[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 2, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7143-S7144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, when I opened the Senate on Monday, I 
repeated something Republicans have stated for months now. We need to 
put partisanship aside and get more bipartisan, targeted coronavirus 
relief out to the American people.
  Dating back to the summer, and all fall, Senate Republicans tried 
repeatedly to advance hundreds of billions of dollars to prevent 
layoffs, protect small businesses, fund vaccine distribution, and 
continue assisting workers who have already lost their jobs due to the 
crisis. Every time, the Speaker of the House and the Democratic leader 
blocked our efforts. It had to be the entirety of their leftwing wish 
list or nothing at all.
  Finally, this week, we are seeing cracks starting to form in the 
Democratic leaders' stone wall, and thank goodness for the country that 
that is finally happening. In the last several days, the Democratic 
leaders have signaled a new willingness to engage in good faith and, 
yesterday, a number of Senate Democrats proposed a different 
compromise.
  But at the risk of repeating something we all know, making law will 
not just require the Senate's approval but also the signature of the 
President of the United States.
  So, after several conversations with the Secretary of the Treasury 
and the White House Chief of Staff, I put forward yesterday another 
proposal reflecting what the President is ready to sign into law. What 
we have proposed would give universities and nonprofits the legal 
certainty they need. It would create a second draw on the job-saving 
Paycheck Protection Program to prevent more layoffs, and it would 
extend

[[Page S7144]]

two important emergency unemployment benefit programs that were created 
by the CARES Act and which will expire in December without action. 
These programs have been championed by our Democratic colleagues, 
particularly the senior Senator from Virginia, and we made sure they 
were included in the framework.
  I hope our Democratic colleagues will finally let Congress pass a 
bipartisan bill that the President will likely sign into law and do so 
soon

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