[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 193 (Thursday, November 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6662-S6664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I have come to the floor again today to 
talk about the need for us, as a Congress, to come together to address 
this coronavirus pandemic. We have an unprecedented healthcare and 
economic crisis right now, and it is important for us to figure out 
what we can do, what we can agree on, and then move forward.
  Since this pandemic began back in March, I am told I have come to the 
floor now 17 separate times to urge my colleagues to work together on a 
bipartisan basis to try to put together legislation that will enable us 
to respond effectively and in a focused way to the COVID-19 crisis.
  We had some early successes. Remember the CARES Act that was passed 
back in March. That was 8 months ago--8 months ago. Really, for the 
last 6 months, we haven't passed anything to address this crisis. Yet 
the crisis has ebbed and flowed, and, right now, unfortunately, it is 
at an all-time high in my State of Ohio.
  I have been frustrated that we can't have that same sense of urgency 
and willingness to work together as we had during those first couple of 
months of the coronavirus pandemic. It seemed to have disappeared as we 
entered election season; didn't it? So, as we got closer and closer to 
the election, there was more and more divide and inability to come 
together. Now we need to get back to that sense of bipartisanship--I 
would even say nonpartisanship in so much of this--and cooperation for 
the good of our country.
  It is getting worse, as I said, in my State of Ohio and around the 
country, and I believe we can make a difference, and that is important. 
There are things we can do at the Federal level that would help.
  Right now, we are averaging in this country over 100,000 new cases 
per day. That is double the rate from just 1 month ago--double the rate 
from 1 month ago. It was predicted as it got colder and people were 
inside more. The third wave has arrived.
  In Ohio, the number of daily new cases has risen every day for the 
past month. Just last night, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine reported nearly 
6,000 new cases in the last 24-hour period, compared to 1,000 cases per 
day that the

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State experienced just at the beginning of October.
  Unfortunately, it is not just about new cases. We are seeing 
increases in hospitalizations. We are seeing increases in patients that 
are in the ICU units. We are seeing increases, sadly, in fatalities. We 
need to do more to help this economy, too, because the economy, as the 
pandemic has worsened, has begun to slow.
  Initially, we had impressive economic growth--no question about it--
but it has begun to slow at a time when the economy is still down 10 
million jobs since February. Think about that. We are still 10 million 
jobs short from where we were in February. What we really don't want is 
for those 10 million people to become long-term unemployed, who may 
never reenter the workforce. That is why it is important to act and act 
now.
  Unemployment claims, which were going down, by the way, seem to have 
more or less flattened in most States, including Ohio. Ohio's 
unemployment rate, we are told, for the most recent month we have data 
for, which is September, was still above 8 percent. I think it is 
better now, but it is still way too high.
  And, of course, certain sectors of the economy, like hospitality, 
travel, and entertainment, are really struggling badly, with no end in 
sight, as some States begin to reimplement these stricter social 
distancing measures, and some States are even putting back in place 
closures. So, if you are in the hospitality business, entertainment 
business, or travel business, you are concerned right now. To counter 
the spread of the virus, these closures are also going to have a 
terrible economic impact on businesses and on families.
  These dangerous trends are putting people's lives and livelihoods at 
risk if we can't start to reverse them. And, again, it has been 6 
months since we came together in any kind of a package and 8 months 
since the CARES package.
  I believe there are some in Congress, including, I believe, the 
Speaker of the House, who were not interested in seeing a comprehensive 
package passed before the election. They thought it would be good 
politics, I guess, for President Trump. I don't know. Looking at the 
results of the election, I think it might have been just the opposite.
  But the point is that the election is now behind us. So if that was 
the reason, let's forget that. Let's get something done here. Let's get 
this partisan gridlock off the docket on this issue, and let's focus on 
what is good for the American people. This is what is called the 
lameduck session of Congress. So that is a good time to do it. We are 
past the election, and the new Congress hasn't come on yet. Let's work 
together in good faith toward a Federal response that is focused and 
targeted, and we can find some common ground here.
  I believe the best path forward is very close to what has been 
embodied in some of these more targeted proposals, including ones that 
we have put on the floor repeatedly here since way back in August. 
These bills are inclusive of some of the most important bipartisan 
priorities, like providing needed funding for vaccine and therapy 
development and like replenishing the successful PPP program for small 
businesses. It was included in the CARES Act, by the way, but it 
expired back in August. So, on August 9, the Paycheck Protection 
Program, or PPP, actually expired. So for these struggling small 
businesses, they have nowhere to turn.
  How about providing funding to the schools? That is bipartisan. How 
about making sure that we have folks who are able to come together to 
help ensure that we have adequate funding for this exciting new vaccine 
development that we are hearing about? Anyway, when we have tried to 
bring these to the floor, the other side has blocked even entering into 
a debate about it.

