[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 218 (Monday, December 21, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H7290-H7300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 133, UNITED 
 STATES-MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT; PROVIDING FOR DISPOSITION OF 
SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1520, PURPLE BOOK CONTINUITY ACT OF 2019; AND 
                           FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 1271 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1271

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 133) 
     to promote economic partnership and cooperation between the 
     United States and Mexico, with

[[Page H7291]]

     the Senate amendment thereto, and to consider in the House, 
     without intervention of any point of order, a motion offered 
     by the chair of the Committee on Appropriations or her 
     designee that the House concur in the Senate amendment with 
     an amendment consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 
     116-68. The Senate amendment and the motion shall be 
     considered as read. The motion shall be debatable for one 
     hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. The 
     previous question shall be considered as ordered on the 
     motion to its adoption without intervening motion. The 
     question of adoption of the motion shall be divided for a 
     separate vote on the matter proposed to be inserted as 
     divisions B, C, E, and F, and the Chair shall first put the 
     question on such portion of the divided question. If either 
     portion of the divided question fails of adoption, then the 
     motion shall immediately be considered to have failed of 
     adoption.
       Sec. 2.  Upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall 
     be considered to have taken from the Speaker's table the bill 
     (H.R. 1520) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide 
     for the publication of a list of licensed biological 
     products, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment 
     thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate amendment with 
     an amendment consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 
     116-69.
       Sec. 3.  The Clerk shall be authorized to make necessary 
     technical and conforming changes in the engrossment of the 
     House amendments specified in the first two sections of this 
     resolution, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, 
     section numbering, and cross-references.
       Sec. 4.  If a veto message is laid before the House on H.R. 
     6395, then after the message is read and the objections of 
     the President are spread at large upon the Journal, further 
     consideration of the veto message and the bill shall be 
     postponed until the legislative day of Monday, December 28, 
     2020; and on that legislative day, the House shall proceed to 
     the constitutional question of reconsideration and dispose of 
     such question without intervening motion.
       Sec. 5.  The chair of the Committee on Appropriations and 
     the chair of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
     may insert in the Congressional Record not later than 
     December 28, 2020, such material as they may deem explanatory 
     of the Senate amendment and the motion specified in the first 
     section of this resolution.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Shalala) 
is recognized for 1 hour.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma 
(Mr. Cole), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purpose of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, today the Rules Committee met and 
reported a rule, House Resolution 1271, providing for a motion to 
concur with the Senate amendment to H.R. 133 with a House amendment.
  The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by 
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Appropriations. It provides that the question on adoption of the motion 
shall be divided for a separate vote on the matter proposed to be 
inserted as divisions B, C, E, and F.
  The rule provides that upon adoption of this resolution, the House 
shall be considered to have concurred in the Senate amendment to H.R. 
1520 with a House amendment. The rule also provides that the chairs of 
the Committee on Appropriations and the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence may insert explanatory materials in the Congressional 
Record not later than December 28 and authorizes the Clerk to make 
technical corrections to the bill.
  Finally, the rule allows for consideration of a possible veto message 
on the conference report to H.R. 6395 on December 28, 2020.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bill in this rule. 
This COVID bill has taken far too long. We started these negotiations 
before the first day of summer in June, the longest day of the year, 
and here we are now headed into the darkest day of the year, the first 
day of winter.
  I also want to acknowledge the hard work of our Appropriations chair, 
Nita Lowey, and Ranking Member Granger.
  But this didn't have to happen. The pain that has been inflicted on 
the American people did not come just from the novel virus that has 
spread like wildfire across this Nation, but also from the elected 
leaders sent to Washington to help people and to help this great 
Nation.
  Our failure to reach an agreement until today only added fuel to this 
wildfire. It meant that not only did people get the coronavirus, but 
when they did, their families often went hungry, their bills went 
unpaid, and they faced possible eviction or foreclosure.
  Madam Speaker, for 8 years, I worked in the Hubert H. Humphrey 
Building not very far from here. Inscribed in the lobby of that 
building is a quote from Hubert Humphrey: ``The moral test of 
government is how the government treats those who are in the dawn of 
life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; 
and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the 
handicapped.''
  Madam Speaker, we have failed that moral test. We have no right to 
make children go hungry in this country.
  While this bill will certainly bring us closer to passing that moral 
test, it is too late for too many people, and it will be too little for 
others. Nonetheless, we should pass this bill immediately.
  There are a number of things that I am pleased to see included in 
this bill: a long-fought and negotiated bipartisan and bicameral 
compromise to protect patients by ending surprise billing; multiple-
year funding for community health centers, the backbone of our Nation's 
primary care system for the most vulnerable; and an added boost in 
weekly unemployment benefits and relief checks for people who have been 
waiting for months for help.
  There will be more than $300 billion for small businesses and money 
to help schools, for hospitals, and for vaccine distribution. It will 
also provide food assistance to hungry children and their families.
  This package will be bigger than the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act. It is the biggest package we have passed since the 
CARES Act in March.

                              {time}  1615

  But there is still more to do. I hope when the 117th Congress 
convenes in January, that they will not forget the American people who 
will still be suffering and will need more. I hope that they will 
remember the people in my district, a district heavily dependent on 
travel, on tourism, and the service economy.
  Madam Speaker, I hope that the families in my community in Miami, 
which have been devastated by the last 9 months--and so much more must 
be done to help them.
  But, today, we must pass this bill. It is time to be done with this, 
and we can wait not a moment longer.
  Simply put, with this bill, we are attempting to right our moral 
compass and fulfill our obligation to those suffering across our 
country and to help guide us out of this dark winter.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Shalala), my 
good friend, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, we are here today to consider a rule that provides for 
consideration of a package of items that are of great importance to the 
country.
  The House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 133 includes not 
only a bipartisan omnibus appropriations bill covering the remainder of 
fiscal year 2021, but also a $900 billion bipartisan pandemic relief 
package to provide help to millions of Americans who have suffered as a 
result of the pandemic.
  It also includes a bipartisan compromise addressing surprise medical 
bills, something that has been a priority for both parties.
  Finally, it includes a number of end-of-the-year tax and healthcare-
related extenders that are critical to those they serve, especially 
during a pandemic.
  While I know that we are all thrilled to be here today to bring these 
items to the floor, I am frustrated that it has taken this long to 
reach this deal, and I know the American people share that frustration.

