[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 28, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4526-S4530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE RESILIENCE ACT

  Mr. PERDUE. Madam President, the word ``bipartisanship'' gets tossed 
around a lot in this town. Unfortunately, we don't often see 
bipartisanship put into action. However, as we have faced an 
unprecedented crisis recently, I believe we have seen the Senate prove 
that it can, in fact, get it done. People can come together, and real, 
bipartisan solutions can actually happen in this body.
  It is actually encouraging to me--and it is simply a function of what 
I have known since I was a kid--that Americans deal with a crisis 
better than anyone else. In many ways, we put things aside, and we get 
together for what is good for the people back home.
  Since the COVID-19 crisis began, we have passed three phases of 
relief packages to help our country weather this COVID-19 storm. In 
these three phases, we ramped up testing in support of our healthcare 
workers, we helped Americans who are struggling financially, and we 
created the Paycheck Protection Program, which has saved millions of 
jobs and many businesses. Today, as we debate a fourth COVID-19 relief 
package, it is absolutely critical that we continue to find common 
ground and bipartisan solutions to bring our country together again.
  The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is a real, bipartisan 
solution to a serious problem our country faces today in our healthcare 
delivery system. This bill is first and foremost a healthcare bill that 
will help our hospitals deal with this COVID-19 crisis. It is 
absolutely critical that we include it in the next COVID-19 relief 
package.
  Today in America, many communities are facing severe shortages of 
doctors and nurses. Particularly, hospitals and clinics in rural areas 
and communities of color are badly understaffed and are struggling to 
fill crucial positions.
  My home State of Georgia has been especially impacted by this 
particular crisis. While Georgia is the 8th largest State by 
population, it ranks 39th in the number of active physicians per 
capita--39th. Over half of Georgia's 159 counties have been designated 
as primary care health professional shortage areas. The Georgia 
Department of Public Health has stated that Georgia's nursing shortage 
is a full-blown crisis. This is also true in most other States, 
actually. They have warned that Georgia is not able to recruit the 
nurses or doctors our hospitals need. But we can change that.
  The COVID-19 crisis did not start this shortage of healthcare 
workers, by the way, but it has exacerbated it dramatically.
  Since the beginning of this crisis, I have held conference calls with 
thousands of constituents across Georgia over the last 4\1/2\ months. I 
have heard directly from healthcare workers who have explained the dire 
situation they are facing. Nurses and doctors are working longer hours. 
Retirees are being asked to come back to work. Many healthcare workers 
have contracted the virus themselves. In fact,

[[Page S4527]]

