[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 93 (Monday, May 18, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2469-S2470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hold 
our Nation on high alert.
  More than 1.4 million Americans have been infected; more than 80,000 
lives have been tragically lost; and the livelihoods of tens of 
millions of working families have been turned upside down in what seems 
like the blink of an eye. Our Nation's healthcare system has not been 
stressed by contagion on this scale in over a century, and unemployment 
has not been this high since the Second World War.
  A new generation of American heroes--from medical professionals, to 
lab researchers, to grocery store workers, to custodians and janitors, 
to community volunteers--has been called up to the frontlines to serve 
its neighbors and our country. So, for several weeks now, the Senate 
has counted ourselves among those ranks of essential workers. They are 
showing up for our country, so we are showing up for them. With respect 
to the pandemic itself, we are conducting rigorous oversight of the 
Senate's historic CARES Act rescue package and are helping to plan the 
pivot toward reopening.
  Last week, Chairman Alexander and the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions engaged with Dr. Fauci, Dr. Redfield, Admiral 
Giroir, and other top experts to discuss paths for schools and 
businesses to reopen, and numbers of our colleagues are joining me and 
Senator Cornyn in thinking proactively about the issue of legal 
liability that could crush the recovery on the runway. We need strong 
legal protections to ensure that our historic recovery efforts are not 
drained away from healthcare workers, schools, and universities or 
small businesses in order to line the pockets of trial lawyers.
  At the same time, we have kept our eye on the ball on other 
significant global challenges. Last week, on a bipartisan basis, the 
Senate reauthorized critical surveillance authorities for our national 
security professionals. We also made sure to include important new 
reforms to begin to address the abuses that marred the 2016 election,

[[Page S2470]]

the disturbing details of which are continuing to come to light every 
day. Our action on that subject is not finished.
  Thanks to leadership from Senator Rubio, we passed legislation to 
continue ratcheting up the pressure on the Chinese Communist Party. In 
this case, our bill will shed new light and impose new consequences for 
the egregious abuses against the Uyghur people and other Muslim 
minorities. We also confirmed well-qualified nominees to important 
roles at the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  In other words, we have done more for the American people in 2 weeks 
on this side of the Capitol than the House of Representatives has done 
in the last 2 months. In the two months that the House Democrats have 
spent away from their duty stations, they have seemingly given 
themselves just one assignment--to draft an enormous political 
messaging bill and brand it as coronavirus relief.
  Yet, even on this basis, they have failed. The 1,800-page doorstop 
that Speaker Pelosi dropped last week was appropriately greeted as the 
legislative equivalent of a standup comedy. There were tax hikes on 
small businesses in the midst of a small business crisis, and there 
were targeted tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the bluest States. 
There were two separate taxpayer-funded studies on diversity and 
inclusion in the market for marijuana. In sum, it was a $3 trillion 
wish list slapped together in a clumsy effort to never let a good 
crisis go to waste--serious work here in the Senate and partisanship 
pointlessness over in the House.
  The Senate will stay on course and continue our serious work at this 
serious time. Tomorrow morning, our colleagues on the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hear from Secretary Mnuchin 
and Fed Chairman Powell on the latest status of the CARES Act 
implementation efforts. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
Committee will meet this week to consider the nomination of Brian 
Miller to serve as Special Inspector General for the pandemic recovery 
programs. The Special Committee on Aging will be examining the 
challenges facing American seniors during this pandemic as both the 
virus itself and the social distancing measures take a heavy toll on 
older Americans. Of course, we will continue to uphold our 
responsibilities beyond the scope of COVID-19. We will consider more 
nominations to the Federal Election Commission and to the Federal 
bench.
  Tomorrow, our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee will vote on 
reporting the nomination of   John Ratcliffe to serve as Director of 
National Intelligence. This role is essential for monitoring and 
countering evolving threats from Russia to China, to terrorist groups, 
and for ensuring the intelligence community's important work is not 
tainted by partisan bias or political weaponization.
  We have a busy week ahead of us. This pandemic is not going to defeat 
itself; a careful reopening will not plan itself; and our Nation's 
other challenges are not about to politely step aside in the meantime. 
All kinds of American heroes across the country are tackling the 
coronavirus head on. We are going to do all we can to keep them safe 
and supported while they do.

                          ____________________