[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.

                          ____________________