[[Page H7292]]

  The reality is that we could have had this deal months ago on a 
pandemic relief package, and we could have had this deal. Individual 
components could have been passed across the floor in July of this 
year. Instead, Americans were left to suffer. All the while, jobs were 
being lost and businesses being closed; all the while, small businesses 
across the country were forced to make difficult decisions about which 
employees to keep and which staff to let go; all the while, a deal was 
available here in Congress that could have extended unemployment 
insurance and extended the Paycheck Protection Program, a program which 
Democrats in the House rejected extending 41 times.
  These two key backstops could have helped millions of Americans. 
Instead, Democrats chose to play politics and chose not to take yes for 
an answer. But now that the election is over and the end of the year is 
at hand, suddenly there is room for a deal, a very bipartisan deal that 
was on the table all along and that could have been passed into law 
months ago.
  Madam Speaker, for today, we will look past that. Though this overall 
bill is massive, I think it is easiest to digest if you consider it in 
three separate sections:
  Section 1 is the bipartisan, bicameral omnibus appropriations bill, 
which will include our appropriations work for fiscal year 2021. The 
appropriations process works best when it is bipartisan, and with 
today's bill, we have accomplished that end.
  Once we step past the partisanship, we are able to work together and 
reach a deal that will fully fund the government for the fiscal year. 
Our constituents deserve no less.
  Madam Speaker, the deal before us covers all 12 spending bills and it 
ensures that taxpayer dollars will go where they are needed most. In 
particular, I am pleased that this bill includes key provisions 
supporting our response to the pandemic, like $20 billion for 
coronavirus vaccines, an increase in funding for the National 
Institutes of Health, and a further $3 billion to rebuild the Strategic 
National Stockpile of medical supplies and personal protective 
equipment. It fully funds our defense needs and ensures a 3 percent pay 
raise for all military personnel. It continues to fund needed 
improvements for border security. And, perhaps most importantly, it 
maintains all pro-life protections, as has been the case in previous 
years. And the harmful, partisan riders that appeared in Democratic 
partisan appropriations bills from earlier this year have been removed.
  Madam Speaker, I think it is worth noting that this bill came about 
as a result of regular order. The Committee on Appropriations produced 
each of the 12 appropriations bills from a regular committee process. 
Members were given the opportunity to amend, question, and fully 
examine most of the bills on the floor, and the House and Senate met 
together to conference the bills into a final product. This 
demonstrates how powerful and effective regular order can be.
  Madam Speaker, the second piece of this bill is the $900 billion 
pandemic relief package. For all of 2020, Americans--and indeed the 
world--have lived under the specter of this pandemic. It has touched 
every American's life in some way or another, but many Americans have 
been hit harder than others.
  Millions have caught this disease, and hundreds of thousands have 
died. Millions more have lost their jobs, and millions have seen their 
wages or earnings cut. This has been a crisis that touches us on so 
many levels. A health crisis is bad enough, but adding an economic 
crisis on top of it makes this year the toughest that many of us can 
remember.
  The coronavirus relief package before us will do several things to 
ease the burden on all Americans. It will extend the Paycheck 
Protection Program and will ensure that many small businesses will be 
able to keep their employees on the payroll. It will extend expanded 
unemployment insurance, thus providing more funds to unemployed workers 
to help make them closer to whole. And it will provide economic impact 
payments of $600 to almost every American, except those with high 
incomes.

  Though I expect this may not be the last time Congress responds to 
the COVID pandemic, I hope that in the future the Speaker will embark 
on a different path of resolution. A relief package like this one may 
not have been everything that both parties wanted, but a compromise 
deal that provides real help to American workers is better than no deal 
at all. And that compromise could have and should have been reached 
months ago. I hope the majority will remember that going forward.
  Madam Speaker, the third section of today's package is a number of 
miscellaneous bipartisan items, including a bill intended to address 
the problems of surprise medical billing. This is a problem that is 
known far too well by many Americans.
  You see a doctor or you visit an emergency room, and only learn after 
the fact that a medical professional you saw during your treatment is 
outside your insurance network. This can lead to a wildly expensive 
bill for the patient, who may not have had any choice in the matter.
  The bipartisan bill before us today will help solve this problem. It 
will ensure that the patients will only be responsible for covering the 
portion not covered by their health insurance at in-network rates when 
they don't have the ability to choose an in-network doctor, like in 
emergency situations. The bill also will make pricing more open and 
transparent and will require insurers to notify patients in advance if 
they are going to receive out-of-network care.
  These reforms will give patients and consumers more choice and will 
make sure that they are not subjected to massive, surprise bills, ones 
that patients frequently have not planned for.
  Madam Speaker, I applaud my friends on the Committee on Ways and 
Means, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on 
Education and Labor for coming to this important compromise, and I look 
forward to supporting its passage in law.
  Madam Speaker, finally, I take a moment to acknowledge my very dear 
friend, Representative Donna Shalala, who is managing her final rule on 
the floor today. I have always enjoyed my interactions with my friend 
and it has always been a pleasure serving with her on the Committee on 
Rules. She has been a helpful ally when we have agreed and a worthy 
opponent when we have not.
  Much more importantly, she has always been, first and foremost, a 
public servant. She was a public servant before she arrived in 
Congress. I have no doubt she will continue to be a public servant when 
she leaves. We have all benefitted from her leadership at the 
Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton years, from 
her many years as a leader in educational institutions, from her 
tireless participations on countless boards and commissions and 
committees, all of which were rendering important service to our 
country.
  Madam Speaker, I am going to miss my friend on the Committee on 
Rules. This Congress is going to miss her, but I know the country is 
going to continue to have the benefit of her splendid service and 
insight.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague for 
his very kind words. I will say that I have enjoyed working with him. I 
have deep respect for his leadership in this Congress.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts 
(Mr. McGovern), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to 
me.
  Madam Speaker, across America, people are dealing with a loss of a 
job, a business, or even a loved one. People are hurting, and they are 
hurting badly not only from this pandemic, but also from the 
incompetence, the callousness, and the negligence of the current 
occupant of the White House.
  When I talk about people hurting, I don't mean big corporations or 
Fortune 500 companies. I am talking about our workers, our middle 
class, those on the edge of the middle class, and those struggling in 
poverty. That is where our focus should be. And thanks to the 
bipartisan efforts of Members on both sides of the Capitol, we are 
acting right now--not next year or during the next administration, as 
some have suggested--but right now.
  This deal is not everything I want--not by a long shot--but the 
choice before us is simple. It is about whether

[[Page H7293]]

we help families or not. It is about whether we help small businesses 
and restaurants or not. It is about whether we boost SNAP benefits and 
strengthen antihunger programs or not. And it is about whether we help 
those dealing with a job loss or not.
  To me, this is not a tough call. We need to pass this, and then we 
need to prepare to build on it in the next Congress, hopefully, in a 
bipartisan fashion and with an administration that actually gives a 
damn about the American people.
  Madam Speaker, before I conclude, I also join the gentleman from 
Oklahoma in recognizing the service of Congresswoman Shalala. Over the 
years, she has had many titles: Doctor, treasurer, college president, 
chancellor, assistant secretary, secretary, congresswoman--and I could 
go on.
  Often, Donna has done it first: She was among the very first Peace 
Corps volunteers. She was the first woman to lead a Big 10 Conference 
college. She was only the second woman to lead a major research 
university. And Donna was the first Lebanese American to serve in a 
President's Cabinet.
  Madam Speaker, there is a saying in Arabic, which in English is: ``Do 
good and throw it into the sea.''
  It means this: The reward is doing good. Not the praise or 
recognition. Just simply an act of doing good.
  And Donna Shalala does good, period. I know she will continue to do 
good.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), my good friend and distinguished colleague on the 
Committee on Rules.
  Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I am glad that we finally have a 
bipartisan deal for COVID relief, but the process has been absolutely 
terrible.
  I have to tell you that we have, what, 6,000 pages? And what did we 
get?
  We got it, like, maybe 2 hours ago, the text of it. We were waiting 
all night.
  In fact, Speaker Pelosi had called Members back last week. We thought 
we were going to be doing this last Wednesday. Instead, we were doing 
all these suspension bills. People had to fly from all over the 
country--all the Congress Members--in crowded airports, crowded planes; 
not really good for mitigating COVID, if you ask me.
  Madam Speaker, I will say, though, that I am glad that, finally, 
after months and months of Republicans asking for a bipartisan COVID 
relief bill that could actually get signed into law, we are actually 
here today, even if it is a couple days before Christmas. And it is a 
bill that will help small businesses and their workers, will help the 
airline industry, will be a solution to Americans who are struggling 
with surprise medical bills.

