[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 138 (Tuesday, August 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4679-S4680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               HEALS ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, another day has come and gone in this 
once-in-a-century national battle for our country.
  Yesterday, more of our neighbors had to say goodbye to loved ones 
whose lives were claimed by this virus. Yesterday, more doctors and 
more nurses worked long shifts on the frontlines, fighting to heal 
strangers and limit the national death toll that now exceeds 150,000. 
Yesterday, more workers brought home pink slips, and more Main Street 
businesses saw the end of their PPP lifelines fast approaching. 
Yesterday, more laid-off Americans filed new claims for unemployment 
insurance or lay awake wondering about next month's rent. Yesterday, 
more school officials wondered what to tell parents, students, and 
teachers about September.
  What happened here in the Capitol yesterday? With the American people 
fighting all of these battles and more, what did the Speaker of the 
House and the Democratic leader do with yet another day of 
deliberations? Yet again, it was the exact same refrain. It never seems 
to change: We are feeling optimistic. We spoke very politely to the 
administration, but we are still nowhere close on the substance.
  It has now been more than a week since Senate Republicans released a 
serious proposal for another major rescue package--$1 trillion for 
kids, jobs, and healthcare. The Democrats are blocking it all. It is 
like they expect applause for merely keeping a civil tone with the 
President's team--never mind they are still obstructing any action for 
our country.
  Senate Republicans want to revive a Federal add-on to unemployment 
insurance, which the Democratic leader would not let us extend last 
week. We want to send another round of direct checks straight into 
families' pockets. We want to supply generous, new incentives for 
rehiring American workers and workplace safety. We want to send 
historic money to schools for reopening and invest even more in testing 
and vaccine research. We want legal protections so schools, churches, 
charities, and businesses can reopen.

[[Page S4680]]

  The Democrats say they want many of the same things. I certainly 
believe that many of my Democratic colleagues who serve as ranking 
members want many of the same things and could easily find common 
ground with our chairmen if the Democratic leader would let them talk. 
Instead, we have gotten a full week of the Speaker of the House's and 
the Democratic leader's shutting out all of their own Members and 
refusing to move an inch off of demands that everyone knows are 
outlandish.
  The Democratic leaders want the entirety of their massive, far-left 
wish list--all of it. Speaker Pelosi is still agitating for strange, 
new special interest carve-outs for the marijuana industry--even 
claiming they are COVID-related. She said that, with respect to this 
virus, marijuana is ``a therapy that has proven successful.'' You can't 
make this up. I hope she shared her breakthrough with Dr. Fauci. In the 
other corner, Leader Schumer is still demanding massive tax cuts for 
rich people in blue States or he won't let any relief become law.
  These are the kinds of nongermane pet projects that our Democratic 
colleagues are demanding--not a dime for kids, jobs, and healthcare 
unless the administration let's them check off every leftwing 
lobbyist's Christmas list 5 months early.
  Let's listen to what Speaker Pelosi's own House Democrats said about 
this bill when they passed it. Here is what House Democrats said about 
the bill that Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leader now say is their 
absolute redline:
  One quote: ``The partisan nature and wide scope of this bill make it 
doomed upon arrival in the Senate.''
  Another quote: ``In response to COVID-19, our relief efforts must be 
targeted, timely, and transparent. The HEROES Act does not meet those 
standards.''
  Another quote: ``This isn't a plan; it's a wish list.''
  Another quote: ``Partisan gamesmanship.''
  Another quote: ``Some in my own party . . . have decided to use this 
package as an opportunity to make political statements and propose a 
bill that goes far beyond pandemic relief and has no chance at becoming 
law, further declaring the help so many need.''
  Those are quotes from House Democrats' views about the so-called 
Heroes Act, but now the entire thing is the price of admission for 
giving hard-hit Americans any more aid.
  What worked back in March with the CARES Act were productive and 
good-faith conversations between chairmen and ranking members--a 
bipartisan process led by Members.
  But this time, the Speaker and the Democratic leader have forbidden 
their Members from negotiating at all. The ranking member on HELP 
cannot even discuss testing with Chairman Alexander. The ranking member 
on Small Business cannot even discuss PPP with Chairman Rubio and 
Chairman Collins.
  No, no; the Speaker and the Democratic leader only want themselves at 
the table so that behind closed doors they can say that nobody gets 
another dime of Federal unemployment money; nobody gets extra school 
funding; and nobody gets more money for testing and PPE unless they 
burn cash on 1,000 unrelated things.
  I am talking about things like stimulus checks for illegal 
immigrants; a trillion-dollar slush fund for States, even though States 
and localities have only spent a quarter of the money we sent them in 
March. Let me say that again--a trillion-dollar slush fund for States, 
even though States and localities have only spent a quarter of the 
money we sent them in March. In my State, the State administration only 
spent 6 percent of the money we sent them--6 percent--diversity and 
inclusion studies, a soil health program, and on and on and on.
  The House bill does all these things while completely forgetting a 
second round of the Paycheck Protection Program--no second round for 
PPP--and sending less money for schools than the Senate bill.
  This is what they will not budge from. And every day the script is 
the same, and the script is: We had a pleasant conversation, but we 
don't feel like making a deal. Maybe tomorrow.
  Here is the problem: Every day the Democratic leaders repeat the same 
act here in the Capitol, they are letting down the struggling people 
who need our help. Day after day, Americans are trying to stay above 
water--layoffs, benefit cuts, threats of eviction, the possibility of 
losing a family business forever, towns wondering if their Main Streets 
will ever come back, school principals with no idea what to tell 
communities.
  That is the reality in Kentucky and in all 50 States, and none of 
these people are helped one bit, not one bit, by the Democratic 
leaders' charade.
  What American families need is an outcome, a bipartisan result. 
Senate Republicans have had a roadmap sitting on the table for more 
than a week. We didn't put every Republican wish list item in history 
into an 1,800-page encyclopedia and insist on starting there.
  We built a serious starting place based on the bipartisan programs we 
passed back in March--unanimously, by the way--and what the country 
needs now.
  If our colleagues across the aisle would do the same--frankly, if our 
colleagues across the aisle were even allowed--allowed to take part in 
the discussions, we could get this done for our country. We did it in 
March. We could do it again, but both sides have to actually want it.

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