one study found that healthcare workers account for nearly one in five 
COVID-19 cases.
  In many areas, hospitals have simply not had enough staff to handle 
the COVID-19 patient increase. Albany, GA, was one of the first hardest 
hit areas in the country, right there in South Georgia. At one point, 
nurses and doctors from all over the country had to be flown in just to 
take care of all those who fell ill in Albany. In many cases, patients 
had to be exported to other hospitals in the State.
  As this virus continues to spread, many hospitals are in danger of 
being overwhelmed as we see this recent surge of COVID-19 cases, 
particularly in our younger people.
  Healthcare workers have been true heroes--there is no question about 
that. Right now, we have an opportunity to give them the support they 
desperately need. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is a 
bipartisan solution that gives our hospitals the support they need to 
get through this crisis. Our bill simply recaptures unused green cards 
to give highly skilled, foreign-born nurses and doctors the opportunity 
to work in our country and help solve this crisis. It will recapture 
approximately 25,000 unused visas for nurses and 15,000 unused visas 
for doctors. This bill would cut redtape and give our hospitals 
critical support quickly as America continues to reopen our economy. It 
will ease the pressure on healthcare providers and help save American 
lives.
  I want to emphasize that this bill will not increase current legal 
immigration limits, displace American workers, or negatively impact 
healthcare worker wages.
  I have always been a supporter of a merit-based immigration system, 
and many people on the other side of the aisle are as well. We all 
continue to work in that direction. We believe that a merit-based 
immigration system can strengthen our economy and protect American jobs 
at the same time. This is a policy that President Trump and the 
majority of Congress have long supported--on both sides of the aisle, 
actually. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is fully aligned with 
these merit-based policies.
  These immigrant nurses and doctors have already been hired and 
approved to work in our country. Many of them live here already. The 
only thing preventing them from saving lives is bureaucratic redtape 
and the backlog it creates. These folks are highly skilled, well 
qualified, and extremely motivated to be on the frontlines in the fight 
against COVID-19. They are all ready to go in the areas that need the 
most help.
  This bill is truly bipartisan. I am very proud to say that today. It 
has 36 cosponsors from both parties. I give the lead sponsor on the 
Democratic side, my friend from Illinois, Senator Durbin, a lot of 
credit for that. He has long been a champion for this sort of help in 
this area. This bill reflects what the American people want. It 
provides what our healthcare system needs. It has bipartisan support.
  Actually, in 2005, Congress passed a similar bill. That bill 
recaptured unused visas and helped address a nursing shortage that 
existed at the time across the country. It passed with overwhelming and 
nearly unanimous support. The coronavirus has put our country in a 
similar position today. There is no time to wait. The deeper our nurse 
and doctor shortage gets, the more Americans we are needlessly putting 
at risk.
  President John F. Kennedy once said: ``In a time of domestic crisis, 
men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of 
party or politics.'' I don't think that comment has been any more 
timely than it is today in the midst of this crisis.
  We are indeed in a time of crisis. We have already shown that we can 
unite and find meaningful solutions. It is time to do it again. Let's 
get this bill across the finish line and support our healthcare workers 
and save lives in America.
  Madam President, I yield the floor to my colleague from Illinois, 
Senator Durbin, the lead Democratic cosponsor on the Healthcare 
Workforce Resilience Act, and I want to thank him for his tireless 
efforts in this regard and his strong leadership to help the young men 
and women on the frontlines of our healthcare delivery system.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, let me thank my colleague, the senior 
Senator from the State of Georgia, for joining me in this bipartisan 
effort. We now have some 36 sponsors and cosponsors of this 
legislation.
  Immigration can be a divisive issue, but this is an immigration 
measure that is not divisive. It has unified us on a bipartisan basis, 
as it should. We are talking about the Healthcare Workforce Resilience 
Act. We are talking about men and women who, as we speak on the floor 
of the Senate in the safety of this Chamber, are literally risking 
their lives as healthcare professionals across the United States to 
deal with this pandemic, which we fight every single day.

  Last week, we sent a bipartisan letter urging congressional leaders 
to make this bill part of any COVID-19 relief legislation. Currently 
pending before the Senate is a negotiation with the White House, the 
House, the Senate--Democrats and Republicans--to make sure that we 
continue to move forward to fight this pandemic and to restore the 
vibrancy of our own economy. The letter we sent was cosigned by 
Senators Leahy, Young, and Coons, as well as Representatives Schneider, 
Cole, Finkenauer, and Bacon, who were the lead sponsors of the House 
version of the same bill. We are now up to, I understand, 37. They said 
36 earlier. I am told we have 18 Republicans and 19 Democrats, and the 
window is open for those who want to join us in this bipartisan effort. 
They will not regret it.
  Our bill is a temporary stopgap measure, but it is designed to 
strengthen our healthcare workforce and improve healthcare access for 
Americans in the midst of this crisis. Consider this reality when it 
comes to fighting the COVID-19 virus: In the United States, 1 in 6 
healthcare and social workers, 3.1 million--1 in 6--of the 18.7 million 
are immigrants. Yet our broken immigration laws prevent many of these 
immigrants from contributing more fully to the battle against this 
pandemic.
  Under current law, there are not enough immigrant visas, which we 
also call green cards, available each year. As a result, immigrants are 
stuck in crippling backlogs for many, many years. The green card 
backlog, which I have debated with Senator Lee on the floor many 
times--but this green card backlog includes thousands of medical 
doctors currently working in our country on temporary visas. This 
backlog puts them and their families at the risk of losing their 
immigration status and being deported. It hinders their ability to 
fight against COVID-19 because these doctors face many restrictions due 
to their temporary status.
  For example, many of these doctors cannot take shifts at hospitals in 
COVID-19 hotspots where they are desperately needed. The Healthcare 
Workforce Resilience Act, which we bring to the floor, would reallocate 
25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant 
visas for doctors. These are visas Congress has previously authorized 
but were never used.
  It is important to note that our bill requires employers to attest 
that immigrants overseas who receive these visas do not displace the 
employment of any American workers. We want to ensure that the 
beneficiaries of this bill complement, not replace, the American 
healthcare workforce.
  I am going to tell you the story of one of these doctors who is 
practicing in downstate Illinois in the Quad Cities area in Moline. I 
can tell you, as a downstater myself, there are many areas of downstate 
that are rural, small town, and cannot bring in the specialists who are 
needed. That is why these doctors become so important when they step in 
and provide their services. Let me tell you about this doctor.
  His name is Dr. Bhanu Vakkalanka. He sent me a letter and told me his 
story, and he asked me to help work to pass this piece of legislation. 
Dr. Vakkalanka and his wife, Dr. Sasi Royyuru--excuse me for 
mispronouncing--Royyuru--are both physicians. They met in medical 
school in India, and they came to the United States 15 years ago in 
2005--15 years ago. At the time, their children--a young girl and boy--
were 5 and 3 years old.
  Before they came to the United States, they had trained and worked

