[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 20, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2516-S2518]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, first I want to thank my friend and 
colleague, the senior Senator from the State of Illinois. He is always 
on the money, pushing this country to do what its better angels 
recommend, and I hope America listens to his floor speech today and 
every day because what he is doing would make America a better, 
stronger, more unified, more humane, and more compassionate place.
  As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to inflict our country, businesses 
are suffering, families are struggling to pay the rent, millions of 
Americans are filing for unemployment every single week, and tens of 
thousands of Americans are dying.
  Every aspect of American society has been changed by this crisis--
except, perhaps, the Republican Senate. Here it is business as usual.
  Leader McConnell has spent 3 weeks of the Senate's time largely on 
nominations, only one of whom is directly related to COVID-19. There is 
not one bill on the floor of the Senate having to do with COVID in the 
entire month of May. The leader has put none on the floor.

  Democrats have had to relentlessly pressure our colleagues to hold 
even the most routine and needed oversight hearings on the coronavirus. 
Coronavirus is raging, and people are upset about how the 
administration is implementing it. We don't have hearings until we 
push, push, push for them, and then they happen few, far between, and 
too late.
  It would be one thing if the Republican majority were doing this 
other business while negotiating with Democrats on the next phase of 
emergency relief, but Republicans are not negotiating about the next 
phase of emergency relief. Many of my colleagues on the other side have 
said that more relief just isn't necessary.
  The Republican leader rejected legislation from the House of 
Representatives before the bill was even drafted--a knee-jerk partisan 
response at a time when we should be working together to help our 
suffering constituents. For the life of me, I don't know why it has 
been so difficult to get our friends on the other side to focus on the 
ongoing national crisis, and it appears that the lack of focus, the 
lack of urgency, and the lack of compassion from the Republican 
majority are about to get even worse.
  Today, in the Homeland Security Committee, the Republican chairman 
has convened a hearing that slanders the family of the President's 
political opponent. Believe it or not, this powerful Senate committee, 
with broad jurisdiction over so many aspects of the government's 
response to the ongoing pandemic, is prioritizing yet another attempt 
to smear Vice President Biden. The committee could be holding a hearing 
today with the FEMA Administrator to discuss disaster assistance. But, 
no, the highest priority of Senate Republicans lies in promoting 
conspiracy theories that have already been discredited on numerous 
occasions--conspiracy theories, which, by the way, are known to be part 
of Russian disinformation campaigns. Our Republican majority is using 
Russian propaganda to try to damage a political opponent. Is that a 
disgrace? Is that a disgrace?
  The Republican chairman is pressing forward, without Members even 
receiving a briefing from the intelligence community. Even more 
shameful, the company my colleague from Wisconsin wants to subpoena is 
cooperating with the committee in providing documents. It appears this 
subpoena is just for show--a way to create the false impression of 
wrongdoing. It is like in a Third World dictatorship, a show trial with 
no basis in fact, with no due process, and with no reality.
  Not to be outdone, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee 
has asked members of his committee to consider subpoenas related to yet 
another conspiracy theory pushed by President Trump--a theory that 
attempts to rewrite the history of Russian interference in the 2016 
election to match the fiction in President Trump's head. It seems 
Republicans want to dive into the deepest muck of rightwing conspiracy 
to invent scapegoats for the President to use in his reelection 
campaign.
  The conspiracy caucus is back. It reared its ugly head in December 
and has been on a simmer ever since. Now it is boiling over once again, 
shamefully, in the middle of a public health crisis and an economic 
disaster that require all of us to focus on the problems at hand.
  Senate Republicans aren't drafting legislation to help the 
unemployed. They are holding sham hearings about the family of the 
President's political rival. Senate Republicans aren't debating 
measures to increase testing. They are turning Senate committee rooms 
into the studio of ``FOX & Friends.'' Senate Republicans are not just 
ignoring the coronavirus. They are practically sprinting toward a 
partisan election, making this Chamber part of a reelection campaign--
not what it was ever intended to be by the Founding Fathers or anyone 
else, until this fever to bow down to President Trump's wild conspiracy 
theories that has overtaken just about every Senate Republican.
  Here is what Chairman Graham said about his ``investigation'' 
yesterday. Here is what he said:

       I want to get all the information out there. I want to do 
     it before the election.

