[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.