[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 180 (Wednesday, October 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6340-S6342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Coronavirus
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, for months now, Democratic leaders have
held additional COVID relief hostage. Instead of working with
Republicans to arrive at a compromise bill that both parties can
support and that can make it through both Houses of Congress, Democrats
have insisted that it is their way or the highway. Either Republicans
agree to a bloated, multitrillion-dollar piece of legislation filled
with noncoronavirus-related measures and far-left, liberal wish list
items, a bill that would never make it through both Houses of Congress,
or Americans get no relief. That is basically the choice the Democrats
have left the American people.
It goes without saying that this is not the attitude of a party that
really wants to give help to Americans. This is the attitude of a party
that wants to use this crisis for political purposes.
Democrats figure that they win either way. Either they use this
crisis to force through a bunch of liberal priorities not related to
COVID or they blame Republicans for the lack of a bill.
Completely absent from their calculations is any sense of what their
intransigence is costing the American people.
If Democrats had actually been willing to compromise with Republicans
to reach consensus legislation, we could have had a new COVID relief
bill months ago. Americans could be enjoying additional relief right
now.
Republicans have made it clear since the summer that we were willing
to compromise with Democrats on a new bill. All we asked was that
Democrats come to the table with a reasonable proposal that could
actually make it through both Houses of Congress.
But Democrats haven't been interested. Oh, sure, Speaker Pelosi has
supposedly been working on an agreement with the White House for
months. We constantly hear from the Speaker that a deal is getting
closer, only to discover the next day that a deal isn't really close at
all.
Let me tell you something. If you are the Speaker of the House and
you really want to arrive at a compromise, it doesn't take you 3
months. It probably even doesn't take you 3 weeks.
Democrats have to know very well that there is no way for them to get
a bill containing everything they want through both Houses of Congress,
but Democrats could get some of what they want, and isn't something
better than nothing?
Even if Democrats were right about the need for every penny of
spending that they are calling for, wouldn't it be better to get some
of that spending passed than to have nothing? To Democrats, apparently
the answer is no.
In just a few minutes, the Senate will be voting on Republican
coronavirus legislation. Our bill would provide more money for the
hardest hit small businesses, more healthcare resources to fight the
virus, and money to help schools reopen and operate safely--priorities
that all of us, Democrats and Republicans, should be able to agree on.
In theory, I am pretty sure we do agree on them. And yet all signs
suggest that Democrats will filibuster this coronavirus relief
legislation for the second time--even though passing this bill would
get more money into the hands of small businesses and schools, even
though this bill would provide additional funding for COVID testing and
treatment.
Nevertheless, once again, Democrats will choose nothing--nothing--
over something. Once again, Democrats will decide that if they can't
get everything they want, it is better for Americans not to have
anything.
I hope whatever perceived political gains Democrats are getting from
their refusal to negotiate are worth denying help to the American
people.
In a few minutes, Republicans will cast their votes in favor of COVID
relief, and I invite rank-and-file Democrats to reject their leader's
obstruction and join us on that vote.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, late last night the news flash was:
Senator
[[Page S6341]]
McConnell, Republican leader of the U.S. Senate, opposes COVID-19
relief bill and informs the White House.
Supposedly, it was a statement made by Senator McConnell at his
Republican lunch yesterday, and it was later confirmed by four
Republican Senators who attended that that is what occurred.
Finally, it becomes public one of the things that has been suspected
for a long time on this side of the aisle. You see, most of us have
been paying close attention to the speeches by Senator McConnell to try
to gauge his interest in really coming back to help the American
people.
We remember on March 26, when 96 to 0--96 to 0--the Senate voted for
COVID relief in what was known as the CARES Act. It was a bipartisan
measure responding to a national pandemic that was just starting to
surface and an economy that was just starting to collapse.
Many people thought at the time that that would be the end of our
journey, that we would do what is necessary, and put it behind us. And
so the unemployment assistance, for example, ended on July 31 of this
year. The PPP--the Paycheck Protect Program--ended in the middle of
August. We were wrong.
The pandemic got dramatically worse, and the economy slumped even
further. Millions more were out of work. Thousands were dying. More
were infected. And we still are in a terrible battle now against this
deadly virus.
So the obvious solution was for Congress to come back and help again.
The first measure was good and I think helpful, but it wasn't enough.
We needed more.
So Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, 5 months ago--5
months ago--in May passed a COVID relief bill to follow on from the
original bill. She sent it over to Senator McConnell 5 months ago, and
he did nothing.
What he said was: I want to see if I feel a sense of urgency about
the need for this bill--a sense of urgency.
Well, today 220,000 Americans have died. Americans are dying at a
pace from this coronavirus that is unimaginable. Do you understand that
the death rate from COVID in America is 2\1/2\ times the death rate in
Canada? Do we realize the infection rate in the United States is five
times what it is than Canada or Germany? Do we understand that with 4.5
percent of the world's population, we lead in COVID deaths than
anywhere in the world?
