[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 53 (Thursday, March 19, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1818-S1820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  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 extend

[[Page S1819]]

paid 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.

[[Page S1820]]

  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.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader.

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