                              {time}  1630

  For those who are unemployed because of the coronavirus, because the 
governments have shut down the businesses, it will give unemployment 
insurance relief. But there will be protections in there to make sure 
that the people are really unemployed and that they will accept a 
reasonable offer for a job.
  Also good in the bill is that there is not only money for vaccine 
procurement but for distribution of the vaccines.
  On that note, I want to applaud President Trump for his action in 
Operation Warp Speed and for working with the private sector to get 
vaccines done and out the door in record time. This has never been done 
before in history. Normally, it takes years and years for vaccines to 
be done.
  Thank you, President Trump, for your hard work for the American 
people.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, first, let me thank Chairman McGovern for his very 
kind words. I have enjoyed serving under his leadership.
  Let me say to my colleague, Mrs. Lesko, years of bipartisan 
investments in NIH have, in fact, led to Operation Warp Speed. Decades 
of investments in training the world's best scientists have led to a 
very fast-paced development of a vaccine. So, it is not just the 
present President; it is Presidents before that who believed that we 
should have world-class science in this country.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Green).
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, this bill will not end all the 
suffering. However, it will ease the pain for many who are suffering, 
with $25 billion for eviction prevention, $13 billion for food in the 
form of SNAP, and $600 cash in pocket. It won't end all the suffering, 
but it will ease much of the pain.
  For this, I thank Chairman McGovern, Mr. Cole, and Ms. Shalala. Of 
course, I am always honored to serve in the Congress of the United 
States of America under the leadership of the Honorable Maxine Waters, 
and I thank her for her $25 billion in rental assistance.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Chabot), my very good friend and the distinguished ranking 
Republican member of the Small Business Committee.
  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for 
his leadership on this issue and so many other issues over the years.
  Madam Speaker, for months now, our Nation's entrepreneurs and small 
business owners have been pleading for additional help from Congress. I 
have been hearing this from small businesses back in my district in the 
greater Cincinnati area. I know that my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle have been hearing the same thing from their constituents.
  While I am relieved that Congress is finally acting on those cries 
for help, I am dismayed that it has taken this long. I introduced a 
bill back in September, 3 months ago, that could have been brought to 
the floor and helped those small businesses that so desperately needed 
that help back then.
  That bill included many of the same provisions that we are voting on 
today. Instead, this House, under Democratic control, considered bills 
about marijuana and online conspiracy theories, for example. It is an 
embarrassment that it has taken this long because every moment of delay 
put more small businesses at risk of permanent closure.
  These small businesses, restaurants, shops, and manufacturers employ 
nearly half of this country's workers and form the backbone of 
communities all across the country. Fortunately, the provisions in 
today's relief package will bring critical assistance to these workers 
and their families.
  The Paycheck Protection Program, which has supported over 50 million 
employees, will be reopened for new and second-time applicants. Funds 
will be reserved for very small businesses and community lenders. The 
list of eligible expenses will be expanded so that small business 
owners can purchase PPE, for example, to keep employees and their loved 
ones safe.
  There are many more details in the package, too many to go into here. 
But the bottom line is this: These provisions will bring meaningful 
help to millions of Americans.
  Just in my district in Cincinnati and the surrounding area, a PPP 
loan helped keep 140 employees on the payroll at the Silver Spring 
House restaurant. A PPP loan enabled HomeWell Care Services, an 
assisted living facility, to continue their important work for our 
community's elderly population. And the folks at Neyer Plumbing used 
PPP funding to carry on as an essential business.
  These are real people with real families to support and bills to pay. 
That is why it is so important that we pass this package without 
additional delay.
  Small businesses and their employees are tough; they are resilient. 
Across the country, we hear stories about small businesses giving back 
to their communities, even when they are struggling themselves.
  It is time for Congress to meet the moment and get further help in 
the hands of working Americans. As a matter of fact, it is far overdue.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this long-
overdue legislation.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Panetta).
  Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the COVID temporary

[[Page H7294]]

