, but there is a lot more work to do, and we fully realize we can rise to this occasion. I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Senate

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racist

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, yesterday, President Trump and his team announced several new actions to help contain and combat the coronavirus. The President invoked the Defense Production Act, laying groundwork to manufacture more medical equipment. The Department of Health and Human Services will let medical professionals practice across State lines. The Department of Defense will deploy hospital ships and transfer millions of respirator masks and thousands of ventilators to HHS. The FDA will deepen partnerships with commercial laboratories to expand testing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development will suspend foreclosures and evictions on FHA-insured mortgages. And the Department of Homeland Security reached a mutual agreement with Canada to close our northern border to nonessential travel. These are major steps as we confront a major crisis Here in the Senate we are preparing to take further bold steps of our own. Yesterday, we passed legislation from the House that will provide some American workers with additional benefits during this emergency. As I explained yesterday, that legislation was hardly perfect. It imposes new costs and uncertainty on small businesses at precisely the most challenging moment for small businesses in living memory. So the Senate is even more determined that our legislation cannot leave small businesses behind. Support for small business is one of the four key components of the much bolder proposal we are finalizing. Chairman Rubio and Chairman Collins have been crafting a major plan to help small businesses survive this crisis and help workers continue to get paid. We are talking about new federally guaranteed loans on the order of hundreds of billions of dollars to address immediate cashflow problems. This is no massive new bureaucracy. We want to let qualified small businesses get liquidity through familiar institutions--their own community banks, credit unions, or nationwide lenders. As Chairman Collins explained yesterday, owners will not be able to use the funds to give themselves raises or increase their own profits. The point is to help small business endure, help workers keep their jobs, and help both businesses and workers emerge from this ready to thrive. As Chairman Rubio explained, the portions of these funds that small businesses use on core expenses, such as paying workers and paying their rent or mortgage, will convert into grants they will not need to pay back. This will make sure that even lower profit margin Main Street businesses get a fighting chance to stay open and continue paying workers. This is straightforward: a rapid injection of cash to help small businessesthrough this turmoil--not some brandnew program with a long lead time but an existing program that has been tested. The second major pillar of our legislation will be even more straightforward: direct financial help for Americans. Senate Republicans want to put cash in the hands of the American people. Chairman Grassley and a number of our colleagues are finalizing a structure that will get assistance to individuals and families as rapidly as possible. This is no Washington process with a thousand cooks in the kitchen, no piles of forms for laid-off workers or busy families to fill out--money for people from the middle class on down, period. For laid-off Americans, this infusion would complement unemployment insurance and could be put toward immediate needs during this crisis. For Americans who are still working, the money would provide extra certainty in this uniquely uncertain time and help remind everyone that temporary shutdowns at bars and restaurants do not mean all commerce has to halt. For retirees, the money would complement Social Security and help seniors navigate the unusual routines that have suddenly become necessary for their own safety. This is a form of additional tax relief that we want to push to taxpayers right away. It is not an ordinary policy, but this is no ordinary time. The American people need help, and they need it fast. This will deliver it. Now, we believe this rapid assistance is crucial, but, more broadly, we need to keep as many Americans as possible on the job and connected to their employers. The small business relief will help, and so will a number of additional tax relief measures, which will be designed to help employers maintain cashflow and keep making payroll, preserving employment and protecting economic foundations. That is also why the third pillar of our proposal involves targeted lending to industries of national importance. Chairman Shelby, Chairman Wicker, and Senator Thune are leading this component. Just like small businesses, entire sectors are being crushed--crushed--by public health guidance, which is obviously through no fault of their own. For example, our Nation needs airlines. Yet they have ongoing maintenance costs that do not disappear just because the government has chased away all the customers. We cannot expect this key industry to mothball itself overnight, then dust off in weeks and months and pop right back online as the Nation will need and expect. So let's be clear about something. From small businesses to key sectors, we are not talking about so-called bailouts for firms that made reckless decisions. Nobody is alleging a moral hazard here. None of these firms--not corner stores, not pizza parlors, not airlines--brought this on themselves. We are not talking about a taxpayer-funded cushion to companies that made mistakes. We are talking about loans, which must be repaid, for American employers whom the government itself--the government itself--is temporarily crushing for the sake of public health. The fourth piece of our proposal goes to the heart of this crisis: the health of the American people. Chairmen Alexander and Grassley will be rolling out proposals to get resources on the frontlines of our fight against the virus itself because, to be clear, nothing I have laid out so far will represent a typical economic stimulus in the way that we think of that term. Nobody--nobody--expects that employment figures or the stock market or GDP growth will bounce right back to where they were a few weeks ago. No policy and no amount of money could return things to normal overnight. There is an underlying medical reality that is driving this disruption. In the words of one journalist, this is primarily ``a health crisis--with an economic crisis strapped to its back.'' So, yes, our proposal will immediately help American workers, families, and businesses. Yes, it will help position our economy to thrive once again after this public health menace is behind us. This may not be the last economic legislation we pursue, but, fundamentally, we have to beat back this virus. We have to beat back this virus. That is why our proposal will go even further to remove barriers to care, speed innovation, fund the hospitals and health centers that will treat patients, and expand healthcare workers' access to the tools they need, including respirator masks. Immediately after we pass this legislation, Congress must begin a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process to address the administration's new supplemental funding request, so we can keep funding healthcare and other priorities. I think every American shares the sense that the last several days have felt more like several months. Just last Saturday, our Nation had fewer than 3,000 confirmed cases, and 58 Americans had lost their lives. Already, the number of cases has nearly tripled. Tragically, so has the number of deaths. The crisis is moving fast; our health system is under strain; and our economy is hurting. The legislation I have just laid out will not be the last word. As I said, we will need to turn right away to a bipartisan appropriations process. This is not Congress's last chance to legislate, but it is critical that we move swiftly and boldly to begin to stabilize our economy, preserve Americans' jobs, get money to workers and families, and keep up our fight on the health front. That is exactly--exactly--what our proposal will do. These are not ordinary policies. This is no ordinary time. The American people are strong. They are brave. There is no doubt the American people will come through this battle and then soar to new heights on the other side. The American people will win this fight against this virus. The Senate's job is to give them the tools they need, and we are not leaving until we do our job. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. McCONNELL

Senate

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based

white supremacist

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in the space of less than 24 hours, yesterday, the number of coronavirus cases in my dear home State of New York has more than doubled. The spread of the virus has been rapid and the consequences severe. The coronavirus is slowing our economy to a near standstill, promoting widespread layoffs and the likelihood of a deep recession that will be painfully felt in households from coast to coast, from New York to California and every other State. We are living in a time of public emergency--in our healthcare system, in our economy, and, indeed, in our society itself. Separated from one another, we are going to have to pull together in spirit. The American people have to sacrifice their routines. They don't want to, but we have no choice if we want to stay healthy and arrest the spread of the disease. Our healthcare workers and our first responders every day are being asked to perform daunting and heroic tasks for which we all are already in their debt. The anxiety, the fear, and the confusion that New Yorkers and Americans feel today is palpable, but I would remind them that there has never been a challenge too great for our country to overcome. I remember the dark days after 9/11. So many were prepared to write New York City off the map. They said no one would live or do business in the southern part of Manhattan. They said the whole city and its suburbs would never come back. But we did come back, strongly, more resilient than we ever were before. We can and will do it again--in New York and throughout the Nation. But we must act urgently and boldly now, during what may still be the early days of this crisis. Regarding the business before the Senate right now, yesterday we passed the second phase of legislation to respond to the coronavirus, which included important provisions to extendpaid sick leave, unemployment insurance, and provide free--free, no copays, no deductibles--coronavirus testing for all Americans. That bill was a first step. I am glad it is now done. I am glad it got support from both sides of the aisle--I believe 90 votes on passage--and the aid will begin to flow. Now, Leader McConnell has just outlined and will soon announce plans of what the Senate Republicans believe should be included in the third phase of legislation to confront the coronavirus. We are ready and eager to look at what Republicans put together and to work with them, but we believe that, whatever proposal emerges--and it will be bipartisan--it must be a workers-first proposal. Workers first--that is our motto in what we are proposing. That means help for all workers: service workers, industry workers, factory workers, office tower workers, small business workers, gig workers, freelancers, bartenders, retail workers, airline attendants, and so many more. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the working people of America, whether they be blue collar or white collar; whether they work in high office towers, on the farms, or in a local drug store; those who clean our buildings and streets; those who are still working to collect the garbage and keep the power on; and, of course, our healthcare workers, who are risking everything to keep the rest of us safe. Workers first--that is the motto that I have and I believe Speaker Pelosi has, as well, as we Democrats seek input into the joint, bipartisan package that will be put together. Our goal is to make sure that no one--no worker, no family, no one--loses a paycheck or goes into financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus. That will take strong, bold, immediate action. That is why we must work so quickly but carefully, as well, to put together a bipartisan package. I spoke with Secretary Mnuchin several times. I think he is of that view. I have heard that Leader McConnell has said he will sit down with our Democratic Senators to come up with a bipartisan package. That is what we must do. So let me outline a few of our priorities. First, if there is going to be a bailout of any sort of industry, worker priorities and worker protections must be included. Corporations should not get a bailout and then be allowed to fire employees or cut their salaries, cut their benefits. The airline industry just spent billions and billions in stock buybacks in the last 2 years, liquidity that would come in handy at a time like this. If there is a bailout, there need to be conditions to make sure the interests of labor are given priority and that corporations can't buy back stock, reward executives, or lay off workers. We cannot repeat the mistake that was made in 2008 when the big boys and the big girls benefited, and no one else did--workers first. Second, phase 3 must include a massive infusion of resources for our healthcare system, for hospitals and medical supplies. America needs a Marshall Plan for public health and public health infrastructure. In the wake of World War II, America helped rebuild a continent. Right now, we need to rebuild our health infrastructure on a continental scale. We need a Marshall Plan for our healthcare system. Without a massive commitment from this Congress, our healthcare system will not be able to handle this crisis. There are not enough workers, not enough supplies, not enough beds, not enough State and local funding. There is a major concern that, as this virus spreads, countless Americans will not be able to access or afford treatment if they get the coronavirus. It goes from the very big--we need lots of ventilators--to the smaller. A hospital in New York told us that they didn't have enough nasal swabs to conduct the coronavirus test. Healthcare workers in Washington State are fashioning homemade masks out of vinyl, elastic, and double-sided tape. The need for ventilators, which will save the lives of those who are afflicted by the disease in a severe way, is desperate. Yesterday, President Trump finally took our suggestion and invoked the Defense Production Act, but what is happening now? We don't know. Who is in charge? Which factories are being asked to make the ventilators, and which factories are being asked to do other things as well? We need that kind of information, but just as important as the information is the urgency of getting these things done. Machines like ventilators can be the difference between life and death. According to one projection, it is possible that up to 960,000 Americans will need a ventilator during the coronavirus pandemic. Right now, only 160,000 are available, and only 12,700 are in stockpiles. The President must direct a massive mobilization to ramp up ventilator production. He also must do so to acquire new hospital space. We will be short of beds, particularly ICU beds. The Army Corps must be involved in helping to build temporary hospitals that can take on the new burden. We are on the verge, unfortunately, if we don't act quickly, of repeating the heartbreaking collapse of the hospital capacity experienced in Italy. That must not be allowed to happen. I was glad yesterday that President Trump heeded the call by Democrats on the Defense Production Act, but we need to go further. The President must make this an urgent responsibility. We need a Marshall Plan for our healthcare system, and that also means getting new workers involved. We are going to be short doctors and nurses. We have to make sure those in the healthcare system can get to work. The New York subway system is still needed to carry them there, and in many other cities they depend on one form of mass transit or another. The next legislation that we are putting together must include a historic commitment to supporting our healthcare system and our fellow Americans who get sick. We cannot get this wrong. The stakes are too high. And third, phase 3 legislation must address the plight of workers and families struggling with the economic ramifications of the virus. Millions and millions of American workers have been laid off. They didn't do anything wrong--neither did the owner of their business--but there are no people coming into the restaurants and the stores and the shops. There may be no customers for businesses that provide services or goods. Storefronts are closed. The service industry is shedding jobs. Small businesses, small businesses owners who have devoted their lifetime to building their businesses are on the brink of collapse. The gears of American manufacturing are grinding to a halt. There are millions of American workers home at night, home during the day. They are doing the right thing, but now they have no income, no idea where the next paycheck will arrive or when they can return to work. We must step up to the plate immediately and help these suffering workers who don't have a paycheck and are worried about how they are going to pay the rent, the mortgage, buy the food, the necessities, the medicines they and their families need. Congress must help them. We should enact a new form of unemployment insurance. We call it ``employment insurance.'' It is really unemployment insurance on steroids--assistance until these already employed Americans can get back to work. Existing unemployment insurance has a lot of failings. It doesn't cover enough people to meet this crisis. So many who work part time, who are gig workers, and for many other reasons are not covered by unemployment insurance--our new employment insurance must cover them all. Second, the payments must be full. The payment should be equal or come as close to equaling as possible the salaries they got. Most people who get unemployment insurance don't get close to the percentage they need to live on. And third, it must be quick and easy. In many States--some by design--it is very hard to get employment insurance. You have to go through the whole rigmarole. That must end. Our new employment insurance--an unemployment insurance on steroids--must have full payment so lost salaries are totally made up for, it must be quick and easy to access, and it must be broad-based. Democrats will ask for that as one of our most important asks because that goes to the people who need help; that goes to the people who are not getting their salaries because they have been laid off or furloughed. That is the most immediate and quick thing to deal with the problem right at the level where it exists. Another must for us is paid sick leave. Senators Murray and Gillibrand have important legislation on this issue and want to get this done. And for small businesses, there must be liquidity. Many of these businesses are great businesses. They were doing fine until 2, 3 weeks ago, but no customers are coming in the door or calling on the phone. In addition to paying their workers through our employment insurance, we must see that these businesses have liquidity to pay their insurance bills, to pay their mortgages, to pay their problems, and deal with that so when, God willing--and I am confident it will happen--this crisis leaves us, they will be able to open their businesses stronger than ever before. There are many other things we want to get done. Today, Senator Warren, Senator Murray, Senator Brown, and I are announcing a bill to cancel--cancel--student loan payments during the duration of the coronavirus and to provide a minimum of a $10,000 payoff for all student loan borrowers. This is a problem that has been going on for too long. It is exacerbated by the crisis. We have to help the students and those with big loans on their backs. That legislation--something like it--should be in phase 3 of legislation. There are many other things that must be done. As we Senate Democrats a couple of days ago announced a $750 billion package--well, there are other things that are in there, and there may be other things that have to be added, but we have to look at this crisis in its totality and address it. Some have proposed--I have heard this coming out of the administration and from some of my colleagues--an alternative to these policies: a one-time cash payment of $1,000. That might help families cover rent, groceries for a month, but then what? If we are going to do this kind of payment plan--first, it cannot be a substitute for the things I have mentioned. It must be in addition. I think there is a general, unanimous view on our side that should be the case. But second, if we are going to do it, it has to be bigger, more generous, and more frequent than some that I have heard proposed from the other side. We all know that workers and families need assistance, and they are going to get it. Democrats want to get that assistance as quickly to the American people as possible, and I believe our Republican colleagues do as well. But those who want to limit that assistance to a one-time payment of around $1,000 given to everybody, for people who make $1 million and people who make $500 a week, that doesn't make sense. The pandemic requires bold, structural changes to our society's safety net to give people a lifeline for months, not just weeks. It requires the kinds of things I have mentioned. If we are going to go this route, it has to be bigger, more generous, more frequent. I have taken time to lay out these ideas on the floor because--thus far, at least--Senate Democrats have not been included in discussions with Senate Republicans about phase 3. Leader McConnell is putting together his own plan. He is talking to his chairman and his Members, and then, he has said, he will present it to Senate Democrats or even House Democrats. As I have said before, if we want to get this done quickly, the best way to do it is to have a four-corners negotiation: House and Senate, majority and minority. If we do it in each step, obviously--knowing how the Senate and the House work--it will take much longer. We have to move quickly. Make no mistake about it, our entire caucus wants to work in a bipartisan way to get this done quickly. What we are prescribing are some of the things we think would do the most good. In reference to that, we are living in a time of emergency. The typical legislative process takes too long and will not work. I believe all parties should be in the room from the get-go so that any final product can pass as swiftly as possible. We are all interested in coming together as quickly as we can. Time is of the essence. Let us come together, construct, and pass this bill as soon as we possibly can I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1818-2

formal

blue

antisemitic

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in the space of less than 24 hours, yesterday, the number of coronavirus cases in my dear home State of New York has more than doubled. The spread of the virus has been rapid and the consequences severe. The coronavirus is slowing our economy to a near standstill, promoting widespread layoffs and the likelihood of a deep recession that will be painfully felt in households from coast to coast, from New York to California and every other State. We are living in a time of public emergency--in our healthcare system, in our economy, and, indeed, in our society itself. Separated from one another, we are going to have to pull together in spirit. The American people have to sacrifice their routines. They don't want to, but we have no choice if we want to stay healthy and arrest the spread of the disease. Our healthcare workers and our first responders every day are being asked to perform daunting and heroic tasks for which we all are already in their debt. The anxiety, the fear, and the confusion that New Yorkers and Americans feel today is palpable, but I would remind them that there has never been a challenge too great for our country to overcome. I remember the dark days after 9/11. So many were prepared to write New York City off the map. They said no one would live or do business in the southern part of Manhattan. They said the whole city and its suburbs would never come back. But we did come back, strongly, more resilient than we ever were before. We can and will do it again--in New York and throughout the Nation. But we must act urgently and boldly now, during what may still be the early days of this crisis. Regarding the business before the Senate right now, yesterday we passed the second phase of legislation to respond to the coronavirus, which included important provisions to extendpaid sick leave, unemployment insurance, and provide free--free, no copays, no deductibles--coronavirus testing for all Americans. That bill was a first step. I am glad it is now done. I am glad it got support from both sides of the aisle--I believe 90 votes on passage--and the aid will begin to flow. Now, Leader McConnell has just outlined and will soon announce plans of what the Senate Republicans believe should be included in the third phase of legislation to confront the coronavirus. We are ready and eager to look at what Republicans put together and to work with them, but we believe that, whatever proposal emerges--and it will be bipartisan--it must be a workers-first proposal. Workers first--that is our motto in what we are proposing. That means help for all workers: service workers, industry workers, factory workers, office tower workers, small business workers, gig workers, freelancers, bartenders, retail workers, airline attendants, and so many more. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the working people of America, whether they be blue collar or white collar; whether they work in high office towers, on the farms, or in a local drug store; those who clean our buildings and streets; those who are still working to collect the garbage and keep the power on; and, of course, our healthcare workers, who are risking everything to keep the rest of us safe. Workers first--that is the motto that I have and I believe Speaker Pelosi has, as well, as we Democrats seek input into the joint, bipartisan package that will be put together. Our goal is to make sure that no one--no worker, no family, no one--loses a paycheck or goes into financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus. That will take strong, bold, immediate action. That is why we must work so quickly but carefully, as well, to put together a bipartisan package. I spoke with Secretary Mnuchin several times. I think he is of that view. I have heard that Leader McConnell has said he will sit down with our Democratic Senators to come up with a bipartisan package. That is what we must do. So let me outline a few of our priorities. First, if there is going to be a bailout of any sort of industry, worker priorities and worker protections must be included. Corporations should not get a bailout and then be allowed to fire employees or cut their salaries, cut their benefits. The airline industry just spent billions and billions in stock buybacks in the last 2 years, liquidity that would come in handy at a time like this. If there is a bailout, there need to be conditions to make sure the interests of labor are given priority and that corporations can't buy back stock, reward executives, or lay off workers. We cannot repeat the mistake that was made in 2008 when the big boys and the big girls benefited, and no one else did--workers first. Second, phase 3 must include a massive infusion of resources for our healthcare system, for hospitals and medical supplies. America needs a Marshall Plan for public health and public health infrastructure. In the wake of World War II, America helped rebuild a continent. Right now, we need to rebuild our health infrastructure on a continental scale. We need a Marshall Plan for our healthcare system. Without a massive commitment from this Congress, our healthcare system will not be able to handle this crisis. There are not enough workers, not enough supplies, not enough beds, not enough State and local funding. There is a major concern that, as this virus spreads, countless Americans will not be able to access or afford treatment if they get the coronavirus. It goes from the very big--we need lots of ventilators--to the smaller. A hospital in New York told us that they didn't have enough nasal swabs to conduct the coronavirus test. Healthcare workers in Washington State are fashioning homemade masks out of vinyl, elastic, and double-sided tape. The need for ventilators, which will save the lives of those who are afflicted by the disease in a severe way, is desperate. Yesterday, President Trump finally took our suggestion and invoked the Defense Production Act, but what is happening now? We don't know. Who is in charge? Which factories are being asked to make the ventilators, and which factories are being asked to do other things as well? We need that kind of information, but just as important as the information is the urgency of getting these things done. Machines like ventilators can be the difference between life and death. According to one projection, it is possible that up to 960,000 Americans will need a ventilator during the coronavirus pandemic. Right now, only 160,000 are available, and only 12,700 are in stockpiles. The President must direct a massive mobilization to ramp up ventilator production. He also must do so to acquire new hospital space. We will be short of beds, particularly ICU beds. The Army Corps must be involved in helping to build temporary hospitals that can take on the new burden. We are on the verge, unfortunately, if we don't act quickly, of repeating the heartbreaking collapse of the hospital capacity experienced in Italy. That must not be allowed to happen. I was glad yesterday that President Trump heeded the call by Democrats on the Defense Production Act, but we need to go further. The President must make this an urgent responsibility. We need a Marshall Plan for our healthcare system, and that also means getting new workers involved. We are going to be short doctors and nurses. We have to make sure those in the healthcare system can get to work. The New York subway system is still needed to carry them there, and in many other cities they depend on one form of mass transit or another. The next legislation that we are putting together must include a historic commitment to supporting our healthcare system and our fellow Americans who get sick. We cannot get this wrong. The stakes are too high. And third, phase 3 legislation must address the plight of workers and families struggling with the economic ramifications of the virus. Millions and millions of American workers have been laid off. They didn't do anything wrong--neither did the owner of their business--but there are no people coming into the restaurants and the stores and the shops. There may be no customers for businesses that provide services or goods. Storefronts are closed. The service industry is shedding jobs. Small businesses, small businesses owners who have devoted their lifetime to building their businesses are on the brink of collapse. The gears of American manufacturing are grinding to a halt. There are millions of American workers home at night, home during the day. They are doing the right thing, but now they have no income, no idea where the next paycheck will arrive or when they can return to work. We must step up to the plate immediately and help these suffering workers who don't have a paycheck and are worried about how they are going to pay the rent, the mortgage, buy the food, the necessities, the medicines they and their families need. Congress must help them. We should enact a new form of unemployment insurance. We call it ``employment insurance.'' It is really unemployment insurance on steroids--assistance until these already employed Americans can get back to work. Existing unemployment insurance has a lot of failings. It doesn't cover enough people to meet this crisis. So many who work part time, who are gig workers, and for many other reasons are not covered by unemployment insurance--our new employment insurance must cover them all. Second, the payments must be full. The payment should be equal or come as close to equaling as possible the salaries they got. Most people who get unemployment insurance don't get close to the percentage they need to live on. And third, it must be quick and easy. In many States--some by design--it is very hard to get employment insurance. You have to go through the whole rigmarole. That must end. Our new employment insurance--an unemployment insurance on steroids--must have full payment so lost salaries are totally made up for, it must be quick and easy to access, and it must be broad-based. Democrats will ask for that as one of our most important asks because that goes to the people who need help; that goes to the people who are not getting their salaries because they have been laid off or furloughed. That is the most immediate and quick thing to deal with the problem right at the level where it exists. Another must for us is paid sick leave. Senators Murray and Gillibrand have important legislation on this issue and want to get this done. And for small businesses, there must be liquidity. Many of these businesses are great businesses. They were doing fine until 2, 3 weeks ago, but no customers are coming in the door or calling on the phone. In addition to paying their workers through our employment insurance, we must see that these businesses have liquidity to pay their insurance bills, to pay their mortgages, to pay their problems, and deal with that so when, God willing--and I am confident it will happen--this crisis leaves us, they will be able to open their businesses stronger than ever before. There are many other things we want to get done. Today, Senator Warren, Senator Murray, Senator Brown, and I are announcing a bill to cancel--cancel--student loan payments during the duration of the coronavirus and to provide a minimum of a $10,000 payoff for all student loan borrowers. This is a problem that has been going on for too long. It is exacerbated by the crisis. We have to help the students and those with big loans on their backs. That legislation--something like it--should be in phase 3 of legislation. There are many other things that must be done. As we Senate Democrats a couple of days ago announced a $750 billion package--well, there are other things that are in there, and there may be other things that have to be added, but we have to look at this crisis in its totality and address it. Some have proposed--I have heard this coming out of the administration and from some of my colleagues--an alternative to these policies: a one-time cash payment of $1,000. That might help families cover rent, groceries for a month, but then what? If we are going to do this kind of payment plan--first, it cannot be a substitute for the things I have mentioned. It must be in addition. I think there is a general, unanimous view on our side that should be the case. But second, if we are going to do it, it has to be bigger, more generous, and more frequent than some that I have heard proposed from the other side. We all know that workers and families need assistance, and they are going to get it. Democrats want to get that assistance as quickly to the American people as possible, and I believe our Republican colleagues do as well. But those who want to limit that assistance to a one-time payment of around $1,000 given to everybody, for people who make $1 million and people who make $500 a week, that doesn't make sense. The pandemic requires bold, structural changes to our society's safety net to give people a lifeline for months, not just weeks. It requires the kinds of things I have mentioned. If we are going to go this route, it has to be bigger, more generous, more frequent. I have taken time to lay out these ideas on the floor because--thus far, at least--Senate Democrats have not been included in discussions with Senate Republicans about phase 3. Leader McConnell is putting together his own plan. He is talking to his chairman and his Members, and then, he has said, he will present it to Senate Democrats or even House Democrats. As I have said before, if we want to get this done quickly, the best way to do it is to have a four-corners negotiation: House and Senate, majority and minority. If we do it in each step, obviously--knowing how the Senate and the House work--it will take much longer. We have to move quickly. Make no mistake about it, our entire caucus wants to work in a bipartisan way to get this done quickly. What we are prescribing are some of the things we think would do the most good. In reference to that, we are living in a time of emergency. The typical legislative process takes too long and will not work. I believe all parties should be in the room from the get-go so that any final product can pass as swiftly as possible. We are all interested in coming together as quickly as we can. Time is of the essence. Let us come together, construct, and pass this bill as soon as we possibly can I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1818-2

formal

steroids

transphobic

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in the space of less than 24 hours, yesterday, the number of coronavirus cases in my dear home State of New York has more than doubled. The spread of the virus has been rapid and the consequences severe. The coronavirus is slowing our economy to a near standstill, promoting widespread layoffs and the likelihood of a deep recession that will be painfully felt in households from coast to coast, from New York to California and every other State. We are living in a time of public emergency--in our healthcare system, in our economy, and, indeed, in our society itself. Separated from one another, we are going to have to pull together in spirit. The American people have to sacrifice their routines. They don't want to, but we have no choice if we want to stay healthy and arrest the spread of the disease. Our healthcare workers and our first responders every day are being asked to perform daunting and heroic tasks for which we all are already in their debt. The anxiety, the fear, and the confusion that New Yorkers and Americans feel today is palpable, but I would remind them that there has never been a challenge too great for our country to overcome. I remember the dark days after 9/11. So many were prepared to write New York City off the map. They said no one would live or do business in the southern part of Manhattan. They said the whole city and its suburbs would never come back. But we did come back, strongly, more resilient than we ever were before. We can and will do it again--in New York and throughout the Nation. But we must act urgently and boldly now, during what may still be the early days of this crisis. Regarding the business before the Senate right now, yesterday we passed the second phase of legislation to respond to the coronavirus, which included important provisions to extendpaid sick leave, unemployment insurance, and provide free--free, no copays, no deductibles--coronavirus testing for all Americans. That bill was a first step. I am glad it is now done. I am glad it got support from both sides of the aisle--I believe 90 votes on passage--and the aid will begin to flow. Now, Leader McConnell has just outlined and will soon announce plans of what the Senate Republicans believe should be included in the third phase of legislation to confront the coronavirus. We are ready and eager to look at what Republicans put together and to work with them, but we believe that, whatever proposal emerges--and it will be bipartisan--it must be a workers-first proposal. Workers first--that is our motto in what we are proposing. That means help for all workers: service workers, industry workers, factory workers, office tower workers, small business workers, gig workers, freelancers, bartenders, retail workers, airline attendants, and so many more. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the working people of America, whether they be blue collar or white collar; whether they work in high office towers, on the farms, or in a local drug store; those who clean our buildings and streets; those who are still working to collect the garbage and keep the power on; and, of course, our healthcare workers, who are risking everything to keep the rest of us safe. Workers first--that is the motto that I have and I believe Speaker Pelosi has, as well, as we Democrats seek input into the joint, bipartisan package that will be put together. Our goal is to make sure that no one--no worker, no family, no one--loses a paycheck or goes into financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus. That will take strong, bold, immediate action. That is why we must work so quickly but carefully, as well, to put together a bipartisan package. I spoke with Secretary Mnuchin several times. I think he is of that view. I have heard that Leader McConnell has said he will sit down with our Democratic Senators to come up with a bipartisan package. That is what we must do. So let me outline a few of our priorities. First, if there is going to be a bailout of any sort of industry, worker priorities and worker protections must be included. Corporations should not get a bailout and then be allowed to fire employees or cut their salaries, cut their benefits. The airline industry just spent billions and billions in stock buybacks in the last 2 years, liquidity that would come in handy at a time like this. If there is a bailout, there need to be conditions to make sure the interests of labor are given priority and that corporations can't buy back stock, reward executives, or lay off workers. We cannot repeat the mistake that was made in 2008 when the big boys and the big girls benefited, and no one else did--workers first. Second, phase 3 must include a massive infusion of resources for our healthcare system, for hospitals and medical supplies. America needs a Marshall Plan for public health and public health infrastructure. In the wake of World War II, America helped rebuild a continent. Right now, we need to rebuild our health infrastructure on a continental scale. We need a Marshall Plan for our healthcare system. Without a massive commitment from this Congress, our healthcare system will not be able to handle this crisis. There are not enough workers, not enough supplies, not enough beds, not enough State and local funding. There is a major concern that, as this virus spreads, countless Americans will not be able to access or afford treatment if they get the coronavirus. It goes from the very big--we need lots of ventilators--to the smaller. A hospital in New York told us that they didn't have enough nasal swabs to conduct the coronavirus test. Healthcare workers in Washington State are fashioning homemade masks out of vinyl, elastic, and double-sided tape. The need for ventilators, which will save the lives of those who are afflicted by the disease in a severe way, is desperate. Yesterday, President Trump finally took our suggestion and invoked the Defense Production Act, but what is happening now? We don't know. Who is in charge? Which factories are being asked to make the ventilators, and which factories are being asked to do other things as well? We need that kind of information, but just as important as the information is the urgency of getting these things done. Machines like ventilators can be the difference between life and death. According to one projection, it is possible that up to 960,000 Americans will need a ventilator during the coronavirus pandemic. Right now, only 160,000 are available, and only 12,700 are in stockpiles. The President must direct a massive mobilization to ramp up ventilator production. He also must do so to acquire new hospital space. We will be short of beds, particularly ICU beds. The Army Corps must be involved in helping to build temporary hospitals that can take on the new burden. We are on the verge, unfortunately, if we don't act quickly, of repeating the heartbreaking collapse of the hospital capacity experienced in Italy. That must not be allowed to happen. I was glad yesterday that President Trump heeded the call by Democrats on the Defense Production Act, but we need to go further. The President must make this an urgent responsibility. We need a Marshall Plan for our healthcare system, and that also means getting new workers involved. We are going to be short doctors and nurses. We have to make sure those in the healthcare system can get to work. The New York subway system is still needed to carry them there, and in many other cities they depend on one form of mass transit or another. The next legislation that we are putting together must include a historic commitment to supporting our healthcare system and our fellow Americans who get sick. We cannot get this wrong. The stakes are too high. And third, phase 3 legislation must address the plight of workers and families struggling with the economic ramifications of the virus. Millions and millions of American workers have been laid off. They didn't do anything wrong--neither did the owner of their business--but there are no people coming into the restaurants and the stores and the shops. There may be no customers for businesses that provide services or goods. Storefronts are closed. The service industry is shedding jobs. Small businesses, small businesses owners who have devoted their lifetime to building their businesses are on the brink of collapse. The gears of American manufacturing are grinding to a halt. There are millions of American workers home at night, home during the day. They are doing the right thing, but now they have no income, no idea where the next paycheck will arrive or when they can return to work. We must step up to the plate immediately and help these suffering workers who don't have a paycheck and are worried about how they are going to pay the rent, the mortgage, buy the food, the necessities, the medicines they and their families need. Congress must help them. We should enact a new form of unemployment insurance. We call it ``employment insurance.'' It is really unemployment insurance on steroids--assistance until these already employed Americans can get back to work. Existing unemployment insurance has a lot of failings. It doesn't cover enough people to meet this crisis. So many who work part time, who are gig workers, and for many other reasons are not covered by unemployment insurance--our new employment insurance must cover them all. Second, the payments must be full. The payment should be equal or come as close to equaling as possible the salaries they got. Most people who get unemployment insurance don't get close to the percentage they need to live on. And third, it must be quick and easy. In many States--some by design--it is very hard to get employment insurance. You have to go through the whole rigmarole. That must end. Our new employment insurance--an unemployment insurance on steroids--must have full payment so lost salaries are totally made up for, it must be quick and easy to access, and it must be broad-based. Democrats will ask for that as one of our most important asks because that goes to the people who need help; that goes to the people who are not getting their salaries because they have been laid off or furloughed. That is the most immediate and quick thing to deal with the problem right at the level where it exists. Another must for us is paid sick leave. Senators Murray and Gillibrand have important legislation on this issue and want to get this done. And for small businesses, there must be liquidity. Many of these businesses are great businesses. They were doing fine until 2, 3 weeks ago, but no customers are coming in the door or calling on the phone. In addition to paying their workers through our employment insurance, we must see that these businesses have liquidity to pay their insurance bills, to pay their mortgages, to pay their problems, and deal with that so when, God willing--and I am confident it will happen--this crisis leaves us, they will be able to open their businesses stronger than ever before. There are many other things we want to get done. Today, Senator Warren, Senator Murray, Senator Brown, and I are announcing a bill to cancel--cancel--student loan payments during the duration of the coronavirus and to provide a minimum of a $10,000 payoff for all student loan borrowers. This is a problem that has been going on for too long. It is exacerbated by the crisis. We have to help the students and those with big loans on their backs. That legislation--something like it--should be in phase 3 of legislation. There are many other things that must be done. As we Senate Democrats a couple of days ago announced a $750 billion package--well, there are other things that are in there, and there may be other things that have to be added, but we have to look at this crisis in its totality and address it. Some have proposed--I have heard this coming out of the administration and from some of my colleagues--an alternative to these policies: a one-time cash payment of $1,000. That might help families cover rent, groceries for a month, but then what? If we are going to do this kind of payment plan--first, it cannot be a substitute for the things I have mentioned. It must be in addition. I think there is a general, unanimous view on our side that should be the case. But second, if we are going to do it, it has to be bigger, more generous, and more frequent than some that I have heard proposed from the other side. We all know that workers and families need assistance, and they are going to get it. Democrats want to get that assistance as quickly to the American people as possible, and I believe our Republican colleagues do as well. But those who want to limit that assistance to a one-time payment of around $1,000 given to everybody, for people who make $1 million and people who make $500 a week, that doesn't make sense. The pandemic requires bold, structural changes to our society's safety net to give people a lifeline for months, not just weeks. It requires the kinds of things I have mentioned. If we are going to go this route, it has to be bigger, more generous, more frequent. I have taken time to lay out these ideas on the floor because--thus far, at least--Senate Democrats have not been included in discussions with Senate Republicans about phase 3. Leader McConnell is putting together his own plan. He is talking to his chairman and his Members, and then, he has said, he will present it to Senate Democrats or even House Democrats. As I have said before, if we want to get this done quickly, the best way to do it is to have a four-corners negotiation: House and Senate, majority and minority. If we do it in each step, obviously--knowing how the Senate and the House work--it will take much longer. We have to move quickly. Make no mistake about it, our entire caucus wants to work in a bipartisan way to get this done quickly. What we are prescribing are some of the things we think would do the most good. In reference to that, we are living in a time of emergency. The typical legislative process takes too long and will not work. I believe all parties should be in the room from the get-go so that any final product can pass as swiftly as possible. We are all interested in coming together as quickly as we can. Time is of the essence. Let us come together, construct, and pass this bill as soon as we possibly can I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. SCHUMER

