[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S80-S82]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am happy to be standing here today on 
the Senate floor during an exciting week and one that really provides 
us with hope for the future. I welcome President Biden and, of course, 
Vice President Harris to their new roles and look forward to their 
leadership that they will provide in these difficult times.
  We can never forget that America is still in the midst of a deadly 
pandemic. Tragically, we lost over 400,000 Americans. In my State of 
Illinois, we have seen more than 1 million COVID cases, and 18,398 of 
my neighbors and friends in Illinois have died due to this deadly 
virus.
  As we continue to try to stop the spread of this pandemic, I am glad 
that the vaccine rollout has been able to help some in my State--
537,000 people in Illinois have received vaccines. It is a refreshing 
and long overdue sight to have the President and White House fully 
engaged in addressing this pandemic with a focus on science and racial 
equity.
  On his first day yesterday, President Biden signed several important 
Executive actions, including instituting a mask mandate for all Federal 
facilities and buildings.
  Secondly, he moved to rejoin the World Health Organization. This was 
one of the most confounding decisions by the Trump administration. In 
the midst of a global pandemic, President Trump opted to remove the 
United States from the World Health Organization, which was focusing on 
the spread of this pandemic and its impact on nations around the world.
  Finally, President Biden created an office to coordinate a national 
response to the pandemic. Today he is outlining a strong plan to 
provide a national strategy to liberate us from this threat.
  I must say that I was disappointed in the transition when at first 
President Trump refused to acknowledge that he lost the election, and 
then his Agencies dragged their feet when it came to informing the 
Biden administration of the status quo in America. Thus,

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today, we learn that we were not as prepared as we should have been 
when it came to distributing the vaccines that were being manufactured 
across this country. Now we almost have to start from zero to find a 
way to meet President Biden's challenge of 100 million Americans 
vaccinated in the first 100 days that he is in office. I pray that he 
is successful. We should do everything in our power on both sides of 
the aisle to give him the resources and the cooperation he needs.