relief package in this rule. We did it before. We must do it again.
  Our past COVID legislation kept the economy afloat and our poverty 
rate flat. However, as Democrats passed more bills, the Senate and the 
President put a pause on those efforts.
  Now, the pandemic is raging, hospitals are bursting, and our economy 
is hurting. That is why we must play our part with Federal funding to 
combat this disease and carry on through the locally mandated 
shutdowns.
  This relief package will allow us to avoid calamity and aid our 
recovery by providing small businesses with PPP, laid-off employees 
with unemployment insurance, families with checks, farmworkers with 
PPE, renters with direct relief, and the ailing with the HOSPICE Act.
  To help State and local governments, there is funding for broadband, 
food, healthcare, education, and transportation.
  Look, this package should have been bigger. It should have been done 
quicker. It is not entirely what we want. But it is what we need to be 
that bridge to a vaccine-fueled revival in 2021. If we do that, we will 
further the faith in what we do here in Congress for the future of our 
democracy.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Burgess), my very good friend and a distinguished member of 
the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Rules Committee.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, hearing some of the earlier discussion, 
just for a data point, this is December 21, the longest night of the 
year, as they say.
  On August 21, the former Vice President, in accepting the Democratic 
Party nomination for President, in his acceptance speech, said: Look, 
let's be clear. No miracle is coming.
  Well, here we are, 4 months later, with not one but two vaccines, 
each in excess of 90 percent effective; absolutely phenomenal.
  As another data point, in August 2014, the Ebola crisis was raging in 
Western Africa. A vaccine was out of phase 1 trials. It took 5\1/2\ 
years to deliver that vaccine. This one was delivered in 10 months. It 
is absolutely incredible.
  Look, in the bill before us today, there are some high points, and 
there are some low points. A couple of things I do want to point out.
  The Independence at Home Act that I introduced with Congresswoman 
Dingell several years ago was continued and expanded.
  One of the biggest deals for me is coverage for immunosuppressive 
drugs after a renal transplant. I have been working on this for 10 
years. Now, we have provided additional protection for people who are 
recipients of renal transplants so that they can continue to get their 
immunosuppressive drugs.
  Some flexibility has been provided in the bill to allow for value-
based care. The alternative payment model threshold is frozen for 2 
years. That is important.
  Project ECHO, which allows for primary care doctors in remote areas 
to be able to consult with specialists, has been continued. That is a 
big deal.
  The out-of-network billing has been tough, and it has been tough in a 
year that has been tough on our Nation's frontline healthcare 
personnel. The out-of-network billing language has improved 
dramatically over the last 18 months. I cannot say that it is perfect, 
but some of the more recent improvements, such as the prevention of 
putting payment data from public payers in the independent dispute 
resolution process, are pretty big wins for our physicians.
  I will also add that it is an unusual time that they should have to 
be facing additional cuts when our doctors have been on the front lines 
of providing care for America's patients during this pandemic. Faced 
with out-of-network payment reductions from the insurance companies and 
with reductions through the evaluation and management codes, the E and 
M codes, it is a funny way to go about rewarding those that we would 
refer to as our Nation's heroes.
  Still, Mr. Speaker, the American people do need the relief that is 
provided in this coronavirus package.
  Ms. SHALALA. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, help is on the way. Help cannot come 
faster. Help is desperately needed.
  Seventeen million Americans are infected by COVID-19. Almost 320,000 
are dead, and the numbers keep growing. Hospital beds are overutilized. 
Cities across America are getting refrigerated trucks. Help is on the 
way.
  People are being evicted, and this legislation helps us stop the 
evictions. It provides for cash disbursements, up to $2,400 for a 
family of four and $300 extra in weekly unemployment payments.
  For hungry families, 54 million hungry families in America, including 
our young military personnel, help is on the way.
  This bill is a bill we wrote months ago. It is downsized, but it is 
the very language that we have written. So we know, in the new year, we 
will come back again to save lives.
  Let's get this done in unity. We know how it was blocked. We know the 
other House did not move forward. We know we did not get leadership on 
this bill.
  But as I close, let me thank Secretary Shalala, Congresswoman 
Shalala, for what she brought to this Congress, what insight, what 
specialness, and what kindness.
  We wish you the very best, and I look forward to working with you in 
the future.
  Mr. Speaker, help is on the way.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support for the Rule that the 
House is debating to provide for the consideration of the Fiscal Year 
appropriations for the federal government and urgently needed COVID-19 
relief funding.
  Chairman McGovern, and Ranking Member Cole, thank you for your work 
to bring this Rule before the House so that Members can debate and vote 
for urgently needed aid to communities across the nation and the 
funding needed to keep the federal government operational through the 
remainder of Fiscal Year 2021.
  As a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland 
Security, and on the Budget, and the representative of the 18th 
Congressional District of Texas, an epicenter for COVID-19 infections, 
I recognize the urgency of providing assistance now, but I also 
recognize that the assistance is insufficient to the needs of our state 
and local governments, our hospitals, or the people of our great 
nation.
  I support this rule that will facilitate passage of this interim 
package, while also saying that more is needed.
  Before the Rules Committee also was the omnibus appropriations bill 
providing funding to continue the operations of the federal government 
through September 30, 2021, thus avoiding a wasteful and irresponsible 
shutdown.
  I am relieved that at long last, agreement has been reached between 
the bicameral leadership to provide needed and long overdue relief to 
the tens of millions Americans whose lives and livelihoods have been 
devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  I am grateful that efficacious vaccines have been discovered and are 
on their way to providing much needed protection and relief, but this 
is just a down payment on the relief and support needed for our country 
to recover from the pandemic and build back better.
  Over the course of the 116th Congress the House Rules Committee has 
done its job and provided expert guidance on the progress of nearly 600 
bills that have passed the House and gone to the Senate.
  These bills included legislation to lower health care and 
prescription drug prices, raise wages, advance economic and retirement 
security, end gun violence, act on the climate crisis, protect 
Dreamers, and strengthen voting rights.
  For example, in this Congress the House has passed and sent to the 
Senate the following major legislative bills:
  H.R. 1, For the People Act;
  H.R. 2, Moving Forward Act;
  H.R. 3, The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act;
  H.R. 4, Voting Rights Advancement Act;
  H.R. 5, Equality Act;
  H.R. 6, The American Dream & Promise Act;
  H.R. 7, Paycheck Fairness Act;
  H.R. 8, Bipartisan Background Checks Act;
  H.R. 9, Climate Action Now Act;
  H.R. 582, Raise the Wage Act;
  H.R. 1425, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act;
  H.R. 1585, Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act; and
  H.R. 7120, George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
  Also among the bills passed by the House was H.R. 3710, the 
Cybersecurity Vulnerability Remediation Act, legislation that increases 
the responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with 
respect to cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

[[Page H7295]]

  The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center of 
DHS under this bill is directed to disseminate protocols to counter 
cybersecurity vulnerabilities, including in circumstances in which such 
vulnerabilities exist because software or hardware is no longer 
supported by a vendor.
  This bill would also provide the Science and Technology Directorate 
the flexibility to establish a competition to develop remedies for 
cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
  Today, our nation is still attempting to understand the scope and 
breath of the latest Russia sourced attack on federal government cyber 
assets.
  In this moment we must address the crisis created by COVID-19, and 
the Cybersecurity threat that is ongoing.
  There are consequences for the Senate's failure to take up House 
bills once they are received in the Senate.
  In truth the Republican-controlled Senate has been missing in action 
for much of the 116th Congress.
  Whether it is the urgent need to fortify our election systems from 
confirmed foreign interference, notably from Vladimir Putin's Russia, 
or lower prescription drugs prices and expanding and protecting the 
right of all Americans to affordable, accessible, high quality health 
care, fixing our broken immigration system, or hold a wayward Executive 
to account, the other body has failed the American people in its basic 
duty to promote the general welfare and provide for the common defense.
  The consequences of its complete disregard for the work of the House 
is now more apparent than ever and is illustrated perfectly by the 
Senate's failure to take up and vote on the HEROES Act passed by the 
House in March of this year to address the devastating budgetary and 
fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which the President exacerbated 
by his incompetent response to the crisis.
  The numbers are heartbreaking.
  My thoughts and prayers are with the over 315,000 families who have 
lost loved ones and the tens of thousand who are sick, and the many 
others who will struggle with the effects of COVID-19 over the coming 
days, weeks, months, and years.
  We owe a special debt to first responders who are the lifelines for 
those who are very ill or who will need medical care to overcome this 
coronavirus.
  The need to begin work on the next aid package is evident in the 
economic impact of COVID-19.
  Congress and the Executive Branch must be able to manage more than 
one crisis at a time, while avoiding crisis management decision making 
when possible.
  The Obama Administration exemplified what a President and a Congress 
working in concert can accomplish.
  The first two years of Obama's Administration had Democrats in charge 
of the House and Senate, which made it possible for the Legislative and 
Executive Branches to work in concert to attack and repel the economic 
disaster the nation faced from the housing value collapse; and 
addressing health care disparities by passing the Affordable Care Act 
both of which saved millions from economic disaster and saved tens of 
thousands of lives.
  The Obama Administration had a flu pandemic in 2009 and Ebola that 
threatened to become endemic in 2013.
  Both of these global health emergencies were expertly managed and 
because of this most Americans cannot recall the threat.
  President Obama had to deal with an ecological disaster in the form 
of the Deep Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that threatened the 
environment and delicate hatcheries for sea turtles and the tourism 
industry long the coast.
  Both the turtles and tourism were saved, and as with the flu pandemic 
and Ebola crisis most Americans cannot recall the incident, because 
their lives were not overly disrupted and the problems were addressed 
effectively.
  That is the sign of a good president because he kept American safe.
  When President Obama left office on January 20, 2017, unemployment 
was at 4. 7 percent; but today, due to the mismanagement of the COVID-
19 pandemic by President Trump and Republicans, unemployment 
skyrocketed to 8.4 percent and currently stands at 6.7 percent.
  When Trump took office in January 2017, there were 241,000 initial 
unemployment insurance (UI) claims for the week ending January 28, 2017 
and at the beginning of the 116th Congress in January 2019, there were 
236,000 initial UI claims.
  Today, due to the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic by President 
Trump and Republicans, there were 885,000 initial UI claims for the 
week ending December 12, 2020.
  Approximately 30 million Americans have lost the job they had earlier 
this year because of this Administration's ineptitude and cavalier 
regard for the well-being of the American people.
  During President Obama's last full year in office in 2016, the 
national debt was $20.02 trillion but due to the misguided economic 
policies and utter mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, the national 
debt has increased by $6.7 trillion and is projected to reach an all-
time high of $29.6 trillion by the end of the FY2021 fiscal year.
  The annual deficit had been cut to $585 billion (3.2 percent of GDP) 
in the last year of the Obama Administration but under the 
mismanagement of the current Administration, we have seen the deficit 
balloon nearly seven-fold to $3.1 trillion or 15.2 percent GDP, the 
largest since 1945 relative to the size of the economy.
  Continuing this Administration's unbroken chain of woe, in 2019, 
after repeated attempts by Republicans to undermine and sabotage the 
Affordable Care Act, there were 33.2 million uninsured Americans, 5 
million more than when President Obama left office.
  It has been estimated by reputable experts that from February 2020 
through May 2020 alone, an estimated 5.4 million Americans became 
uninsured because of unprecedented job loss caused by the Republican 
mismanagement of this pandemic.
  Given the wreckage to the economy and the damage to the lives and 
livelihoods of the American people, it is unconscionable that this 
Administration is pursuing a lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care 
Act, which would take health care coverage away from 20 million 
Americans and take away protections for 132 million persons who have 
pre-existing conditions.
  I strongly support this legislation and urge members of the Rules 
Committee to join me by voting for a rule to bring the bill to the 
floor today.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South 
Dakota (Mr. Johnson), my very good friend.
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. Speaker, I think it was Winston 
Churchill who said you can always count on Americans to do the right 
thing after they have exhausted all other options.
  You know, Congress looks that way to me from time to time. This is 
not the process or the timeline or the structure I have argued for. 
This COVID-19 package doesn't have all the provisions that I have asked 
for. It is clearly not a perfect bill.
  Yet, it is the targeted and focused relief that our country needs. It 
follows the framework that a bipartisan group of eight Senators and 
eight House Members, including myself, unveiled a few weeks ago.
  We knew then that it was not a perfect bill, but we knew it was the 
way forward. I am proud of the role that I have played and that the 
Problem Solvers Caucus has played in breaking this gridlock. I am proud 
of the role that we have played in making sure that our economy and our 
schools can stay open and that our testing and our vaccine deployment 
can be ramped up.
  Madam Speaker, this has been a messy week, but this is a good day for 
America.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, thank you for your kind words.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Crow).