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1818-2

formal

based

white supremacist

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor today to thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and all of my colleagues who help support the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That measure was signed yesterday by President Trump. As I understand from Leader McConnell, work is underway on a third coronavirus package in the form of an economic stimulus to provide more support to families, businesses, and to the healthcare community, including our hospitals. This morning, I spoke to the Governor of Illinois--we have been speaking on almost a daily basis, sometimes almost several times a day--and asked him about the State of the situation in our home State of Illinois. Unfortunately, we are still desperate for testing kits. Illinois has about 5,000 more kits that were provided yesterday by a private company at the urging of our Governor, but we have never seen the number of test kits that we believe are necessary to measure the current state of this coronavirus in our home State of Illinois. The official count--and I might add that word ``official''--is that we have had 288 Illinoisans infected and 1 fatality. I believe that the number of infections in the official report grossly understates the exposure in my home State of Illinois. Once more tests are administered and we receive the results, I am afraid we are going to see a dramatic increase in that number of reported infections in the State. One hundred and twenty-eight new cases were announced yesterday in our State. It is the largest single 1-day increase since we have been reporting. We have 2 additional counties that have now been touched out of the 102. We are now up to 17 counties with the infections. An additional 20 people at the DuPage County long-term care facility tested positive, bringing it to a total of 42--30 residents and 12 members of that staff--in that one facility. Forty-one thousand unemployment insurance claims were filed in Illinois in the past 2 days. To put that in perspective, during the same 2 days last year, 4,445 were filed. That is roughly 10 times the number of unemployment claims that have been filed this year. As I mentioned, that is 10 times the level of the same 2-day period a year ago. The Department of Labor reported this morning that 281,000 people filed unemployment insurance claims nationwide last week, and that number is likely to grow. Oak Park--just to the west of Chicago--is the first town in Illinois to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents, which will last until April 3. Mayor Lightfoot for the city of Chicago announced the city would temporarily suspend debt collection practices and nonsafety-related citations, as well as penalties for late payment. I might add that we learned last night that two Members of the House of Representatives have tested positive for the virus: Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah. Both developed symptoms last Saturday, just hours after voting on the coronavirus response bill with hundreds of other Members. I have joined with Senator Rob Portman of Ohio in proposing that we take into consideration the fact that we have critically important work to do in the Senate, but gathering in groups, as we have done historically, poses a health risk not just to us as Members and our families but to the staff as well as their families, the staff in the Senate and their families. We ought to be more thoughtful in terms of our own families and the people who work in the U.S. Senate. Yes, do our job, but do it in a sensible and thoughtful way. Senator Portman and I are exploring possibilities for remote voting by Members of the Senate. Why is it required that we be physically present on the floor, closer to one another, than perhaps we should be at this moment during a public health crisis? Senator Portman and I, on a bipartisan basis, are trying to find a way to achieve this goal and to still protect the integrity of the voting process in the U.S. Senate. Yes, it is new. Yes, it is different. Yes, it reflects the 21st century and reflects a challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Tomorrow that challenge may be another public health crisis, some other national emergency, or maybe even a terrorist attack.Shouldn't we be ready to make sure the Senate can still do its business if it is difficult, impossible, or not advised for Members of the Senate to come physically to the floor and announce their vote each time it is needed? We believe we should explore this on a bipartisan basis, and we are urging the leaders on both sides to look at it seriously at this moment. I might add as well that Governor Pritzker spoke about the issues that they are facing and said to me, more than once, that we need Federal guidance as to what we should do in our State. I want to salute him and the other Governors who are doing the best they can in drawing their own public health conclusions based on the advice they have received. I would think we need to be sensitive to the reality of the hospitals that are facing real challenges today that are likely to increase. What we have seen over the past few weeks from our healthcare workers on the frontline is nothing short of heroic. The nurses, the doctors, the technicians, the lab experts have done work above and beyond their call of duty that we hope for in these times of challenging crisis. I commend every hospital employee for their selflessness and quality work. What I am hearing from Illinois health officials is that hospitals are being stretched to the absolute limit. One hospital executive in central Illinois told me that his cashflow runs out in a matter of weeks and his hospital may be forced to close. In downtown Chicago, our academic medical centers have activated emergency protocol and are burning through protective masks, respirators, and other equipment. As of Tuesday, three-fourths of the 2,600 intensive care beds in Illinois were already occupied, and 40 percent of our 2,100 ventilators were being deployed. For the next package that we are considering here--CV-3 or phase 3, however you characterize it--Congress must step in with direct, immediate assistance to recognize the extreme financial burden and equipment shortfalls of hospitals and healthcare workers. This has to be priority No. 1, period. Prior to this coronavirus challenge, one in four rural hospitals across America were already facing closure. If a rural hospital closes in your home State--whether it is Nebraska or Kansas or Ohio or Illinois--jobs will leave, businesses close, and the community's healthcare needs are in peril. As part of the measure that we are presently considering--this phase 3 or CV-3 measure--Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican, and I are calling for inclusion of our rural hospital relief act, which will provide immediate relief to the most financially vulnerable rural hospitals. These hospitals are the backbones of our health system in rural America. As we know, as well, many people soon may lose their jobs, if they haven't already, because of this pandemic. In so many cases, losing your job means losing your health insurance. That is why I am working to ensure individuals who lose their job as a result of this coronavirus do not also lose their healthcare. Under current law, COBRA coverage allows individuals to remain on their employer-sponsored health insurance plan after they lose their jobs and otherwise become ineligible. There is a basic problem with COBRA. It costs too much and the employee--now severed from their work--has to pay 100 percent of the premiums with no employer contributions. Many people just can't afford it. I think it is imperative that Congress step up and offer Federal funding to cover the costs of COBRA coverage for individuals who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic. Loss of a job is bad enough. We can't also sit by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are working on a robust funding package to help our U.S. military defend our country against this pandemic. It includes substantial increases in the capacity of military healthcare that will benefit the troops, their families, retirees, and members of the public. We need more resources to provide the National Guard with the means to tackle this crisis. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,000 Guardsmen are active in 54 States and territories. The number grows each day. The women and men of the National Guard are working hard, distributing meals, transporting medical professionals, assisting with planning, and much more. Our States are paying for this emergency mission work out of their own pockets. This is a national emergency. States need Federal assistance as the role of the Guard is likely to grow. Some may be surprised there are just over 4,000 beds in the entire military medical system. Some projections say we will need triple that number, and I want to make sure that the funding is there if, God forbid, we need it. We also need to take immediate action to address the threat COVID-19 poses to inmates and staff in our Federal prison system. Just yesterday, two Federal Bureau of Prison staff tested positive for COVID-19. It is only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread within these correction facilities, if it hasn't already. Despite this threat, the Trump administration has not requested any additional funding for the Bureau of Prisons to prepare for overtime costs. We need to make sure our Federal, State, and local prisons and jails have access to the supplies and personnel and resources they need. We need to do everything we can to safely release or transfer as many inmates as possible to home confinement, particularly those vulnerable and elderly. Our economy is being ravaged by this public health epidemic. The Department of Labor reported this morning that more than 281,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, a 33-percent increase from the previous week. Similar grim news has come out of Illinois that has seen unemployment claims skyrocket, as I mentioned earlier. These figures show us how serious this is for working families, underscoring the importance to move quickly and boldly. Congress must immediately take steps to ensure State unemployment trust fund accounts have more resources to get the benefits to those who need them. This morning, my Governor alerted me to the fact that there is a cashflow problem because of these claims being made on the unemployment benefits account. Nationwide, small businesses and retailers are closing their doors--some, we hope, only temporarily. Restaurants are moving to take-out only or closing up their shops altogether. This morning, I had a webinar with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. We expected about 100 people to participate, and over 500 did. Small businesses across America are very conscious of the threats to their continuing business by this public health crisis. This is going to be a significant hit for a lot of small businesses. We have to be there to help them. I support a proposal that also is being led by my Senate colleagues, Senators Brown Bennet, and Booker, to request that direct cash assistance beginning at $2,000 be sent to American families in need. This will be a crucial lifeline, but it alone can't help these families navigate the crisis. I support what Senator Schumer said earlier about strengthening unemployment insurance for these same families. A second wave of assistance is likely to go out. I support that as well. I don't believe this is a short-lived crisis. We have to see it through and stand by the workers and their families all the way. In past times of economic crisis, we have seen an increase in chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by businesses. Too often, these businesses have been able to manipulate the bankruptcy process to favor creditors and management while leaving the workers high and dry. We cannot let this happen again. For more than 10 years, I have had a bill to reform chapter 11 to improve outcomes for workers and retirees, most importantly, by doubling to $20,000 the value of worker wage claims that are entitled to priority payment in bankruptcy. Let's get that reform done as part of the challenge of this crisis. Let's make helping workers the highest priority when it comes to business bankruptcy. We also need to make clear that companies that take Federal bailout money can't turn around and use chapter 11 to try to get rid of their collective bargaining agreements with their workforce. My legislation would prevent this type of gaming. We need to get that done as well. If Congress is going to consider changes to make the bankruptcy process simpler and less painful for businesses, we ought to do the same for workers and families. That includes Americans who are currently being crushed by student loan debt and face their own economic recession even before this one. If we are talking about relieving debts that businesses and individuals cannot pay, for goodness' sake, how can we ignore the crushing student loan debt across America, which compromises the futures of the thousands of Americans? We need to take steps to forgive student debt, like for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges--a measure we continue to fight Secretary DeVos over--and we need to restore dischargeability in bankruptcy for student loans once and for all. In short, bold policy ideas to help families during this time are not exclusive to either political party. I look forward, as we have in the first two measures, to a bipartisan effort and a timely effort to respond. America is counting on us. Now is the time for us to produce I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1820