  The fact sheet of things that will be done by the Biden 
administration on COVID-19 is lengthy and impressive. The President, on 
the first day, established a White House COVID-19 Response Office and 
Coordinator, as I mentioned, required mask wearing and social 
distancing in Federal facilities, and rejoined the World Health 
Organization.
  Today, President Biden also unveiled a national strategy to leverage 
Federal resources. It outlines detailed plans for a comprehensive 
vaccination strategy. If there was cheering--and there should have 
been--for the Warp Speed project developing successful vaccines in a 
short period of time, it was followed by some disappointment that even 
with these vaccines and the knowledge of how to make them, we are not 
producing them in the quantities necessary, and we are not addressing 
the logistics of spreading these vaccines across America where they are 
needed the most.
  The President is setting out to restore trust by leading with experts 
for public outreach, and he is relying on science. That is refreshing. 
It is hard to imagine something that basic is as refreshing as it is. 
He is providing resources and guidance to reopen most K-8 schools in 
100 days. Wouldn't that be a blessing? There isn't a parent or 
grandparent in this country who won't cheer that particular goal. He is 
addressing supply gaps and State capacity. We are finding them 
virtually all across the United States. And he is focusing on 
vulnerable populations, including those in long-term care facilities 
and communities of color.
  To implement this plan, President Biden will sign Executive orders 
today to direct agencies to exercise all authorities, including the 
Defense Production Act, to accelerate the manufacturing and delivery of 
vaccination, testing, and medical supplies. Let me say, I have never 
understood why President Trump refused to use this Defense Production 
Act to its full capacity, to use his leadership as President to marshal 
the resources of production and distribution of vaccines and other 
absolutely necessary medical devices.
  President Biden also is directing FEMA to increase Federal 
reimbursement to States from 75 to 100 percent for emergency supplies, 
such as PPE, and National Guard personnel. He is establishing a Healthy 
Equity Task Force to provide recommendations on how to allocate and 
address racial and ethnic disparities that have been magnified by this 
crisis
  We know the economic damage of this virus continues to linger. Nearly 
one in four people in my State in renter households reports being 
behind on rent, and one in three households reports having difficulty 
just covering usual household expenses.
  We continue to see historic numbers of Americans filing for 
unemployment, including more than 100,000 people in Illinois who 
applied for unemployment last week. But to fully address the health and 
economic toll of the pandemic, Congress needs to build upon the work we 
did in December and heed the call of the $1.9 trillion plan that 
President Biden outlined last week.
  I was part of a bipartisan group of Senators who met several months 
ago. We talked about following on the CARES Act with some measure of 
COVID relief. We proposed a plan of $908 billion, which was then 
embraced by the leaders on both sides of the aisle and the White House, 
and they negotiated further. That resulted in the measure we passed 
just a few days ago. But make no mistake, that was not the end of the 
story, nor did we envision that it would be. This was done on a 
temporary emergency basis to cover the first quarter; that is, the 
first 3 months of this calendar year. I pray that this pandemic and all 
of the problems it has caused will soon be gone, but I doubt that it 
will happen in the next 3 months.
  We have more work to do, and President Biden knows it. I think we all 
do. We need to come together again on a bipartisan basis.
  The first CARES Act passed the Senate by a vote of 96 to nothing. 
There were no dissenting votes. The second measure, I believe, had 91 
or 92 votes in favor of it. So we have shown real bipartisanship. We 
can't quit on this challenge.
  Janet Yellen has been named as the Treasure Secretary designate by 
President Biden. I had a conversation with her 2 weeks ago. We talked 
about the perilous state of the economy. It is naive for us to believe 
that the worst is behind us. We have to face the reality that we may 
have darker days ahead, and we have to be prepared to deal with them--
first, with the pandemic and, second, with the economy. Even the 
Chairman of the Federal Reserve has encouraged us not to take our foot 
off the accelerator, lest we lapse into a recession or worse.
  Let's take this seriously. Let's help the businesses, help the 
workers, help the families, and do our best to get this economy back on 
its feet.
  Illinois has spent $843 million in our health departments to expand 
testing and vaccine delivery from the December package. But with half a 
million people vaccinated so far in a State of 13 million, more 
resources and support are needed. That means providing the $20 billion 
for vaccine distribution and $50 billion for testing that President 
Biden has asked for as part of his rescue package so we can finally, 
once and for all, crush this virus, get the economy back on its feet, 
and get our kids back in school.
  It also means investing in the health workforce, such as through a 
bill I have introduced with Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, 
to provide scholarship and loan repayment through the National Health 
Service Corps for doctors and nurses to serve in communities with a 
shortage of providers.
  I say to the Presiding Officer, I am sure you are personally aware 
that there are fewer African-American doctors in the United States 
today than there were 10 years ago. I am sorry to report that. It 
should be just the opposite. We should have so many more, for many 
reasons, not the least of which is to overcome health inequity.
  This scholarship program that Senator Rubio and I are proposing 
builds on the model of the National Health Service Corp, which tracks 
young doctors to come and serve in underserved areas and to help 
underserved populations, and then helps pay off their student loans. We 
take this approach: Keep that; it is good. Expand it where we can, but 
let's look at another aspect. What if we provided scholarship 
assistance and really directed it toward minority candidates to become 
doctors and dentists and nurses and healthcare professionals? All of 
those aspects would be encouraged if people knew that they had a 
scholarship through the National Health Service and the promise that 
they would serve where they were needed after they graduated. We hope 
this will be included in any measure that is passed in the near future.
  The President's plan sets out additional relief measures that will 
float to those in need. I am especially encouraged by making the child 
tax credit fully refundable. That is going to benefit 1 million kids in 
my State.
  Also, the Biden plan aims to safely open schools, businesses, and 
travel while protecting workers in these areas and committing to 
protecting our most vulnerable populations.
  I am ready to continue pushing for COVID relief. The job isn't 
finished by any means. We must provide American families and workers 
the tools they need to survive in this difficult economic time.
  As Chair Yellen said earlier this week, ``Without further action, we 
risk a longer, more painful recession now--and long-term scarring of 
the economy later.''
  Let's do this, America. Let's do it together. Let's let the spirit of 
unity that we saw on the West Front of the Capitol yesterday bring us 
together here in the Senate and the House in a joint effort to help the 
American people with the resources they need to survive this pandemic 
and this lengthy financial hardship.

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

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