[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 122 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4170-S4171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Coronavirus
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, two numbers sum up the state of America
today: 52,788, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases yesterday; and
1.4 million, the number of unemployment claims filed this week. In the
next few months, these numbers will be far more important than the job
numbers released this morning in determining the long-term health of
our economy and the health of this country. The statistics I mentioned
would have been harrowing during February, March, April, or May, during
the initial surge and rapid spread of the disease. They would have been
distressing even then, but here in the beginning of July, 6 months into
the crisis, long after other countries have experienced a rapid decline
of COVID-19, it is shocking that the United States is hitting ever
grimmer milestones.
There is no doubt that much of the responsibility for this debacle--
the
[[Page S4171]]
COVID debacle--falls on the shoulders of President Trump, who failed to
prepare our Nation for the initial surge, failed to organize a national
supply chain of PPE, failed to develop a national strategy for testing
and contact tracing, and failed to even communicate the depth of the
challenge our country faces. And much of this still proves true today.
The Washington Post reported this morning that Arizona, which has
experienced a huge surge in cases, still doesn't have the testing
supplies they need because of a national supply chain failure.
Even after 2.6 million infections and 120,000 American fatalities,
the President said yesterday:
I think we're going to be very good with the coronavirus. I
think at some point that's going to sort of just disappear.
Can you imagine the bubble this man is in? He is only concerned about
scratching and stroking his own ego and not about what is going on in
the country, so he can just dismiss the seriousness of this--the most
serious health and economic crisis we have had in decades. It is
amazing.
That is what President Trump said yesterday: ``We're going to be very
good with the coronavirus''--on the same day the United States reported
the most new cases of coronavirus in a single day ever. The President
is so eager to declare victory and pat himself on the back and then
move on that he is ignoring reality completely.
The June jobs report showed modest growth, but we know conditions
have worsened since the survey was completed in the middle of the
month. Experts believe 10 percent of the workforce has lost their job
permanently, with Americans of color counting for a disproportionate
share.
Again, in terms of the long-term health of the economy, the most
concerning and important number is the number of new COVID cases. The
number of COVID cases, health-related, is the No. 1 effect on the long-
term health of the economy. President Trump seems oblivious to the fact
that almost everyone who studied this issue knows. The President's own
CDC Director says the number of cases may be 10 times higher than
reported. Imagine that. We could have 26 million people infected and
likely many, many more to come, but the President assumes that the
coronavirus--and the economy--will just take care of itself.
If President Trump reacted to the jobs report like he has reacted to
COVID and says, ``We're in the clear; we don't have to do anything,''
then we will soon be in even worse trouble than we are today.
Here in the Senate, the Republican majority has been out to lunch
since we passed the CARES Act way back in March. It has been over 3
months since the Republican Senate has considered major COVID relief
legislation. Weekly unemployment claims are measured in the millions.
States are shedding public service jobs in the tens of thousands. The
number of new cases is accelerating in nearly half our States.
Still, the Republican majority, in the words of its majority leader,
``has yet to feel the urgency of acting.'' Still, the Republican leader
says we must ``assess the conditions'' in the country before providing
relief to our citizens. Just how much more assessment do we need when
we remember those two numbers--52,000 new cases and 1.4 million people
applying for unemployment?
Every day this week, Senate Democrats have come to the floor to plead
with our colleagues to take up legislation to help millions of American
workers and small businesses that are struggling right now. Every day
this week, Senate Republicans have blocked our requests: rental
assistance, blocked; food assistance, blocked; moratorium on evictions,
blocked; resources for schools, nursing homes, State and local
governments, Indian Country, and elections--blocked, blocked, blocked,
and blocked. Just how long will this Republican Senate majority prevent
the American people from getting the aid they so desperately need?
Now Republicans are saying we have to do another bill before August.
I am glad they are finally talking seriously about a fourth phase of
coronavirus legislation, though the need has been obvious for months.
But the Republican leader at the moment insists that the next bill will
be ``written in his office.'' Written in his office? That is the same
one-party, ``take it or leave it'' partisan approach that delayed the
CARES Act and utterly failed on policing reform.
Leader McConnell likes to remind us that we need to make a law, not a
point. To make a law, leader, you need both parties, you need both
Chambers of Congress, and you need the signature of the President.
Starting the next phase of COVID legislation in the majority leader's
office is exactly what you do if you wanted to make a point, not a law.
The House of Representatives already has a bill that it has passed.
It needs to be part of the equation here. In order to make a law, both
parties in both Chambers should have a seat at the table. That is how
we got the last phase of COVID-19 legislation done, and it is the best
way to get it done this time