[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 57 (Monday, March 23, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1921-S1929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

    MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019--Motion to 
                            Proceed--Resumed


                Motion to Reconsider--Motion to Proceed

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to the motion to 
reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to 
proceed to H.R. 748.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The motion was agreed to.


                          Motion to Reconsider

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which 
the cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed to H.R. 748.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now an hour of debate equally divided 
under the previous order.
  The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I also ask that the vote be 30 minutes 
in length.

[[Page S1922]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The vote will be 30 minutes in length. It is so ordered.
  The Senator from Maine.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, we are in the midst of a crisis in our 
country--a crisis caused by the coronavirus. I cannot believe that the 
answer to this crisis from our friends on the other side of the aisle, 
as we move to address the economic consequences that are so severe for 
the people of this country, is delay, delay, delay; no sense of 
urgency; no hurry.
  I will tell you, I have had the honor to serve in this body for many 
years. Never--never--have I seen Republicans and Democrats fail to come 
together when confronted with a crisis. We did so after 9/11. We did so 
with the financial meltdown in 2008. Here, we are facing an enemy that 
is invisible but equally devastating to the health of our people and to 
the health of our economy. Yet, unbelievably, the Democratic leader 
objected to my even being able to speak this morning. Is that what we 
have come to? The Democratic leader objected to our convening at 9 
o'clock this morning so that we could begin working in earnest. Is that 
what we have come to?
  The fact is, we have been working on a bipartisan effort through task 
force, with both Republicans and Democrats, making very good progress 
and putting together a comprehensive package--the third package we have 
dealt with. This one is to address and prevent the economic devastation 
that is being caused by this virus.
  We don't have another day. We don't have another hour. We don't have 
another minute to delay acting. I have talked with businesses all over 
my State--small mom-and-pop businesses, like a diner, a third-
generation diner operated by the Simones family in Lewiston, ME. For 
the first time ever, they have had to close their doors. As Linda 
Simones told me through tears yesterday: This is the first time ever we 
have been unemployed. Our son is unemployed. Our friends who have 
worked with us at this diner for years are unemployed.
  We have a very good plan that we worked on in a bipartisan way--
Senator Marco Rubio and I on the Republican side and Senators Ben 
Cardin and Jeanne Shaheen, in very good faith, on the Democratic side--
that would help these small businesses and keep their employees paid. 
It would keep their employees getting paychecks. How can that possibly 
be controversial?
  How can any of us want to see millions of Americans lose their 
paychecks, their health insurance, their contributions to their 
retirement plans? We have a package that is part of this broader 
legislation.
  As the majority leader pointed out just yesterday, had we invoked 
cloture, that is not the end of the process. There still could have 
been 30 hours for us to refine this package.
  Keep in mind that every single one of these task forces have been 
bipartisan. Do we agree on everything? Of course not, but surely, 
surely, in this time of extreme crisis for our country--when people are 
getting sick, when people are dying from the coronavirus, when we are 
facing unemployment rates which could go as high as 20 percent, 
according to the Treasury Secretary--surely, we ought to be able to 
pull together and work quickly to respond to the needs of the American 
people.
  I cannot believe the objections to proceeding to this package. Is 
this package perfect? No. That is why negotiations are still going on.
  Don't we want to act quickly to provide relief to the American 
workers? This is disgraceful. We do not have time. Time is not on our 
side. Let's get the job done for the American people.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise because my dear friend, I can 
tell, is very upset. I am upset that we are at this point. I really am. 
I am working with you on so many things in a bipartisan way. I always 
have and always will.
  With that being said, let me make sure of this. I haven't been here 
as long as you have and haven't the experience that you have. The way I 
understand it, voting for cloture takes a 60-vote threshold, except for 
the judges, which, basically, the previous leader, Senator Harry Reid 
from Nevada, changed. I was opposed to that. We are in a situation now 
where, if you vote yes on cloture and then you are not in agreement 
with the bill, it only takes 51 votes. That seems to be the reason 
everyone is saying: Wait a minute. Let's get an agreement so we can 
move it through.
  That is what I always heard and that is what I understand. They are 
afraid, basically, that if you vote for cloture--even though it is not 
the things you want or have been negotiated on--then the vote is 51, 
even with the 30 hours of curing. Then, it goes from there, and, then, 
we are back to where we have not had any negotiations because the 
majority has the control with 51 votes. That is what I think the fear 
is here.
  The problem we have in West Virginia right now is that you can throw 
all the money at Wall Street that you want to. You can continue to put 
trillions upon trillions there. People are afraid to leave their home. 
They are afraid because they are afraid of the healthcare. I have 
workers who don't have masks. I have healthcare workers who don't have 
gowns. I have hospitals that will not be open another 60 days because 
they don't have cash flow. It looks like we are worried more about the 
economy than the healthcare and well-being of the people.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. MANCHIN. Yes, sir.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Even if cloture were invoked, there are 30 more hours.
  Mr. MANCHIN. We know about the 30 more hours.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask the Senator from West Virginia, in what way 
would your side be disadvantaged by that?
  The American people are waiting for us to act today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Senator Collins has laid it out. We don't have time 
for this. We don't have time for it.
  Mr. MANCHIN. Let me ask you a question.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I have a question. In what way would the Democratic 
minority be disadvantaged?
  Mr. DURBIN. Who has control of the floor?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia has the floor.
  Mr. MANCHIN. Sir, anything I am saying--30 hours or 30 days--as long 
as you have the majority, 51 votes rule. The final vote is going to be 
on passage, whether you have to negotiate or not with us.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. By firming a deal, we have to get cloture again once 
we got on the bill. In other words, this is cloture on the motion to 
proceed to the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Let me explain it to my good friend from West 
Virginia.
  Mr. MANCHIN. I understand.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Here is the way it works, colleagues. We have been 
fiddling around, as the Senator from Maine pointed out, for 24 hours.
  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I have the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia has the floor.
  Mr. MANCHIN. I know where you are coming from on this. We have a 
little difference of opinion about this.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I thank the Senator from West Virginia.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Colleagues, here is an understanding of where we are. 
We have been fiddling around for 2 days on the motion to proceed.
  Mr. MANCHIN. If I could make my remarks.
  Mr. DURBIN. Who has the floor?
  Mr. McCONNELL. My friend, if that were invoked, there are still 30 
more hours postcloture on the motion to proceed.
  Once you get on the bill, you have to go through it again. There is 
no way in which--
  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. MANCHIN. We should be able to get a bill that we can move forward 
on with unanimous consent. We really should. That is what I am hoping 
for. I think we can do it
  Let me go back to where I am coming from. My whole thing is based on 
the