formal

terrorist

Islamophobic

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor today to thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and all of my colleagues who help support the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That measure was signed yesterday by President Trump. As I understand from Leader McConnell, work is underway on a third coronavirus package in the form of an economic stimulus to provide more support to families, businesses, and to the healthcare community, including our hospitals. This morning, I spoke to the Governor of Illinois--we have been speaking on almost a daily basis, sometimes almost several times a day--and asked him about the State of the situation in our home State of Illinois. Unfortunately, we are still desperate for testing kits. Illinois has about 5,000 more kits that were provided yesterday by a private company at the urging of our Governor, but we have never seen the number of test kits that we believe are necessary to measure the current state of this coronavirus in our home State of Illinois. The official count--and I might add that word ``official''--is that we have had 288 Illinoisans infected and 1 fatality. I believe that the number of infections in the official report grossly understates the exposure in my home State of Illinois. Once more tests are administered and we receive the results, I am afraid we are going to see a dramatic increase in that number of reported infections in the State. One hundred and twenty-eight new cases were announced yesterday in our State. It is the largest single 1-day increase since we have been reporting. We have 2 additional counties that have now been touched out of the 102. We are now up to 17 counties with the infections. An additional 20 people at the DuPage County long-term care facility tested positive, bringing it to a total of 42--30 residents and 12 members of that staff--in that one facility. Forty-one thousand unemployment insurance claims were filed in Illinois in the past 2 days. To put that in perspective, during the same 2 days last year, 4,445 were filed. That is roughly 10 times the number of unemployment claims that have been filed this year. As I mentioned, that is 10 times the level of the same 2-day period a year ago. The Department of Labor reported this morning that 281,000 people filed unemployment insurance claims nationwide last week, and that number is likely to grow. Oak Park--just to the west of Chicago--is the first town in Illinois to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents, which will last until April 3. Mayor Lightfoot for the city of Chicago announced the city would temporarily suspend debt collection practices and nonsafety-related citations, as well as penalties for late payment. I might add that we learned last night that two Members of the House of Representatives have tested positive for the virus: Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah. Both developed symptoms last Saturday, just hours after voting on the coronavirus response bill with hundreds of other Members. I have joined with Senator Rob Portman of Ohio in proposing that we take into consideration the fact that we have critically important work to do in the Senate, but gathering in groups, as we have done historically, poses a health risk not just to us as Members and our families but to the staff as well as their families, the staff in the Senate and their families. We ought to be more thoughtful in terms of our own families and the people who work in the U.S. Senate. Yes, do our job, but do it in a sensible and thoughtful way. Senator Portman and I are exploring possibilities for remote voting by Members of the Senate. Why is it required that we be physically present on the floor, closer to one another, than perhaps we should be at this moment during a public health crisis? Senator Portman and I, on a bipartisan basis, are trying to find a way to achieve this goal and to still protect the integrity of the voting process in the U.S. Senate. Yes, it is new. Yes, it is different. Yes, it reflects the 21st century and reflects a challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Tomorrow that challenge may be another public health crisis, some other national emergency, or maybe even a terrorist attack.Shouldn't we be ready to make sure the Senate can still do its business if it is difficult, impossible, or not advised for Members of the Senate to come physically to the floor and announce their vote each time it is needed? We believe we should explore this on a bipartisan basis, and we are urging the leaders on both sides to look at it seriously at this moment. I might add as well that Governor Pritzker spoke about the issues that they are facing and said to me, more than once, that we need Federal guidance as to what we should do in our State. I want to salute him and the other Governors who are doing the best they can in drawing their own public health conclusions based on the advice they have received. I would think we need to be sensitive to the reality of the hospitals that are facing real challenges today that are likely to increase. What we have seen over the past few weeks from our healthcare workers on the frontline is nothing short of heroic. The nurses, the doctors, the technicians, the lab experts have done work above and beyond their call of duty that we hope for in these times of challenging crisis. I commend every hospital employee for their selflessness and quality work. What I am hearing from Illinois health officials is that hospitals are being stretched to the absolute limit. One hospital executive in central Illinois told me that his cashflow runs out in a matter of weeks and his hospital may be forced to close. In downtown Chicago, our academic medical centers have activated emergency protocol and are burning through protective masks, respirators, and other equipment. As of Tuesday, three-fourths of the 2,600 intensive care beds in Illinois were already occupied, and 40 percent of our 2,100 ventilators were being deployed. For the next package that we are considering here--CV-3 or phase 3, however you characterize it--Congress must step in with direct, immediate assistance to recognize the extreme financial burden and equipment shortfalls of hospitals and healthcare workers. This has to be priority No. 1, period. Prior to this coronavirus challenge, one in four rural hospitals across America were already facing closure. If a rural hospital closes in your home State--whether it is Nebraska or Kansas or Ohio or Illinois--jobs will leave, businesses close, and the community's healthcare needs are in peril. As part of the measure that we are presently considering--this phase 3 or CV-3 measure--Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican, and I are calling for inclusion of our rural hospital relief act, which will provide immediate relief to the most financially vulnerable rural hospitals. These hospitals are the backbones of our health system in rural America. As we know, as well, many people soon may lose their jobs, if they haven't already, because of this pandemic. In so many cases, losing your job means losing your health insurance. That is why I am working to ensure individuals who lose their job as a result of this coronavirus do not also lose their healthcare. Under current law, COBRA coverage allows individuals to remain on their employer-sponsored health insurance plan after they lose their jobs and otherwise become ineligible. There is a basic problem with COBRA. It costs too much and the employee--now severed from their work--has to pay 100 percent of the premiums with no employer contributions. Many people just can't afford it. I think it is imperative that Congress step up and offer Federal funding to cover the costs of COBRA coverage for individuals who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic. Loss of a job is bad enough. We can't also sit by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are working on a robust funding package to help our U.S. military defend our country against this pandemic. It includes substantial increases in the capacity of military healthcare that will benefit the troops, their families, retirees, and members of the public. We need more resources to provide the National Guard with the means to tackle this crisis. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,000 Guardsmen are active in 54 States and territories. The number grows each day. The women and men of the National Guard are working hard, distributing meals, transporting medical professionals, assisting with planning, and much more. Our States are paying for this emergency mission work out of their own pockets. This is a national emergency. States need Federal assistance as the role of the Guard is likely to grow. Some may be surprised there are just over 4,000 beds in the entire military medical system. Some projections say we will need triple that number, and I want to make sure that the funding is there if, God forbid, we need it. We also need to take immediate action to address the threat COVID-19 poses to inmates and staff in our Federal prison system. Just yesterday, two Federal Bureau of Prison staff tested positive for COVID-19. It is only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread within these correction facilities, if it hasn't already. Despite this threat, the Trump administration has not requested any additional funding for the Bureau of Prisons to prepare for overtime costs. We need to make sure our Federal, State, and local prisons and jails have access to the supplies and personnel and resources they need. We need to do everything we can to safely release or transfer as many inmates as possible to home confinement, particularly those vulnerable and elderly. Our economy is being ravaged by this public health epidemic. The Department of Labor reported this morning that more than 281,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, a 33-percent increase from the previous week. Similar grim news has come out of Illinois that has seen unemployment claims skyrocket, as I mentioned earlier. These figures show us how serious this is for working families, underscoring the importance to move quickly and boldly. Congress must immediately take steps to ensure State unemployment trust fund accounts have more resources to get the benefits to those who need them. This morning, my Governor alerted me to the fact that there is a cashflow problem because of these claims being made on the unemployment benefits account. Nationwide, small businesses and retailers are closing their doors--some, we hope, only temporarily. Restaurants are moving to take-out only or closing up their shops altogether. This morning, I had a webinar with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. We expected about 100 people to participate, and over 500 did. Small businesses across America are very conscious of the threats to their continuing business by this public health crisis. This is going to be a significant hit for a lot of small businesses. We have to be there to help them. I support a proposal that also is being led by my Senate colleagues, Senators Brown Bennet, and Booker, to request that direct cash assistance beginning at $2,000 be sent to American families in need. This will be a crucial lifeline, but it alone can't help these families navigate the crisis. I support what Senator Schumer said earlier about strengthening unemployment insurance for these same families. A second wave of assistance is likely to go out. I support that as well. I don't believe this is a short-lived crisis. We have to see it through and stand by the workers and their families all the way. In past times of economic crisis, we have seen an increase in chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by businesses. Too often, these businesses have been able to manipulate the bankruptcy process to favor creditors and management while leaving the workers high and dry. We cannot let this happen again. For more than 10 years, I have had a bill to reform chapter 11 to improve outcomes for workers and retirees, most importantly, by doubling to $20,000 the value of worker wage claims that are entitled to priority payment in bankruptcy. Let's get that reform done as part of the challenge of this crisis. Let's make helping workers the highest priority when it comes to business bankruptcy. We also need to make clear that companies that take Federal bailout money can't turn around and use chapter 11 to try to get rid of their collective bargaining agreements with their workforce. My legislation would prevent this type of gaming. We need to get that done as well. If Congress is going to consider changes to make the bankruptcy process simpler and less painful for businesses, we ought to do the same for workers and families. That includes Americans who are currently being crushed by student loan debt and face their own economic recession even before this one. If we are talking about relieving debts that businesses and individuals cannot pay, for goodness' sake, how can we ignore the crushing student loan debt across America, which compromises the futures of the thousands of Americans? We need to take steps to forgive student debt, like for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges--a measure we continue to fight Secretary DeVos over--and we need to restore dischargeability in bankruptcy for student loans once and for all. In short, bold policy ideas to help families during this time are not exclusive to either political party. I look forward, as we have in the first two measures, to a bipartisan effort and a timely effort to respond. America is counting on us. Now is the time for us to produce I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1820

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor today to thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and all of my colleagues who help support the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That measure was signed yesterday by President Trump. As I understand from Leader McConnell, work is underway on a third coronavirus package in the form of an economic stimulus to provide more support to families, businesses, and to the healthcare community, including our hospitals. This morning, I spoke to the Governor of Illinois--we have been speaking on almost a daily basis, sometimes almost several times a day--and asked him about the State of the situation in our home State of Illinois. Unfortunately, we are still desperate for testing kits. Illinois has about 5,000 more kits that were provided yesterday by a private company at the urging of our Governor, but we have never seen the number of test kits that we believe are necessary to measure the current state of this coronavirus in our home State of Illinois. The official count--and I might add that word ``official''--is that we have had 288 Illinoisans infected and 1 fatality. I believe that the number of infections in the official report grossly understates the exposure in my home State of Illinois. Once more tests are administered and we receive the results, I am afraid we are going to see a dramatic increase in that number of reported infections in the State. One hundred and twenty-eight new cases were announced yesterday in our State. It is the largest single 1-day increase since we have been reporting. We have 2 additional counties that have now been touched out of the 102. We are now up to 17 counties with the infections. An additional 20 people at the DuPage County long-term care facility tested positive, bringing it to a total of 42--30 residents and 12 members of that staff--in that one facility. Forty-one thousand unemployment insurance claims were filed in Illinois in the past 2 days. To put that in perspective, during the same 2 days last year, 4,445 were filed. That is roughly 10 times the number of unemployment claims that have been filed this year. As I mentioned, that is 10 times the level of the same 2-day period a year ago. The Department of Labor reported this morning that 281,000 people filed unemployment insurance claims nationwide last week, and that number is likely to grow. Oak Park--just to the west of Chicago--is the first town in Illinois to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents, which will last until April 3. Mayor Lightfoot for the city of Chicago announced the city would temporarily suspend debt collection practices and nonsafety-related citations, as well as penalties for late payment. I might add that we learned last night that two Members of the House of Representatives have tested positive for the virus: Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah. Both developed symptoms last Saturday, just hours after voting on the coronavirus response bill with hundreds of other Members. I have joined with Senator Rob Portman of Ohio in proposing that we take into consideration the fact that we have critically important work to do in the Senate, but gathering in groups, as we have done historically, poses a health risk not just to us as Members and our families but to the staff as well as their families, the staff in the Senate and their families. We ought to be more thoughtful in terms of our own families and the people who work in the U.S. Senate. Yes, do our job, but do it in a sensible and thoughtful way. Senator Portman and I are exploring possibilities for remote voting by Members of the Senate. Why is it required that we be physically present on the floor, closer to one another, than perhaps we should be at this moment during a public health crisis? Senator Portman and I, on a bipartisan basis, are trying to find a way to achieve this goal and to still protect the integrity of the voting process in the U.S. Senate. Yes, it is new. Yes, it is different. Yes, it reflects the 21st century and reflects a challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Tomorrow that challenge may be another public health crisis, some other national emergency, or maybe even a terrorist attack.Shouldn't we be ready to make sure the Senate can still do its business if it is difficult, impossible, or not advised for Members of the Senate to come physically to the floor and announce their vote each time it is needed? We believe we should explore this on a bipartisan basis, and we are urging the leaders on both sides to look at it seriously at this moment. I might add as well that Governor Pritzker spoke about the issues that they are facing and said to me, more than once, that we need Federal guidance as to what we should do in our State. I want to salute him and the other Governors who are doing the best they can in drawing their own public health conclusions based on the advice they have received. I would think we need to be sensitive to the reality of the hospitals that are facing real challenges today that are likely to increase. What we have seen over the past few weeks from our healthcare workers on the frontline is nothing short of heroic. The nurses, the doctors, the technicians, the lab experts have done work above and beyond their call of duty that we hope for in these times of challenging crisis. I commend every hospital employee for their selflessness and quality work. What I am hearing from Illinois health officials is that hospitals are being stretched to the absolute limit. One hospital executive in central Illinois told me that his cashflow runs out in a matter of weeks and his hospital may be forced to close. In downtown Chicago, our academic medical centers have activated emergency protocol and are burning through protective masks, respirators, and other equipment. As of Tuesday, three-fourths of the 2,600 intensive care beds in Illinois were already occupied, and 40 percent of our 2,100 ventilators were being deployed. For the next package that we are considering here--CV-3 or phase 3, however you characterize it--Congress must step in with direct, immediate assistance to recognize the extreme financial burden and equipment shortfalls of hospitals and healthcare workers. This has to be priority No. 1, period. Prior to this coronavirus challenge, one in four rural hospitals across America were already facing closure. If a rural hospital closes in your home State--whether it is Nebraska or Kansas or Ohio or Illinois--jobs will leave, businesses close, and the community's healthcare needs are in peril. As part of the measure that we are presently considering--this phase 3 or CV-3 measure--Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican, and I are calling for inclusion of our rural hospital relief act, which will provide immediate relief to the most financially vulnerable rural hospitals. These hospitals are the backbones of our health system in rural America. As we know, as well, many people soon may lose their jobs, if they haven't already, because of this pandemic. In so many cases, losing your job means losing your health insurance. That is why I am working to ensure individuals who lose their job as a result of this coronavirus do not also lose their healthcare. Under current law, COBRA coverage allows individuals to remain on their employer-sponsored health insurance plan after they lose their jobs and otherwise become ineligible. There is a basic problem with COBRA. It costs too much and the employee--now severed from their work--has to pay 100 percent of the premiums with no employer contributions. Many people just can't afford it. I think it is imperative that Congress step up and offer Federal funding to cover the costs of COBRA coverage for individuals who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic. Loss of a job is bad enough. We can't also sit by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are working on a robust funding package to help our U.S. military defend our country against this pandemic. It includes substantial increases in the capacity of military healthcare that will benefit the troops, their families, retirees, and members of the public. We need more resources to provide the National Guard with the means to tackle this crisis. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,000 Guardsmen are active in 54 States and territories. The number grows each day. The women and men of the National Guard are working hard, distributing meals, transporting medical professionals, assisting with planning, and much more. Our States are paying for this emergency mission work out of their own pockets. This is a national emergency. States need Federal assistance as the role of the Guard is likely to grow. Some may be surprised there are just over 4,000 beds in the entire military medical system. Some projections say we will need triple that number, and I want to make sure that the funding is there if, God forbid, we need it. We also need to take immediate action to address the threat COVID-19 poses to inmates and staff in our Federal prison system. Just yesterday, two Federal Bureau of Prison staff tested positive for COVID-19. It is only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread within these correction facilities, if it hasn't already. Despite this threat, the Trump administration has not requested any additional funding for the Bureau of Prisons to prepare for overtime costs. We need to make sure our Federal, State, and local prisons and jails have access to the supplies and personnel and resources they need. We need to do everything we can to safely release or transfer as many inmates as possible to home confinement, particularly those vulnerable and elderly. Our economy is being ravaged by this public health epidemic. The Department of Labor reported this morning that more than 281,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, a 33-percent increase from the previous week. Similar grim news has come out of Illinois that has seen unemployment claims skyrocket, as I mentioned earlier. These figures show us how serious this is for working families, underscoring the importance to move quickly and boldly. Congress must immediately take steps to ensure State unemployment trust fund accounts have more resources to get the benefits to those who need them. This morning, my Governor alerted me to the fact that there is a cashflow problem because of these claims being made on the unemployment benefits account. Nationwide, small businesses and retailers are closing their doors--some, we hope, only temporarily. Restaurants are moving to take-out only or closing up their shops altogether. This morning, I had a webinar with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. We expected about 100 people to participate, and over 500 did. Small businesses across America are very conscious of the threats to their continuing business by this public health crisis. This is going to be a significant hit for a lot of small businesses. We have to be there to help them. I support a proposal that also is being led by my Senate colleagues, Senators Brown Bennet, and Booker, to request that direct cash assistance beginning at $2,000 be sent to American families in need. This will be a crucial lifeline, but it alone can't help these families navigate the crisis. I support what Senator Schumer said earlier about strengthening unemployment insurance for these same families. A second wave of assistance is likely to go out. I support that as well. I don't believe this is a short-lived crisis. We have to see it through and stand by the workers and their families all the way. In past times of economic crisis, we have seen an increase in chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by businesses. Too often, these businesses have been able to manipulate the bankruptcy process to favor creditors and management while leaving the workers high and dry. We cannot let this happen again. For more than 10 years, I have had a bill to reform chapter 11 to improve outcomes for workers and retirees, most importantly, by doubling to $20,000 the value of worker wage claims that are entitled to priority payment in bankruptcy. Let's get that reform done as part of the challenge of this crisis. Let's make helping workers the highest priority when it comes to business bankruptcy. We also need to make clear that companies that take Federal bailout money can't turn around and use chapter 11 to try to get rid of their collective bargaining agreements with their workforce. My legislation would prevent this type of gaming. We need to get that done as well. If Congress is going to consider changes to make the bankruptcy process simpler and less painful for businesses, we ought to do the same for workers and families. That includes Americans who are currently being crushed by student loan debt and face their own economic recession even before this one. If we are talking about relieving debts that businesses and individuals cannot pay, for goodness' sake, how can we ignore the crushing student loan debt across America, which compromises the futures of the thousands of Americans? We need to take steps to forgive student debt, like for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges--a measure we continue to fight Secretary DeVos over--and we need to restore dischargeability in bankruptcy for student loans once and for all. In short, bold policy ideas to help families during this time are not exclusive to either political party. I look forward, as we have in the first two measures, to a bipartisan effort and a timely effort to respond. America is counting on us. Now is the time for us to produce I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1820