  Well, there is a Republican intention right there--``do it before the 
election.''
  Leader McConnell says that Republicans have not felt the urgency yet 
to act on the coronavirus, but it sure sounds like there is some 
urgency to get these phony investigations going before November. A 
fever is raging in the conspiracy caucus. They are worried about the 
outcome of the election. They are worried that President Trump--they 
know--has done a very poor job in dealing with this crisis. So they 
turn to wild conspiracy theories and turn the Senate, which should be 
debating and discussing coronavirus relief, into sort of a partisan 
sham Chamber. It is disgraceful.
  Now, Leader McConnell gave a lengthy speech on the floor of the 
Senate yesterday giving cover to many of the President's crackpot 
theories about what transpired in 2016. I will just say this: Leader 
McConnell reportedly watered down a bipartisan warning about Russian 
interference in the fall of 2016. He stalled for years on election 
security funding, and still, to this day, is blocking election security 
funding. If Leader McConnell wants to look back at the history of 
Russian interference in the 2016 election, he should look in the 
mirror. He might not like the way his own role is viewed.
  The American people should be just furious with Washington 
Republicans, and so many are--more and more every day. Americans are 
waiting in modern-day breadlines, jammed into municipal buildings, and 
cars snaked around parking lots and city blocks. It is so sad to look 
at these pictures. Doctors and nurses and other caregivers have been 
working nonstop to save American lives, often without the proper 
equipment. Millions of American workers are sitting at home, having 
lost their jobs, through no fault of their own, dreading the day the 
next rent payment comes due. Here in Washington, Senate Republicans 
feel no urgency to help these Americans. They are too busy touting 
conspiracy theories and electioneering for the President.
  Speaking of the President, he was here yesterday on the Capitol to 
have

[[Page S2517]]

lunch with Senate Republicans. They had a giant pep rally. They got all 
fired up to do nothing. That was the conclusion. On the way out of the 
Capitol, the President was asked about the fact that the United States 
leads the world in confirmed cases of coronavirus, and here is what 
President Trump said--amazingly. Listen to this. Asked about leading 
the world in confirmed cases of coronavirus, the President said:

       I don't look at that as a bad thing. I look at that in a 
     certain respect as being a good thing because it means our 
     testing is much better. . . . So I view it as a badge of 
     honor.

  Really? First of all, our testing is not much better. States are 
struggling to get people tested due to confusion and a lack of national 
leadership. Many experts believe we are far short on what we need on 
testing. None of these experts, who actually understands the testing 
and this virus, would say the President deserves a badge of honor for 
his work. But even more galling is the idea that lots of cases of 
coronavirus is ``a good thing.'' That is what the President said: 
Having lots of cases of coronavirus is ``a good thing.''
  A lot of cases is not ``a good thing,'' Mr. President. It means 
people are sick and people are dying. A lot of cases means more 
Americans are in the hospital, more Americans in ICU struggling to 
breathe on ventilators. A lot of cases means Americans will die as a 
result of the virus that has already claimed the lives of nearly 
100,000. A lot of cases means a lot more Americans are seriously ill. 
Mr. President, that is not ``a good thing.'' Even your mind, which 
seems so warped at times, cannot really believe that.
  There is no ``honor'' in leading the world in the number of people 
infected with coronavirus. For the United States to have 1.5 million 
cases is nothing to celebrate. It is something to be ashamed of. 
Calling it a ``badge of honor'' isn't just wrong, it is sick, and it is 
an insult to every American family who loses a loved one to this evil 
disease
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded, and I ask unanimous consent that I be 
able to conclude my remarks before the 11 o'clock vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                                   5G