[[Page S1923]]

healthcare right now. You can't throw enough money to fix this if you 
can't fix the healthcare. If you can't give my people in West Virginia 
and across this country the feeling that we have a treatment and we are 
moving forward on a vaccine, they are not leaving their homes. My 
restaurants aren't going to open up.
  The most important thing is, How do we take care of the workers who 
have lost their jobs through no fault of their own because businesses 
have closed? It is the same in my State as in your State--through no 
fault of their own. That is the package we have to get out. We have 
$160 billion moving right now--moving right now.
  I am saying this: It looks like things are weighted toward the Wall 
Street corporations' side. True or false?
  We are not in the frontlines. We are not one of the big four.
  Many of us--100 of us--are not there negotiating at the table. Our 
staffs are all having input, and we are working on that. But sitting 
there and making the final decisions comes down to this: Can we give 
the confidence that we can rise to the occasion to keep the people 
healthy in our States? My hospitals need to stay open. My healthcare 
workers need to be healthy. They need to be protected.
  It seems like we are talking about everything else about the economy 
versus the healthcare. That doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.
  For the people who aren't getting a check right now, we can get a 
check to them. We should.
  It seems like we are more focused on the big corporations and the 
healthcare of Wall Street than we are on the healthcare of the people 
in rural America and Main Street. That is the problem I have had on 
this. That is the problem we have been talking about.
  We want to fix this. I am not talking about all the regulations you 
are talking about. I don't know anything about that. I will find out if 
it is buried in the bill and it is not what I would approve right now 
if we don't need it. But if you are giving all of the preferences to 
the large corporations, they can shill and hide and do buybacks and 
everything else. Don't you think the American worker ought to get 
something or be protected in some way? That is what it is like.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, as the majority leader said, all this 
vote is about is, Shall we get on the bill? Can we debate the issue? 
Can we get together to decide what to do about what is the most 
significant healthcare crisis in a century in this State? Can we get on 
the bill? We are saying yes; they are saying no.
  The distinguished Senator from West Virginia says: What about the 
people who need help? I have a friend who emailed me last night and 
said: It is too late; I am closing five small businesses.
  These are little businesses.
  Well, why did we not vote last night on this, because in this bill is 
the proposal by Senator Collins--Senator Collins, Republican; Senator 
Cardin, Democrat; Senator Rubio, Republican; Senator Shaheen, 
Democrat--that would loan money to small businesses of less than 500 
people so they can pay their employees in West Virginia and Tennessee. 
And then, if they did that, it would be forgiven. In other words, it is 
a grant. They could keep working. That is for the employees. Every day 
we wait, they don't get paid.
  Pass this bill and the laid-off employees would be available for sick 
leave, which they weren't when the bill came over from the House. Pass 
this bill today and the employee who was laid off last week could be 
available for 2 weeks of sick leave at today's salary.
  Pass this bill and most Americans would get $1,200 per person, $2,400 
a couple, $500 more for a child. They would get it one day sooner if 
you passed this bill last night.
  These are not controversial proposals. On the Collins-Rubio-Cardin-
Shaheen proposal, I happened to be watching Robert Reich, the former 
Labor Secretary for President Clinton, who is about as far to the left 
as anybody goes, and someone asked him: What would be the single best 
thing Congress could do to help workers get their money and be paid?
  He said it is exactly what the Collins-Rubio-Cardin-Shaheen proposal 
would do--loan money to those with 500 or less and let them keep 
working.
  As for this business about big corporations, Darden is a big 
corporation. It owns lots of restaurants. Gaylord is a big corporation. 
It owns Opryland. If it has a credit problem and the Federal Reserve 
Board can make sure that it has enough money to stay in business, all 
the people who work at the Grand Ole Opry can continue to have jobs. If 
they don't, they will be out of work. What is wrong with that?
  I mean, that is the goal. Whether you work for a big company or a 
little company, you are still an American citizen--whether you work for 
FedEx or the local diner.
  And as far as solving the problem of the disease--and then I will let 
others speak--pass this bill and 1 day sooner we would have $10 billion 
to accelerate treatments. Treatments are what we need. We could 
accelerate vaccines. Vaccines are what we eventually need. Pass this 
bill and we would have $75 billion for hospitals and $10 billion for 
those diagnostic treatments I just mentioned. We would have $1.7 
billion to buy more masks.
  All of that could happen 1 day sooner if the other side wasn't trying 
to attach its political agenda to a crisis bill. This is no time to be 
running a political campaign.
  As the majority leader said, the House--dominated by Democrats--sent 
us their ideas. We passed it through without a single amendment, even 
though we didn't agree with many of their ideas. We worked for days 
with our counterparts on the Democratic side and proposed a bill with 
their ideas, such as unemployment compensation, at $600 per person. 
That is twice as much as you get in unemployment compensation without 
this bill in Tennessee.
  Finally, I would say this: Pass this bill and 1 day sooner a 
Tennessee worker, instead of getting $326, would get nearly $1,000 if 
he or she has been laid off. There is no excuse for delaying getting on 
this bill. It is outrageous that it will happen.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I think we all know what is happening here.
  The leader pointed out in his opening remarks that everything was 
going really quite well. There were a lot of working groups that were 
meeting. There was great bipartisan cooperation. Both sides were 
getting ideas included in a plan. Then, yesterday, the Speaker of the 
House showed up with an agenda and, all of a sudden, it got taken over 
at the leadership level.
  Now, instead of talking about helping workers, we are talking about 
the Green New Deal and all kinds of other things, including the demands 
unions and other special interest groups want to see in this deal.
  Yet the throwaway line in this is about bailouts for big 
corporations. Really? Are we going to do that again? Are we going to do 
this again? You guys are going to come over here and block votes and 
use the line that this is a bailout for big corporations?
  You heard what Senator Alexander just said. This has money in here 
for workers. This has money for families. This has money for small 
businesses. It has lots of money, and $300 billion is going to go to 
checks: $1,200 per person, $2,400 per couple, and $500 per child, for 
everybody. There is up to $75,000 for a single and $150,000 for a 
married couple who is filing jointly. There is $250 billion in here for 
unemployment insurance, as the Senator from Tennessee pointed out, in 
order to plus up and top off those unemployment funds that the States 
have, and we will add $600 per person, per week for the next 3 months. 
That is going to help unemployed people in this country.

