[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 3, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1002-S1004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on a different subject, I listened to the 
speeches of Senator Schumer and Senator McConnell about the American 
Rescue Plan--Joe Biden's proposal, his initial proposal as President--
to deal with the pandemic, the state of the economy, and many other 
aspects of American culture and life that need to be addressed. 
Clearly, there is a difference of opinion.
  I couldn't help but think, as Senator McConnell was recounting our 
experience last year, that when it came to the CARES Act a year ago--
the $2 trillion plan to respond to the state of the pandemic and the 
economy, the plan that was engineered by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, a 
member of the Trump administration, who argued and negotiated with 
Republicans and Democrats alike--that, when they finally agreed, the 
vote was 96 to nothing in this Chamber. Every Democrat voted for the 
proposed CARES Act that was engineered by the Trump administration. 
Party was pushed aside because the priority was our Nation. It happened 
again in December of last year. In President Trump's administration, 
with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin at the table and with Democrats and 
Republicans bargaining, the final vote was 92 to 6 in the Senate--not 
bad--and the 6 noes were all Republicans. Again, the Democrats stepped 
up and said: We will support this bipartisan effort because that is why 
we are here. The American people sent us here to do a job.
  Now comes the new President, Joe Biden, who says: Good work last 
December, but that was temporary, and that was supposed to be a special 
effort. Now we have to finish the year. We have some deadlines coming. 
Just 2 weeks from now--or in less than 2 weeks--the unemployment 
insurance programs will be running out for millions of Americans, and 
the rental assistance program as well. Some will face eviction, and 
some will not have enough money to feed their families. So get to work. 
Pass the American Rescue Plan on a bipartisan basis.
  We have yet to hear from one Republican Senator who will support 
President Biden's plan. Some of them have