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, the internet has been a part of our daily 
lives for quite a while now: Netflix, Twitter, and Amazon. The internet 
has taken on new importance during the coronavirus pandemic. It has 
become the main source of connection with friends and family. It has 
enabled many people to work from home to help reduce the spread of the 
virus. It is the main reason that schools and colleges have been able 
to continue teaching students.
  It has drastically expanded nascent services, like telehealth, which 
has allowed doctors and other medical professionals to provide patient 
care remotely.
  With all of this new internet traffic, of course, has come a much 
greater load on networks. Not all countries' networks have held up to 
the strain. In Europe, networks have had to slow streaming and ask 
providers like Netflix to diminish the quality of their videos.
  Here in the United States, our networks have faced very few problems, 
and there is a reason for that. Europe and the United States have very 
different regulatory regimes for the internet. In Europe, the internet 
has been regulated using outdated communications rules designed for 
telephone monopolies. This has resulted in heavyhanded regulation, 
which has discouraged companies from investing in communications 
infrastructure and broadband expansion.
  The resulting lack of reliable infrastructure is the primary reason 
internet performance in Europe has suffered during the pandemic. The 
regulatory situation in the United States, on the other hand, has been 
much different. With a few exceptions, like the brief imposition of so-
called net neutrality regulations in 2015, our country has taken a 
light-touch approach to internet regulation.
  This has encouraged companies to invest in the latest communications 
infrastructure and new technologies to make more efficient use of 
spectrum. Thanks to that investment, when coronavirus hit and internet 
usage soared, American networks were ready. Despite the additional 
burden on networks during the pandemic, Americans have been able to 
enjoy the same high speeds and streaming quality that they typically 
enjoy. Right now, most Americans are using 4G networks.
  The next generation of internet, 5G, is here. 5G networks are 
starting to be deployed, including in my home State of South Dakota. If 
we want the United States to handle 5G the way that we handled 4G and 
if we want our 5G networks to be as successful as our 4G networks, we 
still have some work to do.
  One thing that is absolutely essential is maintaining the light-touch 
regulatory approach that has produced so much U.S. investment and 
innovation. Despite the success of light-touch regulation, there is 
always a segment of the Democratic Party pushing for greater government 
regulation of the internet, and that would chill American broadband 
investment.
  When Democrats briefly succeeded in forcing through heavier 
government regulations in the latter part of the Obama Presidency, 
broadband infrastructure investment by U.S. companies dropped 
significantly, and it only rebounded when the Federal Communications 
Commission, under Chairman Pai, rolled back these heavyhanded 
regulations.
  Second, the United States still has more work to do to deploy the 
infrastructure necessary for 5G. While 4G relies on traditional cell 
phone towers, 5G technology will also require small antennas called 
``small cells'' that can often be attached to existing infrastructure, 
like utility poles or buildings.
  Last year, I introduced legislation, the STREAMLINE Act, to make it 
easier for companies to deploy these small cells so that we can get the 
infrastructure in place for 5G technology. We also need to update 
Federal regulations to ensure that it doesn't take months or years to 
get permits for wireless infrastructure.
  Infrastructure is a key part of the 5G equation. The other key part 
is spectrum. Like all internet technology, 5G relies on radio 
spectrum--what we commonly call the airwaves. Radio spectrum is divided 
into bands--low band, mid band, and high band. 5G will rely upon all 
three.
  The United States has done a good job freeing up high-band spectrum 
for 5G, but we still need to free up more mid-band spectrum to see 
full-scale 55 deployment.
  In 2018, Congress passed my MOBILE NOW Act, which helped lay the 
groundwork for freeing up more mid-band spectrum.
  This past November, Senator Wicker and I introduced the 5G Spectrum 
Act to require the Federal Communications Commission to free up a 
critical portion of mid-band spectrum, commonly referred to as the C-
band for 5G use.
  While Congress did not enact our legislation at the end of February, 
the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would adopt a 
framework similar to that outlined in our bill to make 280 megahertz of 
C-band spectrum available for 5G.
  Finally, we need to ensure that we have the workforce in place to 
handle the demands of installing and maintaining 5G technology. It is 
estimated that deploying the necessary infrastructure for 5G will 
create approximately 50,000 new construction jobs each year over the 
build-out period, and that is just for construction.
  Right now, there simply aren't enough workers with the necessary 
training to meet the needs of nationwide 5G. Earlier this year, I 
introduced the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act. My bill would 
help to increase the number of workers enrolled in 5G training programs 
and identify ways to grow the telecommunications workforce to meet the 
demands of 5G.
  The coronavirus has shown us the result of robust investment in 4G 
infrastructure and spectrum--strong networks that can handle steep 
surge in internet traffic. We need to make sure that we are putting in 
the necessary work and investment to ensure that our 5G networks are 
just as strong.

[[Page S2518]]

  The 5G future is here. Let's make sure that the United States is 
ready