  The Small Business Loan Program, which was just alluded to and which 
Senators Rubio, Collins, Cardin, and Shaheen have worked on, is a $350 
billion program that allows small businesses to pay their employees, to 
keep them employed so they keep their jobs and so those jobs don't go 
away. Right there, that is $900 billion that will go to workers.
  As Senator Alexander pointed out, there is over $242 billion in this 
bill that is going to help out with healthcare, and we all know we have 
to help our hospitals.
  Between the $75 billion in direct spending in this particular 
provision

[[Page S1924]]

and the $25 billion or more that is going to be part of the Medicare 
provisions, that will be $100 billion for hospitals; $20 billion for 
veterans' healthcare; $11 billion for vaccines, therapeutics, 
diagnostics, and other preparedness needs; $4.5 billion for the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention; $1.7 billion for the Strategic 
National Stockpile; $12 billion for the military; $10 billion for block 
grants to States; $12 billion for K-12 education; $6 billion for higher 
education; $5 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund; $10 billion 
for the airports; and $20 billion for public transportation emergency 
relief.
  All told, there is $242 billion--$186 billion, I might add, which 
will go to the States. Everybody talks about helping out the States. 
There is $186 billion of the $242 billion in this part of the bill that 
will go to the States.
  So there is $900 billion and another $250 billion. You are looking at 
$1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion, roughly, of this bill that will be 
going to healthcare workers, hospitals, medical providers, families, 
employees, and unemployed people. That is where it will go.
  Yes, there is $500 billion in here to keep industries afloat that are 
failing, and they are failing by the day and shedding jobs by the day. 
These aren't grants--although, the Democrats did want some grants in 
here, I might add. These are loans. These have to be paid back. 
Bailouts usually apply to those who did something dumb on their own, 
who made bad business decisions. These companies aren't in trouble 
because of something they did on their own. This is no fault of their 
own. They are in trouble because they have been shut down, and they all 
hire millions of employees in this country. So, yes, we probably need 
to do something to help businesses in this country so they can keep 
working and keep their employees working.
  This was put together with a lot of bipartisan input. The leader 
appointed task forces, and the Democratic leader assigned people to 
task forces. I observed those meetings and the discussions that went 
on. They were bipartisan. I participated in some of those. They were 
bipartisan, and we came together. All of these things that have been 
put together in this plan were developed with an idea toward getting 
help to workers, employees, small businesses, healthcare 
professionals--the people who are fighting the crisis on the frontline. 
Yet here we are, dillydallying around, and we can't even get on the 
bill.
  As the leader pointed out, there is another 60-vote threshold that 
comes later. If you want to block it then, you can block it then. We 
can't even get on the bill. The country is burning. The country is 
burning, and your side wants to play political games.
  It is time to get this done. The American people expect us to act. 
They need action. We need to work together to get this done for the 
American people. Do not come out here and say over and over and over 
again that this is a bailout for big corporations. This bill is about 
workers. It is about people. It is about families. It is about people 
who are hurting out there economically, and we need to do something 
about it. We are in a position to do something about it, and it is high 
time that we did.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to suggest to my friends on 
both sides of the aisle that we first assume the appropriate distance 
and then, secondly, that we take a deep breath. The emotions we have 
seen on the floor on both sides of the aisle are reflected in homes 
across America, where families are very emotional at this moment as we 
face this public health crisis. It is no surprise that it is reflected 
on the floor of the Senate. We are going to solve this problem, and we 
are going to do it in a timely way, which the American people expect of 
us.