formal

Chicago

racist

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor today to thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and all of my colleagues who help support the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That measure was signed yesterday by President Trump. As I understand from Leader McConnell, work is underway on a third coronavirus package in the form of an economic stimulus to provide more support to families, businesses, and to the healthcare community, including our hospitals. This morning, I spoke to the Governor of Illinois--we have been speaking on almost a daily basis, sometimes almost several times a day--and asked him about the State of the situation in our home State of Illinois. Unfortunately, we are still desperate for testing kits. Illinois has about 5,000 more kits that were provided yesterday by a private company at the urging of our Governor, but we have never seen the number of test kits that we believe are necessary to measure the current state of this coronavirus in our home State of Illinois. The official count--and I might add that word ``official''--is that we have had 288 Illinoisans infected and 1 fatality. I believe that the number of infections in the official report grossly understates the exposure in my home State of Illinois. Once more tests are administered and we receive the results, I am afraid we are going to see a dramatic increase in that number of reported infections in the State. One hundred and twenty-eight new cases were announced yesterday in our State. It is the largest single 1-day increase since we have been reporting. We have 2 additional counties that have now been touched out of the 102. We are now up to 17 counties with the infections. An additional 20 people at the DuPage County long-term care facility tested positive, bringing it to a total of 42--30 residents and 12 members of that staff--in that one facility. Forty-one thousand unemployment insurance claims were filed in Illinois in the past 2 days. To put that in perspective, during the same 2 days last year, 4,445 were filed. That is roughly 10 times the number of unemployment claims that have been filed this year. As I mentioned, that is 10 times the level of the same 2-day period a year ago. The Department of Labor reported this morning that 281,000 people filed unemployment insurance claims nationwide last week, and that number is likely to grow. Oak Park--just to the west of Chicago--is the first town in Illinois to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents, which will last until April 3. Mayor Lightfoot for the city of Chicago announced the city would temporarily suspend debt collection practices and nonsafety-related citations, as well as penalties for late payment. I might add that we learned last night that two Members of the House of Representatives have tested positive for the virus: Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah. Both developed symptoms last Saturday, just hours after voting on the coronavirus response bill with hundreds of other Members. I have joined with Senator Rob Portman of Ohio in proposing that we take into consideration the fact that we have critically important work to do in the Senate, but gathering in groups, as we have done historically, poses a health risk not just to us as Members and our families but to the staff as well as their families, the staff in the Senate and their families. We ought to be more thoughtful in terms of our own families and the people who work in the U.S. Senate. Yes, do our job, but do it in a sensible and thoughtful way. Senator Portman and I are exploring possibilities for remote voting by Members of the Senate. Why is it required that we be physically present on the floor, closer to one another, than perhaps we should be at this moment during a public health crisis? Senator Portman and I, on a bipartisan basis, are trying to find a way to achieve this goal and to still protect the integrity of the voting process in the U.S. Senate. Yes, it is new. Yes, it is different. Yes, it reflects the 21st century and reflects a challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Tomorrow that challenge may be another public health crisis, some other national emergency, or maybe even a terrorist attack.Shouldn't we be ready to make sure the Senate can still do its business if it is difficult, impossible, or not advised for Members of the Senate to come physically to the floor and announce their vote each time it is needed? We believe we should explore this on a bipartisan basis, and we are urging the leaders on both sides to look at it seriously at this moment. I might add as well that Governor Pritzker spoke about the issues that they are facing and said to me, more than once, that we need Federal guidance as to what we should do in our State. I want to salute him and the other Governors who are doing the best they can in drawing their own public health conclusions based on the advice they have received. I would think we need to be sensitive to the reality of the hospitals that are facing real challenges today that are likely to increase. What we have seen over the past few weeks from our healthcare workers on the frontline is nothing short of heroic. The nurses, the doctors, the technicians, the lab experts have done work above and beyond their call of duty that we hope for in these times of challenging crisis. I commend every hospital employee for their selflessness and quality work. What I am hearing from Illinois health officials is that hospitals are being stretched to the absolute limit. One hospital executive in central Illinois told me that his cashflow runs out in a matter of weeks and his hospital may be forced to close. In downtown Chicago, our academic medical centers have activated emergency protocol and are burning through protective masks, respirators, and other equipment. As of Tuesday, three-fourths of the 2,600 intensive care beds in Illinois were already occupied, and 40 percent of our 2,100 ventilators were being deployed. For the next package that we are considering here--CV-3 or phase 3, however you characterize it--Congress must step in with direct, immediate assistance to recognize the extreme financial burden and equipment shortfalls of hospitals and healthcare workers. This has to be priority No. 1, period. Prior to this coronavirus challenge, one in four rural hospitals across America were already facing closure. If a rural hospital closes in your home State--whether it is Nebraska or Kansas or Ohio or Illinois--jobs will leave, businesses close, and the community's healthcare needs are in peril. As part of the measure that we are presently considering--this phase 3 or CV-3 measure--Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican, and I are calling for inclusion of our rural hospital relief act, which will provide immediate relief to the most financially vulnerable rural hospitals. These hospitals are the backbones of our health system in rural America. As we know, as well, many people soon may lose their jobs, if they haven't already, because of this pandemic. In so many cases, losing your job means losing your health insurance. That is why I am working to ensure individuals who lose their job as a result of this coronavirus do not also lose their healthcare. Under current law, COBRA coverage allows individuals to remain on their employer-sponsored health insurance plan after they lose their jobs and otherwise become ineligible. There is a basic problem with COBRA. It costs too much and the employee--now severed from their work--has to pay 100 percent of the premiums with no employer contributions. Many people just can't afford it. I think it is imperative that Congress step up and offer Federal funding to cover the costs of COBRA coverage for individuals who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic. Loss of a job is bad enough. We can't also sit by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are working on a robust funding package to help our U.S. military defend our country against this pandemic. It includes substantial increases in the capacity of military healthcare that will benefit the troops, their families, retirees, and members of the public. We need more resources to provide the National Guard with the means to tackle this crisis. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,000 Guardsmen are active in 54 States and territories. The number grows each day. The women and men of the National Guard are working hard, distributing meals, transporting medical professionals, assisting with planning, and much more. Our States are paying for this emergency mission work out of their own pockets. This is a national emergency. States need Federal assistance as the role of the Guard is likely to grow. Some may be surprised there are just over 4,000 beds in the entire military medical system. Some projections say we will need triple that number, and I want to make sure that the funding is there if, God forbid, we need it. We also need to take immediate action to address the threat COVID-19 poses to inmates and staff in our Federal prison system. Just yesterday, two Federal Bureau of Prison staff tested positive for COVID-19. It is only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread within these correction facilities, if it hasn't already. Despite this threat, the Trump administration has not requested any additional funding for the Bureau of Prisons to prepare for overtime costs. We need to make sure our Federal, State, and local prisons and jails have access to the supplies and personnel and resources they need. We need to do everything we can to safely release or transfer as many inmates as possible to home confinement, particularly those vulnerable and elderly. Our economy is being ravaged by this public health epidemic. The Department of Labor reported this morning that more than 281,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, a 33-percent increase from the previous week. Similar grim news has come out of Illinois that has seen unemployment claims skyrocket, as I mentioned earlier. These figures show us how serious this is for working families, underscoring the importance to move quickly and boldly. Congress must immediately take steps to ensure State unemployment trust fund accounts have more resources to get the benefits to those who need them. This morning, my Governor alerted me to the fact that there is a cashflow problem because of these claims being made on the unemployment benefits account. Nationwide, small businesses and retailers are closing their doors--some, we hope, only temporarily. Restaurants are moving to take-out only or closing up their shops altogether. This morning, I had a webinar with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. We expected about 100 people to participate, and over 500 did. Small businesses across America are very conscious of the threats to their continuing business by this public health crisis. This is going to be a significant hit for a lot of small businesses. We have to be there to help them. I support a proposal that also is being led by my Senate colleagues, Senators Brown Bennet, and Booker, to request that direct cash assistance beginning at $2,000 be sent to American families in need. This will be a crucial lifeline, but it alone can't help these families navigate the crisis. I support what Senator Schumer said earlier about strengthening unemployment insurance for these same families. A second wave of assistance is likely to go out. I support that as well. I don't believe this is a short-lived crisis. We have to see it through and stand by the workers and their families all the way. In past times of economic crisis, we have seen an increase in chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by businesses. Too often, these businesses have been able to manipulate the bankruptcy process to favor creditors and management while leaving the workers high and dry. We cannot let this happen again. For more than 10 years, I have had a bill to reform chapter 11 to improve outcomes for workers and retirees, most importantly, by doubling to $20,000 the value of worker wage claims that are entitled to priority payment in bankruptcy. Let's get that reform done as part of the challenge of this crisis. Let's make helping workers the highest priority when it comes to business bankruptcy. We also need to make clear that companies that take Federal bailout money can't turn around and use chapter 11 to try to get rid of their collective bargaining agreements with their workforce. My legislation would prevent this type of gaming. We need to get that done as well. If Congress is going to consider changes to make the bankruptcy process simpler and less painful for businesses, we ought to do the same for workers and families. That includes Americans who are currently being crushed by student loan debt and face their own economic recession even before this one. If we are talking about relieving debts that businesses and individuals cannot pay, for goodness' sake, how can we ignore the crushing student loan debt across America, which compromises the futures of the thousands of Americans? We need to take steps to forgive student debt, like for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges--a measure we continue to fight Secretary DeVos over--and we need to restore dischargeability in bankruptcy for student loans once and for all. In short, bold policy ideas to help families during this time are not exclusive to either political party. I look forward, as we have in the first two measures, to a bipartisan effort and a timely effort to respond. America is counting on us. Now is the time for us to produce I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1820

formal

working families

racist

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor today to thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and all of my colleagues who help support the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That measure was signed yesterday by President Trump. As I understand from Leader McConnell, work is underway on a third coronavirus package in the form of an economic stimulus to provide more support to families, businesses, and to the healthcare community, including our hospitals. This morning, I spoke to the Governor of Illinois--we have been speaking on almost a daily basis, sometimes almost several times a day--and asked him about the State of the situation in our home State of Illinois. Unfortunately, we are still desperate for testing kits. Illinois has about 5,000 more kits that were provided yesterday by a private company at the urging of our Governor, but we have never seen the number of test kits that we believe are necessary to measure the current state of this coronavirus in our home State of Illinois. The official count--and I might add that word ``official''--is that we have had 288 Illinoisans infected and 1 fatality. I believe that the number of infections in the official report grossly understates the exposure in my home State of Illinois. Once more tests are administered and we receive the results, I am afraid we are going to see a dramatic increase in that number of reported infections in the State. One hundred and twenty-eight new cases were announced yesterday in our State. It is the largest single 1-day increase since we have been reporting. We have 2 additional counties that have now been touched out of the 102. We are now up to 17 counties with the infections. An additional 20 people at the DuPage County long-term care facility tested positive, bringing it to a total of 42--30 residents and 12 members of that staff--in that one facility. Forty-one thousand unemployment insurance claims were filed in Illinois in the past 2 days. To put that in perspective, during the same 2 days last year, 4,445 were filed. That is roughly 10 times the number of unemployment claims that have been filed this year. As I mentioned, that is 10 times the level of the same 2-day period a year ago. The Department of Labor reported this morning that 281,000 people filed unemployment insurance claims nationwide last week, and that number is likely to grow. Oak Park--just to the west of Chicago--is the first town in Illinois to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents, which will last until April 3. Mayor Lightfoot for the city of Chicago announced the city would temporarily suspend debt collection practices and nonsafety-related citations, as well as penalties for late payment. I might add that we learned last night that two Members of the House of Representatives have tested positive for the virus: Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah. Both developed symptoms last Saturday, just hours after voting on the coronavirus response bill with hundreds of other Members. I have joined with Senator Rob Portman of Ohio in proposing that we take into consideration the fact that we have critically important work to do in the Senate, but gathering in groups, as we have done historically, poses a health risk not just to us as Members and our families but to the staff as well as their families, the staff in the Senate and their families. We ought to be more thoughtful in terms of our own families and the people who work in the U.S. Senate. Yes, do our job, but do it in a sensible and thoughtful way. Senator Portman and I are exploring possibilities for remote voting by Members of the Senate. Why is it required that we be physically present on the floor, closer to one another, than perhaps we should be at this moment during a public health crisis? Senator Portman and I, on a bipartisan basis, are trying to find a way to achieve this goal and to still protect the integrity of the voting process in the U.S. Senate. Yes, it is new. Yes, it is different. Yes, it reflects the 21st century and reflects a challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Tomorrow that challenge may be another public health crisis, some other national emergency, or maybe even a terrorist attack.Shouldn't we be ready to make sure the Senate can still do its business if it is difficult, impossible, or not advised for Members of the Senate to come physically to the floor and announce their vote each time it is needed? We believe we should explore this on a bipartisan basis, and we are urging the leaders on both sides to look at it seriously at this moment. I might add as well that Governor Pritzker spoke about the issues that they are facing and said to me, more than once, that we need Federal guidance as to what we should do in our State. I want to salute him and the other Governors who are doing the best they can in drawing their own public health conclusions based on the advice they have received. I would think we need to be sensitive to the reality of the hospitals that are facing real challenges today that are likely to increase. What we have seen over the past few weeks from our healthcare workers on the frontline is nothing short of heroic. The nurses, the doctors, the technicians, the lab experts have done work above and beyond their call of duty that we hope for in these times of challenging crisis. I commend every hospital employee for their selflessness and quality work. What I am hearing from Illinois health officials is that hospitals are being stretched to the absolute limit. One hospital executive in central Illinois told me that his cashflow runs out in a matter of weeks and his hospital may be forced to close. In downtown Chicago, our academic medical centers have activated emergency protocol and are burning through protective masks, respirators, and other equipment. As of Tuesday, three-fourths of the 2,600 intensive care beds in Illinois were already occupied, and 40 percent of our 2,100 ventilators were being deployed. For the next package that we are considering here--CV-3 or phase 3, however you characterize it--Congress must step in with direct, immediate assistance to recognize the extreme financial burden and equipment shortfalls of hospitals and healthcare workers. This has to be priority No. 1, period. Prior to this coronavirus challenge, one in four rural hospitals across America were already facing closure. If a rural hospital closes in your home State--whether it is Nebraska or Kansas or Ohio or Illinois--jobs will leave, businesses close, and the community's healthcare needs are in peril. As part of the measure that we are presently considering--this phase 3 or CV-3 measure--Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican, and I are calling for inclusion of our rural hospital relief act, which will provide immediate relief to the most financially vulnerable rural hospitals. These hospitals are the backbones of our health system in rural America. As we know, as well, many people soon may lose their jobs, if they haven't already, because of this pandemic. In so many cases, losing your job means losing your health insurance. That is why I am working to ensure individuals who lose their job as a result of this coronavirus do not also lose their healthcare. Under current law, COBRA coverage allows individuals to remain on their employer-sponsored health insurance plan after they lose their jobs and otherwise become ineligible. There is a basic problem with COBRA. It costs too much and the employee--now severed from their work--has to pay 100 percent of the premiums with no employer contributions. Many people just can't afford it. I think it is imperative that Congress step up and offer Federal funding to cover the costs of COBRA coverage for individuals who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic. Loss of a job is bad enough. We can't also sit by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are working on a robust funding package to help our U.S. military defend our country against this pandemic. It includes substantial increases in the capacity of military healthcare that will benefit the troops, their families, retirees, and members of the public. We need more resources to provide the National Guard with the means to tackle this crisis. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,000 Guardsmen are active in 54 States and territories. The number grows each day. The women and men of the National Guard are working hard, distributing meals, transporting medical professionals, assisting with planning, and much more. Our States are paying for this emergency mission work out of their own pockets. This is a national emergency. States need Federal assistance as the role of the Guard is likely to grow. Some may be surprised there are just over 4,000 beds in the entire military medical system. Some projections say we will need triple that number, and I want to make sure that the funding is there if, God forbid, we need it. We also need to take immediate action to address the threat COVID-19 poses to inmates and staff in our Federal prison system. Just yesterday, two Federal Bureau of Prison staff tested positive for COVID-19. It is only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread within these correction facilities, if it hasn't already. Despite this threat, the Trump administration has not requested any additional funding for the Bureau of Prisons to prepare for overtime costs. We need to make sure our Federal, State, and local prisons and jails have access to the supplies and personnel and resources they need. We need to do everything we can to safely release or transfer as many inmates as possible to home confinement, particularly those vulnerable and elderly. Our economy is being ravaged by this public health epidemic. The Department of Labor reported this morning that more than 281,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, a 33-percent increase from the previous week. Similar grim news has come out of Illinois that has seen unemployment claims skyrocket, as I mentioned earlier. These figures show us how serious this is for working families, underscoring the importance to move quickly and boldly. Congress must immediately take steps to ensure State unemployment trust fund accounts have more resources to get the benefits to those who need them. This morning, my Governor alerted me to the fact that there is a cashflow problem because of these claims being made on the unemployment benefits account. Nationwide, small businesses and retailers are closing their doors--some, we hope, only temporarily. Restaurants are moving to take-out only or closing up their shops altogether. This morning, I had a webinar with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. We expected about 100 people to participate, and over 500 did. Small businesses across America are very conscious of the threats to their continuing business by this public health crisis. This is going to be a significant hit for a lot of small businesses. We have to be there to help them. I support a proposal that also is being led by my Senate colleagues, Senators Brown Bennet, and Booker, to request that direct cash assistance beginning at $2,000 be sent to American families in need. This will be a crucial lifeline, but it alone can't help these families navigate the crisis. I support what Senator Schumer said earlier about strengthening unemployment insurance for these same families. A second wave of assistance is likely to go out. I support that as well. I don't believe this is a short-lived crisis. We have to see it through and stand by the workers and their families all the way. In past times of economic crisis, we have seen an increase in chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by businesses. Too often, these businesses have been able to manipulate the bankruptcy process to favor creditors and management while leaving the workers high and dry. We cannot let this happen again. For more than 10 years, I have had a bill to reform chapter 11 to improve outcomes for workers and retirees, most importantly, by doubling to $20,000 the value of worker wage claims that are entitled to priority payment in bankruptcy. Let's get that reform done as part of the challenge of this crisis. Let's make helping workers the highest priority when it comes to business bankruptcy. We also need to make clear that companies that take Federal bailout money can't turn around and use chapter 11 to try to get rid of their collective bargaining agreements with their workforce. My legislation would prevent this type of gaming. We need to get that done as well. If Congress is going to consider changes to make the bankruptcy process simpler and less painful for businesses, we ought to do the same for workers and families. That includes Americans who are currently being crushed by student loan debt and face their own economic recession even before this one. If we are talking about relieving debts that businesses and individuals cannot pay, for goodness' sake, how can we ignore the crushing student loan debt across America, which compromises the futures of the thousands of Americans? We need to take steps to forgive student debt, like for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges--a measure we continue to fight Secretary DeVos over--and we need to restore dischargeability in bankruptcy for student loans once and for all. In short, bold policy ideas to help families during this time are not exclusive to either political party. I look forward, as we have in the first two measures, to a bipartisan effort and a timely effort to respond. America is counting on us. Now is the time for us to produce I yield the floor.

