[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

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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.