  We have had two measures now that have come before us--one for $8 
billion and another for $100 billion--that were addressed on a 
bipartisan basis with an agreement. This will be as well.
  Now, as for this argument that we can't spare 1 minute, that we can't 
spare 1 day, I understand the sense of urgency.
  The House of Representatives passed the second bill, the $100 billion 
bill, in the early morning hours of Saturday. When did the Senate pass 
the bill? It passed it on Wednesday--more than 4 days later.
  With regard to this $100 billion bill, which included medical leave, 
accelerated access to unemployment compensation, food, new Medicaid 
payments to States, a guarantee that you would never have to pay for a 
test, the Republican leader waited 4 days to call that bill. His 
argument was, Wait a minute; the paperwork is not here. Well, I checked 
on that because the Senator from Idaho raised it on the floor, and it 
turns out that, as we have many, many times--and we were prepared 
here--by consent, you can move on a measure before the paper actually 
comes across from the other body.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, will the Senator from Illinois yield for an 
inquiry?
  Mr. DURBIN. I will yield.
  Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, isn't it a fact, when the Senator was up 
here talking and demanding that we pass that bill, that the bill wasn't 
here? I have spent 40 years in the Senate, and I have never been able 
to convince a Parliamentarian that we should vote on a House bill that 
wasn't here. It wasn't here. The Republicans aren't in charge of the 
House; it is the Democrats. Nancy Pelosi is in charge of the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader has the floor.
  The assistant Democratic leader.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I might say to my friend from Idaho that 
it is not unusual for us to move on a measure before the bill, the 
paper, has come across the rotunda. We do it by consent. Yes, it 
happens here, and we were prepared to do it again.
  Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader has the floor.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if time remains on the Republicans' side, 
they can use it as they wish.
  Mr. COTTON. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I will not yield at this moment. I want to 
finish my comment as I allowed the Senator from South Dakota to finish 
his. I hope the Senator from Arkansas will show me that respect. Thank 
you.
  Measures that have been raised this morning are important measures, 
and for the most part, my colleagues are pushing an open door.
  The Rubio-Cardin plan is one that I support. It is supported on a 
bipartisan basis. I think it is an excellent idea for dealing with the 
challenges of restaurants and small businesses. I support it. There is 
no issue in terms of whether that will be included in the final 
package. I believe it will, and I certainly hope it will.
  As for the notion of cash payments that was brought to us by the 
White House, I don't hear any objection whatsoever on the Democratic 
side of the aisle to it.
  With regard to the notion of extending unemployment insurance and 
providing additional benefits within unemployment insurance, I guess we 
are going to argue as to who came up with the idea first, but both 
sides agree on that basic idea.
  So these proposals that have been brought before us are not in 
controversy, as I understand it, in the negotiations that are underway. 
The thing that I was concerned about and that Senator Schumer 
addressed--and Senator Manchin raised the same issue--was really 
focusing on the threshold issue of the capacity of our healthcare 
system to deal with this public health crisis.
  When we heard the Governor of New York this morning suggest that the 
hospitals of that State will have to increase their capacity by 50 
percent and that it will still not be enough, it is a suggestion to all 
of us that we need to start with healthcare and hospitals. It was our 
feeling that the bill Senator McConnell tried to move yesterday was not 
adequate. It didn't provide the necessary resources for that. When we 
return to this measure--it has been said by Senator Schumer and others 
that it could be today, and I pray that it will be--I think you will 
find additional resources for hospitals and healthcare. In my State, 
that is a critical element.
  Let me also talk about the fact that we are dealing with a bill of 
great importance and great magnitude. Reflect