                              {time}  1645

  Mr. CROW. Madam Speaker, I grew up knowing what it felt like to 
struggle financially, that fear and anxiety of not knowing where your 
next rent check would come from, working a shift at Arby's or a 14-hour 
day on the construction site and still not making ends meet. That is 
why I am voting for this bill.
  As imperfect as it is--and there are plenty of things that are not in 
this bill that should be--it will provide immediate relief for millions 
of families and small businesses that simply can't wait any longer, 
including those that are left out of prior rounds of relief.
  For example, my district is one of the most diverse districts in the 
Nation and home to thousands of refugees and immigrants. That is why I 
have been fighting hard to get payments to mixed-status ITIN families 
in this bill. We have been successful in doing that.
  Madam Speaker, I look forward to working with the Biden 
administration to provide more relief in the coming months so that we 
can tackle this crisis together.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr).
  Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of long-delayed 
legislation to deliver more resources to the

[[Page H7296]]

American people to defeat the COVID-19 virus and provide much-needed 
relief from government-imposed lockdowns of the economy.
  Ultimately, no amount of government spending can substitute for a 
fully functioning, open economy free of government lockdowns. But I am 
confident this relief package, which provides over $284 billion to 
reload and strengthen the Paycheck Protection Program, will help bridge 
the gap until COVID-19 vaccines are widely distributed. It does so in a 
fiscally responsible way by rescinding and reallocating $429 billion in 
Federal Reserve emergency lending authority, and it repurposes unused 
PPP funds.
  Importantly, this bill provides effective, targeted relief, with a 
net price tag of approximately $325 billion in new outlays. It does not 
include the liberal wish list that was the centerpiece of the Speaker's 
originally $3.4 trillion Heroes Act, a fiscally reckless proposal that 
needlessly delayed this reasonable bipartisan compromise.
  For months, I have called on Congress and the administration to 
simplify the PPP forgiveness application for small businesses to ease 
their burdens and ensure lender participation. Today, that goal becomes 
a reality.
  I also support the bill's extension of troubled debt restructuring 
relief, which allows lenders to work with their borrowers to modify 
loans. And I strongly support its provision to ensure small businesses 
can deduct expenses covered by PPP loans.
  While it has taken far too long to get to this point, the bill we are 
passing today will bring much-needed help to American workers, 
families, and small businesses, without putting more massive amounts of 
debt on the American people.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thompson).
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this 
legislation.
  To be clear, this package is nowhere near enough. House Democrats 
passed three times more relief in May; our Republican colleagues did 
nothing. We passed more than double this 2 months ago; our Republican 
colleagues did nothing.
  This package is not commensurate to the magnitude of the crisis we 
face. We need to do more, including vital aid to State and local 
governments and help for our restaurant industry, but this is a start.
  This legislation includes important funding for vaccine distribution, 
schools, small businesses, and a desperately needed extension of 
unemployment insurance.
  I am pleased that this legislation also extends clean energy tax 
credits, provides disaster tax assistance, helps prevent tragic flame 
jetting accidents, and provides help for the hardworking men and women 
in my district and across this country.
  Madam Speaker, this is not enough, but it is a start. I urge my 
colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I just want to quickly respond to my friend from 
California. It is just, frankly, not accurate to say Republicans did 
nothing.
  The reality is Democrats in the Senate did nothing. They were offered 
a bill about the size of this bill. Actually, it was a little bit 
larger--as I recall, it was about a trillion dollars--than this bill, 
and they wouldn't allow it to come to the floor to be heard.
  This deal has been on the table since July. My friends chose to hold 
it up, for whatever reason--be it political or in hopes of getting a 
better deal--and they prolonged the suffering of the American people, 
and I regret that.
  But we are here today. We have worked together. We have got all the 
appropriations bills done. I am proud of that. We have got a good 
relief package here. I am proud of that. We have taken care of some 
important issues.
  I see my friend, the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. He 
had a lot to do with that, on surprise medical billing. That is a 
bipartisan accomplishment and achievement.
  So let's build on the things that we have and see what we need to do 
in the next Congress.
  But, again, for one side to point fingers at the other here is just 
simply, in my view, not appropriate.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), the distinguished chairman of the Committee 
on Ways and Means.
  Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, let me proceed with acknowledging that this 
legislation had many crucial elements that were developed and 
constructed by the Committee on Ways and Means on a bipartisan basis.