  Instead, Democrats have insisted on the House-passed Heroes Act, 
which passed in May, with almost no Republican support, which makes a 
bunch of controversial changes to policy unrelated to coronavirus--
repealing State and local tax deductions to benefit mostly wealthy 
Americans and making unprecedented changes to immigration laws. What do 
these policies have to do with coronavirus? Nothing.
  At a time of unprecedented deficits and debt, it makes those changes 
with a pricetag of $3.5 trillion. And some say: Well, the Speaker is 
now down to $2.4 trillion. Folks, whatever that number is, it is going 
to be unprecedented. We never had anything that expensive pass the 
Congress. It is at a time, again, when we have the highest deficit we 
have ever had. And our debt, as a percent of our GDP, sadly, is now 100 
percent of our GDP, which it hasn't been since World War II.
  We are past the contentious election season now. So let's put aside 
the politics and let's build a targeted, bipartisan coronavirus bill 
based on what we all agree works and what we agree really is needed in 
the face of a rapidly spreading virus.
  Here are a few examples of what we can do. First, our next 
coronavirus response package should have the Healthy Workplace Tax 
Credit, which basically says: We all want people to get back to work, 
back to school, and back to the hospitals. But let's do it safely. This 
would really help the bars, the restaurants, the salons, the gyms, the 
bowling alleys, and other businesses to reopen safely and stay open by 
basically compensating them for the purchase of hand sanitizers, PPE 
like face shields and gloves, and for the reconfiguration of their 
workplaces with plexiglass, as we are seeing, and for other measures to 
allow for social distancing.
  As businesses prepare to winterize their outdoor spaces in order to 
prevent the spread of COVID, this payroll tax credit that is in this 
legislation would help offset those costs and help businesses stay 
open. It is just what we need to help keep our economy afloat.
  This is, I think, the sweet spot. I think everyone agrees, I hope, 
that we should go back to work, go back to school, go back to the 
hospitals, and so on, but we need to do it safely. That is what this 
does. Shouldn't that be bipartisan? Even nonpartisan?
  Second, we should invest heavily in testing and contact tracing so 
that States are better equipped to respond to the surge of outbreaks. 
Republicans and Democrats alike know that fast and accurate tests are 
critical to stopping the spread of this disease and getting people more 
comfortable going back to shopping, going back to work, going back to 
school, and going back to a more normal life.
  The targeted bill, again, that we introduced last month that 
Democrats blocked had $16 billion set aside for testing and tracing. We 
could use those resources right now in Ohio. I spoke to Governor DeWine 
earlier this week. We want the money for testing. We need it. Let's 
pass it now.
  Third, we also need help to continue the development of these 
treatments and these vaccines as quickly as possible. The recent news 
of a potential vaccine by Pfizer with a 90-percent efficacy is really 
promising, but we can't take our foot off the gas on this. If we cannot 
address the underlying healthcare challenge with the coronavirus, we 
are going to be stuck playing defense against this disease for a long 
time.
  The targeted bill from last month included $37 billion for vaccine 
development and distribution and $20 billion for therapies, which I 
think are really good starting points for us to at least debate what 
the final number should be. But let's help right now to ensure we don't 
slow down the vaccines and the therapies and be sure the distribution 
works.
  In the face of a virus that seems like it is getting more and more 
out of hand every day, these three proposals are examples--the tax 
credit for safely reopening businesses, money for improved testing and 
tracing, and money for vaccine and therapy development. These all seem 
like commonsense ideas. I don't see any reason why a majority in this 
Chamber can't come together and build a bipartisan response based on 
these kind of simple policies.
  Whatever we do, we can't afford to delay any longer. American lives 
are at stake, and we are in danger of losing ground where we gained it 
on the coronavirus, as this third wave threatens my home State of Ohio 
and our country. Let's not wait any longer. Let's come together and 
once again get something done that helps the people whom we represent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hyde-Smith). The Senator from 
Pennsylvania.

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