[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 173 (Monday, October 5, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S6033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Senate has spent the last few days 
like all Americans have, praying for quick healing and smooth recovery 
for President Trump and the First Lady following their positive COVID-
19 tests.
  I spoke to the President by phone twice this past weekend. Both 
times, his spirits were high. Both times, we talked about the people's 
business: our Nation's fight against this pandemic; his exceptional 
nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Barrett; as well as our efforts to 
continue rebuilding the economy for working families.
  We are also thinking of our friends and colleagues, the senior 
Senator for Utah, the senior Senator for Wisconsin, and the junior 
Senator for North Carolina, who are currently working from home. The 
standard cliche would say that these past few days have provided a 
stark reminder of the dangers of this terrible virus, but the truth is 
that our Nation did not need any such reminder.
  More than 209,000 of our fellow citizens have lost their lives. 
Millions have battled illness or had their lives disrupted by positive 
tests. This past weekend, my home State of Kentucky just recorded its 
highest ever--highest ever--one-day total for new cases. We all need to 
remain vigilant. We all need to remain careful.
  If the Speaker of the House and the Democratic leader had not spent 
months blocking another bipartisan relief package over unrelated, far-
left poison pills, we could have put hundreds of billions more dollars 
for kids, jobs, and healthcare in the pipeline many weeks ago.
  For the sake of our Nation, let's hope they finally lay down their 
partisan demands and let our country get back on offense against this 
disease.

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