[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 204 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7194-S7196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Coronavirus
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, let me thank my colleague and
friend, the senior Senator from the great State of Nevada, for her
words. They are on point. I hope the Republican leader was listening. I
hope our Republican colleagues were listening because her genuine
concern for her State, which is suffering just like mine is--both
States depend on entertainment and tourism. It is real. We all want to
get something done, and we are all willing to give to get something
done, but the Republican leader holds the key, and we hope he is open
to compromise. I will have more to say on that in a minute, but I thank
her for her comments.
We all know how desperate things are. Yesterday, we were leveled by
some of the grimmest statistics of the pandemic. More than 100,000
Americans were hospitalized; more than 2,700 Americans died, the
highest recorded number in a single day since the pandemic began; more
than 274,000 Americans have died in total. That is the equivalent of a
9/11 attack every day for 92 days in a row.
Unlike the spring, when the rates of infections and fatalities peaked
before steadily declining, the winter months and the hangover from
Thanksgiving travel will likely cause these rates to get worse before
they get better.
The steady yet staggering loss of American life is horrific. And
because so many of us are isolated, because so many have contracted the
disease and have experienced relatively mild symptoms and recovered
quickly--thank God--there is a sense that things are not as bad as they
seem. But the raw accounting is unavoidable, and it is harrowing. The
loss of our friends, our parents, our neighbors, our siblings, our
colleagues must be acknowledged and mourned and must inspire us to
redouble our efforts to defeat this evil disease.
As COVID-19 races through much of the country, the economic fallout
of the pandemic also broadens. Many family budgets and small businesses
are at their breaking point.
Economists are now warning that the U.S. economy could fall into
double-dip recession without additional relief from Congress. Let me
say that again. We could have a double-dip recession unless there is
relief--good, strong relief from Congress. That is why Democrats have
been so desperately trying to convince our Republican colleagues and
the Republican leader, in particular, to work with us in a bipartisan
fashion on another round of emergency Federal relief.
Speaker Pelosi and I made a new offer to Leader McConnell and Leader
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McCarthy on Monday in hopes of jump-starting serious negotiations.
Leader McConnell responded by circulating another version of a
partisan, Republican-only draft.
In the spirit of compromise, Speaker Pelosi and I believe the
bipartisan framework introduced by a group of eight Senators on Tuesday
should be used as the basis, the framework, for immediate bipartisan,
bicameral negotiations. Of course, we and others will offer
improvements, but the need to act is urgent, and we believe that with
good-faith negotiations, we could very well come to an agreement.
We are already much closer to an agreement because of the bipartisan
talks these eight Senators have created, and we can build off their
momentum.
What is the alternative--another round of legislative failure, a
failure to help the American people? The Republican leader came to the
floor this morning to say ``compromise is within reach''--his words--
before reiterating a long list of Republican demands and blaming the
Democrats for everything. Once again, the Republican leader argued that
the Senate should pass only what Republicans approve of and leave the
rest for later, and he now says that an emergency relief bill should be
limited by only what President Trump will sign.
Of course, we could say, similarly, that the bill should be limited
only by what a Democratic House will pass.
Neither is true compromise. The leader knows that. But for some
reason, in the midst of this generational crisis, Republican Leader
McConnell does not seem inclined to compromise to actually get
something done. But what he wants to do is posture, to put partisan
bills on the floor and say: Take it or leave it.
The real answer here is to sit down and talk. Let's use the
bipartisan framework developed by eight Senators from both sides as our
starting point.
We have precious little time left before the end of the year. The
country has some desperate needs. Unemployment remains too high. Laid-
off workers need our assistance until the economy fully recovers. Small
businesses need another round of support.
With the imminent availability of a vaccine, it is crucial that there
be additional funding for manufacturing and distribution. The
distribution efforts will be led by the States, which further increases
the need to deliver assistance to State and local governments.
As we all take great hope and solace in the idea that a vaccine is
just around the corner, we must make necessary preparations to ensure
that we have enough doses; that it is distributed effectively,
efficiently and fairly; and that Americans can access it affordably.
We can make a significant downpayment, right now, toward preparing
the country for a vaccine with an emergency relief bill before the
Christmas holiday
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Tribute to Senators Lamar Alexander, Mike Enzi, Pat Roberts, and Cory
Gardner
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I am on the floor today to pay tribute to
friends and colleagues who will be leaving the Senate at the start of
the new Congress.
