[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 206 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7230-S7231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Madam President, finally, last week on the Senate floor, I spoke 
briefly about our retiring colleague Senator Mike Enzi, from Wyoming, 
and some wisdom he imparted to me shortly after I arrived in the 
Senate--something he calls the 80-20 rule. As my friend from Wyoming 
told me, you are never going to agree or disagree with somebody 100 
percent of the time, but that doesn't mean you can't get important work 
done. So instead of just focusing on the 20 percent you cannot agree 
on, look at the 80 percent you can agree on.
  I hope all of my colleagues will remember this formula for success in 
the coming days as we work to deliver another round of coronavirus 
relief for the American people. It is clear that we are never going to 
agree 100 percent of the time on what that bill should

[[Page S7231]]

look like, but I bet we can agree on 80 percent, and we ought to get 
that 80 percent done.
  We all believe additional funding for our schools is necessary to 
keep our students and teachers healthy and kids on track for a good 
education; that American workers who had the rug pulled out from under 
them earlier this year deserve additional support; that a second round 
of job-saving Paycheck Protection Program funds would help even more 
workers and small businesses; and that another investment in vaccine 
distribution is essential to bringing this pandemic to an end.
  Last week, Leader McConnell announced progress in negotiations to 
pass another bill by the end of the year. He has spoken with the 
President's team and the Speaker, and there are hopeful signs. There 
appears to be a path forward on this legislation that could clear both 
Chambers and receive the signature of the President, and I hope we will 
follow that path to a constructive conclusion.
  As I said last week, the best Christmas present we can give the 
American people would be to work together in a bipartisan way to 
provide that relief. We need an outcome, and to get there is going to 
take compromise. It is going to take the 80-20 rule.
  This process requires input and agreement from our colleagues in the 
Senate, the House, and the White House, as does all legislation. But my 
constituents--and, I dare say, all Americans--are fed up with the 
dysfunction they see and the partisanship that is for no real purpose 
that has delayed this COVID-19 relief bill for months.
  It is time to reach an agreement and deliver yet another round of 
coronavirus relief for the American people.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho