[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H3620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REQUIRE FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS PREPAREDNESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Schneider) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, our Nation is in crisis. Yesterday, the 
United States added more than 1,000 names to the already unbearably 
long list of 140,000 people killed by COVID-19. There have been nearly 
4 million confirmed cases in the United States, and the CDC believes 
the number is many times greater. There are hotspots around the 
country, most notably in Southern States.
  Many States like California and my State of Illinois that have taken 
measures to reopen are now looking at rolling back these measures and 
reinstating greater restrictions to keep their citizens safe.
  The pandemic has affected all of us, putting our loved ones at risk, 
keeping our kids from school, overwhelming our healthcare systems, and 
devastating our businesses while costing 40 million people their jobs 
and pushing State and local governments to the brink.
  With so many people and communities suffering, we desperately need a 
national strategy to beat back this virus. Unfortunately, while 
families, students, community leaders, and citizens are all making 
great sacrifices, and local governments are being forced to cut vital 
services, leadership and support from the administration have 
repeatedly fallen short. The American people deserve better.
  All the sacrifices made since March were and are meant to buy us time 
to bend the curve, knock down this virus, and, ultimately, stand up our 
economy. But the sacrifices are only valuable if we are using the time 
to prepare for what many experts believe will be a spike come the fall.
  Sadly, around the country, testing capacity remains below where it 
needs to be. Hospitals in many States are over capacity in their ICUs, 
understaffed, and anxious about still looming shortages of personal 
protective equipment, or PPE.
  Six months into this pandemic, it is simply unconscionable that there 
are still shortages of PPE, the masks, gloves, and gowns we need to 
safely treat patients, protect workers and residents in our nursing 
homes, confidently open our schools, and get our economy on the road to 
recovery.
  In Illinois, we have lost nearly 7,500 lives to this disease already. 
With concerns that the disease may get worse this fall, and with 
conditions already worsening as States struggle to reopen, I am calling 
on Congress and the administration to take urgent action to address our 
immediate needs while at the same time preparing for the challenges 
that lie ahead.

  It has been nearly 10 weeks since the HEROES Act passed the House and 
was sent on to the Senate. States and local governments, hospitals and 
nursing homes, and schools and businesses need the aid provided by the 
HEROES Act. The Nation needs the supply chain czar included in the 
HEROES Act. We all need the testing capacity funded by the HEROES Act.
  Yet, after 10 weeks, the Senate still has neither taken up our 
legislation nor offered a plan of their own. Instead, they are delaying 
the Federal response to an urgent national crisis.
  Ending this pandemic should not be a partisan issue. We need to move 
forward together, Democrats and Republicans.
  That is why I am asking my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
support the COVID PREPARE Act. I introduced this commonsense, 
bipartisan legislation with my colleague,   John Katko, to assure the 
American people that their Federal Government is prepared to address 
this ever-changing public health crisis.
  This legislation would require Federal agencies to submit to Congress 
their plans for addressing COVID-19 in the fall, anticipating a 
potential increase in infections and even greater demands on our 
healthcare system and pressure on our economy.
  The COVID PREPARE Act will provide bipartisan oversight and full 
transparency into both the planning and execution of our national 
response. We all certainly hope for the best, but we must responsibly 
prepare for the worst.

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