  We expanded on unemployment insurance. We provided an additional 
supplement of $300 a week. We expanded the retention tax credit, which 
was very important. We maintained and expanded the EITC and the child 
credit.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank Donna Shalala, because perhaps one of 
the most important elements in this successful piece of legislation was 
addressing surprise medical billing. She supported my position on this 
from day one, and she couldn't have been more earnest. She has been a 
terrific Member of this House.
  We provide direct payments. We provide assistance in terms of tax 
extenders. We add a really good job on the renewable tax credits as 
well, and we expand eligibility for a round of checks to include people 
in mixed-status families.
  Many of these pieces of legislation people said couldn't happen and, 
indeed, they did.
  We addressed those who are most vulnerable.
  And, the truth is, we also give Joe Biden a chance after January 20, 
because of the duration of this legislation, to provide what we all 
know is going to be a plan for additional assistance to members of the 
American family.
  Madam Speaker, there are 20 million Americans collecting unemployment 
insurance right now in America. For people at the lower end of the 
economic spectrum, this has been cruel and callous. We need to come to 
their assistance.
  People with white-collar jobs, they have held on and their 
unemployment rate is significantly less. But we know how stubborn this 
problem is, and until we defeat the virus, it is hard to see how we get 
to a full economic recovery.
  I hope that the argument will not be, once Mr. Biden takes the oath, 
that we need to proceed to austerity. What we do in this legislation 
with these checks is we provide additional liquidity, which then 
provides additional demand for people at the lower end of the economic 
spectrum.
  This is a very good piece of legislation. I am very proud of what the 
Committee on Ways and Means did to help get us to this day.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Espaillat).
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the 
underlying COVID relief package:
  Another $284 billion for PPP loans for small businesses that have 
been hurting for so long, particularly restaurants that are struggling. 
Finally, Main Street will get some help. We bailed out Wall Street a 
long time ago and all the big guys; now we have got to bail out Main 
Street.
  $20 billion in EIDL grants for small businesses; another $600 in 
stimulus checks for individuals and children. It should have been 
$1,200, but we will take the $600 now, and we will be back after 
January 20.
  $300 for unemployment benefits. It should have been a little bit 
more. You can't live on $300.
  $13 billion for SNAP. People are starving, the lines are longer, made 
up of families and children.
  $14 billion for public transit, in addition to $4 billion for the 
MTA. The MTA has a $12 billion gap. We will be back for the rest of 
that money.
  $68 billion for purchasing vaccines, and $20 billion for distributing 
them.
  Broadband.
  And, finally, Madam Speaker, $4 billion for Gavi, an international 
vaccine distribution alliance, because it is not an epidemic; it is a 
pandemic.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Jackson Lee). The time of the gentleman 
has expired.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. We will not be free of COVID unless the rest of the 
world is.

[[Page H7297]]

  

  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Clark).
  Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, House Democrats took the 
necessary action to defeat this virus and restore the economy in May, 
but Mitch McConnell said let's hit the pause button. So Americans have 
waited 7 long months for the GOP to take action to end their suffering.
  As over 300,000 Americans lost their lives, they said more testing 
was not necessary.
  As veterans and children waited in lines at food banks, they proposed 
a tax credit for business lunches.
  As 8 million more Americans fell into poverty, they proposed cutting 
unemployment benefits.
  As one out of four women have lost their jobs and have left the 
workforce, they fought to limit paid leave and access to childcare.
  As 40 million Americans teeter on the verge of homelessness, they 
fought to shield corporations from negligence and deny workers basic 
safety protections.
  This bill is too little too late, but it is a lifesaving bridge to a 
better time and a new President who will focus on restoring Americans' 
jobs and their health.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I beg to differ with my good friend from 
Massachusetts. It wasn't Republicans who did nothing; it was Democrats 
who did nothing.
  The Senate actually offered a trillion-dollar package in July. We are 
here approving a $900 billion package today.
  The President of the United States offered a $1.8 trillion package at 
one point. We are approving a $900 billion package today.
  Now, we may do more later, but the reality is my friends drug this 
out all summer long. We could have had a package very similar to what 
we had many months ago. That would have helped unemployed Americans. It 
would have helped Americans with small businesses. It would have 
reassured the economy. My friends chose not to do that.

  I am glad, since the election, they have decided to bargain in good 
faith. We have bargained in good faith. We have what we think is a good 
product in front of us. But if we want to write history, we have a 
considerably different version of it than has been portrayed on the 
floor here today, put in front of the American people.
  Madam Speaker, I also just want to add for the record that, while we 
are busy bashing the President, I haven't heard too many people thank 
the President of the United States for Operation Warp Speed, 
unprecedented triumphs to actually deliver a vaccine in less than a 
year. All the critics said, not possible. The President deserves credit 
for that, and so does his administration.
  That is something that all of us, regardless of party and 
partisanship, should be proud of; and, frankly, it is something we owe 
the President a great deal of gratitude for.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, let me remind my distinguished colleague 
from Oklahoma that we sent the Heroes Act in May.
  And while I agree that the administration should get some credit for 
Operation Warp Speed, as I have pointed out, it has been decades of 
investment in the science that led to Operation Warp Speed.
  Many of us would have appreciated, and we would have saved lives, if 
we had made the same kind of investments in testing so that we had an 
instant test, and we would have ended up saving lives.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Gottheimer).
  Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Madam Speaker, they said it couldn't be done, that 
Democrats and Republicans could actually come together, not only in the 
House, but in the Senate, too, and pass a COVID-19 emergency relief 
package. But, finally, after 9 months, it is about to happen. We are 
about to cross the finish line. This is as close to a Christmas miracle 
as you can find in a normally polarized Washington.

                              {time}  1700

  With the virus raging across the Nation, the 50-Member strong 
bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus put country over party and helped 
craft a package that will help put food on the table, distribute 
vaccines to our communities, save our struggling small businesses, put 
money in the pockets of American families, and help keep families in 
their homes.
  This emergency relief package wouldn't have happened without the 
weeks of hard work from the Problem Solvers Caucus and a bipartisan 
group of Senators who put country ahead of party to help our families, 
small businesses, and communities. This was truly a model for how we 
should govern in Washington.
  This marks a critical downpayment in our ongoing fight against COVID. 
If you look in New Jersey, where 1 in 500 have lost their lives, and 30 
percent of small businesses are out, we clearly have more work to do.
  Madam Speaker, I urge support for this bipartisan, bicameral 
legislation, which is a critical step forward.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to agree with the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida, my 
good friend, about the investments in NIH. I want to remind her that it 
was Newt Gingrich and John Porter who doubled the NIH during the 
Clinton years, who actually put more money in there than the 
administration requested.
  I will also remind my good friend that when I was chairman, we put 
more money in than the Obama administration requested; and we continued 
to do more money than the Trump administration requested, which 
actually requested some cuts.
  So the reality is that Congress--on a bipartisan basis, I must say, 
because I had the support of my ranking member, now our distinguished 
chairwoman of the Labor, Health, and Human Services Subcommittee, Rosa 
DeLauro, in those decisions--Congress, but particularly Republicans, 
have made those investments over the years.
  And I think the country--I agree with my friend--has reaped enormous 
benefits from that. I hope we continue down that road in the next 
Congress with the next administration. I am looking forward to that 
possibility. But I simply wanted to let the record reflect what the 
contribution from our side of the aisle has been in that regard.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I don't disagree with my colleague, but 
it was bipartisan, and I think that is the important thing about those 
investments over the years.
  My point was it was those investments that made it possible for 
Operation Warp Speed. I never suggested that it was one party versus 
another that made that bipartisan investment. It has been decades of 
bipartisan investments that have made a difference.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. 
Beatty).
  Mrs. BEATTY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for 
yielding.
  I rise today to support this legislation because my constituents 
desperately need the unemployment benefits, the stimulus checks, the 
food assistance, the eviction moratoriums, the small business Minority 
Development Institution funds and the CDFI assistance funds, and other 
protections in this bill.
  Seven months after the House passed the Heroes Act, Republicans have 
finally relented to allow more support to the American people who are 
struggling through the three pandemics: COVID-19, economic hardships, 
and social injustices.
  So let me be clear: The GOP has had a knee on Americans' necks by 
holding this bill up, and it still falls short of what we need to get 
through this crisis.
  But I will continue to stand up for my constituents of the Third 
Congressional District and for people across this Nation and my 
colleagues to work with the Biden administration to get people the 
support they need to build back better.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to remind my friends who engage in revisionist history, we 
haven't