I consider Lamar Alexander, who spoke yesterday, to be a friend and a
mentor. He is an institution around here. He is what I would consider
an old-school Senator in the best way. He not only takes the time to
learn the issues, but he also understands how to explain the importance
of the policies that we work on up here to the people back home. By
embodying the principles of collegiality and bipartisanship, he has
accomplished a lot for the people of Tennessee and all Americans.
In the Senate, you need 59 other Senators to say ``That is a good
idea'' to get anything accomplished. It is critical, then, to get to
know your colleagues, learn about how to work with them constructively
to get things done. Lamar Alexander is masterful at that.
We have accomplished a lot under his leadership on a lot of important
issues. In the interest of time, I will mention two recent examples
where I worked with Lamar and watched him make a difference in the
lives of all Americans.
First, his 21st Century Cures Act, which passed back in 2016,
provided needed authorization for investments in the National
Institutes of Health and other research institutions to help create new
breakthroughs in treatments and cures for cancer, Alzheimer's, and
other diseases, as well as advancements in developing medical
treatments tailored to each person's individual genome. It was
groundbreaking work.
It probably got less notice, but it also authorized an unprecedented
amount of funding in the State opioid response grants to combat opioid
epidemics that have hit almost all of our States. Certainly, it has hit
Ohio and Tennessee hard. This has served as an absolutely exceptional
complement to what is called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery
Act, which we passed earlier that year. Without the 21st Century Cures
Act, we would not have made the progress we have achieved in the past
few years in turning the tide of this deadly disease, and I have seen
it firsthand in my State and around the country.
We also could not have accomplished the landmark Restore Our Parks
Act without his help. This bill, now law, will help to rebuild our
national park infrastructure by helping to address that backlog of $12
billion now in maintenance projects. Over 100,000 jobs will be created
in the next 5 years due to this legislation.
Lamar didn't care about getting the credit for this historic bill, by
the way--probably the most important bill for conserving lands in 50
years. He just wanted to get it done. I saw that as he worked
tirelessly in public and behind the scenes to ensure we got it across
the finish line.
Jane and I have cherished our time together with you and Honey,
Lamar, and we hope that will continue.
Here in the Senate, we will miss your experience, your wisdom, your
spirit of bipartisanship, and your perseverance and determination to
advance our country's priorities and get things done.
Another colleague who has focused on results is Senator Mike Enzi, a
true son of Wyoming, who has represented his home State with class in
this Chamber for nearly a quarter of a century. Mike is someone I have
gotten to know and respect over the past decade as we have served
together here in the Senate.
In his time here on the Hill, Mike has accomplished a lot for
Wyoming. As chair of the HELP Committee, he helped lead the way on
crucial pension reforms--complicated stuff but really important. He
promoted greater access to education and affordable healthcare and
pushed for improvements to workplace safety. He was always willing to
reach across the aisle.
Over the past three Congresses, he has embraced his past life as an
accountant and used his position as chair of the Senate Budget
Committee to push for smarter spending here in Washington. That is a
perspective we will really miss in this time of exploding deficits.
I have to say, I am a bit envious of Mike's post-Senate career plans.
As he tells me, he is going back to Wyoming to spend time with Diana
and his wonderful family and to spend more time on the rivers of
Wyoming with his fly rod.
Mike, I hope sometime soon I will be able to come out to Gillette to
join you and Diana so you can show me your favorite fishing spots.
Congratulations on a well-deserved retirement.
We are saying goodbye to another giant of the Senate this year when
Senator Pat Roberts leaves us. I saw Senator Roberts on the floor here
a moment ago. I see him now.
I view Pat Roberts as the Matt Dillon of the United States Senate.
Matt Dillon, for those of you who know who he was, was a resident of
Dodge City, just like Pat, and like Marshal Dillon and the marine he is
proud to be, Pat knows how to lay down the law. But he does it with
humor and smiles and a wink, and he does it in a way with that dry
Kansas sense of humor that is very effective. By the way, he is always
looking for Miss Kitty.
He has used that combination of toughness and hard work and humor to
accomplish a lot here in Congress. Pat's focus has always been on the
people of Kansas. He has done a lot for the people of Kansas, but his
work went far beyond Kansas.
It turns out he is the only person in America to have chaired the
Agriculture Committee both in the House
[[Page S7196]]
and in the Senate. His tireless work to pass farm bills over those
years to help growers and ranchers has made him a friend to farmers
everywhere, even in Ohio.
Just as important was his work as chair of the Senate Intelligence
Committee. Some may not recall this, but he is the one who spearheaded
the reforms to our intelligence services after 9/11 to avoid another
such tragedy.