[[Page S1925]]

for a moment that the amount of money we are talking about in this bill 
is roughly equivalent to the entire Federal Government's domestic 
discretionary budget in 1 year. We are dealing with this bill, as we 
should, on an urgent basis. We should take care to make sure we do the 
best we can but to not wait for the perfect. Let's make sure we have 
something that is good and responsive to the needs we have
  I also think that the measure yesterday that was pushed by Senator 
McConnell did not provide adequate resources to State and local 
governments. When I talk to my Governor in Illinois, Governor Pritzker, 
they are spending money in ways they never dreamed of in order to deal 
with this public health crisis. They are also seeing more unemployment 
insurance benefits being claimed than we ever have in our history. We 
need to help the State and local governments, and that was one of the 
objections we had to the bill yesterday. We didn't feel that it was 
adequate.
  When it comes to corporations and providing help to businesses, large 
and small, count me in. I am one of those Democrats who stood for the 
stimulus package that President Obama brought before us because I 
thought it was necessary. I still believe we did the right thing in 
passing that stimulus package when many on the other side of the aisle 
did not. Part of that package helped larger corporations, and so be it, 
for I thought that was necessary. Yet we learned a bitter lesson. Many 
times, the benefits being given to those corporations and the tax 
breaks being given to them translated into stock buybacks, whereby they 
took the money and ran. We don't want that to happen again.
  Arguing for transparency and accountability on the money that goes to 
any business, large or small, is not unreasonable, and it used to be 
bipartisan. We are arguing over that, debating over that, and 
negotiating over that at this minute.
  Let me also say that I continue to be amazed at the references to the 
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. She really unnerves a lot of people 
on that side of the aisle. She is the Speaker of the House, you know, 
and the measure--whatever we do here--will be headed over there for 
consideration. The fact that she would want to be party to that 
negotiation is not an outrageous idea. It happens to be consistent with 
the bicameral system of government that we have.
  The Senator from Kentucky got up and talked about how she came into 
the meeting and ruined the whole meeting by asserting herself as the 
Speaker of the House. It is reasonable for her to do that. In fact, the 
suggestion by Senator Schumer at the outset was that we have the four 
corners--the four leaders, the Democrats and Republicans--and a 
representative of the White House for this negotiation. That approach 
was rejected by the Senator from Kentucky. We will do our own, he says. 
We will get back to you when we have a Republican plan. It was not 
bipartisan from the start, and it should be all the way. It is the only 
way it will work.
  Let me say for a moment that if and when we have reached an 
agreement--and I pray that it will be done under the circumstances--and 
if and when we vote for cloture on the motion to proceed, at that 
point, the Senator from Kentucky can offer any amendment he wishes. At 
that point, I hope that we will have an agreement and that we will all 
agree to do it in a quick fashion. Yet this idea that it is going to be 
instantaneous as soon as we vote for the motion on cloture on the 
motion to proceed is not a fact, and it hasn't been for a long time.
  Let me just conclude by making an observation on something related to 
our meeting here today and what is going on in the United States of 
America. Five of our Members did not vote yesterday on the Republican 
side of the aisle. One has been diagnosed as having COVID-19, and the 
other four are self-quarantining because of the concern about their own 
health, which is natural. It is naive for us to believe this will be 
the end of this challenge to our membership.
  I implore Senators to consider the bipartisan measure that Senator 
Portman and I have offered for remote voting. We should not be 
physically present on this floor at this moment. We know better, and 
our staff is subjected to whatever we bring on the floor in terms of 
viral load. Let's think about this in human terms. Too many of our 
colleagues and their families are falling prey to this disease. We 
should change the rules of the Senate to reflect humanity and reality. 
It is the 21st century. Voting in a remote fashion, as I have suggested 
with Senator Portman, is the best way, I think, to protect us and our 
families from further problems from a health viewpoint.
  Let me close by saying a final word on this. Senator Schumer came to 
the floor and didn't say, with arms crossed, we are stonewalling. He 
said he had to leave the floor to go back and negotiate. With whom? He 
left the floor to negotiate with the Republican leaders from the White 
House and, perhaps, from other places. That is the way it should be.
  We are going to get this done today. Take a deep breath. Everybody is 
emotional at this moment on both sides of the aisle, but we have a job 
to do, and we are going to get it done.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Tillis). For the information of the 
Members, the majority has approximately 14 minutes, and the minority 
has 15 minutes.
  Which Member seeks recognition?
  The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I have been here for 5 years. I came from 
another world, one in which, to get anything done, you had to 
compromise. The problem we have today is that I can't find any partners 
with whom to compromise.
  This bill has been characterized as another bailout for large 
corporations. Really? That is the most amazing characterization I could 
hear today.
  When I look at this, what this bill is focused on is the American 
worker, who, in the time we have been debating this morning here, 
thousands have had phone calls given to them today by their employer to 
say: We are sorry, but because of the liquidity situation we have, 
there is no demand for our products or services. We need you to go 
home.
  That has been going on now for weeks, while we sit up here and talk 
and blame each other for things.
  The time for action is right now. This bill gives us an opportunity 
to bring over almost $2 trillion of liquidity to the American people 
who are in need. This is not about Big Business. As a matter of fact, I 
don't see any grants in here. What I see are liquidity opportunities so 
employers can keep their relationship with the employees.
  We have already heard the details today: direct payments of $300 
billion directly to individuals, $250 billion for 3 months of 
unemployment insurance--unprecedented--$350 billion going directly to 
small businesses. Why? So that they can keep their employees employed, 
even if they are furloughed.
  There are $500 billion being made available for loans through our 
banking community. This is federally guaranteed loans. These are not 
grants. These are not moneys that are going to go to the boards and the 
executives and all that. This is money that is going for the purpose of 
getting directly to payroll.
  There are $517 billion of tax deferrals on withholding taxes on the 
corporate side. That is a 1-year deferral. That is not a guarantee; it 
is not a grant.
  There are $250 billion of other moneys, 180 of which is going to 
cities and municipalities and States.
  And I agree with the assistant leader of the Democratic Party that we 
might need to do more for our States, and let's get to it, if that is 
the biggest issue here, but that is not the biggest issue. There are so 
many of these other things that are being thrown in this bill because 
it is a big bill; it is unprecedented.
  But let me just say this: What we have done is try to make this a 
situation where we can avoid a liquidity crisis causing an insolvency 
crisis, and that is the most damaging thing we can do to the American 
worker.
  At the end of the day, the American worker has something that they 
all have in common. They have an employer. That employer is made up of 
investors, just like you and I, who invest in those companies who 
employ these people.
  This is not a government employing 150 million people in our 
workforce.

[[Page S1926]]