[[Page S4528]]

for 10 years in England. Both achieved great professional success, but 
they were drawn to move to the United States. They were drawn to our 
freedom, our equality, and the opportunity that really is our trademark 
in the world.
  This is what Dr. Vakkalanka told me about his family's move to the 
United States, and I want to quote his words:

       It was not an easy transition. We had to start all over 
     again as residents. It was challenging to take care of two 
     young children in the middle of our long working hours and 
     paltry salaries with no one to fall back on. . . . But we had 
     not come this far to give up on our dreams easily.

  Dr. Vakkalanka now works as a medical oncologist for the UnityPoint 
Health System in Moline, in my home State of Illinois, a well-respected 
institution. Dr. Royyuru is a family physician in Bloomington, IL. 
There is a long drive between the two, Moline and Bloomington. Here is 
what Dr. Vakkalanka told me about his life in America:

       Despite the initial hardship, we fell in love with the 
     United States soon after we came here. People were welcoming 
     and generous. We were made to feel like we were part of this 
     society from day one and we felt that this is where we 
     belonged. We felt blessed, happy and proud to be able to live 
     here, raise our children and call it our home.

  Let me tell you, he tells me how fortunate he was. I believe we are 
the fortunate ones--fortunate to have two exceptional physicians and 
their children as residents of my home State.
  Unfortunately, Dr. Vakkalanka and Dr. Royyuru, his wife, are two of 
thousands of doctors who are stuck in a bureaucratic backlog called the 
green card backlog. They have lived in the United States for 15 years. 
Their green card petitions were approved nearly a decade ago. Yet, even 
today, after more than 10 years, they are not lawful residents. Why? 
Because the backlog of people seeking these green cards--these 
immigration visas--is so large.
  In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the temporary immigration 
status of this family puts them at real risk. Why? If, God forbid, they 
would contract COVID-19 and become disabled or die, their family will 
instantly lose their immigration status and be forced to leave the 
United States. For 15 years they have waited, and for 10 years they 
have been on the actual queue, the waiting list for green cards, and if 
one of them takes ill and cannot work, they could all be deported.
  Now their children, who were 5 and 3 when they arrived in the United 
States, are 20 years old and 18 years old. This is significant. They 
grew up in this country, but they are at risk of aging out in this 
bureaucratic system. If they reach the age of 21, these two children, 
who have lived here virtually all of their teenage and adolescent 
life--if they reach the age of 21 and have not been able to apply for a 
green card, they are subject to deportation. Can you imagine how 
devastating it would be for this doctor and his wife to think that 
their children, after all these years, would be deported from the 
United States? It is a very real risk.
  Dr. Vakkalanka told me:

       Our children waited for 15 years or longer along with us 
     for their turn. They laughed with us and cried with us for 
     all these years. It is not fair to kick them out of the line 
     for no fault of theirs. They have nowhere else to go. This 
     country is their only home!

