[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