[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H2989-H2990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SENATE NEEDS TO PASS HEROES ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Levin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the 
coronavirus is winning. There are 2.5 million U.S. cases and more than 
126,000 Americans dead. That is more than double the number of American 
lives lost during the Korean war, tens of thousands more than the two-
decade Vietnam war, and 10,000 more than World War I.
  The United States has 4.25 percent of the world's population but 25 
percent of the COVID-19 deaths. Tens of millions of Americans have lost 
their jobs or faced pay cuts. And in the coming weeks, economic 
lifelines passed by Congress that have cushioned the blows are going to 
expire.
  It does not have to be this way. Right now, as I speak, the Senate is 
sitting on the HEROES Act, a bill that Majority Leader McConnell has 
refused to consider for more than 45 days.
  What could have been done in those 45 days?
  Moody's Analytics said: ``If quickly passed into law, the HEROES Act 
would provide a substantial boost to the economy during the second half 
of this year, when the economy is most vulnerable to the pandemic and 
at most risk of sliding back into recession. The legislation would also 
return the economy to full employment much more quickly.''
  Moody's also said: ``How well the economy does in the next several 
years depends critically on what lawmakers decide to do in the next few 
weeks.''
  That was more than a week ago, yet the Senate still refuses to pass a 
bill that puts money in the pockets of workers with a second round of 
direct payments to families, a bill with new payroll protection 
measures to keep 60 million workers connected with their jobs, a bill 
that extends weekly $600 Federal unemployment benefits through next 
January so families can pay their bills.
  But HEROES isn't just a bill to provide relief from the pandemic; it 
is a bill to end it. HEROES contains $75 billion for more COVID-19 
testing and contact tracing and $500 million to help our workforce 
system place new contact tracers, focusing specifically on Americans 
who are out of work and drawing from the communities they will work in 
with the diversity reflecting those unique communities and the language 
competencies necessary to serve them.
  This last part is so important and a core piece of my Coronavirus 
Containment Corps Act, my bill with Senator Warren that is included in 
the HEROES Act in substantial part.
  Last week, Dr. Fauci said that U.S. contact tracing isn't going well. 
Why? Well, Dr. Redfield, the CDC Director, says that we have 27,000 or 
28,000 contact tracers when we need, in his own estimation, 100,000, 
and when other experts believe we may need double that.

[[Page H2990]]

  We have public health departments that are underfunded. We have 
communities that, after decades of discrimination, are understandably 
weary of trusting health authorities. The Coronavirus Containment Core 
Act addresses every one of those issues. We have solutions ready. No 
single one of the solutions is a cure-all, but, together, they can turn 
the tide of this pandemic.
  We as Members of this body are in a unique and privileged position to 
develop solutions that channel the resources we need to implement those 
solutions on a nationwide scale. To fail to do this is to accept the 
status quo.
  Let's make the HEROES Act law. There is not a minute to waste.

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