  Dr. Vakkalanka and Dr. Royyuru's family story makes clear why 
Congress needs to include the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act in 
the next coronavirus relief legislation. Under our bill, these two good 
doctors from India, and thousands of others like them, would finally 
receive their green cards. They and their families would get the 
permanent immigration status they deserve and be able to use their 
skills to serve on the frontlines of the pandemic wherever they are 
needed most.
  Let's face it. This pandemic is testing us as a nation, testing us as 
to whether we will have the endurance and the determination to get 
through this pandemic but equally testing us as to whether we care for 
one another. Certainly, we care for our families. We spend a lot of 
time with them. We worry about not being able to be next to our 
children or grandchildren because of fear of infection, and it is a 
real test. But it is also a test of our values of who we are.
  This man, after giving 15 years to the United States, practicing 
medicine in areas where he is desperately needed, is simply asking for 
a chance to become a legal, permanent resident of the United States. It 
is not too much to ask. For all he has given us, and his wife as well, 
we owe it to him and his family to give them the peace of mind that 
they have a future in the United States. They have proved that they are 
deserving.
  I hope, even in these divided political times, we can come together 
in Congress to quickly aid these immigrant health heroes.
  I commend my colleague from Georgia. I thank him. He had to step away 
from the floor at this moment, but I thank him for joining me in this 
bipartisan effort.
  Let's get this done. Let do the right thing for this doctor, for his 
family, and for so many others


                                 Racism

  Mr. President, the great writer, James Baldwin, told us:

       Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing 
     can be changed until it is faced.

  The national discussion on race and racism in the wake of the death 
of George Floyd in Minneapolis has really opened the eyes of many 
Americans and people around the world. Many people are seeing more 
clearly--some perhaps for the first time in their lives--the extent to 
which injustice has embedded itself in parts of America.
  We see how some of our laws and institutions don't match our stated 
and professed belief that all men and women are created equal and 
endowed with the same inalienable rights.
  Later today, John Lewis will make his last departure from the U.S. 
Capitol. He is going home after a long and noble life of service, a 
life that has helped us to live up to our ideals. How often did we hear 
John Lewis say: When young people tell me that nothing has changed, I 
tell them to come walk in my shoes.
  He was so right. America is different and America is better because 
of the enormous sacrifice and courage of men like John Lewis, Reverend 
C.T. Vivian, who passed away, as well, last week; Joseph Lowery; Mamie 
Till; Martin Luther King; Coretta Scott King; Rosa Parks; Daisy Bates; 
Julian Bond; Bayard Rustin; Elijah Cummings; and, of course, my friend 
and the current House Democratic Whip,   James Clyburn, and so many 
other leaders of our modern civil rights movement--just too many to 
name.
  We are a more perfect union today because so many ordinary men and 
women and children whose names are mostly forgotten by history risked 
their lives for dignity and democracy in little towns like Selma and 
Birmingham, AL, and Chicago's Marquette Park neighborhood.
  Thank goodness we are better, but the work of true justice and 
equality is far from over. We know that. A month before he died, John 
Lewis spoke out about how he was moved to see so many people from 
different backgrounds marching together for racial justice and healing. 
Most Americans today are appalled--almost incredulous--that only 
decades ago young people like John Lewis and Diane Nash were accosted 
by angry mobs simply for having the audacity--the audacity--to sit at a 
Whites-only lunch counter or ride on a segregated bus.
  We reject racism as individuals, but many of us are only beginning to 
understand the existence of the corrosive consequences of the system of 
racial injustice. This national reckoning on race in which we are now 
engaged is helping us to see more clearly how old, discredited ideas 
about race, which have been rejected by most, still linger in the minds 
of many individuals, regardless of the laws that have been passed.
  I believe that most Americans believe very deeply in fairness. It is 
one of our defining values as a people. I also believe Maya Angelou was 
right when she said:

       Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you 
     know better, do better.

  How can we do better to reduce systemic racial injustice and heal the 
wounds and divisions that false notions of racial superiority have 
caused in our Nation and our fellow citizens? As John Lewis told us 
often, achieving great, genuine equality is the work of a lifetime. Let 
me suggest briefly a few ways that this Senate can begin that work.