This is about getting the American economy a bridge--and that is all 
this is, is a bridge to weather this medical crisis that we have.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I appreciate the comments from the Senator 
from Georgia. There are plenty of negotiations going on. I don't know 
what he means when he says he doesn't have anybody to negotiate with. I 
just spent 2 hours with Secretary Mnuchin talking about provisions of 
this bill.
  We spent hours on Friday and Saturday talking within our committees. 
I applaud Senator Rubio, what he and Senator Cardin did. There has been 
bipartisanship but not from the majority leader, and that has really 
fundamentally been the problem--the Republican leader.
  Let's back up. Let's back up 10 days. I stood on this floor--Senator 
Durbin was here, a bunch of us--when Senator McConnell on a Thursday 
night, we were this close to agreement with the House on the second 
package, the one that had sick leave policy. We were that close.
  Senator McConnell decided he had to go back to Kentucky to go to a 
political event with a Justice of the Supreme Court--a political event 
with a Justice of the Supreme Court.
  Mr. COTTON. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. BROWN. Of course.
  Mr. COTTON. When did the Senate receive that bill from the House?
  Mr. BROWN. That is not the point. The point is that--
  Mr. COTTON. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. BROWN. Certainly.
  Mr. COTTON. Will you answer my question? When did we receive that 
bill?
  Mr. BROWN. I don't know the day, but I know it was a day or two 
later.
  Mr. COTTON. Where has the House been for the last week?
  Mr. BROWN. I am not yielding now, Senator Cotton. I know you always 
want to do Trump's--the President's bidding. I have the floor, and I 
will keep the floor.
  The fact is, we were in negotiations with Speaker Pelosi, I assume 
with Leader McCarthy. In the Senate, we were this close to legislation.
  Senator McConnell went home. Senator Cotton is not disputing the fact 
he went home for a political event with a Justice of the Supreme Court, 
for gosh sakes--went home.
  We didn't vote Friday. We didn't vote Saturday. We didn't vote 
Sunday. We didn't vote Monday. We didn't vote Tuesday. We didn't vote 
until Wednesday. So we have tried to be bipartisan.
  Senator McConnell then dispatched all of us just a few days ago to do 
negotiations within our committees. I sat with--
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. BROWN. Well, I would like to sort of explain the details, but if 
the time comes out of your time, I would be glad to.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. My question will be short.
  Is it not true that the bill to which the Senator refers was still 
being written over the weekend, and it would have been impossible for 
the U.S. Senate to vote on it before Monday?
  Mr. BROWN. No. The answer to that question is no. It would have been 
possible. We can always suspend the rules and move if it is in the 
national interest.
  But we didn't vote--you know this, Senator Alexander--we didn't vote 
until Wednesday.
  But let me back up. This weekend Senator Crapo and I and Banking 
Committee Members were making progress on Friday and Saturday. Then 
Saturday night, Senator McConnell decided that he would take everything 
back and write a partisan bill. So don't tell us that this has been a 
bipartisan effort.
  Again, Senator Rubio and Senator Cardin had some bipartisan efforts. 
We attempted that, but the fact is, we need to learn from 10 years ago. 
The same people came to us and said: We need this bailout. They 
promised that it would help people stay in their homes. They promised 
it would be money in the pockets of workers.
  The banks have done well, the executives have done well, but since 
then, wages have basically remained flat. The American people don't 
want another corporate bailout. They don't want a bailout for Wall 
Street. They don't want a bailout for the airlines. They want money--if 
we are going to do a relief package, the money needs to go in the 
pockets of workers.
  We know that hundreds of people, thousands of people in each of our 
States are faced every day with this situation: Do I go to work? I am 
sick today. Do I go to work and possibly infect somebody else in the 
workplace or do I stay home and lose the pay I need in order to pay my 
mortgage or in order to pay my rent?
  This plan is all about a corporate bailout. The money--$425 billion 
that the Secretary of Treasury can decide is a slush fund or where to 
direct that money instead of money going to workers, to food banks, to 
unemployment insurance, to sick days policy, to all of the things that 
we need to do to keep businesses going and people in their homes.
  We have a prohibition that so far Senator McConnell has objected to 
on foreclosures and evictions. You all know the statistics--40 percent 
of Americans don't have $400 discretionary money in their pockets that 
they can use in an emergency to fix their car or whatever.
  If they go several weeks without pay, they will be evicted; they will 
be foreclosed on. We need Senator McConnell to actually agree to that.
  And when it comes to the $425 billion slush fund, we want to help 
these businesses, especially small businesses. We want to help the 
airlines, but we need to make sure that this money passes through to 
employees. That means no corporate bailouts without investing in the 
dignity of work; it means if you are taking taxpayer money, no stock 
buybacks, no sending jobs overseas, no outsourcing your jobs to 
independent contractors, no golden parachutes for executives, no using 
taxpayer dollars to bust unions, no wage cuts for these employees, no 
healthcare or pension cuts.
  If we put money into these businesses, this money is there not for 
the executives; it is there for the workers, and it is there for the 
community. It means actually helping people stay in their homes.
  If you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. 
We have to show the people we serve that we have learned from 
Congress's mistake 10 years ago when the banks did very well, thank 
you. And Wall Street again will do very well, thank you, under the 
McConnell plan.
  We have to come together to put money in people's pockets. We need to 
help people stay in their homes. We need to invest in healthcare 
workers who are on the frontlines. We need to mobilize American 
manufacturers.
  The partisan McConnell plan doesn't do this. The bipartisan work we 
are trying to do could do this. We know we can get through this 
together, put this partisanship aside, and come together for the people 
whom we serve
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I would defer to the Senator from 
Tennessee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from North Dakota.
  I have a parliamentary inquiry.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will state the inquiry.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, the discussion we just heard was about 
when the Senate could have voted on H.R. 6201, which was the bill that 
came over from the House.
  When did that bill from the House of Representatives arrive in the 
U.S. Senate?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. It came to the Senate on Tuesday, the 17th.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. On Tuesday, the 17th.
  And my second question is, Could the U.S. Senate have voted on that 
bill before it arrived from the House of Representatives?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. It would take consent. The Senate has done it 
on several occasions. In one case, H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax 
Relief & Job Creation Act; another case, H.R. 2194, Comprehensive Iran 
Sanctions, Accountability, and Investment Act. It would take consent.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Did anyone ask consent that it be voted on before 
Wednesday?

