[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 201 (Monday, November 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, I hope all of my colleagues had a 
good and fine Thanksgiving. We all know that across the country we 
celebrated a Thanksgiving--all of us, every American--unlike any in 
recent memory. Too many loved ones spent this holiday alone, unable to 
join with loved ones out of concern for their safety. As painful as it 
is to refrain from seeing family and friends, these are tough choices 
that we sometimes have to make, and we need to maintain our resolve 
more than ever.
  While the hope of a vaccine shimmers on the near horizon, we are 
living through the worst stretch of the pandemic right now. Last 
Friday, for the first time, over 200,000 new cases of COVID were 
reported in a single day. The United States is averaging over 1 million 
new cases a week. Some 20 percent of all patients now hospitalized in 
the United States have COVID-19.
  The worst and most unalterable part of this pandemic, of course, are 
the deaths. Since November 10, America has been losing more than 1,000 
precious lives a day. On one day, November 24, we lost more than 2,000. 
The national death toll stands at a very sad 270,000 American souls. 
Families all across the country are experiencing the unthinkable, 
unbearable losses of their loved ones.
  As a compassionate nation, we cannot and must not ignore or become 
inured to this terrible reality. We must not avert our gaze. We must 
acknowledge the lives we are losing. We must honor the grief of the 
children, parents, spouses, siblings, and friends of the increasing 
number of Americans who are dying from COVID-19 every single day. We 
must redouble our efforts to flatten the curve and protect each other 
by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and complying with the 
guidance of health officials.
  As this Chamber gavels back into session, we must redouble our 
efforts before the end of the calendar year. As the pandemic increases 
in severity, so does the economic pain felt by countless working 
families and small business owners. In a few short weeks, several 
provisions of the CARES Act--including student loan forbearance, 
eviction moratoriums, and jobless benefits for millions of workers--
will expire.
  So first and foremost on the Senate's to-do list is COVID relief. 
Both sides should come together and negotiate a COVID relief bill in a 
bipartisan way that meets the needs of our businesses, our schools, our 
healthcare systems, our workers, and our families.
  At the start of this crisis, Democrats and Republicans came together 
in a flurry of negotiations--I was thickly involved with them with 
Secretary Mnuchin--to pass a bill that truly met the moment. Now we are 
about to reach a new, more difficult stage of the crisis. We need to 
renew that spirit, that urgency, that bipartisanship.
  Leader McConnell's view, stated just a few minutes ago, seems to be 
that the only things that should be in this bill are things Republicans 
approve of, even if the needs of the country--the desperate needs of 
the country--are beyond the small list that Republicans might support. 
That is not real compromise.
  We need to come together. Both sides must give. We have a Democratic 
House, and in the Senate there is a need for Democratic votes to pass 
any bill, so we need a true bipartisan bill--not ``this is our bill; 
take it or leave it''--that can bring us together and solve the 
desperate needs of the American people, which we all very much want to 
solve.
  Mr. President, the second item on our to-do list is Federal 
appropriations, which expire in 2 weeks. As we speak, appropriators 
from both sides in the relevant committees continue their negotiations. 
It is my hope and expectation that we can come to an agreement very 
soon.
  Mr. President, third and finally, Congress should pass the annual 
Defense bill. As our country prepares for a peaceful transfer of power, 
the continuity of our national security is paramount. For nearly 60 
years, Congress has never failed to pass the annual Defense bill, but 
this year it seems the normally uncontroversial legislation has hit a 
snag. President Trump has threatened to veto the bill over a provision 
that would rename military bases and installations named after 
Confederate military leaders, men who would rend this country in half 
to preserve the institution of slavery, men who literally fought 
against this Nation's military in pursuit of an ignoble cause.
  For that--a provision to rename our military bases to honor actual 
heroes rather than traitors to our country--President Trump is 
threatening to veto a pay raise for our troops. And it seems that 
Republicans in Congress are slow-walking the bill in hopes of finding 
some way to appease the outgoing President rather than just passing the 
bill over his rather ridiculous objection.
  The provision to rename these installations was included in both the 
House- and Senate-passed versions of the bill, and the larger bill 
passed both Chambers with broad bipartisan support. There is no reason 
to further delay a pay raise for our living military heroes because 
President Trump wants to honor dead Confederate traitors.

  The other provision that is at risk, shockingly, from our Republican 
colleagues is an amendment to assist veterans who have long suffered 
from their exposure to Agent Orange in the Vietnam war. The amendment 
passed this Chamber with 94 votes in favor, a rare and near-unanimous 
demonstration of bipartisan support.
  The Trump administration's own VA advisory panel recommended this 
policy to improve healthcare for these veterans, but for some reason, 
our Republican counterparts are now reportedly trying to strip it from 
any final agreement. It would be an affront to a group of ailing 
veterans, who have suffered enough already, to strip a provision that 
would help provide them adequate healthcare.

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