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legitimate differences with his policy, and I wish they would come to 
the table and be a part of the conversation, but none of them has 
really stepped up and said: We are in for the big effort that the 
President is calling for. That is what it will take. Unfortunately, 
because of that, in a 50-50 Senate, we will need every Democratic 
Senator to support the President's plan and to pass a version of what 
the House is sending over to us. We will go through an exercise called 
``reconciliation'' in just a few days. It is not a pretty scene if you 
follow legislative history, but it is long overdue.
  Do you know the one thing that should drive us on? It is not only the 
obvious need for this but the fact that the American people 
overwhelmingly support what President Biden has proposed. The American 
people believe, as he does, that we should be investing billions into 
more vaccines and more people to administer them. The American people 
believe that a cash payment to families is essential in some parts of 
this country. They would like to see the $600 in last December's bill 
complemented with the $1,400 in this proposal. They would like for us 
to put money on the table for people who are unemployed so they can put 
food on that same table, and they would like for us to get the schools 
ready to deal with reopening and classes that are safe for the kids and 
the teachers. There is no argument about that.
  While 20 percent of the people may oppose it, 80 percent support it. 
Yet we can't find one Republican Senator to support President Biden's 
plan. They say it costs too much. Well, the Chairman of the Federal 
Reserve, Mr. Powell, a conservative Republican economist, has told us 
to be careful that you do too little. This economy is fragile. It needs 
to be strengthened. We need to inject into this economy enough of our 
resources so that people are back, purchasing again, and businesses are 
reopened. He has warned us, if you do too little and if you cut it off 
too soon, you are going to pay for it for years to come with 
unemployment and problems with the sluggish economy.
  My Republican colleagues say it is just too much money. Well, I think 
they are wrong, and at this moment in history, I am prepared to err on 
the side of investing in the American people and American businesses 
and making certain that we have a fighting chance to put this behind 
us.
  Our constituents know about the cost of this situation. They want us 
to provide the solutions. They want results from Congress. If we were 
to delay this payment, people would see their unemployment insurance 
lapse and hardships continue.
  We shouldn't play politics with it either. In the two big bills last 
year, the Democrats were on board for plans engineered by the Trump 
administration. Economists believe that we need to move and move 
decisively.
  According to an analysis by the Brookings Institution, passing a 
comprehensive plan like the American Rescue Plan could produce a 4-
percent growth in U.S. GDP this year.
  Moody's estimates that passing the same plan would create 7\1/2\ 
million American jobs. How about that?
  We got good news over the weekend with the arrival of another safe 
and effective vaccine. This is the third one, the Johnson & Johnson 
vaccine, in our arsenal--perhaps more to follow. It holds the promise 
of finally getting America inoculated, vaccinated, and breaking the 
back of this pandemic.
  This new vaccine prevents hospitalizations and deaths, stored at 
normal temperatures, a single shot--all good news.
  But we need more than a promise of a vaccine. We need a plan. These 
vaccines are of no good to us sitting on a shelf or not being produced 
in volumes necessary.
  President Biden's rescue plan, which not a single Republican 
supports, would provide 100 and--I think I have got the number right--
$160 billion in resources for the production of vaccines and the 
distribution. If we ever needed it, this was the moment.
  Thankfully, President Biden's leadership has led to allocations to 
Illinois of vaccines that have increased by 70 percent since he took 
over as President. We still have our challenges at the local level.
  I want to salute the Governor, JB Pritzker; the mayor of the city of 
Chicago, Lori Lightfoot; the Cook County Board President Preckwinkle; 
and all the others who are doing their best.
  I announced with Senator Duckworth just last Friday that we are going 
to put a new facility in the parking lot of the United Center, where 
the amazing Chicago Bulls play basketball from time to time, and it is 
going to be able to vaccinate thousands of people every single day.
  It is Federal assistance that is making it happen, and it happens to 
be in a neighborhood where African Americans and Latinos are nearby, 
and we need to protect them with even more effectiveness than we have 
to date. They account for 33 percent of the population of that area, 
and only 16 percent have been vaccinated.
  The American Rescue Plan provides $20 billion to expand our vaccine 
distribution capacity. You would think that that would maybe attract 
one Republican supporter. It should. There are certainly some who argue 
against all vaccines and spending any money for it and all the rest, 
but they are such a small minority. The vast majority of Americans of 
both political parties understand that we have got to go to 
vaccinations as quickly as possible. The Biden rescue plan does that. I 
wish they would join us in supporting it.
  There is also a need for money for education. There is $128 billion 
in this bill for additional education funding K-12, and there have been 
arguments made on the floor here by the Republicans that we just don't 
need it. They point to data showing that the school districts haven't 
spent the money that we provided in previous relief packages. Well, 
just talk to the principals and the teachers in your home State about 
that conclusion. You will find the money is desperately needed and that 
the money that has been appropriated before will be spent in an orderly 
way and not shoveled out the window.
  We are looking ahead to the entire year and making certain that we 
have a real school year--perhaps the remainder of this year but 
certainly for next year. Illinois needs these funds and America does.
  When it comes to State and local support, I have to tell you, we have 
paid a heavy price in our State of Illinois and our major cities. We 
have seen expenses go up and we have seen revenue go down and we need 
help, not unreasonable.
  This helping hand will save jobs that are necessary for us--some of 
them healthcare jobs, some of them security and safety jobs, but they 
will save jobs, and that is why the State and the local resources 
included in this bill are so important and timely.
  Over the past year, States and localities have lost 1.3 million jobs 
of their payrolls, far more than the 750,000 lost in the great 
recession. There is needed help from the Federal Government, and it is 
needed now.
  We have recovered just 12 million of the 22 million jobs we have lost 
since the start of the pandemic.
  According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, more than 8 
million rental households and 2 million homeowners were behind on 
housing payments at the end of last year. The burden is tough, and for 
those of us lucky enough to have escaped it, we may not know the 
feeling, the empty feeling of eviction or the loss of a home that you 
have paid a mortgage on for years.
  I am going to close. I see one of my colleagues on the floor 
preparing to speak, but I would like to close with the story of Galen 
Hensen from Midlothian, IL.
  For 34 years, Galen has supported touring artists through his work in 
live concert production for some of America's most iconic musicians. 
When the American economy was upended by the pandemic, his industry 
froze to save other lives and to avoid crowds.
  Like so many others, Galen went on unemployment. Yet, even with the 
Federal $600 supplement to State unemployment, he had only half of his 
regular income replaced. He struggles--still struggles to make ends 
meet. He wrote to me urging that we put aside our partisan differences 
and pass the American Rescue Plan. Let's listen to Galen, and let's 
listen to many others like him. They are counting on us.
  I hope when all is said and done after all the speeches, that just as 
we came together on a bipartisan basis to pass the rescue plan twice 
last year--96 to

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nothing, 92 to 6--under the Trump administration, with all Democrats 
supporting it, wouldn't it be great if we showed that same 
bipartisanship again
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip.

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