2020-01-06

Mr. DURBIN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1820

formal

terrorism

Islamophobic

Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, I appreciate my colleague from South Dakota giving me a minute to respond to the comments of the Senator from Illinois about remote voting. I appreciate his joining me today on a bipartisan resolution to say that, during times of emergency and crisis, the U.S. Senate would be able to vote remotely in a secure manner. I think it is time for us to turn to this. I actually supported such legislation back in the House when I was there almost two decades ago. At the time, we didn't have, frankly, the electronic communications we have today to be able to safely vote remotely; now we do. We have the ability to do it in a secure way, in an encrypted way--a way that would protect the fundamental right to vote. I think it is important that we move forward with this. It is something that would be up to the majority leader and the minority leader to jointly agree upon. Once they agreed upon that, there would be 30 days. After 30 days, Congress would have the vote--the Senate would have the vote to continue it. I think--not just because of COVID-19, where we have an obvious problem right now but the threat of terrorism, bioterrorism--these sorts of issues, unfortunately, are part of our 21st century life. We have to be aware of the fact that this is possible. It is important to me and I think all my colleagues that article I be heard; that the legislative branch be heard; that we have the ability to convene for the continuity of government and not allow what we would normally do, which is perhaps to shift over to article II--to the executive branch--or not to be addressed at all. I thank my colleague from South Dakota. I thank Senator Durbin from Illinois for working with me on this project. My hope is we can see a change in our Senate rules coming out of this process so that we can have the ability to do our constitutional duties regardless of what is happening with regard to the National Capital or the crisis we are currently facing with COVID-19. I yield back my time.

2020-01-06

Mr. PORTMAN

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1822

formal

based

white supremacist

Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, like my colleague from Missouri, I also rise to address the Nation's response to the COVID-19 virus. In particular, I want to discuss the next steps we need to take at the Federal level to deal with this health emergency and the severe economic dislocation resulting from it. Before I offer my comments, I want to offer some thanks. I want to thank the Senate staff and all those in the Capitol who are working here under tough circumstances. I notice that the pages are not here, and that is because the Senate has wisely decided that, while we ought to be here doing the people's business, even at some risk to ourselves, the young people who would normally be here should be home with their families. I want to thank healthcare workers all across the United States. They are doing very difficult work right now, and they are doing it under very stressful circumstances. So many people who work at our healthcare facilities are there trying to protect patients. They have kids in schools that have been closed, and they are grappling with where their own children are during the day and whether they can find childcare during what would normally be the school day. I particularly want to thank them. Finally, I want to thank the American public. I will return to this point at the end of my comments. We are not an authoritarian nation. There are steps that other nations are taking with respect to this virus, where they can sort of order or quarantine in ways that we can't here. What we do here depends upon the consent of the governed, and the guidelines about social distancing, for example, require some significant sacrifice. Overwhelmingly, I see Americans taking steps to make that sacrifice, and I want to thank them. I applaud the bipartisan work that Congress has done with the White House in the past 2 weeks to pass two important laws. We passed the supplemental appropriations bill, providing more than $8 billion to invest in our public health response with resources for States, territories, and Tribes, investments in vaccine development and testing, and other key health priorities. Just yesterday, the Senate passed the second piece of legislation to provide emergency relief for workers and their families: paid sick leave, extended unemployment insurance, and other measures. But we still have so much more to do, and I am going to be very candid about this. I offer these thoughts as a former mayor and Governor who has overseen significant emergency response efforts in my city and in my State: hurricanes, floods, mass shootings, the H1N1 epidemic, and the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009. While those give me a perspective on what must be done, I have to acknowledge that the current challenge is a massive one, arguably bigger than any I have seen in my life. Because it is so big, it will require unusual degrees of innovation and cooperation, and the need for that innovation and cooperation is urgent. I got off a phone call this morning--and I am sure all 100 of my colleagues are making calls like this. I got on the phone with my fellow Virginia Senator, Mr. Warner, to talk to Virginia's hospitals. Now, Virginia is a State that, economically, is pretty well off. It generally tends to have top-quarter per-capita income for a significant metropolitan area, but the stories from my hospitals were just, frankly, shocking. They can't get tests to test patients who are presenting with symptoms of COVID-19. If they have tests, they don't have the swabs to administer the test or they don't have some of the chemical components needed so that once a swab is taken, they can run the test to determine whether somebody has the virus or not. They don't have masks. Hospitals were telling me that masks, which they would normally buy for about $1 apiece, are now being charged at $9 apiece with severely limited quantities. Major hospitals in a major metropolitan area like Northern Virginia, on the testing front--one of my hospitals said they got enough tests from their main supplier to test 40 people. That lasted for about 2 days. And when they said ``We need more tests,'' the supplier said ``Well, look, we only have so much that we can distribute. That is all you get.'' When I heard this story, one after the next--and I know I live in a nation with not only the best healthcare providers but the best healthcare institutions in the world--I had to ask myself: Where am I? Is this the United States of America, where a hospital treating people on a global pandemic cannot get a mask, cannot get a swab, cannot get a test? Why are nations like South Korea and Australia and the United Kingdom so much more able to do things this country should be able to do? I don't think we should become normalized or just accept that. I think this is so profound a question about why this Nation, with the best healthcare providers and the best healthcare institutions in the world, is so far behind other nations. So let me offer these recommendations--blunt recommendations--for the road ahead. First, in the words of the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm. The administration lost 6 to 8 weeks in responding to this crisis--critical time that was used productively by other nations--because the President continually downplayed the threat of COVID-19. No American has a louder microphone than he does, and again and again he downplayed the threat, suggested it was contained, suggested everyone would be tested, suggested it was a hoax, and suggested the Democrats or the Chinese or the media were blowing it out of proportion. Whether his comments were due to ignorance or a political desire to hide bad news is irrelevant. I was shocked that the President submitted a budget to Congress on February 10, when the virus's global spread was clear to all, that dramatically cut funding for key public health agencies--the NIH, CDC, HHS--and our investments in global partnerships like the World Health Organization. The White House foolishly eliminated the global health security team at the National Security Council that was set up after the Ebola crisis to practically deal with pandemics like COVID-19. I remain stunned--stunned--that the President's lawyers are still in court all over this country attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act to take healthcare away from millions of Americans. There is never a good time--never--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and scheme to take away people's health insurance, but there is surely no worse time to do it--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and take away people's health insurance--than during a global pandemic. So my recommendations here are pretty simple. Quit lying and downplaying the threat. Let the trusted scientists and public health leaders in your administration take center stage. In recent days, the President seems to have adopted this approach, thank goodness, and it is long overdue. Congress should ignore the President's budget that urged foolish cuts to our public health infrastructure, and theadministration should cease efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. One more thing: Quit the inflammatory China-bashing. Did this virus originate in China? Yes. But, Mr. President, that does not excuse your weeks and weeks of tweeting lies and misinformation about the virus, while the leaders of other nations were taking steps to make sure their populations could be safe. The fact that the virus originated in China does not excuse the massive missteps that have led to the United States being so far behind other nations in the world in the ability to provide testing--basic testing--to citizens, including citizens who have serious signs of illness. The President's decision to call this the China virus or Wuhan virus or other epithets that he and members of his team have used are a crass effort to deflect blame away from the acceptance of responsibility that a President should have. The buck stops with you, Mr. President. You cannot blame this on anyone else. You have to own responsibility. You should stop inflammatory China-bashing that is exposing Asian Americans in this country to prejudice. The second thing we need to do is continue to focus, first and foremost, on managing the public health crisis presented by COVID-19. The economic dislocation is significant. We are working on a package with respect to that now. I am going to talk about it in a minute, but no economic intervention will work if the American public continues to lack confidence in our public health response. And a strong public health response that will effectively manage the spread of this virus and coordinate medical care for those affected will be the single best strategy for enabling the economy to get back on track. To accomplish this public health goal, we need to have strong policy at the Federal level to make--continue to make--science-based recommendations on the extent and timing of social distancing guidelines. We need to overcome the shockingly poor start to testing Americans for the virus. Testing helps us flatten the curve of the infection so that our health system is not overwhelmed, and it also helps reduce anxiety by giving people information about their status so they know what to do. Americans are used to being tested. If we feel ill, we go to a doctor. We get a test to see if we have a flu. We get a test to see if we have pneumonia. We get our children tested to see if they have strep throat. We are used to this, and when we see it happening around the globe, and when we hear the President and Vice President say that everybody will get tested, but when people call their healthcare providers and are told that there are no tests or see drive-thru testing sites, such as ones we had in Hampton Roads, shut down after a day and a half because they ran out of tests, it tremendously raises their anxiety. We need to continue the good work that is already being done to accelerate the development of a safe and effective vaccine. We need to make sure that our hospitals and healthcare providers have the resources they need to treat sick people and protect their frontline health workers. Finally, this is looking down the road a bit, but I think it is important that we think about it now. Policymakers should try to develop the science-based criteria that will enable them to confidently tell Americans when it is time to return to normal social and economic activity. I remember President Bush doing that at some point after 9/11. He said: It is now safe. It is time for Americans to go back to normal, everyday activity. A strong signal of that type, when it is warranted by science, will be critical--critical--to our recovery. That day may be weeks or months away, but developing the criteria that we can agree on that should be the signal for a return to relevant normalcy is something we should all be working on right now. Third, we should make full use of State and local governments. Polling shows that Americans are skeptical about what they hear about this virus from President Trump and, indeed, Washington. But the same poll shows that they do have trust in how State and local officials are handling this crisis. Use the network of State and local officials to communicate clear messages. Continuously seek their input on how their schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and local economies are affected. That is what I am doing every day, and I suspect every Member of the Senate is doing the same thing--conference calls with leaders around my State to make sure that we are doing the things that are most helpful. And we should reality test any legislation, especially an economic package, with these leaders to make sure it is responsive to the real needs they are seeing on the ground. Fourth, Congress needs to move promptly to pass this strong economic package, backstopping the American economy from being ravaged by COVID-19. In 2008, structural issues like the accumulation of debt, bad public policy leaving huge swaths of economic transactions unregulated, and predatory mortgage practices helped bring down not only the American but the global financial system. Today, the American economy has been performing relatively well, and it now labors under a severe healthcare shock. There is reason to believe that, once we get the healthcare strategy right, we will be poised for the economy to resume its upward trajectory. But we must provide protection and support in the meantime. I believe that the focus of an economic package should be workers and small businesses. They are the most vulnerable to the current challenge and most in need of intervention. This is the message that I am hearing again and again as I talk to Virginia residents and business leaders. I had a wonderful conversation with the president of my statewide chamber of commerce the other day, and he said candidly: Look, more of our members are actually medium and large businesses, but the most important thing you can do is focus on the needs of small businesses and their employees. I appreciated that he was advocating even for a business sector that isn't the core of his membership, but this is what he was hearing and what I think most of us are hearing. I support direct cash payments to low- and middle-income Americans and their dependents to help them through this crisis, and it is nice to hear there may be some agreement on that. I support strategies to provide grants and loans to small businesses, particularly if they use those resources to keep employees on the payroll. I hope direct support to individuals and small businesses will be the heart of the economic package that the Senate, the White House, and the House put together. Now, for the larger businesses and industry sectors who need Federal help, we have to stand ready to assist, but if we are to invest in these businesses yet again, a few years after providing them with massive and--in my view--unnecessary tax breaks, we must not simply rescue them but demand that they reform, and our investments must be designed to keep workers on payrolls to the maximum extent possible. The Business Roundtable, an influential voice for the business community, said last year that businesses need to expand their priorities beyond shareholder concerns and invest in employees by compensating them fairly, providing important benefits, and supporting communities they work in. I couldn't agree more. These businesses employ many Americans and deliver us important goods and services, but if American taxpayers are stepping in to cover their losses, I think it is fair to expect and, indeed, require that these businesses channel the benefits toward people who are on their payroll, who work for wages and salaries, not those who live off investment income. I will do all I can in the coming days to help shape our economic package to make it responsive to these goals. Fifth--and in this I echo some of the comments made by my colleague from Missouri--the crisis does raise long-term questions that must be addressed going forward. We have to have real discussions about the virtues and disadvantages of global interconnectedness. Better travel leads to economic growth and a better understanding of the world, and it also facilitates the spread of viruses. Instantaneous global communication networks are an economic plus but increase vulnerability to cyber attack. How do we increase American resilience to these threats without inhibiting our economic prospects? Thereare elements of our supply chains--pharmaceuticals and medical products and supplies in particular--that must be viewed through a national security lens and progressively brought back to this country to enhance safety and an adequate supply of supplies in times like this. A second long-term question that has been raised for years by my Virginia colleague Senator Warner deals with the new reality of how Americans work. Many of the people most affected by this shock would be part-time and gig workers. The safety-net mechanisms that our policies provide for full-time workers who get a W-2 every year are not as available to the increasing percentage of the American workforce who are in multiple part-time jobs without benefits or who work as independent contractors or are otherwise self-employed. In addition to making sure that the economic relief package provides assistance to this large group of Americans, we have to examine our workforce policies so that these workers also have a social safety net to fall back on during times of crisis. Finally, every American needs to do their part to confront this crisis. The best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and minimize its impact to individuals, to our healthcare system, and to our economy is to adhere to science-based social distancing and personal hygiene recommendations in our everyday lives. Because America is not an authoritarian nation, there are some options used by other nations that will not likely be used here. Our public health measures will depend upon the cooperation and adherence of every single person. Sacrifice is hard, but a modest sacrifice in the near term can help save the lives of people we love. So I implore every Virginian and every American to follow the recommendations we get from our public health officials and find ways to safely reach out and connect with friends and family during this challenging time. To my colleagues: We must rise to meet this challenge. This is one of the moments for which we were destined to be in the Senate. The people we serve are relying on us to calmly and promptly address a grave health crisis with the tools needed to keep families safe and protect the American economy. It is a serious responsibility. May we all live up to it. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. KAINE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1825