[[Page S4529]]

  First--and this is so easy and obvious--let the Senate debate and 
vote on the Justice in Policing Act. The President can send 
unidentified Federal agents to as many cities as he likes, but the 
calls for justice in our streets will not end until we make a clear 
stand against policing tactics that killed George Floyd, Breonna 
Taylor, Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, and too many other men, women, and 
children of color in America.
  Our Republican colleagues acknowledged the need for policing reforms 
when they brought up the bill that included certain changes, but the 
bill did not proceed, and it should. This Senate can--and must--do 
better. This belief is shared by an overwhelming majority of civil 
rights organizations in our Nation.
  The Justice in Policing Act is sponsored by Senators Kamala Harris 
and Cory Booker. It has passed the House of Representatives, and I am 
proud to be a cosponsor.
  The House, in passing its version with a bipartisan vote, gave us an 
opportunity, I say to Senator McConnell, to debate the Justice in 
Policing Act, which passed the House, and here in the Senate we should.
  Second, let this Senate debate the Economic Justice Act that has been 
offered by Senator Schumer.
  Third, Martin Luther King called racial disparities in healthcare one 
of the most shocking of all racial injustices. It was more than 50 
years ago when he said. Yet the disparities persist to this day and may 
be worse in many ways.
  This pandemic has laid them bare for us to see. Black and Brown 
Americans are three times more likely to become infected with 
coronavirus than White Americans and twice as likely to die from COVID-
19.
  The Affordable Care Act has done more to reduce racial disparities in 
healthcare than almost any act since the creation of Medicaid. It is 
hard to believe that there are many on the other side still trying to 
kill the Affordable Care Act in the midst of a pandemic that has 
already taken the lives of 145,000 Americans. Many more have been 
sickened, and it is still burning out of control in large parts of our 
Nation. Think about what it would be if we had no Affordable Care Act 
and doubled the number of uninsured people in this country. How could 
that bring us any consolation or confidence that we can continue to 
fight this battle?
  For the sake of African Americans, Latinx Americans, and all 
Americans who rely on the affordable coverage and patient protections, 
it is time to put an end to this endless assault on the Affordable Care 
Act.
  I hope my colleagues--especially my colleagues who speak passionately 
about protecting mothers and babies--will join me in passing a bill I 
have introduced to reduce the shocking high rate of maternal and infant 
mortality among African-American women and their babies. It is 
inexplicable that in the United States of America, we see so many Black 
women dying in childbirth and so many babies dying as well. It is 
unnecessary. It is time for us to focus the great resources, health 
resources, of America on this issue.
  In America, a woman of color is three to four times more likely than 
a White woman to die as a result of pregnancy. Why? The answers are 
very obvious. We need better, more focused, more understanding medical 
care. I am sad to say that in Illinois, the situation--the numbers--are 
that bad, if not even worse.
  The United States is 1 of only 13 nations in the world in which the 
maternal mortality rate is worse than it was 25 years ago. In the 
United States of America, we are 1 of only 13 nations in which the 
maternal death rate is worse today than what it was 25 years ago. How 
in the world can we explain that?
  I have introduced a bill called the MOMMA Act. My companion in this 
effort is my Congresswoman from Chicago, Robin Kelly. Let's get that 
debated, I say to Senator McConnell. It will not take long. I bet it 
passes easily. We owe it to many across America to show the initiative 
and to bring it to the floor.
  Fourth, because our friends across the aisle could not agree among 
themselves on what would be in the next coronavirus relief bill, 
critical protections included in the CARES Act have now or will soon 
expire without replacement.
  These protections include payments for the jobless for tens of 
millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in this pandemic--it 
wasn't because they were lazy; it was bad luck--as well as the Federal 
moratorium on evictions for families who have had difficulty paying 
their rent because of economic devastation brought on by COVID-19.
  Unless we extend this moratorium, as many as 28 million could lose 
their homes in the next 3 months. I can't imagine the devastation that 
would bring to a family--losing your home and perhaps having no place 
to turn. For the sake of those families and for our ability to fight 
this virus, we must extend the moratorium on evictions and help 
families who are struggling to pay rent.
  Senator Warren introduced a bill that I have cosponsored to extend 
this critical moratorium through March. It is called the Protecting 
Renters from Evictions and Fees Act.
  I am proud to cosponsor a bill with Senator Brown that provides $100 
billion in emergency rental assistance to help families and individuals 
pay their rent. Let's keep these families in a safe, quality living 
environment
  The crisis of affordable housing didn't start with this pandemic. The 
shortage of safe, affordable public housing has been building for 
decades, and it disproportionately harms African-American families.
  Senator Harris of California has introduced a bill, which I am proud 
to cosponsor, called the Housing is Infrastructure Act. It would invest 
$100 billion to repair our current stock of public housing and to build 
new units of safe, affordable public housing.
  I could just walk you through a map of the State of Illinois and the 
public housing I have visited and witnessed that is in desperate need 
of repair. It is time, you think, to call the landlord and say: What 
are you going to do about this housing unit that you own that is 
falling down? Except, it turns out, we are the landlords. The Federal 
Government owns this property. The Federal Government has the 
responsibility to fix it.
  Last week, President Trump moved to repeal an Obama-era rule meant to 
ban discriminatory housing and zoning laws and policies. It is not 
pricing from this President, but it is wrong. We need to move forward 
and not backward. The housing infrastructure needs to move in the right 
direction.
  Finally, once again, in the name of John Lewis, I believe that the 
right to vote was ``almost sacred,'' in his words, and I share that 
feeling, but that right is now threatened by a series of misguided 
decisions in recent years by the Supreme Court and other courts.
  The House passed a bill last year to restore the Voting Rights Act to 
its original intent. That bill is being reintroduced in the Senate this 
week by Senator Leahy and in the House by Congressman Clyburn. The 
difference? They are naming it in honor of Congressman John Lewis.
  John Lewis did not risk his life in Selma and so many other places so 
people would praise him in speeches or name things after him. He did 
not risk his life for the right to have a bridge named after him--
although it is a fitting tribute. He risked his life over and over 
again to protect the right of every American to vote.
  Americans' faith in our electoral system--the cornerstone of our 
democracy--continues to be under attack by entities that wish us ill.
  For those who gathered in the Rotunda yesterday to honor his memory 
and to stand in silent respect for all the work of his life, I say to 
my fellow Senators who were there: Let us pass the Voting Rights 
Advancement Act in the name of Congressman John Lewis. Let us make it 
clear that his life was worth this and so much more.
  When you know better, you do better. Our eyes have been opened, and 
now it is time for us to act.
  It is my honor to serve in this Senate, but I am sorry to say that 
when it comes to production of important, meaningful legislation, this 
institution has fallen far behind.
  We seldom take up bills of great importance and magnitude. We just 
passed the Defense authorization bill--a very important piece of 
legislation, which I believe has passed for 59 straight years in 
Congress, and I am glad it passed again, but now you see an empty floor 
and an empty Chamber

