[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 33 (Monday, February 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Madam President, on another matter entirely, today, the United States 
will surpass more than 500,000 deaths from COVID-19--a half a million 
souls.
  How as a nation do we grapple with this enormous tragedy? How do we 
even comprehend a number that big or a loss that great? Do we imagine 
five of our largest football stadiums, filled to the max, wiped out in 
an instant? The city of Atlanta or Sacramento erased overnight? A 9/11 
attack every single day for 169 days in a row?
  They say a single death is a tragedy, but a million deaths is a 
statistic. We must not let this tragic milestone wash over us like just 
another awful statistic stacked on top of a year's worth of awful 
statistics. Instead, we must treat this moment as 500,000 individual 
tragedies: the empty chair at the dinner table; the empty half of the 
bed at night that people are suffering through; the unplayed pianos and 
uncelebrated birthdays and funerals that were never held; the neighbors 
and colleagues and friends and family who died without a chance for 
their loved ones to hold their hands; the grandchildren, wrapped in 
protective gear, waving goodbye to grandparents from across the silence 
of a hospital room--500,000 American souls and counting.
  There is no way--no way--to properly account for the loss of so many 
lives in so short a time, but I would ask my fellow Americans to mark 
this terrible day by doing two simple things.
  First, keep in your hearts the families who have lost a loved one. 
Reach out to that colleague or friend, and offer sympathy and support. 
Stop for a moment and grieve for your fellow citizens or for someone 
you have lost personally. We all know someone who is gone. I learned of 
another one yesterday.
  And, second, let us strive to end this pandemic as swiftly as 
possible. For us in the Congress, that means moving forward with 
legislation to speed vaccine distribution and help the American people 
during this time of economic crisis, which is what the American Rescue 
Plan is all about, but every American can contribute by continuing to 
follow the guidelines and staying safe, by not losing hope or patience 
as we round the final corner.
  We will--we will--get through this, but, today, let us mourn the 
500,000 Americans we have lost and commit ourselves to a future when 
the days of these tragic milestones are finally and firmly behind us.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.

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