[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 208 (Wednesday, December 9, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7295-S7296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will now resume legislative 
session.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.


                              Coronavirus

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the most important item on the Senate's 
to-do list before the end of the year is a bipartisan emergency relief 
package for a nation suffering the worst month of the COVID-19 
pandemic.
  Negotiations continue between a bipartisan group of Senate and House 
Members who, last week, agreed in principle on a $900-plus billion 
emergency relief proposal. As the details continue to get sorted, 
Speaker Pelosi and I have encouraged everyone to use this bipartisan 
proposal as a framework for negotiations.
  Yesterday, the White House presented us an offer of similar size, 
around $900 billion--an encouraging sign that Republican leadership is 
moving in the right direction by endorsing the size of the Gang of 8's 
bill. But the President's proposal must not be allowed to supersede or 
obstruct the bipartisan congressional talks that are underway. That is 
where the real action is and where bipartisan agreement on the basic 
concepts will ultimately be forged.
  The President's proposal, for instance, completely misses the mark on 
unemployment benefits and aid to American families. In order to include 
$600 stimulus checks, it actually cuts proposed unemployment benefits 
by greater than a factor of 4, from $180 billion to just $40 billion--
an unacceptably low amount--while tens of millions of Americans remain 
out of work, almost all of whom have lost their jobs because of COVID.
  Economists from every end of the spectrum, including the conservative 
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are warning us that the United States faces 
the prospect of a double-dip recession without another round of 
emergency fiscal stimulus. A robust unemployment benefit is crucial--
crucial--to that program. Earlier in the pandemic, it helped keep 12 
million Americans out of poverty and propped up consumer spending. We 
shouldn't be cutting unemployment benefits now, as the President's team 
proposes; we should be extending them.
  Now, the Republican leader, as usual, gave a very angry speech this 
morning accusing Democrats of all manner of things, including 
intentionally blocking aid to thwart President Trump. I don't know what 
evidence he has of that, but there are actual reports--honest-to-God 
reports--in the New York Times and the Washington Post that Leader 
McConnell was warning the White House not to cut a deal on COVID relief 
before the election.
  Here is the Washington Post: ``McConnell warns White House against 
making stimulus deal as Pelosi and Mnuchin inch closer.'' That is from 
October 20--2 weeks before the election.
  Meanwhile, Democrats have continually lowered our proposals, now by 
over $2 trillion, to move closer to our Republican colleagues in the 
spirit of compromise and for the sake of getting something done for the 
American people. It would do a whole lot of good if the Republican 
leader would drop the daily tirades and diatribes, which seem to be 
based in some alternative reality, and join the rest of the Senate in 
urging the bipartisan negotiations now underway to continue.
  Families all over the country are nearing a point of desperation, 
unable to put food on the table, a roof over their children's heads. By 
January, nearly 12 million renters will owe an average of nearly $6,000 
in back rent and utilities--a shocking figure.
  We need to deliver an emergency relief package to keep American 
families, workers, and businesses afloat until the crisis finally 
begins to subside. The only way to get that done is in a bipartisan 
fashion. The sooner the Republican leader realizes it, the better.


                    Biden Administration Nominations

  Mr. President, on Biden nominations--President-Elect Biden continues 
to roll out an impressive slate of Secretaries-designate to lead 
Cabinet agencies in his administration.
  Yesterday, he selected Lloyd Austin to be the next Secretary of 
Defense, another groundbreaking selection. Mr. Austin would be the 
first African-American to lead the largest Cabinet agency in our 
government. Secretary-designate Austin is a familiar face to many of us 
on Capitol Hill, and I am also pleased to say he is a familiar face to 
many in the North Country in New York. He is the former commander of 
the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum--the pride of Jefferson County.
  Like all of President-Elect Biden's national security nominees, 
Senate-designate Austin is deeply experienced and familiar with our 
Nation's national security, as well as the many issues that face our 
servicemembers and their families each and every day. Lloyd Austin 
served our Nation for more than four decades, and his willingness to 
serve his country again is admirable. He will make an excellent 
Secretary of Defense.
  Now, an hour ago, I met with President-Elect Biden's economic team by 
teleconference, including Secretary-designate of Treasury, Janet 
Yellen, to discuss priorities with the incoming administration on how 
to get our economy back on track. I urged them, once President-Elect 
Biden becomes President, to go bold. Austerity right now is not what 
America needs but a bold program to stimulate our economy and get 
things moving, to help get people jobs--good-paying jobs--because our 
economy is suffering. I look forward to our continued conversations.
  A few weeks ago, I predicted that we would see some crocodile tears 
from the Republican majority about Biden's Cabinet nominees, but I 
didn't think it would occur this fast. It began when several Republican 
Senators raised some objections over Neera Tanden's Twitter feed. After 
4 years of pretending that they ``didn't see'' President Trump's latest 
online outburst, it seems that Senate Republicans have rediscovered 
their Twitter passwords now that Joe Biden is the President-elect.
  This week, after President-Elect Biden announced that Xavier Becerra 
is his pick to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
Republican Senators raised concerns, in their minds, about Mr. 
Becerra's qualifications. The senior Senator from Texas said:


[[Page S7296]]


  

       I'm not sure what his Health and Human Services credentials 
     are. It's not like Alex Azar who used to work for pharma.

  With all due respect to the senior Senator from Texas, working for 
the pharmaceutical industry is not the only way to get experience in 
healthcare. Some might argue it is the wrong kind of experience for an 
HHS Secretary.
  The truth is, Xavier Becerra is eminently qualified. He worked in the 
House of Representatives for two decades, always very involved in 
advancing the healthcare of his constituents, and he has a particularly 
long track record as an advocate of women's health. As the attorney 
general of California, he became one of the foremost legal experts on 
our Nation's healthcare laws.
  I must say, it is particularly rich for this Republican majority to 
raise ``concerns'' about whether Biden Cabinet nominees have every last 
pristine qualification for their posts. Not so long ago, nearly every 
Republican in this Chamber lined up to make an oil executive the 
Secretary of State. I don't remember too many Republican ``concerns'' 
when President Trump nominated a retired neurosurgeon to be the 
Secretary of HUD or when he put Rick Perry in charge of the Department 
of Energy--an agency he wanted to abolish before learning it maintained 
the Nation's nuclear stockpile and that he would be in charge of it. If 
memory serves, this Senate Republican majority confirmed a Secretary of 
Education whose only qualification for the job was she used her 
inherited fortune to try to privatize American schooling.
  Look, the country needs to move on from the past 4 years, but Senate 
Republicans can't pretend like it never happened. After the sordid 
caliber of nominees that this Republican majority confirmed over the 
past 4 years, it will be impossible to take these complaints about 
Biden's nominees very seriously.

  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Romney). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________