[[Page S1927]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair does not have any record of a 
request for consent.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I thank the Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I believe I have the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I want to talk about the bill that we want 
to vote on right now and why it is so important that we pass it.
  For my part, what I work on is support for our farmers and our 
ranchers, and that is exactly what we have put in this bill is help and 
support for our farmers and ranchers, for rural America.
  And yet, my understanding is that Democrats are objecting to the help 
and support that we have put in this bill for our farmers and ranchers.
  Last week, the Department of Homeland Security recognized that 
agriculture--our supply of food, fiber, and feed--is one of our 
Nation's critical industries. Our country has been blessed with an 
abundant, affordable, and safe food supply that we rarely stop to 
notice but that we depend on every single day and we certainly depend 
on at this time with this pandemic.
  The good news is, our farmers and ranchers, our ag sector, are out 
there working every day, carrying on this critical work of ensuring 
that we have the food on our grocery shelves throughout this pandemic.
  The bad news is, the farm economy, already facing a number of years 
of declining income, has taken a further nosedive on account of the 
coronavirus. So we have put forward assistance to make sure we address 
that.
  Let me just give you one example, though, of the difficulty faced in 
farm country, in rural America.
  The cattle industry has lost between $7 billion and $9 billion over 
the last 2 months--over the last 2 months--and that is just one sector 
of our ag economy.
  Congress needs to act, and we need to act now, to ensure that 
farmers, ranchers, and rural America--farmers, ranchers, and rural 
America--receive the relief they desperately need.
  Why would Democrats object to that? Why would they object to that?
  We included two important provisions to ensure that rural America and 
our farm and ranch families receive assistance.
  First, we replenish the Commodity Credit Corporation, making sure 
that the CCC has the funding necessary to carry out the farm bill, 
including the farm safety net, conservation programs, trade programs, 
as well as emergency and ad hoc programs like the Market Facilitation 
Program.
  Second, we increase CCC authority to ensure that we can meet the 
coronavirus impact on agriculture head-on. That makes sense. That is in 
the bill. They are objecting to it. They are objecting. This is our 
food supply. This is our food chain.
  We also included an important provision that enables USDA to provide 
critical support to ranchers during this market downturn--to ranchers. 
However, the Senate Democrats are objecting to that provision. 
Congressional Democratic leadership has objected to helping our farmers 
and ranchers in this relief package.
  The bill also includes an additional $15.5 billion for the SNAP 
program--for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, for food 
stamps--to provide nutrition assistance for those affected by this 
economic downturn.
  I urge my colleagues to get on board and support our farmers, our 
ranchers, and our food supply. Support rural America. Quit objecting to 
rural America. Quit objecting to our farmers and ranchers. We can't let 
that happen. We have talked about the importance of the bill. It is 
important for our entire country, and it is certainly important for our 
farmers and for our ranchers and for the food supply--the lowest cost, 
highest quality food supply that they provide every single American 
every single day.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President.
  Mr. TILLIS. The majority has 5 minutes. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Do you know what the American people are thinking right now? They are 
thinking that the brain is an amazing organ. It starts working in a 
mother's womb, and it doesn't stop working until you get elected to 
Congress.
  Do you know what the American people are thinking right now? They are 
thinking that this country was founded by geniuses, but it is being run 
by a bunch of idiots.
  Do you know what the American people are thinking right now? They are 
thinking, Why do the Members of the U.S. Senate continue to double down 
on stupid? This is not a Republican bill, Mr. Chairman; this is a 
bipartisan bill. We have spent hours and hours and hours negotiating 
these provisions with our Democratic friends.
  This is not a slush fund. This a bill to help people and businesses 
in America. This bill is going to increase unemployment insurance. This 
bill is going to send $1,200 to every man and woman in America--
taxpayers who make less than $75,000 a year--and $500 for each of their 
children.
  This bill is going to help every small business in this country. It 
is not a bailout. It provides up to $350 billion for small businesses 
for the next 8 weeks to keep them going, and if they don't lay anybody 
off, the bill provides that the loans are forgiven.
  We have some businesses in this country that are bigger than 500 
employees. This bill has a provision to help them, too, as well. In the 
America I was raised in, growing your business and becoming as large as 
possible was something we aspired to.
  This bill does not create a slush fund for the Treasury Secretary. It 
provides $75 billion to help some of our industries hardest hit in a 
collateralized loan, not a bailout, and then provides another $425 
billion to the Federal Reserve under section 13(3) of the Federal 
Reserve Act, which the Federal Reserve will make available to all 
businesses, including those that don't qualify as a small business. It 
is not a gift. We can negotiate warrants; we can negotiate stock 
options; we can take a piece of their company in stock.
  I don't understand it. I get politics; I have been around it my whole 
life. But there comes a time when we have to stop thinking about the 
next election and start thinking about the next generation.
  What are we going to leave to our children if we allow this economy 
to crash? And it is happening as we speak. I mean no ill will toward my 
Democratic friends. I like and respect every one of them. But let's 
pass this bill.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. MURPHY. Objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection by the Senator from Connecticut is 
heard.
  There is less than 10 minutes remaining.
  The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, you can't keep on saying it is a 
bipartisan bill when it clearly is not. If it were a bipartisan bill, 
you wouldn't have this level of angst from the Democrats who were shut 
out of the process.
  Let's be clear about what we are talking about here. We don't think 
your bill works. We don't think the bill that has been drafted by the 
majority party is going to fix the problem. This is a policy 
disagreement, and I have an obligation as a representative of my State 
to stand up and say when I don't think a $2 trillion bill is going to 
fix the problem. It may make a lot of people rich, but it doesn't have 
the resources in it today to take care of the most vulnerable in this 
country, and it is not going to do the primary job at hand, which is to 
stop the virus.
  Remember, there is no amount of economic stimulus we can pass--$1 
trillion, $2 trillion, $3 trillion--that will solve this problem if we 
don't get serious about the public health crisis that exists today. 
When you shortchange States, when you don't provide enough money to 
help my State and my municipalities manage testing, move congregate 
populations apart from each other, and try to manage the crisis, then 
you aren't serious about stopping the virus. Yes, one of the 
outstanding issues in this bill is that we think we need more funding 
for the States and municipalities that are on the frontlines of 
fighting the virus. Yes, we don't think this bill will work--will 
work--at job No. 1, which is stopping the public health crisis, unless 
we provide ample funding. And, yes, we are worried about the lack of 
conditionality on funding to big businesses, to

[[Page S1928]]

Wall Street. Yes, we are worried about the fact that this is going to 
make rich people much richer and, at the same time, not actually stop 
the public health crisis.
  These are policy differences. Instead of coming down here and having 
showboat after showboat, we should be sitting together trying to 
resolve differences that, frankly, I don't think are so large that they 
can't be solved within the next several hours.
  I just hope we understand that we are down here very frustrated 
because we worry that we are about to vote on a bill that is not going 
to solve the problem. That is a policy disagreement but a policy 
disagreement that can be resolved.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, how much time is remaining on our side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 5\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. DURBIN. I yield to the Senator from Montana.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, during the past couple of weeks, I have 
been talking to Montanans about their needs as we deal with this 
coronavirus. Healthcare officials tell me that folks on the frontlines 
need more masks, more protective equipment, and, quite frankly, this 
bill does not get that done. It helps, but it doesn't get it done. 
Small businesses and their employees are telling me that they need 
immediate access to relief. This bill doesn't do that because, quite 
frankly, we need more on the front end on bridge loans. Tax credits are 
great, but you have to be in business to be able to take advantage of 
those. Mayors and local city officials are worried that if they can't 
keep up with the mounting needs their communities are facing, this bill 
fails them. Tribal leaders across Montana have made it clear to me and 
to other folks in this body that they are largely and unfortunately 
ignored in the bill before us.

  This bill is nearly $2 trillion. One of the things it does do, and I 
know there are folks on the floor right now who disagree, but the fact 
is, massive corporations through that $500 billion slush fund, which, I 
might add, has very little, if any, transparency or accountability--it 
goes to those folks.
  Look, I think all of us agree that $2 trillion is a lot of money. It 
is all borrowed money, and if there is ever a time to borrow money, it 
is in economic times like these, but this needs to be a targeted, 
temporary support to keep our economy going.
  As the Senator from Connecticut said, the fact is that this bill, 
particularly this slush fund, is not a good use of taxpayer money. It 
would allow an unelected official with no accountability to the 
American people to dole out $500 billion while hiding the receipts for 
months, if not longer.
  I know there are Senators who say: Well, they can get warrants for 
these loans. They must get warrants for these loans.
  These companies can take advantage of hundreds of billions of dollars 
of this money and continue to lay off some of those same taxpayers who 
are supporting them through their taxes.
  Montanans know we can do better, and they expect better. Working 
together, I am going to tell you, we can get this done. There isn't a 
person in this body who hasn't filled a leadership position outside of 
their service to the U.S. Senate. You know that you need to negotiate 
and you need to compromise. If that is done and it is done in good 
faith, we will have a bill before the day is done.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I can give you a very long list to 
describe everything we are doing here to help small business people in 
this country, our hospitals, personal protective equipment.
  Let me say this. This bill was written by both Democrats and 
Republicans in good faith. It is time to get over our differences and 
put our country before ourselves. Let's come together and vote this 
bill out of the Senate now.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, how much time remains on our side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes 40 seconds.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, let me just say, strike a responsible 
distance and take a deep breath. We are going to pass this bill--not 
the one that Senator McConnell brought before us yesterday but a 
version of that, which I think is a dramatic improvement.
  My prayer is that bill is going to include even more money than the 
McConnell bill when it comes to dealing with the healthcare crisis we 
face and the challenge we face--more money for hospitals, more money 
for providers, and more money for equipment, and we are going to have 
to come back again, I am sorry to say, if this continues, to make sure 
we put even greater investment in the men and women who will save our 
lives across this country.
  Secondly, we want to make certain that this McConnell bill is 
improved when it comes to accountability for the taxpayer dollars given 
to the largest corporations in America. Some of us feel burned by what 
has happened with some of those corporations in the past when we 
trusted their leadership to build their companies and help their 
employees, but, instead, they built up their own bank accounts at the 
expense of their employees. We don't want to return to those days. I am 
sure the Republicans don't either. We want language in this bill that 
moves this in the direction of accountability and transparency when it 
comes to spending taxpayers' dollars by major corporations.
  Third, never overlook the need of State and local governments. They 
have been waiting, begging, and pleading with the administration in the 
White House to give national leadership. Absent that, they have taken 
on the responsibility themselves. They are asking us to stand behind 
them as they make these difficult decisions, State by State by State, 
because the White House refuses to make these same decisions. We need 
to provide the resources to do that. State and local governments need 
that help, and I believe the McConnell bill could be improved by 
providing more resources in that regard.
  There are so many bipartisan things that we do agree upon in this 
bill. Let's get these things right. As Senator Murphy of Connecticut 
said, if we don't get it right in terms of dealing with the 
coronavirus, we can't put enough money on the table for economic 
recovery. Let's do it.
  I am sorry we are going to this roll call. It is not an indication of 
the progress that I believe has been made since yesterday in 
negotiating a bipartisan approach to improving the McConnell bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
  Mr. DURBIN. I think it is time to recognize that.
  Thank you.


                             Cloture Motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The legislative clerk read as follows

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to Calendar No. 157, H.R. 748, a bill to amend the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on 
     high cost employer-sponsored health coverage.
         Mitch McConnell, David Perdue, Mike Rounds, Mitt Romney, 
           James E. Risch, Lamar Alexander, Steve Daines, Kevin 
           Cramer, Tim Scott, Martha McSally, Deb Fischer, Marco 
           Rubio, John Boozman, James Lankford, Rob Portman, Tom 
           Cotton.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
motion to proceed to H.R. 748, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored 
health coverage, shall be brought to a close upon reconsideration?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the order.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Colorado (Mr. Gardner), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), the 
Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), 
and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Scott).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hawley). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?

[[Page S1929]]

  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 49, nays 46, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 78 Leg.]

                                YEAS--49

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Loeffler
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Gardner
     Lee
     Paul
     Romney
     Scott of Florida
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 49, the nays are 
46.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted 
in the affirmative upon reconsideration, the motion is rejected.

                          ____________________