Pat, I hope you and Franki get a well-deserved retirement, and I look
forward to continuing to stay in touch.
We are also going to be losing a relatively young and energetic
Member of our caucus here, who is also an accomplished bipartisan
legislator, when Cory Gardner leaves next year. With only a few short
years in the Senate here, Cory has proven he knows how to get things
done, using his background in the House and his friendships to be
effective for Colorado and the country. He is a smart guy, and we have
worked together on a lot of critical issues to address some of the
biggest issues facing our country.
Like almost all Coloradans, he loves the outdoors. His work for
conservation in the outdoors is something that I have had an
opportunity to work with him on, including the historic Great American
Outdoors Act, which was signed into law recently by the President. It
includes the Restore Our Parks Act, but also a passion of his was the
permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has
been a long-sought goal of the conservation and environmental
community. Frankly, it could not have been done without Cory's
involvement--period.
Cory, we are going to miss your sunny disposition.
He may be the most optimistic Member of the U.S. Senate. He always
has a smile on his face. Even when things seem bad, he manages a way
for them to look good.
I will miss working with you on some of these important projects. I
wish you the very best as you start the next stage of your career.
We are also sad to see Martha McSally go. I have appreciated getting
to know her over the past couple of years. In a short period of time,
she was a passionate advocate for Arizona as a member of the Armed
Services Committee. She used her own trailblazing path as the first
female fighter pilot to have flown in combat to advocate for our men
and women in uniform. We worked together on bipartisan legislation, as
an example, to end cosmetics animal testing. She was involved in a lot
of different issues.
We want to thank you for all you have done in the Chamber, and I look
forward to staying in touch.
Senator Tom Udall has joined us here in the Chamber. I call Senator
Udall ``Cousin'' because of his cousin Mark Udall and our friendship.
Tom Udall has now served for 12 years in the U.S. Senate for the people
of New Mexico. I have gotten to know him over that time through our
work together on a number of different legislative projects. Most have
been around conservation and the environment. We have had a lot of
success in that regard.
We have been cochairs together of what is called the International
Conservation Caucus. There is legislation called the Tropical Forest
Conservation Act, which we have been able to work together on to get
reauthorized. This has been incredibly important legislation. Probably
the No. 3 or 4 source of CO2 emissions in the world is the
burning forest, and this has managed to save many millions of acres
from the burning by simply saying to these countries: We will do a
debt-for-nature swap with you. If you owe a debt to the United States--
which, by the way, many are unlikely to ever pay anyway--we will let
you use that in exchange for protecting your forest.
It has been remarkably successful. At a time when we seem to have a
lot of partisanship and fights around here about global warming and
climate change, this is one area in which we have been able to find
common ground, and that is because Tom has been willing to step up and
be a great partner in that.
He has also helped me pass legislation that requires that the U.S.
Postal Service use its inventory of the Save Vanishing Species stamps
to help protect the rich wildlife and natural resources that we have
and protect endangered species. This has resulted in $5 million to $6
million a year going toward that effort. Unfortunately, we have had to
convince the Postal Service to continue allowing that great source of
funding to be there for our vanishing species. Again, Tom has been very
helpful in that.
Even in these past months, we haven't stopped our work on
environmental issues. Earlier this year, we introduced the bipartisan
REPLANT Act to help the U.S. Forest Service address the growing
reforestation backlog across our country. This is supported by the
Trump administration. It is also supported by Tom Udall. Therefore, we
are hoping it can get done.
He leaves the Senate with a legacy of tirelessly working to protect
the natural beauty of his State and our country for future generations,
and we wish him well in the future as he and Jill continue to work on
those issues together.
Finally, our colleague Doug Jones is going to be departing after
serving the people of Alabama for the past couple of years. I have
gotten to know Doug through our bipartisan efforts that have focused on
standing up to unfair trade practices. Our Trade Security Act to reform
section 232, I think, is the right approach to be sure we hold those
accountable who violate our trade laws but to also do it in a way that
protects American jobs and strengthens our U.S. economy. I will miss
Doug as a bipartisan partner in that effort, and I appreciate his
working with us on those trade issues and other things.
The Senate is a body that is really driven by personal relationships
between 100 Members. Senators Alexander, Enzi, Roberts, Gardner,
McSally, Udall, and Jones have been key and valuable Members of that
100-person group, and we are going to miss them. They have all served
this body well as legislators and as people. They are of high
character. They are the kind of folks with whom you want to work, and
they have been effective because of that. They will be missed, and I
wish them all well.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.