[[Page H7298]]

held anything up. The Senate put a $1 trillion offer on the table back 
in July. My friends didn't think that was good enough. The President 
put a $1.8 trillion deal on the table. They didn't think that was good 
enough.
  We are here now with a bipartisan, good bill. We may need to do more 
later. We will see. But the reality is our friends held unrealistic 
positions with a lot of policy riders on them that they knew were never 
going to be accepted, and they did that throughout the election season.
  Fine. The election is over. All of a sudden we are back and we are 
able to compromise after the election. It would have been better for 
the American people had we done that back in July. My friends chose a 
different path, but I am glad they have changed their mind since the 
election. I am glad we have something in front of us that is genuinely 
bipartisan. We will pass it on a bipartisan basis today.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Aguilar).
  Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  The agreement before us today recognizes that to get our economy 
moving again, to return to something that feels like normalcy, we must 
get this virus under control.
  In this agreement, Democrats secured billions to rapidly distribute a 
free and safe vaccine and to invest in nationwide testing and tracing 
measures that will save lives.
  It isn't perfect, and more action is required to address the 
challenges that Americans are facing, but it is everything we can do 
right now with this Senate and this President.
  With this bill, we have averted a sudden end to unemployment benefits 
that millions would have faced and added $300 per week to the benefit.

  We funded a new round of survival checks and emergency rental 
assistance, included an eviction moratorium, and boosted SNAP and child 
nutrition benefits.
  And for the small businesses struggling to keep the lights on, this 
bill provides billions in economic assistance to forgivable loans.
  Across this country, people in communities like mine are hurting. 
Frankly, they have been hurting for far too long.
  We are going to work with the Biden-Harris administration to build on 
this progress and deliver for the American people, and I am confident 
that brighter days are ahead.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, I begin by saying what a privilege it has been to 
serve with my good friend from Florida these last 2 years, not only in 
Congress, but most especially on the Rules Committee. And what a 
particular pleasure it is for me to have the opportunity to manage and 
work with her on her very last rule on the floor.
  In closing, Madam Speaker, I thank all my colleagues for their 
consideration of this bipartisan package. Though it has taken us a long 
time to get to this particular point, it is a real bipartisan 
compromise. And I think, at the end of the day, it will pass with a 
substantial bipartisan vote and it will benefit every American.
  The package today will fully fund the government through September 
30th of 2021, and will ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent where 
they are needed most. I think that is an important point because, lost 
in all of this, the appropriations process has actually done what it 
was supposed to do.
  I compliment my friends on the Appropriations Committee; particularly 
our distinguished chair, Mrs. Lowey, and our distinguished ranking 
member, Ms. Granger. They brought all 12 bills through the committee. 
They got a full committee process. They were reported out of committee. 
Ten of those bills came to the floor. On the floor, those bills got 
full consideration. We sat and bargained with our friends in the United 
States Senate, and now I have brought these bills back. That is the way 
Congress ought to work. I am proud the Appropriations Committee worked 
that way.
  We also will be taking up in this particular bill a pandemic relief 
bill, ensuring extensions for programs like unemployment insurance and 
the Paycheck Protection Program, which will protect millions of 
Americans who have lost their jobs and lost income as a result of this 
pandemic.
  The package is a very important package. And we have some 
disagreements on it. We have had some back and forth on it in the last 
several months, but still, at the end of the day, we have come 
together, we have done something important, and I think we have set the 
stage for perhaps something later in the next Congress. We will see. 
But this is an important relief measure for the American people, and I 
certainly urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support 
it.
  Finally, the package also includes a bipartisan compromise on 
surprise medical billing and a number of issues to provide targeted tax 
relief to people who have suffered through the coronavirus crisis and 
particular industries. I think that is appropriate. I thank my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle and multiple committees that have 
been part of that particular compromise.
  Madam Speaker, it is often said on this floor that it is not a 
perfect bill, but a $900 billion relief package that is badly needed to 
the American people close to Christmas Eve is something that every 
Member on this floor ought to be proud of, and I hope every Member in 
this Chamber will see fit to support.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule and, 
most importantly, to vote ``yes'' on the underlying measure.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I thank my colleague, Mr. Cole, for his generous remarks. I agree 
with him, this is a bipartisan bill that is not perfect. I don't think 
anyone in this Chamber believes that it is perfect.
  Madam Speaker, the time to pass this bill was yesterday. It was 6 
months ago. We pray that most Americans will be able to get a vaccine 
to stop this killer. But it is not just Americans. To be safe, people 
around the world must get the vaccine.
  There will be a lot of darkness before enough Americans and people 
around the world have the vaccine to bring our lives back to normal. 
Before that time, the government must help.
  By the way, it is not our money. It is the people in our communities 
who have been paying taxes for years. We are taking the resources back 
to them. We have to help the unemployed, the shuttered small 
businesses, the strained hospitals, and, most importantly, the hungry 
child.
  Madam Speaker, I strongly urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the 
previous question.
  Mr. HALL. Madam Speaker, I rise today during a critical time in the 
history of the nation.
  Since the beginning of the pandemic, 315,000 Americans have died, as 
a result of the Administration's mismanagement of the federal response 
to COVID-19.
  It has especially impacted the African American community and other 
communities of color.
  Millions of jobs have been lost, countless small businesses have 
closed, and many others hospitalized.
  For the sake of controlling the virus we have all quarantined, as we 
eagerly await a vaccine.
  It is against this backdrop that we fashion a relief bill.
  Scripture teaches that which you do for the least of these you do for 
Him.
  I am proud to fight for the least of these during these critical 
times and support this bipartisan solution for COVID and the budget.
  I want to commend all leaders who helped make this deal possible, 
especially Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Leader Steny Hoyer and Democratic 
Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries.
  This bill is critical as it helps all those impacted by COVID, 
especially the black people and other communities of color that have 
been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic.
  I am proud to support this bill, which provides $900 billion for 
COVID relief.
  This is important as the agreement outlined provides another round of 
$600 in economic stimulus checks and another $300 per-week in 
unemployment benefits, and it supports small businesses, which are the 
engines of our economy.
  It also provides funds to support local school districts and provides 
much-needed funds for coronavirus testing and vaccine distribution.

