[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2060-S2061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, we just finished here, on the Senate 
floor, some very, very important work for the people we represent and 
have the privilege to serve. It is what we are calling phase 3 of our 
very important response to this unprecedented pandemic that is hitting 
our country, the health of our country, and the economic health of our 
Nation.
  So we acted. A number of us worked, over the past week, around the 
clock to put this legislation together, and I think it was a strong 
showing of bipartisan support.
  I was on the floor a couple of days ago saying that what we needed to 
do were four key things: Put cash directly in the hands of hurting 
families in Alaska and throughout the country; deliver rapid relief to 
small businesses that are being crushed by this pandemic and having to 
lay off workers; stabilize key sectors of the economy to avoid more 
layoffs that are now quickly coming over the horizon and have started 
happening; and send a surge of new resources to medical professionals 
who are on the frontlines. We did that. We did that relatively quickly. 
It could have been faster, but those were our goals, and that is what 
we achieved here.
  But here is a fact. This was legislation that was very important. It 
wasn't perfect, and there is probably a lot of mistakes here. We are 
going to need to correct them quickly. There are probably Americans who 
weren't covered in some way, shape, or form by this legislation, who 
need help, and we are going to need to cover them quickly. There are 
likely new challenges in this pandemic that seems to be changing every 
day--new challenges with regard to this crisis that we are going to 
need to address.
  The final thing is, when we look at what we just did here, this was 
focused

[[Page S2061]]

on the immediate crisis--business interruptions and the health crisis, 
but what we need to be looking at is when we get through this crisis--
and we will, more resilient and stronger than ever.
  As I mentioned in my remarks the other day, some Washington Post 
reporters a couple of days ago questioned the mettle and resiliency of 
Americans. Maybe we are not as tough and strong as we used to be to get 
through these crises. They just need to go to Alaska and recognize how 
wrong they are in that or see some of the marines that I had the 
privilege of serving with for the last 26 years. They would recognize 
quickly that they are wrong. Of course, we have the mettle and tenacity 
to do this.
  We need to be working on phase 4. Phase 4 is going to be the policies 
that we implement here in the Congress to turbocharge this economy, so 
when we are out of this crisis, we can come back fully, more strongly 
in a way that our economy was just 2 months ago.
  There is a lot of work that I think we could be doing, and that we 
are likely going to have to be doing. A number of us are going to begin 
working on that phase 4 approach to this pandemic to turbocharge this 
economy once we get out of it. I am glad to start working on that with 
my colleagues here in the Senate.
  So, as I said, there is a lot of work to do, but the Senate is 
getting ready for a recess for almost a month. That is what we are 
getting ready to do. The country is facing one of the biggest crises in 
our history, and the Senate is leaving town for a month. I happen to 
think this is a mistake. I think it sends the wrong signal to the 
people we serve. I think our duty station should be here, to be ready 
on a moment's notice to help the citizens that we have the privilege of 
serving, because if there is one thing about this crisis that we have 
already seen is that new challenges pop up every day, every minute, 
every hour, and, yet, we are going to go on recess for almost a month.
  I don't understand this. I don't agree with it, and I certainly hope 
if and when our country needs us, if we see some big mistakes in this 
legislation, if we recognize whole groups of Americans don't get the 
relief they need and the Congress needs to act, that we are not going 
to just say: Well, we are on recess for 30 days. Sorry. We will get to 
you when we come back at the end of April.
  I think that would be a real mistake because, as we are seeing in 
this crisis, there are a lot of answers that just can't wait until the 
end of April. There are a lot of challenges that we need to be 
addressing daily, and there are going to be more, and, yet, we will not 
be here to address them.
  So, at a minimum, I hope that when our country needs us in the next 
month--and it is likely going to need us--that my colleagues will be 
ready, on a moment's notice, wherever they are, to come back to this 
body and get to work to help the people we serve. I think it is very 
likely that that is going to happen in the next week or two or three, 
and I hope my colleagues stand ready to do that and not use the excuse 
that we will see at the end of April to address your problems, America. 
That is not what we need to be doing in the midst of this very, very 
serious unprecedented crisis where our citizens need our help.
  We had a good start tonight--a very good start--but there is going to 
be a lot more, and I hope this body is ready to act quickly.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.

                          ____________________