[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2059-S2060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 748; further,
that the only amendments in order be amendments to be offered by
Senator McConnell, No. 1578, and Senator Sasse, No. 1577, or their
designees; further, that the Senate vote on the Sasse amendment with a
60-affirmative-vote threshold for adoption; further, that following
disposition of the Sasse amendment, the McConnell amendment, as
amended, if amended, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a
third time, and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended,
with a 60-affirmative-vote threshold for passage; finally, if passed,
that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the
table and that all rollcall votes in this series be 30 minutes in
length.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 748) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to repeal the excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored
health coverage.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I
proceed under my leader time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, so here we are, colleagues. For the
information of all of our Senators, we will first vote on the adoption
of the Sasse amendment at a 60-vote threshold, and then our second and
final vote will be on passage of the CARES Act, also at a 60-vote
threshold. We are going to pass this bipartisan relief package and send
it over to the House so they can put it on the President's desk.
When the Senate adjourns this evening, our next scheduled vote will
be the afternoon of Monday, April 20. Of course, during this
unprecedented time for our country, the Senate is going to stay nimble.
As always, we will convene regular pro forma sessions, and if
circumstances require the Senate to return for a vote sooner than April
20, we will provide at least 24 hours' notice.
Our Nation obviously is going through a kind of crisis that is
totally unprecedented in living memory. Let's stay connected and
continue to collaborate on the best ways to keep helping our States and
our country through this pandemic. Let's continue to pray for one
another, for all of our families, and for our country.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority leader is recognized
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I will speak for a little bit, briefly.
The legislation now before us is historic because it is meant to
match a historic crisis. Our healthcare system is not prepared to care
for the sick. Our workers are without work. Our businesses cannot do
business. Our factories lie idle. The gears of the American economy
have ground to a halt. Our country has faced immense challenges before
but rarely so many at the same time.
Over the past few days, the Senate has stepped into the breach. We
packed weeks or perhaps months of legislative process into 5 days.
Representatives from both sides of the aisle and both ends of
Pennsylvania Avenue have forged the bipartisan agreement in highly
partisan times with very little time to spare. It has been a long, hard
road with a remarkable number of twists and turns, but for the sake of
millions of Americans, it will be worth it.
It will be worth it to save millions of small businesses and tens of
millions of jobs.
It will be worth it to see that Americans who have lost their jobs
through no fault of their own will be able to pay their rent and
mortgages and put food on the table because we passed the greatest
expansion of insurance to the unemployed in decades.
It will be worth it to send gloves and masks to our nurses and to our
doctors.
It will be worth it to send ventilators and beds to our hospitals and
begin rebuilding the public health infrastructure in America--a
Marshall Plan in this new century for our medical system.
It will be worth it to save industries from the brink of collapse in
order to save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Americans in those
industries.
It will be worth it to put workers first.
It was a long, hard road. Neither side can be completely happy with
the final product, but it will be worth it.
I am damn proud of the work we did over the past few days because we
put in the work. Because we tested the limits of exhaustion, because we
didn't immediately accept the bill drafted by only one party, the
legislation before us tonight is better--better for our healthcare
system and 65,000 Americans now afflicted with COVID-19, better for our
workers, better for our small businesses, better for our Indian Tribes,
better for our economy, and better for the American people.
So I must thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle--especially
the chairs and ranking members and their staffs. The past few days have
been filled with drama. The past few hours were no exception. I know a
few of my Republican friends still harbor reservations about voting for
this legislation, but when there is a crisis of this magnitude, the
private sector cannot solve it. Individuals, even with bravery and
valor, are not powerful enough to beat it back. Government is the only
force large enough to staunch the bleeding and begin the healing.
This is a time when the American people need their government. This
is what we were elected for. The oath we swear to the Constitution
means we must protect the general welfare of the people. So let us
marshal this government into action.