The efforts to deal with COVID-19 have failed, and the American
people know it. They are tired of this way of living, with these masks,
but they know if they don't, they risk their health and the safety of
others. They want this economy to come back to life. They want the kids
to go back to school. But we can't move forward unless we have
leadership, No. 1, and that is what an election is all about; a plan,
No. 2; and the resources to implement it.
What are the resources that Senator McConnell believes are necessary
to deal with this? When it comes to testing, $16 billion for the
Nation--$16 billion.
We are currently testing 1 million people a day across the United
States. We should be testing 14 million people a day if we are serious
about contact tracing, if we are serious about reopening the economy.
So the Senator from Kentucky comes to the floor this morning and
talks about the obstructionism of Nancy Pelosi. Obstructionism? Five
months ago, she passed the COVID-19 relief bill and sent it to his
desk, and he never once brought it to the floor for debate or a vote--
not once. He mocks it and criticizes it day after day. He is afraid of
voting before the U.S. Senate. So he comes up with an elaborate
procedural scheme, which we will see in just a few minutes here, that
basically wants to put together his package for COVID relief, but his
package is missing so many key elements that we know will not respond
to this national crisis. It is the old story of a man 30 feet from
shore drowning, and someone stands by the shore and tosses him a 5-foot
rope. It doesn't work. It doesn't reach. It doesn't save him.
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, has told us that
if we don't do something, there will be a tragic result in the American
economy. If we pass a bill of the magnitude suggested by Speaker
Pelosi, we have a chance of recovering by the end of 2021. If we don't,
the Chairman of the Federal Reserve warns us--and others, as well--that
we will slump into an even worse recession, even more unemployment, and
even more businesses failing.
That appears to be what Senator McConnell is prepared to accept, but
we are not. Those of us set to deal with the real problems and
challenges for Americans realize we need more than an effort of
throwing a 5-foot rope to a man drowning 30 feet from shore. That is
the McConnell approach.
As we take a look at the elements that are missing in the McConnell
approach, they are lengthy. Virtually every State and local government
in the Nation has seen a downturn in revenue because the economy
contracted. We want to help these State and local governments survive
to be able to overcome the need to layoff healthcare workers, teachers,
firefighters, and police. That is what we believe, and that is what we
include in our bill, not in the McConnell bill.
Housing. There is no funding for housing or rental assistance in the
McConnell bill that he brought before us.
Economic stimulus. Remember the $1,200 checks? There are no direct
stimulus checks in the McConnell proposal. He says that we are holding
out to help the coastal elites. News flash, Senator McConnell: Coastal
elites don't qualify for these checks, nor should they. Ordinary people
do, and your bill doesn't help them.
On unemployment, Senator McConnell's bill cuts the benefits in half--
the Federal benefits for unemployment. Then he puts in this provision--
an incredible provision--that gives large companies immunity from
liability if they do not take the necessary steps to protect their
employees and customers. That is a high priority. The big shots do
pretty well in Senator McConnell's bill.
When it comes to testing, Senator McConnell is prepared to spend $16
billion, as I mentioned earlier. The bill we support has over $57
billion for hospitals and healthcare clinics and $75 billion for
testing.
Nutrition. Senator McConnell says we are just trying to help the
blue-State billionaires. I have news for him: They don't qualify for
SNAP benefits. And there is no SNAP benefit increase in the McConnell
bill. We believe there should be. People are standing in line at food
banks. America can do better.
Money to help the schools--we put more money into that than Senator
McConnell does.
There is help for the Postal Service, which has been hard-pressed by
the current state of the economy.
We also have the Paycheck Protection Program, which we all agree
needs to be there for small businesses.
I will just conclude by saying this. We have our chance now to work
together on a bipartisan basis to help people who are counting on us.
Senator McConnell's approach has to be rejected. It is just an effort
to find some cover politically so people can go home and say: Well, I
voted for something. Let's do something that makes a difference in the
lives of people and helps them. Let's deal with this coronavirus
directly and let's help those who are suffering from job loss and
struggling to make ends meet get through this crisis themselves. That
is the responsibility we face, and it is one that I think we should
face honestly.
I listened as my friend and colleague, Senator Thune, said that we
were holding America hostage with our position on the Democratic side.
We are not holding them hostage. It was Senator McConnell who refused
to participate in the negotiations and still does. We have a bipartisan
effort between the White House and Speaker Pelosi to solve this problem
and come together again as we did in March. It is time for us to do it.
The President may say he is tired of COVID, but America can't be
tired of COVID. We have to face it every single day and fight it every
day. The Senate and Congress should help.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I concur with everything that our
distinguished assistant leader has said.
[[Page S6342]]
We are in the middle of the most devastating health crisis in modern
history, and the American people are paying a terrible price. Nearly
220,000 Americans have died in just 10 months. To put that in
perspective, that is significantly more than the number of Americans
who died in the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined--
all of them.
Remember President Trump calling himself a ``war President''?
President Trump said he was a ``war President.'' Well, has he acted
like one? No. He called the virus a hoax. He has been AWOL ever since.
Millions have lost their jobs. They are struggling to make ends meet.
