[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 206 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7228-S7229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Madam President, now on COVID, everyone knows we are entering the 
worst stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic. As winter months force more 
Americans indoors, infections are up, hospitalizations are up, and the 
number of Americans dying from COVID is steadily and tragically 
increasing.
  The economic fallout from the latest wave of the virus will also be a 
huge challenge. According to one study, nearly 12 million renters will 
owe an average of nearly $6,000 in back rents and utilities in January. 
Even the conservative U.S. Chamber of Commerce is sounding the alarm 
about a double-dip recession if Congress does not pass another round of 
emergency Federal relief before the end of the year.
  Unfortunately, our efforts to pass another emergency relief bill 
through the Senate have been stalled until now for

[[Page S7229]]

one reason: The Republican leader has refused to compromise. Again, 
today we heard the same old song from the Republican leader. His 
position has not budged since March. First, he put the Senate on pause 
while the spread of the virus got worse and worse. Then, after pressure 
mounted, the Republican leader finally decided to put forward a series 
of bills that comprised only the things the Republicans want.
  While the Nation has been clamoring for a bipartisan solution, the 
Senate, under the leadership of the Republican leader, has only been 
allowed to vote on partisan Republican proposals, each of which has 
been sorely inadequate and each of which has contained poison pills 
designed to ensure the bill's failure.
  The Republican leader never mentions those poison pills in his 
speeches to this Chamber where he excoriates Democrats for refusing to 
pass ``bipartisan legislation'' that everyone agrees on. But 
``bipartisan'' does not mean Democrats must agree to whatever the 
Republican leader wants or whatever issues he picks. ``Bipartisan'' 
means both sides sitting down and finding an agreement. We all know 
that is the case.
  We have a Democratic House. They are going to need Democratic votes 
in the Senate. So Senate Democrats are simply asking the Republican 
leader to do one thing: Sit down and negotiate.
  Now, since March, since Secretary Mnuchin and I negotiated the CARES 
bill, the Republican leader has constantly refused to sit down with 
Republicans and negotiate a bipartisan solution. He puts his bill--with 
no Democratic input--on the floor and says, ``Take it or leave it.'' 
That is no way--no way--to get things done. It wasn't in April or May 
or June or July or August or September or November, and it isn't now.
  We want the leader to sit down and negotiate so we can come up with a 
bipartisan proposal that can pass both the House and the Senate. And 
Speaker Pelosi and I have modified our proposal several times in an 
effort to meet our Republican counterparts in the middle. Last week, 
Speaker Pelosi and I went even further and agreed to use a bipartisan 
bill, crafted by moderate Senators from both sides of the aisle, as a 
framework for the negotiations. We have not heard the same willingness 
from the Republican leader.
  However, there are some encouraging signs. The bipartisan group of 
Senators and House Members working on this latest proposal continues to 
make progress. I was encouraged to see the Senator from Louisiana this 
weekend say he was hopeful the President would sign such an agreement. 
Let's use the work of the Gang of 8 as the basis for bipartisan 
negotiations and compromise.
  The bottom line: We have to get something done for the American 
people before the end of the year. We Democrats have been trying since 
the spring, back when Republicans were saying they did ``not feel the 
urgency of acting.'' I believe those were the leader's words.
  Well, it is going to take a sense of urgency now, Mr. Leader, and it 
is going to take a willingness to give a little, not just to put your 
bill on the floor and say: Take it or leave it.
  As I said, it is encouraging that some Republicans are already on 
that path. Hopefully, the Republican leader can catch up with the more 
fairminded Members of his caucus.