[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 69 (Friday, April 10, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E360-E361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. K. MICHAEL CONAWAY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 27, 2020

  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my support for the 
CARES Act. It is the legislation that we need today to fight the 
extraordinary challenges we are facing.
  At few points in our nation's history have we been faced with a 
situation as dire as the one before us today. This threat is unusual 
and unfamiliar--a virus and the illness it causes--but it is as real as 
every other great crisis we've faced.
  This pandemic is upending the lives of each and every American. Some 
have died or lost loved ones. More have become ill and hospitalized. 
Many have lost their jobs or shuttered their businesses. All of us are 
agonizing over the uncertainty of a threat we do not fully understand 
and cannot yet defeat.
  The public health crisis has put Americans on edge and strained our 
medical facilities to the breaking point. It has also led to unexpected 
economic crises for tens of millions of Americans, as businesses are 
forced to close, paychecks are disappearing, and economic activity is 
reduced.
  The size and scope of this aid package is staggering, but it reflects 
the devastating costs in lives, jobs, businesses, and economic 
paralysis that this crisis has brought. It is essential that we 
continue to act quickly and forcefully, at all levels of government, to 
prevent the harm and disruption of this crisis from overwhelming our 
capacity to help one another. The CARES Act provides the foundation for 
that action. The CARES Act will help Americans meet these intertwined 
emergencies by providing funds to hospitals and frontline medical 
providers, expanding and accelerating assistance for Americans that 
have lost their jobs, and providing a lifeline to businesses trying to 
stay afloat and pay their employees while their customers are asked to 
remain at home.
  While we see the clear and overwhelming costs that this health crisis 
is imposing in places like Seattle, New York, and New Orleans, it is 
imposing heavy costs other parts of America, as well. Particularly in 
rural communities, where the challenges to providing health care are 
magnified by a lack of resources, technology, and specialists, and 
compounded by extended distances and an older population.
  Similarly, the economic crisis created by this pandemic is hitting 
farm country particularly hard, which was already suffering long before 
this virus emerged. Agricultural producers are particularly sensitive 
to disruptions in trade, supply chains, transportation, and reliable 
sources labor, each of which this pandemic is placing under increasing 
strain.
  This legislation includes essential resources which will provide the 
Secretary of Agriculture with the tools he needs to help our nation's 
farmers and ranchers survive, and to support our rural communities, 
hospitals, and businesses who are struggling just like their urban 
counterparts. I am grateful that we were able to include them, and that 
we did not ignore the unique challenges of rural America.
  As we all know, no legislation is perfect. Each member in this body 
has opinions on what tools and funding are needed to respond to this 
crisis which were not included in this package. On some priorities, 
members have fundamental, deep-seated differences of opinion; on 
others, we simply ran out of time to find agreement. For my part, I had 
hoped for more funds to help our agricultural producers and rural 
communities as they grapple with the crisis as it inevitably moves into 
less populated communities.
  On that issue--how we support rural communities during this crisis--
the differences between Republicans and progressive Democrats are 
profound. Last week, the Senate's proposal included $50 billion for the 
Department of Agriculture. These funds were to be available to the 
Department to address not only the coronavirus crisis, but also to 
continue the critical farm safety net programs in the farm bill. These 
programs help farmers weather the day-to-day uncertainties of farming 
and endure the hostile trade actions of foreign nations, challenges 
which the current crisis has moved out of the spotlight, but not off 
the stage.
  On Sunday, the Speaker and her allies introduced their proposal, 
which included a pricey wish list of progressive initiatives, but not 
one dollar for the Department of Agriculture to respond to this 
pandemic. One might have called it an oversight, but all this week she 
has fought for her position and today, we see the results of that 
effort: just $23.5 billion in funding set aside for agricultural 
producers, significantly less than what is needed.
  The Speaker and her allies claim they fought to put workers first, 
but their demands did not include those who work in agriculture. In the 
final analysis, their handiwork shortchanged middle America and has 
made it more difficult to provide our farmers and ranchers the help 
that they so desperately need.
  But we cannot delay this package any further over our differences. We 
must move forward with our many areas of agreement, including the 
support that was agreed to for our agricultural producers. As we 
develop any additional legislation, I will continue to fight to ensure 
that sufficient resources are available to the Department to meet all 
the challenges faced by rural America.
  Despite the circumstances we presently find ourselves in as a nation, 
I have unbounded hope for our future. In my own lifetime, I have seen 
our nation rise to meet challenges that seemed insurmountable at the 
time. Looking back further in history, we see burdens that our 
ancestors bore that seem unfathomable to us today. Overcoming adversity 
is in our DNA.
  Our capacity as Americans to care for one another is immeasurable. 
All across our country, families, neighbors, churches, businesses, 
civic clubs, and groups of Americans of all stripes are quietly coming 
together to figure out what they can do to help. Our farmers and 
ranchers, and everyone involved in producing, transporting, and selling 
food, fiber, and fuel, are no exception. These men and women are 
working overtime because they understand the way they can best serve 
their fellow Americans is to prevent disruptions to the food and goods 
that we all need to survive.
  But no group of Americans can tackle this crisis alone. While we 
should all do our part, this legislation will do the things that 
individuals are unable to do for one another. It will fund research and 
buy medical equipment, it will safeguard paychecks and families, and it 
will shelter small businesses and essential industries. Most 
importantly, it will provide a path out of this crisis.
  We are a country of survivors, and I have great confidence in our 
ability to re-emerge from this crisis stronger than ever before. I 
believe that the CARES Act will help us do that and I urge my 
colleagues to support its passage.

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