[[Page S4530]]

where we are not taking up the issues that we should.
  There is one person who controls the agenda and the schedule of this 
Chamber, and that is the Republican majority leader, Senator Mitch 
McConnell of Kentucky. Let's not waste this opportunity to make America 
a better place. Let's do things that make a difference.
  America is counting on us in the midst of this massive health crisis 
with COVID-19--perhaps the worst health crisis our Nation has faced in 
over 100 years. With the state of our economy and so many--tens of 
millions of people out of work, shouldn't we be acting together on a 
bipartisan basis, as we did in March of this year, to pass legislation?
  The reports we have is that the other side of the aisle is in 
disarray. I might remind Senator McConnell that the best legislation 
that passes here is bipartisan. And this measure, COVID relief, moving 
forward, should be bipartisan as well. For it to be bipartisan, we need 
people of both parties to sit down together and negotiate. That has to 
continue, along with the participation of the White House, in order to 
achieve these goals.
  First and foremost, we need to restore unemployment assistance to the 
millions of families who will see it end in just a few days. I cannot 
imagine having lost your job, worried about whether there is another 
one waiting or whether one will be available, and then having to worry 
about whether you can make that rent payment, the mortgage payment, the 
utility bills, food, health insurance--the basics--and to be told that 
Congress just let unemployment assistance expire, which happens in just 
3 days. What are these families going to do?
  I sincerely hope that every Member of the Senate will reach out to 
one of these unemployed families and listen quietly to their stories. I 
have seen them as they come to the food pantries. I have seen them come 
and ask for help, which they never dreamed they would have to do. It 
must be heartbreaking to go through that experience. Let's stand by 
them now. They need us now more than ever.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Boozman). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________