People are being evicted from their homes. They are living in their
cars and in shelters or on the street. They are relying on the
generosity of others, and the virus is still not remotely under
control. The need for another comprehensive emergency funding bill to
address the COVID crisis is obvious. It is urgent and has been for 5
months. And what is the Senate doing? Staging show votes on COVID
relief bills that the majority leader knows will go nowhere. And then
they go back on their word--both the majority leader and the chairman
of the Judiciary Committee--on what they said a year ago, and they try
to rush through the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice less than 2
weeks before the election, after millions of Americans have already
voted.
So where are their priorities?
I know where mine are. They are with the families of the 220,000
Americans who have lost their lives to this virus. They are with the
thousands of Vermonters and millions more across the Nation who lost
their jobs during this pandemic. They are with the small business
owners trying to stay afloat during this crisis. They are with the
fathers and mothers wondering if they will be able to pay next month's
rent or put food on the table, and they are with the children
struggling to learn through Zoom calls and online classes. It is a
national disaster, and it requires real solutions.
We need a comprehensive bill to address this problem. We can't do it
with fig leaves or do it piecemeal, like Senator McConnell wants to do.
We can't pass an inadequate bill today on the chance that maybe we will
come back later and do what we should have done to begin with. That is
not how it works. Everyone knows that.
We have one chance for the remainder of this year to get it right,
and we owe it to the American people, everybody--I don't care if they
are Republicans, Democrats, Independents--everybody--to try.
The majority leader staged a show yesterday. He didn't bring up a
comprehensive proposal for COVID relief and open it for debate. He
called for a process vote and only one part of it, the Paycheck
Protection Program. Well, I support that program. We all do. It is
critical in keeping literally thousands of small businesses afloat. But
take a look at this proposal. It falls flat. It ignores critical
improvements to the programs that would be made by considering the
Heroes Act--expanding access to all nonprofits, making critical-access
hospitals eligible for PPP, and addressing arbitrary caps on various
loan programs to help small businesses.
More importantly, it is providing more funding for these programs,
and nothing else would even remotely solve the problems facing our
country. The economy will not come back until the American people have
confidence that the virus has been vanquished. We need more funding for
the PPP program. We all agree with that. We need to fix that program
and do so much more.
We have to invest more in testing. It needs to be based on a national
testing and contact tracing strategy so we can quickly identify cases
and isolate those who have been exposed. How many times do we have to
say it? We need to develop a vaccine distribution program now so it can
be up and running as soon as the vaccine is available. We have to
provide personal protective equipment to those on the frontlines. We
have to ensure our hospitals have the resources they need to take care
of the ill. We need to keep our nursing homes safe and virus-free.
Doing targeted bills aimed at one sector is the way to avoid doing
what is really needed. It picks winners and losers at a time when
everyone is struggling. No matter how much aid we give to small
business or airlines or to our struggling restaurant industry, our
economy won't come back until the virus is under control.
We need a comprehensive bill, not the so-called McConnell ``skinny''
bill we are voting on today, which provides only $500 billion of COVID
relief, less than half of even what the Trump administration proposed
just a month ago.
Look at the lines at food banks. They are skyrocketing during this
crisis, but there is nothing in this bill for nutrition assistance.
Look at the millions of Americans who are struggling to pay next
month's rent or to keep up with their mortgage payments.
Notwithstanding the wishful thinking of the President, this is a
massive problem, and either the President doesn't know it or he doesn't
care. Maybe it is both.
Today there are over 25 million Americans unemployed, compared to
just 2 million at the end of January, and the unemployment assistance
in this bill is totally inadequate.
There is nothing in the bill for State and local governments that are
on the frontline fighting this virus. There is inadequate money for
testing, education, and childcare; no funding for community health
centers; no funding to fight this on a global level. We are not going
to defeat this pandemic if we ignore what is happening outside of the
United States. Americans can't safely resume international travel and
commerce.
I can go on. There is so much that is missing.
So what do they put in? They turn something over to the well-paid
lobbyists of corporations by providing sweeping liability shields for
corporate wrongdoers who have failed to do their part to keep
employees, consumers, and patients safe. That tells you everything you
need to know about what is in it. A special earmark for big
corporations comes ahead of struggling American families.
We know it is not going to pass. It shouldn't pass. Let's start
working and getting something that can be passed instead of this. The
House passed the Heroes bill over 5 months ago, and they passed it
again 3 weeks ago. Why don't we take it up and vote it up or vote it
down? Let's have some votes. Let's make people stand up and see what
they are really for. If we don't, then, democracy has failed the
American people.
I remain hopeful that Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin's talks
will result in a comprehensive deal on COVID relief that will solve
real problems in America. Speaker Pelosi has already shown a
willingness to compromise, and the other side must do the same. If it
does, Senator McConnell must commit to bring it to the floor for a vote
immediately, even if he personally opposes it, or the majority of his
caucus opposes it. That is the way democracies are supposed to work.
The American people have waited long enough.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Romney). The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed
to finish my comments before the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.