[[Page H7299]]

  I am also proud to help secure this legislation because it supports 
paid sick leave, provides 25 billion in rent relief and an extension of 
the eviction moratorium.
  This relief bill is going in the right direction but make no mistake, 
this is not enough and must only be a down-payment.
  The $1,200 stimulus checks in the CARES Act from earlier this year 
was an important factor in controlling the economic fallout from the 
initial onset of the coronavirus, and I am disappointed that tonight 
that this Congress will not now act as we did in the Spring.
  The situation is more dire now and calls for more--not less--economic 
stimulus.
  And, I am especially proud that the disbursements from this relief 
bill starts on the first day of Kwanzaa, December 26.
  And, critically, this legislation supports Community Development 
Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions by as much 
as $12 billion:
  The agreement includes dedicated PPP set-asides for very small 
businesses and lending through community-based lenders like Community 
Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository 
Institutions (MDIs); $9 billion in emergency U.S. Treasury capital 
investments in CDFIs and MDIs to support lending in low-income and 
underserved communities, including persistent poverty counties, that 
may be disproportionately impacted by the economic effects of the 
COVID-19 pandemic; and $3 billion in emergency support for CDFIs 
through the CDFI Fund to respond to the economic impact of the pandemic 
on underserved low-income and minority communities.
  The legislation we will pass today also includes 4.2 billion for 
mental health and substance abuse help and another $7 billion for 
broadband.
  This bill includes SBA grants, not just loans so it is critical for 
all applicants that they complete paperwork accurately so that there is 
no delay in submitting paperwork.
  I encourage all constituents to reach out to my office if they need 
help.
  And the legislation we will pass today also allocates $1.4 trillion 
for the budget which is why we must consider the COVID relief bill 
today together with the budget bill.
  This bill also helps secure $10 billion for assistance in child-care 
to help get parents back to work so we can be ready to return to some 
semblance of normalcy.
  I am also proud to support this bill because this legislation 
supports paid sick leave, provides tens of billions in rent relief and 
an extension of the eviction moratorium, another $14 billion in SNAP 
benefits and $80 billion in funding for our colleges and 
universities.''
  It is often said that our budget is a blueprint of our values and 
with the budget we pass today, Madam Speaker, is an affirmation of the 
Gospel of Matthew.
  Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and 
I move the previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on adoption of the 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 227, 
nays 180, not voting 22, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 249]

                               YEAS--227

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Axne
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brindisi
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Casten (IL)
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Cisneros
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Cox (CA)
     Craig
     Crist
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Cunningham
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny K.
     Dean
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Delgado
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Finkenauer
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Frankel
     Fudge
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Golden
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Haaland
     Hall
     Harder (CA)
     Hastings
     Hayes
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horn, Kendra S.
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (TX)
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Levin (CA)
     Levin (MI)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Luria
     Lynch
     Malinowski
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McAdams
     McBath
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Mfume
     Mitchell
     Moore
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Mucarsel-Powell
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rose (NY)
     Rouda
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shalala
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Sires
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Speier
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres Small (NM)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wexton
     Wild
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--180

     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Bost
     Brady
     Brooks (AL)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Chabot
     Cline
     Cloud
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Comer
     Conaway
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     Davidson (OH)
     Davis, Rodney
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx (NC)
     Fulcher
     Gabbard
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garcia (CA)
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Gonzalez (OH)
     Gooden
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hagedorn
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hern, Kevin
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice (GA)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill (AR)
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hurd (TX)
     Jacobs
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Katko
     Keller
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lesko
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     Meuser
     Miller
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Olson
     Omar
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Posey
     Pressley
     Reed
     Reschenthaler
     Rice (SC)
     Riggleman
     Roby
     Rodgers (WA)
     Roe, David P.
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose, John W.
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Shimkus
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Stauber
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Tipton
     Tlaib
     Turner
     Upton
     Van Drew
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Waltz
     Watkins
     Weber (TX)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Young
     Zeldin

                             NOT VOTING--22

     Abraham
     Bishop (UT)
     Brooks (IN)
     Carter (TX)
     Cheney
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Gianforte
     Holding
     Horsford
     King (IA)
     Loudermilk
     Marchant
     Murphy (NC)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rooney (FL)
     Spano
     Walker
     Webster (FL)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wright
     Yoho

                              {time}  1807

  Messrs. SCHWEIKERT, KING of New York, EMMER, RODNEY DAVIS of 
Illinois, BILIRAKIS, and Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER changed their vote from 
``yea'' to ``nay.''
  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.


   members recorded pursuant to house resolution 965, 116th congress

     Allred (Wexton)
     Axne (Davids (KS))
     Barragan (Beyer)
     Bera (Aguilar)
     Bishop (GA) (Butterfield)
     Blumenauer (Beyer)
     Bonamici (Clark (MA))
     Boyle, Brendan F. (Jeffries)
     Brownley (CA) (Clark (MA))
     Bustos (Kuster (NH))
     Cardenas (Carbajal)
     Carson (IN) (Butterfield)
     Case (Cartwright)
     Castor (FL) (Demings)
     Cisneros (Carbajal)
     Clay (Butterfield)
     Cleaver (Davids (KS))
     Cohen (Beyer)
     Costa (Correa)
     Davis (CA) (Scanlon)
     Dean (Scanlon)
     DeFazio (Davids (KS))
     DeGette (Blunt Rochester)
     DelBene (Cicilline)
     DeSaulnier (Matsui)
     Deutch (Rice (NY))
     Doggett (Raskin)
     Escobar (Garcia (TX))
     Eshoo (Thompson (CA))
     Finkenauer (Underwood)
     Fletcher (Raskin)

[[Page H7300]]


     Frankel (Clark (MA))
     Garamendi (Sherman)
     Gonzalez (TX) (Gomez)
     Grijalva (Garcia (IL))
     Haaland (Davids (KS))
     Hastings (Wasserman Schultz)
     Heck (Kildee)
     Jayapal (Raskin)
     Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)
     Kelly (IL) (Clarke (NY))
     Kennedy (McGovern)
     Khanna (Sherman)
     Kilmer (Kildee)
     Kim (Davids (KS))
     Kirkpatrick (Stanton)
     Lamb (Sherrill)
     Langevin (Lynch)
     Lawrence (Kildee)
     Lawson (FL) (Demings)
     Lieu, Ted (Beyer)
     Lipinski (Schrader)
     Lofgren (Jeffries)
     Lowenthal (Beyer)
     McEachin (Wexton)
     McNerney (Raskin)
     Meng (Clark (MA))
     Mitchell (Spanberger)
     Moore (Beyer)
     Moulton (McGovern)
     Mucarsel-Powell (Wasserman Schultz)
     Nadler (Jeffries)
     Napolitano (Correa)
     Neal (Lynch)
     Neguse (Perlmutter)
     Pascrell (Pallone)
     Payne (Wasserman Schultz)
     Peters (Kildee)
     Peterson (McCollum)
     Pingree (Cicilline)
     Pocan (Raskin)
     Porter (Wexton)
     Price (NC) (Butterfield)
     Richmond (Butterfield)
     Rouda (Aguilar)
     Roybal-Allard (Garcia (TX))
     Ruiz (Dingell)
     Rush (Underwood)
     Ryan (Kildee)
     Schakowsky (Underwood)
     Schneider (Casten (IL))
     Schrier (Spanberger)
     Serrano (Jeffries)
     Sewell (AL) (Cicilline)
     Shimkus (Pallone)
     Sires (Pallone)
     Smith (WA) (Courtney)
     Speier (Scanlon)
     Thompson (MS) (Fudge)
     Titus (Connolly)
     Vargas (Correa)
     Veasey (Beyer)
     Velazquez (Clarke (NY))
     Watson Coleman (Pallone)
     Welch (McGovern)
     Wilson (FL) (Hayes)

                          ____________________