There are millions of Americans watching us right now at home on
their televisions, separated from friends and family, fearful for their
children and their livelihoods, unsure of when the time will come when
all of our lives may return to normal. Let us tell them tonight that
help is on the way; that they are not truly alone; that this country,
that this Senate, that this government is here for them in a time of
dire need. This is a strange and evil disease. There is much we still
don't know about it, and it is keeping us apart. When we pass this
bill, instead of hugging each other, we will wave from a distance.
None of us can know when this plague will pass. The only thing we
know for sure is that we must summon the same spirit that saw previous
generations through America's darkest hours. Fellowship, sacrifice,
fortitude, resilience--that is what it means to be an American. With
that spirit, this Nation faced down war and depression and fear itself.
I have no doubt that once again America will ultimately prevail.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
Amendment No. 1578
(Purpose: Providing emergency assistance and health care
response for individuals, families and businesses affected by
the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.)
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I call up the substitute amendment
No. 1578 and ask that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the clerk will report the
amendment by number.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] proposes an
amendment numbered 1578.
(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska is recognized.
Amendment No. 1577
Mr. SASSE. Madam President, I call up amendment No. 1577 and ask
unanimous consent that it be reported by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment will be
reported by number.
[[Page S2060]]
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Nebraska [Mr. Sasse] proposes an amendment
numbered 1577 to amendment No. 1578.
The amendment is as follows
(Purpose: To ensure that additional unemployment benefits do not result
in an individual receiving unemployment compensation that is more than
the amount of wages the individual was earning prior to becoming
unemployed.)
At the end of subtitle A of title II of division A, insert
the following:
SEC. 2117. UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS MAY NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF
WAGES THE INDIVIDUAL WAS EARNING PRIOR TO
BECOMING UNEMPLOYED.
(a) Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.--Notwithstanding
section 2101, in no case may the total amount of the weekly
assistance applicable to an individual under paragraph (1) or
(2) of section 2102 (including the increase under section
2104) exceed the amount of the individual's average weekly
wages for an appropriate period prior to the receipt of
assistance under such section, as determined by the Secretary
of Labor.
(b) Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.--
Notwithstanding section 2104, in no case may the sum of the
weekly amount described in subparagraphs (A) (regular
compensation) and (B) (Federal pandemic unemployment
compensation) of section 2104(b)(1) for an individual exceed
the amount of the individual's average weekly wages for which
the amount described in such subparagraph (A) is based.
(c) Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.--
Notwithstanding section 2107, in no case may an individual's
average weekly benefit amount described in 2107(b)(3)
(including the increase under section 2104) exceed the amount
of the average weekly wages for which the individuals's
average weekly benefit amount (determined without regard to
such increase) is based.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Sasse
amendment.
Mr. SASSE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), the
Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), and the Senator from South Dakota (Mr.
Thune).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote or change their vote?
The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 48, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 79 Leg.]
YEAS--48
Alexander
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Loeffler
Manchin
McConnell
McSally
Moran
Murkowski
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sullivan
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS--48
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gardner
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Jones
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
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--4
Lee
Paul
Romney
Thune
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the 60-vote
threshold having not been achieved, the amendment is not agreed to.
The amendment (No. 1577) was rejected.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S2060, March 25, 2020, second column, the following
appears: The amendment (No. 1579) was rejected.
The online Record has been corrected to read: The amendment (No.
1577) was rejected.
========================= END NOTE =========================
The amendment (No. 1578) was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill for
the third time.
The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill was read the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), the
Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), and the Senator from South Dakota (Mr.
Thune).
The result was announced--yeas 96, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 80 Leg.]
YEAS--96
Alexander
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blumenthal
Blunt
Booker
Boozman
Braun
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gardner
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Harris
Hassan
Hawley
Heinrich
Hirono
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Loeffler
Manchin
Markey
McConnell
McSally
Menendez
Merkley
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Sanders
Sasse
Schatz
Schumer
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Tillis
Toomey
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NOT VOTING--4
Lee
Paul
Romney
Thune
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Boozman). On this vote the yeas are 96,
the nays are 0. The 60 vote threshold having been achieved, the bill is
passed.
The bill (H.R. 748), as amended, was passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
____________________