formal

the Fed

antisemitic

Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, like my colleague from Missouri, I also rise to address the Nation's response to the COVID-19 virus. In particular, I want to discuss the next steps we need to take at the Federal level to deal with this health emergency and the severe economic dislocation resulting from it. Before I offer my comments, I want to offer some thanks. I want to thank the Senate staff and all those in the Capitol who are working here under tough circumstances. I notice that the pages are not here, and that is because the Senate has wisely decided that, while we ought to be here doing the people's business, even at some risk to ourselves, the young people who would normally be here should be home with their families. I want to thank healthcare workers all across the United States. They are doing very difficult work right now, and they are doing it under very stressful circumstances. So many people who work at our healthcare facilities are there trying to protect patients. They have kids in schools that have been closed, and they are grappling with where their own children are during the day and whether they can find childcare during what would normally be the school day. I particularly want to thank them. Finally, I want to thank the American public. I will return to this point at the end of my comments. We are not an authoritarian nation. There are steps that other nations are taking with respect to this virus, where they can sort of order or quarantine in ways that we can't here. What we do here depends upon the consent of the governed, and the guidelines about social distancing, for example, require some significant sacrifice. Overwhelmingly, I see Americans taking steps to make that sacrifice, and I want to thank them. I applaud the bipartisan work that Congress has done with the White House in the past 2 weeks to pass two important laws. We passed the supplemental appropriations bill, providing more than $8 billion to invest in our public health response with resources for States, territories, and Tribes, investments in vaccine development and testing, and other key health priorities. Just yesterday, the Senate passed the second piece of legislation to provide emergency relief for workers and their families: paid sick leave, extended unemployment insurance, and other measures. But we still have so much more to do, and I am going to be very candid about this. I offer these thoughts as a former mayor and Governor who has overseen significant emergency response efforts in my city and in my State: hurricanes, floods, mass shootings, the H1N1 epidemic, and the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009. While those give me a perspective on what must be done, I have to acknowledge that the current challenge is a massive one, arguably bigger than any I have seen in my life. Because it is so big, it will require unusual degrees of innovation and cooperation, and the need for that innovation and cooperation is urgent. I got off a phone call this morning--and I am sure all 100 of my colleagues are making calls like this. I got on the phone with my fellow Virginia Senator, Mr. Warner, to talk to Virginia's hospitals. Now, Virginia is a State that, economically, is pretty well off. It generally tends to have top-quarter per-capita income for a significant metropolitan area, but the stories from my hospitals were just, frankly, shocking. They can't get tests to test patients who are presenting with symptoms of COVID-19. If they have tests, they don't have the swabs to administer the test or they don't have some of the chemical components needed so that once a swab is taken, they can run the test to determine whether somebody has the virus or not. They don't have masks. Hospitals were telling me that masks, which they would normally buy for about $1 apiece, are now being charged at $9 apiece with severely limited quantities. Major hospitals in a major metropolitan area like Northern Virginia, on the testing front--one of my hospitals said they got enough tests from their main supplier to test 40 people. That lasted for about 2 days. And when they said ``We need more tests,'' the supplier said ``Well, look, we only have so much that we can distribute. That is all you get.'' When I heard this story, one after the next--and I know I live in a nation with not only the best healthcare providers but the best healthcare institutions in the world--I had to ask myself: Where am I? Is this the United States of America, where a hospital treating people on a global pandemic cannot get a mask, cannot get a swab, cannot get a test? Why are nations like South Korea and Australia and the United Kingdom so much more able to do things this country should be able to do? I don't think we should become normalized or just accept that. I think this is so profound a question about why this Nation, with the best healthcare providers and the best healthcare institutions in the world, is so far behind other nations. So let me offer these recommendations--blunt recommendations--for the road ahead. First, in the words of the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm. The administration lost 6 to 8 weeks in responding to this crisis--critical time that was used productively by other nations--because the President continually downplayed the threat of COVID-19. No American has a louder microphone than he does, and again and again he downplayed the threat, suggested it was contained, suggested everyone would be tested, suggested it was a hoax, and suggested the Democrats or the Chinese or the media were blowing it out of proportion. Whether his comments were due to ignorance or a political desire to hide bad news is irrelevant. I was shocked that the President submitted a budget to Congress on February 10, when the virus's global spread was clear to all, that dramatically cut funding for key public health agencies--the NIH, CDC, HHS--and our investments in global partnerships like the World Health Organization. The White House foolishly eliminated the global health security team at the National Security Council that was set up after the Ebola crisis to practically deal with pandemics like COVID-19. I remain stunned--stunned--that the President's lawyers are still in court all over this country attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act to take healthcare away from millions of Americans. There is never a good time--never--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and scheme to take away people's health insurance, but there is surely no worse time to do it--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and take away people's health insurance--than during a global pandemic. So my recommendations here are pretty simple. Quit lying and downplaying the threat. Let the trusted scientists and public health leaders in your administration take center stage. In recent days, the President seems to have adopted this approach, thank goodness, and it is long overdue. Congress should ignore the President's budget that urged foolish cuts to our public health infrastructure, and theadministration should cease efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. One more thing: Quit the inflammatory China-bashing. Did this virus originate in China? Yes. But, Mr. President, that does not excuse your weeks and weeks of tweeting lies and misinformation about the virus, while the leaders of other nations were taking steps to make sure their populations could be safe. The fact that the virus originated in China does not excuse the massive missteps that have led to the United States being so far behind other nations in the world in the ability to provide testing--basic testing--to citizens, including citizens who have serious signs of illness. The President's decision to call this the China virus or Wuhan virus or other epithets that he and members of his team have used are a crass effort to deflect blame away from the acceptance of responsibility that a President should have. The buck stops with you, Mr. President. You cannot blame this on anyone else. You have to own responsibility. You should stop inflammatory China-bashing that is exposing Asian Americans in this country to prejudice. The second thing we need to do is continue to focus, first and foremost, on managing the public health crisis presented by COVID-19. The economic dislocation is significant. We are working on a package with respect to that now. I am going to talk about it in a minute, but no economic intervention will work if the American public continues to lack confidence in our public health response. And a strong public health response that will effectively manage the spread of this virus and coordinate medical care for those affected will be the single best strategy for enabling the economy to get back on track. To accomplish this public health goal, we need to have strong policy at the Federal level to make--continue to make--science-based recommendations on the extent and timing of social distancing guidelines. We need to overcome the shockingly poor start to testing Americans for the virus. Testing helps us flatten the curve of the infection so that our health system is not overwhelmed, and it also helps reduce anxiety by giving people information about their status so they know what to do. Americans are used to being tested. If we feel ill, we go to a doctor. We get a test to see if we have a flu. We get a test to see if we have pneumonia. We get our children tested to see if they have strep throat. We are used to this, and when we see it happening around the globe, and when we hear the President and Vice President say that everybody will get tested, but when people call their healthcare providers and are told that there are no tests or see drive-thru testing sites, such as ones we had in Hampton Roads, shut down after a day and a half because they ran out of tests, it tremendously raises their anxiety. We need to continue the good work that is already being done to accelerate the development of a safe and effective vaccine. We need to make sure that our hospitals and healthcare providers have the resources they need to treat sick people and protect their frontline health workers. Finally, this is looking down the road a bit, but I think it is important that we think about it now. Policymakers should try to develop the science-based criteria that will enable them to confidently tell Americans when it is time to return to normal social and economic activity. I remember President Bush doing that at some point after 9/11. He said: It is now safe. It is time for Americans to go back to normal, everyday activity. A strong signal of that type, when it is warranted by science, will be critical--critical--to our recovery. That day may be weeks or months away, but developing the criteria that we can agree on that should be the signal for a return to relevant normalcy is something we should all be working on right now. Third, we should make full use of State and local governments. Polling shows that Americans are skeptical about what they hear about this virus from President Trump and, indeed, Washington. But the same poll shows that they do have trust in how State and local officials are handling this crisis. Use the network of State and local officials to communicate clear messages. Continuously seek their input on how their schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and local economies are affected. That is what I am doing every day, and I suspect every Member of the Senate is doing the same thing--conference calls with leaders around my State to make sure that we are doing the things that are most helpful. And we should reality test any legislation, especially an economic package, with these leaders to make sure it is responsive to the real needs they are seeing on the ground. Fourth, Congress needs to move promptly to pass this strong economic package, backstopping the American economy from being ravaged by COVID-19. In 2008, structural issues like the accumulation of debt, bad public policy leaving huge swaths of economic transactions unregulated, and predatory mortgage practices helped bring down not only the American but the global financial system. Today, the American economy has been performing relatively well, and it now labors under a severe healthcare shock. There is reason to believe that, once we get the healthcare strategy right, we will be poised for the economy to resume its upward trajectory. But we must provide protection and support in the meantime. I believe that the focus of an economic package should be workers and small businesses. They are the most vulnerable to the current challenge and most in need of intervention. This is the message that I am hearing again and again as I talk to Virginia residents and business leaders. I had a wonderful conversation with the president of my statewide chamber of commerce the other day, and he said candidly: Look, more of our members are actually medium and large businesses, but the most important thing you can do is focus on the needs of small businesses and their employees. I appreciated that he was advocating even for a business sector that isn't the core of his membership, but this is what he was hearing and what I think most of us are hearing. I support direct cash payments to low- and middle-income Americans and their dependents to help them through this crisis, and it is nice to hear there may be some agreement on that. I support strategies to provide grants and loans to small businesses, particularly if they use those resources to keep employees on the payroll. I hope direct support to individuals and small businesses will be the heart of the economic package that the Senate, the White House, and the House put together. Now, for the larger businesses and industry sectors who need Federal help, we have to stand ready to assist, but if we are to invest in these businesses yet again, a few years after providing them with massive and--in my view--unnecessary tax breaks, we must not simply rescue them but demand that they reform, and our investments must be designed to keep workers on payrolls to the maximum extent possible. The Business Roundtable, an influential voice for the business community, said last year that businesses need to expand their priorities beyond shareholder concerns and invest in employees by compensating them fairly, providing important benefits, and supporting communities they work in. I couldn't agree more. These businesses employ many Americans and deliver us important goods and services, but if American taxpayers are stepping in to cover their losses, I think it is fair to expect and, indeed, require that these businesses channel the benefits toward people who are on their payroll, who work for wages and salaries, not those who live off investment income. I will do all I can in the coming days to help shape our economic package to make it responsive to these goals. Fifth--and in this I echo some of the comments made by my colleague from Missouri--the crisis does raise long-term questions that must be addressed going forward. We have to have real discussions about the virtues and disadvantages of global interconnectedness. Better travel leads to economic growth and a better understanding of the world, and it also facilitates the spread of viruses. Instantaneous global communication networks are an economic plus but increase vulnerability to cyber attack. How do we increase American resilience to these threats without inhibiting our economic prospects? Thereare elements of our supply chains--pharmaceuticals and medical products and supplies in particular--that must be viewed through a national security lens and progressively brought back to this country to enhance safety and an adequate supply of supplies in times like this. A second long-term question that has been raised for years by my Virginia colleague Senator Warner deals with the new reality of how Americans work. Many of the people most affected by this shock would be part-time and gig workers. The safety-net mechanisms that our policies provide for full-time workers who get a W-2 every year are not as available to the increasing percentage of the American workforce who are in multiple part-time jobs without benefits or who work as independent contractors or are otherwise self-employed. In addition to making sure that the economic relief package provides assistance to this large group of Americans, we have to examine our workforce policies so that these workers also have a social safety net to fall back on during times of crisis. Finally, every American needs to do their part to confront this crisis. The best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and minimize its impact to individuals, to our healthcare system, and to our economy is to adhere to science-based social distancing and personal hygiene recommendations in our everyday lives. Because America is not an authoritarian nation, there are some options used by other nations that will not likely be used here. Our public health measures will depend upon the cooperation and adherence of every single person. Sacrifice is hard, but a modest sacrifice in the near term can help save the lives of people we love. So I implore every Virginian and every American to follow the recommendations we get from our public health officials and find ways to safely reach out and connect with friends and family during this challenging time. To my colleagues: We must rise to meet this challenge. This is one of the moments for which we were destined to be in the Senate. The people we serve are relying on us to calmly and promptly address a grave health crisis with the tools needed to keep families safe and protect the American economy. It is a serious responsibility. May we all live up to it. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. KAINE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1825

formal

single

homophobic

Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, like my colleague from Missouri, I also rise to address the Nation's response to the COVID-19 virus. In particular, I want to discuss the next steps we need to take at the Federal level to deal with this health emergency and the severe economic dislocation resulting from it. Before I offer my comments, I want to offer some thanks. I want to thank the Senate staff and all those in the Capitol who are working here under tough circumstances. I notice that the pages are not here, and that is because the Senate has wisely decided that, while we ought to be here doing the people's business, even at some risk to ourselves, the young people who would normally be here should be home with their families. I want to thank healthcare workers all across the United States. They are doing very difficult work right now, and they are doing it under very stressful circumstances. So many people who work at our healthcare facilities are there trying to protect patients. They have kids in schools that have been closed, and they are grappling with where their own children are during the day and whether they can find childcare during what would normally be the school day. I particularly want to thank them. Finally, I want to thank the American public. I will return to this point at the end of my comments. We are not an authoritarian nation. There are steps that other nations are taking with respect to this virus, where they can sort of order or quarantine in ways that we can't here. What we do here depends upon the consent of the governed, and the guidelines about social distancing, for example, require some significant sacrifice. Overwhelmingly, I see Americans taking steps to make that sacrifice, and I want to thank them. I applaud the bipartisan work that Congress has done with the White House in the past 2 weeks to pass two important laws. We passed the supplemental appropriations bill, providing more than $8 billion to invest in our public health response with resources for States, territories, and Tribes, investments in vaccine development and testing, and other key health priorities. Just yesterday, the Senate passed the second piece of legislation to provide emergency relief for workers and their families: paid sick leave, extended unemployment insurance, and other measures. But we still have so much more to do, and I am going to be very candid about this. I offer these thoughts as a former mayor and Governor who has overseen significant emergency response efforts in my city and in my State: hurricanes, floods, mass shootings, the H1N1 epidemic, and the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009. While those give me a perspective on what must be done, I have to acknowledge that the current challenge is a massive one, arguably bigger than any I have seen in my life. Because it is so big, it will require unusual degrees of innovation and cooperation, and the need for that innovation and cooperation is urgent. I got off a phone call this morning--and I am sure all 100 of my colleagues are making calls like this. I got on the phone with my fellow Virginia Senator, Mr. Warner, to talk to Virginia's hospitals. Now, Virginia is a State that, economically, is pretty well off. It generally tends to have top-quarter per-capita income for a significant metropolitan area, but the stories from my hospitals were just, frankly, shocking. They can't get tests to test patients who are presenting with symptoms of COVID-19. If they have tests, they don't have the swabs to administer the test or they don't have some of the chemical components needed so that once a swab is taken, they can run the test to determine whether somebody has the virus or not. They don't have masks. Hospitals were telling me that masks, which they would normally buy for about $1 apiece, are now being charged at $9 apiece with severely limited quantities. Major hospitals in a major metropolitan area like Northern Virginia, on the testing front--one of my hospitals said they got enough tests from their main supplier to test 40 people. That lasted for about 2 days. And when they said ``We need more tests,'' the supplier said ``Well, look, we only have so much that we can distribute. That is all you get.'' When I heard this story, one after the next--and I know I live in a nation with not only the best healthcare providers but the best healthcare institutions in the world--I had to ask myself: Where am I? Is this the United States of America, where a hospital treating people on a global pandemic cannot get a mask, cannot get a swab, cannot get a test? Why are nations like South Korea and Australia and the United Kingdom so much more able to do things this country should be able to do? I don't think we should become normalized or just accept that. I think this is so profound a question about why this Nation, with the best healthcare providers and the best healthcare institutions in the world, is so far behind other nations. So let me offer these recommendations--blunt recommendations--for the road ahead. First, in the words of the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm. The administration lost 6 to 8 weeks in responding to this crisis--critical time that was used productively by other nations--because the President continually downplayed the threat of COVID-19. No American has a louder microphone than he does, and again and again he downplayed the threat, suggested it was contained, suggested everyone would be tested, suggested it was a hoax, and suggested the Democrats or the Chinese or the media were blowing it out of proportion. Whether his comments were due to ignorance or a political desire to hide bad news is irrelevant. I was shocked that the President submitted a budget to Congress on February 10, when the virus's global spread was clear to all, that dramatically cut funding for key public health agencies--the NIH, CDC, HHS--and our investments in global partnerships like the World Health Organization. The White House foolishly eliminated the global health security team at the National Security Council that was set up after the Ebola crisis to practically deal with pandemics like COVID-19. I remain stunned--stunned--that the President's lawyers are still in court all over this country attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act to take healthcare away from millions of Americans. There is never a good time--never--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and scheme to take away people's health insurance, but there is surely no worse time to do it--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and take away people's health insurance--than during a global pandemic. So my recommendations here are pretty simple. Quit lying and downplaying the threat. Let the trusted scientists and public health leaders in your administration take center stage. In recent days, the President seems to have adopted this approach, thank goodness, and it is long overdue. Congress should ignore the President's budget that urged foolish cuts to our public health infrastructure, and theadministration should cease efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. One more thing: Quit the inflammatory China-bashing. Did this virus originate in China? Yes. But, Mr. President, that does not excuse your weeks and weeks of tweeting lies and misinformation about the virus, while the leaders of other nations were taking steps to make sure their populations could be safe. The fact that the virus originated in China does not excuse the massive missteps that have led to the United States being so far behind other nations in the world in the ability to provide testing--basic testing--to citizens, including citizens who have serious signs of illness. The President's decision to call this the China virus or Wuhan virus or other epithets that he and members of his team have used are a crass effort to deflect blame away from the acceptance of responsibility that a President should have. The buck stops with you, Mr. President. You cannot blame this on anyone else. You have to own responsibility. You should stop inflammatory China-bashing that is exposing Asian Americans in this country to prejudice. The second thing we need to do is continue to focus, first and foremost, on managing the public health crisis presented by COVID-19. The economic dislocation is significant. We are working on a package with respect to that now. I am going to talk about it in a minute, but no economic intervention will work if the American public continues to lack confidence in our public health response. And a strong public health response that will effectively manage the spread of this virus and coordinate medical care for those affected will be the single best strategy for enabling the economy to get back on track. To accomplish this public health goal, we need to have strong policy at the Federal level to make--continue to make--science-based recommendations on the extent and timing of social distancing guidelines. We need to overcome the shockingly poor start to testing Americans for the virus. Testing helps us flatten the curve of the infection so that our health system is not overwhelmed, and it also helps reduce anxiety by giving people information about their status so they know what to do. Americans are used to being tested. If we feel ill, we go to a doctor. We get a test to see if we have a flu. We get a test to see if we have pneumonia. We get our children tested to see if they have strep throat. We are used to this, and when we see it happening around the globe, and when we hear the President and Vice President say that everybody will get tested, but when people call their healthcare providers and are told that there are no tests or see drive-thru testing sites, such as ones we had in Hampton Roads, shut down after a day and a half because they ran out of tests, it tremendously raises their anxiety. We need to continue the good work that is already being done to accelerate the development of a safe and effective vaccine. We need to make sure that our hospitals and healthcare providers have the resources they need to treat sick people and protect their frontline health workers. Finally, this is looking down the road a bit, but I think it is important that we think about it now. Policymakers should try to develop the science-based criteria that will enable them to confidently tell Americans when it is time to return to normal social and economic activity. I remember President Bush doing that at some point after 9/11. He said: It is now safe. It is time for Americans to go back to normal, everyday activity. A strong signal of that type, when it is warranted by science, will be critical--critical--to our recovery. That day may be weeks or months away, but developing the criteria that we can agree on that should be the signal for a return to relevant normalcy is something we should all be working on right now. Third, we should make full use of State and local governments. Polling shows that Americans are skeptical about what they hear about this virus from President Trump and, indeed, Washington. But the same poll shows that they do have trust in how State and local officials are handling this crisis. Use the network of State and local officials to communicate clear messages. Continuously seek their input on how their schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and local economies are affected. That is what I am doing every day, and I suspect every Member of the Senate is doing the same thing--conference calls with leaders around my State to make sure that we are doing the things that are most helpful. And we should reality test any legislation, especially an economic package, with these leaders to make sure it is responsive to the real needs they are seeing on the ground. Fourth, Congress needs to move promptly to pass this strong economic package, backstopping the American economy from being ravaged by COVID-19. In 2008, structural issues like the accumulation of debt, bad public policy leaving huge swaths of economic transactions unregulated, and predatory mortgage practices helped bring down not only the American but the global financial system. Today, the American economy has been performing relatively well, and it now labors under a severe healthcare shock. There is reason to believe that, once we get the healthcare strategy right, we will be poised for the economy to resume its upward trajectory. But we must provide protection and support in the meantime. I believe that the focus of an economic package should be workers and small businesses. They are the most vulnerable to the current challenge and most in need of intervention. This is the message that I am hearing again and again as I talk to Virginia residents and business leaders. I had a wonderful conversation with the president of my statewide chamber of commerce the other day, and he said candidly: Look, more of our members are actually medium and large businesses, but the most important thing you can do is focus on the needs of small businesses and their employees. I appreciated that he was advocating even for a business sector that isn't the core of his membership, but this is what he was hearing and what I think most of us are hearing. I support direct cash payments to low- and middle-income Americans and their dependents to help them through this crisis, and it is nice to hear there may be some agreement on that. I support strategies to provide grants and loans to small businesses, particularly if they use those resources to keep employees on the payroll. I hope direct support to individuals and small businesses will be the heart of the economic package that the Senate, the White House, and the House put together. Now, for the larger businesses and industry sectors who need Federal help, we have to stand ready to assist, but if we are to invest in these businesses yet again, a few years after providing them with massive and--in my view--unnecessary tax breaks, we must not simply rescue them but demand that they reform, and our investments must be designed to keep workers on payrolls to the maximum extent possible. The Business Roundtable, an influential voice for the business community, said last year that businesses need to expand their priorities beyond shareholder concerns and invest in employees by compensating them fairly, providing important benefits, and supporting communities they work in. I couldn't agree more. These businesses employ many Americans and deliver us important goods and services, but if American taxpayers are stepping in to cover their losses, I think it is fair to expect and, indeed, require that these businesses channel the benefits toward people who are on their payroll, who work for wages and salaries, not those who live off investment income. I will do all I can in the coming days to help shape our economic package to make it responsive to these goals. Fifth--and in this I echo some of the comments made by my colleague from Missouri--the crisis does raise long-term questions that must be addressed going forward. We have to have real discussions about the virtues and disadvantages of global interconnectedness. Better travel leads to economic growth and a better understanding of the world, and it also facilitates the spread of viruses. Instantaneous global communication networks are an economic plus but increase vulnerability to cyber attack. How do we increase American resilience to these threats without inhibiting our economic prospects? Thereare elements of our supply chains--pharmaceuticals and medical products and supplies in particular--that must be viewed through a national security lens and progressively brought back to this country to enhance safety and an adequate supply of supplies in times like this. A second long-term question that has been raised for years by my Virginia colleague Senator Warner deals with the new reality of how Americans work. Many of the people most affected by this shock would be part-time and gig workers. The safety-net mechanisms that our policies provide for full-time workers who get a W-2 every year are not as available to the increasing percentage of the American workforce who are in multiple part-time jobs without benefits or who work as independent contractors or are otherwise self-employed. In addition to making sure that the economic relief package provides assistance to this large group of Americans, we have to examine our workforce policies so that these workers also have a social safety net to fall back on during times of crisis. Finally, every American needs to do their part to confront this crisis. The best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and minimize its impact to individuals, to our healthcare system, and to our economy is to adhere to science-based social distancing and personal hygiene recommendations in our everyday lives. Because America is not an authoritarian nation, there are some options used by other nations that will not likely be used here. Our public health measures will depend upon the cooperation and adherence of every single person. Sacrifice is hard, but a modest sacrifice in the near term can help save the lives of people we love. So I implore every Virginian and every American to follow the recommendations we get from our public health officials and find ways to safely reach out and connect with friends and family during this challenging time. To my colleagues: We must rise to meet this challenge. This is one of the moments for which we were destined to be in the Senate. The people we serve are relying on us to calmly and promptly address a grave health crisis with the tools needed to keep families safe and protect the American economy. It is a serious responsibility. May we all live up to it. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. KAINE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1825

formal

buck

racist

Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, like my colleague from Missouri, I also rise to address the Nation's response to the COVID-19 virus. In particular, I want to discuss the next steps we need to take at the Federal level to deal with this health emergency and the severe economic dislocation resulting from it. Before I offer my comments, I want to offer some thanks. I want to thank the Senate staff and all those in the Capitol who are working here under tough circumstances. I notice that the pages are not here, and that is because the Senate has wisely decided that, while we ought to be here doing the people's business, even at some risk to ourselves, the young people who would normally be here should be home with their families. I want to thank healthcare workers all across the United States. They are doing very difficult work right now, and they are doing it under very stressful circumstances. So many people who work at our healthcare facilities are there trying to protect patients. They have kids in schools that have been closed, and they are grappling with where their own children are during the day and whether they can find childcare during what would normally be the school day. I particularly want to thank them. Finally, I want to thank the American public. I will return to this point at the end of my comments. We are not an authoritarian nation. There are steps that other nations are taking with respect to this virus, where they can sort of order or quarantine in ways that we can't here. What we do here depends upon the consent of the governed, and the guidelines about social distancing, for example, require some significant sacrifice. Overwhelmingly, I see Americans taking steps to make that sacrifice, and I want to thank them. I applaud the bipartisan work that Congress has done with the White House in the past 2 weeks to pass two important laws. We passed the supplemental appropriations bill, providing more than $8 billion to invest in our public health response with resources for States, territories, and Tribes, investments in vaccine development and testing, and other key health priorities. Just yesterday, the Senate passed the second piece of legislation to provide emergency relief for workers and their families: paid sick leave, extended unemployment insurance, and other measures. But we still have so much more to do, and I am going to be very candid about this. I offer these thoughts as a former mayor and Governor who has overseen significant emergency response efforts in my city and in my State: hurricanes, floods, mass shootings, the H1N1 epidemic, and the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009. While those give me a perspective on what must be done, I have to acknowledge that the current challenge is a massive one, arguably bigger than any I have seen in my life. Because it is so big, it will require unusual degrees of innovation and cooperation, and the need for that innovation and cooperation is urgent. I got off a phone call this morning--and I am sure all 100 of my colleagues are making calls like this. I got on the phone with my fellow Virginia Senator, Mr. Warner, to talk to Virginia's hospitals. Now, Virginia is a State that, economically, is pretty well off. It generally tends to have top-quarter per-capita income for a significant metropolitan area, but the stories from my hospitals were just, frankly, shocking. They can't get tests to test patients who are presenting with symptoms of COVID-19. If they have tests, they don't have the swabs to administer the test or they don't have some of the chemical components needed so that once a swab is taken, they can run the test to determine whether somebody has the virus or not. They don't have masks. Hospitals were telling me that masks, which they would normally buy for about $1 apiece, are now being charged at $9 apiece with severely limited quantities. Major hospitals in a major metropolitan area like Northern Virginia, on the testing front--one of my hospitals said they got enough tests from their main supplier to test 40 people. That lasted for about 2 days. And when they said ``We need more tests,'' the supplier said ``Well, look, we only have so much that we can distribute. That is all you get.'' When I heard this story, one after the next--and I know I live in a nation with not only the best healthcare providers but the best healthcare institutions in the world--I had to ask myself: Where am I? Is this the United States of America, where a hospital treating people on a global pandemic cannot get a mask, cannot get a swab, cannot get a test? Why are nations like South Korea and Australia and the United Kingdom so much more able to do things this country should be able to do? I don't think we should become normalized or just accept that. I think this is so profound a question about why this Nation, with the best healthcare providers and the best healthcare institutions in the world, is so far behind other nations. So let me offer these recommendations--blunt recommendations--for the road ahead. First, in the words of the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm. The administration lost 6 to 8 weeks in responding to this crisis--critical time that was used productively by other nations--because the President continually downplayed the threat of COVID-19. No American has a louder microphone than he does, and again and again he downplayed the threat, suggested it was contained, suggested everyone would be tested, suggested it was a hoax, and suggested the Democrats or the Chinese or the media were blowing it out of proportion. Whether his comments were due to ignorance or a political desire to hide bad news is irrelevant. I was shocked that the President submitted a budget to Congress on February 10, when the virus's global spread was clear to all, that dramatically cut funding for key public health agencies--the NIH, CDC, HHS--and our investments in global partnerships like the World Health Organization. The White House foolishly eliminated the global health security team at the National Security Council that was set up after the Ebola crisis to practically deal with pandemics like COVID-19. I remain stunned--stunned--that the President's lawyers are still in court all over this country attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act to take healthcare away from millions of Americans. There is never a good time--never--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and scheme to take away people's health insurance, but there is surely no worse time to do it--to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and take away people's health insurance--than during a global pandemic. So my recommendations here are pretty simple. Quit lying and downplaying the threat. Let the trusted scientists and public health leaders in your administration take center stage. In recent days, the President seems to have adopted this approach, thank goodness, and it is long overdue. Congress should ignore the President's budget that urged foolish cuts to our public health infrastructure, and theadministration should cease efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. One more thing: Quit the inflammatory China-bashing. Did this virus originate in China? Yes. But, Mr. President, that does not excuse your weeks and weeks of tweeting lies and misinformation about the virus, while the leaders of other nations were taking steps to make sure their populations could be safe. The fact that the virus originated in China does not excuse the massive missteps that have led to the United States being so far behind other nations in the world in the ability to provide testing--basic testing--to citizens, including citizens who have serious signs of illness. The President's decision to call this the China virus or Wuhan virus or other epithets that he and members of his team have used are a crass effort to deflect blame away from the acceptance of responsibility that a President should have. The buck stops with you, Mr. President. You cannot blame this on anyone else. You have to own responsibility. You should stop inflammatory China-bashing that is exposing Asian Americans in this country to prejudice. The second thing we need to do is continue to focus, first and foremost, on managing the public health crisis presented by COVID-19. The economic dislocation is significant. We are working on a package with respect to that now. I am going to talk about it in a minute, but no economic intervention will work if the American public continues to lack confidence in our public health response. And a strong public health response that will effectively manage the spread of this virus and coordinate medical care for those affected will be the single best strategy for enabling the economy to get back on track. To accomplish this public health goal, we need to have strong policy at the Federal level to make--continue to make--science-based recommendations on the extent and timing of social distancing guidelines. We need to overcome the shockingly poor start to testing Americans for the virus. Testing helps us flatten the curve of the infection so that our health system is not overwhelmed, and it also helps reduce anxiety by giving people information about their status so they know what to do. Americans are used to being tested. If we feel ill, we go to a doctor. We get a test to see if we have a flu. We get a test to see if we have pneumonia. We get our children tested to see if they have strep throat. We are used to this, and when we see it happening around the globe, and when we hear the President and Vice President say that everybody will get tested, but when people call their healthcare providers and are told that there are no tests or see drive-thru testing sites, such as ones we had in Hampton Roads, shut down after a day and a half because they ran out of tests, it tremendously raises their anxiety. We need to continue the good work that is already being done to accelerate the development of a safe and effective vaccine. We need to make sure that our hospitals and healthcare providers have the resources they need to treat sick people and protect their frontline health workers. Finally, this is looking down the road a bit, but I think it is important that we think about it now. Policymakers should try to develop the science-based criteria that will enable them to confidently tell Americans when it is time to return to normal social and economic activity. I remember President Bush doing that at some point after 9/11. He said: It is now safe. It is time for Americans to go back to normal, everyday activity. A strong signal of that type, when it is warranted by science, will be critical--critical--to our recovery. That day may be weeks or months away, but developing the criteria that we can agree on that should be the signal for a return to relevant normalcy is something we should all be working on right now. Third, we should make full use of State and local governments. Polling shows that Americans are skeptical about what they hear about this virus from President Trump and, indeed, Washington. But the same poll shows that they do have trust in how State and local officials are handling this crisis. Use the network of State and local officials to communicate clear messages. Continuously seek their input on how their schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and local economies are affected. That is what I am doing every day, and I suspect every Member of the Senate is doing the same thing--conference calls with leaders around my State to make sure that we are doing the things that are most helpful. And we should reality test any legislation, especially an economic package, with these leaders to make sure it is responsive to the real needs they are seeing on the ground. Fourth, Congress needs to move promptly to pass this strong economic package, backstopping the American economy from being ravaged by COVID-19. In 2008, structural issues like the accumulation of debt, bad public policy leaving huge swaths of economic transactions unregulated, and predatory mortgage practices helped bring down not only the American but the global financial system. Today, the American economy has been performing relatively well, and it now labors under a severe healthcare shock. There is reason to believe that, once we get the healthcare strategy right, we will be poised for the economy to resume its upward trajectory. But we must provide protection and support in the meantime. I believe that the focus of an economic package should be workers and small businesses. They are the most vulnerable to the current challenge and most in need of intervention. This is the message that I am hearing again and again as I talk to Virginia residents and business leaders. I had a wonderful conversation with the president of my statewide chamber of commerce the other day, and he said candidly: Look, more of our members are actually medium and large businesses, but the most important thing you can do is focus on the needs of small businesses and their employees. I appreciated that he was advocating even for a business sector that isn't the core of his membership, but this is what he was hearing and what I think most of us are hearing. I support direct cash payments to low- and middle-income Americans and their dependents to help them through this crisis, and it is nice to hear there may be some agreement on that. I support strategies to provide grants and loans to small businesses, particularly if they use those resources to keep employees on the payroll. I hope direct support to individuals and small businesses will be the heart of the economic package that the Senate, the White House, and the House put together. Now, for the larger businesses and industry sectors who need Federal help, we have to stand ready to assist, but if we are to invest in these businesses yet again, a few years after providing them with massive and--in my view--unnecessary tax breaks, we must not simply rescue them but demand that they reform, and our investments must be designed to keep workers on payrolls to the maximum extent possible. The Business Roundtable, an influential voice for the business community, said last year that businesses need to expand their priorities beyond shareholder concerns and invest in employees by compensating them fairly, providing important benefits, and supporting communities they work in. I couldn't agree more. These businesses employ many Americans and deliver us important goods and services, but if American taxpayers are stepping in to cover their losses, I think it is fair to expect and, indeed, require that these businesses channel the benefits toward people who are on their payroll, who work for wages and salaries, not those who live off investment income. I will do all I can in the coming days to help shape our economic package to make it responsive to these goals. Fifth--and in this I echo some of the comments made by my colleague from Missouri--the crisis does raise long-term questions that must be addressed going forward. We have to have real discussions about the virtues and disadvantages of global interconnectedness. Better travel leads to economic growth and a better understanding of the world, and it also facilitates the spread of viruses. Instantaneous global communication networks are an economic plus but increase vulnerability to cyber attack. How do we increase American resilience to these threats without inhibiting our economic prospects? Thereare elements of our supply chains--pharmaceuticals and medical products and supplies in particular--that must be viewed through a national security lens and progressively brought back to this country to enhance safety and an adequate supply of supplies in times like this. A second long-term question that has been raised for years by my Virginia colleague Senator Warner deals with the new reality of how Americans work. Many of the people most affected by this shock would be part-time and gig workers. The safety-net mechanisms that our policies provide for full-time workers who get a W-2 every year are not as available to the increasing percentage of the American workforce who are in multiple part-time jobs without benefits or who work as independent contractors or are otherwise self-employed. In addition to making sure that the economic relief package provides assistance to this large group of Americans, we have to examine our workforce policies so that these workers also have a social safety net to fall back on during times of crisis. Finally, every American needs to do their part to confront this crisis. The best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and minimize its impact to individuals, to our healthcare system, and to our economy is to adhere to science-based social distancing and personal hygiene recommendations in our everyday lives. Because America is not an authoritarian nation, there are some options used by other nations that will not likely be used here. Our public health measures will depend upon the cooperation and adherence of every single person. Sacrifice is hard, but a modest sacrifice in the near term can help save the lives of people we love. So I implore every Virginian and every American to follow the recommendations we get from our public health officials and find ways to safely reach out and connect with friends and family during this challenging time. To my colleagues: We must rise to meet this challenge. This is one of the moments for which we were destined to be in the Senate. The people we serve are relying on us to calmly and promptly address a grave health crisis with the tools needed to keep families safe and protect the American economy. It is a serious responsibility. May we all live up to it. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

2020-01-06

Mr. KAINE

Senate

CREC-2020-03-19-pt1-PgS1825