[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 9, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1410-S1411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          American Rescue Plan

  Now on the rescue plan, on Saturday, the American people got to see 
what a responsive and effective government looks like. A month and a 
half after assuming the majority, Senate Democrats followed through on 
our promise to deliver a bold COVID relief bill to help crush the 
virus, lift this country out of the crisis, and set our economy on a 
path to a strong recovery.
  Earlier today, the final text of the Senate bill was sent to the 
House of Representatives. Congress remains on track to deliver the 
American Rescue Plan to President Biden's desk for his signature before 
enhanced unemployment benefits expire on March 14.
  We said we would do it. We are doing it.
  Once President Biden signs the American Rescue Plan into law, it will 
immediately become one of the most sweeping Federal recovery efforts in 
modern history. It will help restore Americans' faith in government at 
a time when that is sorely needed, and it will deliver more help to 
more people than almost anything Congress has accomplished in past 
decades.
  Already the positive reviews are pouring in. According to several 
reports, the bill will help millions of Americans save hundreds of 
dollars in healthcare costs. Thanks to a historic expansion of the 
child tax credit--up to $3,000 per child under 17 for an overwhelming 
majority of families--analysts predict the American Rescue Plan will 
cut child poverty in half.
  Let me say that again: Analysts predict the American Rescue Plan will 
cut child poverty in half. This has been a goal of this country for 
decades, and now we are taking real steps to accomplish it.
  In fact, the Tax Policy Center predicts the American Rescue Plan will 
boost the incomes of the poorest 20 percent of Americans by 20 percent, 
including significant boosts all the way through the middle class
  Meanwhile, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans will receive an 
income boost of zero--zero percent for the top 1 percent wealthiest 
Americans.
  Let me say that again because this shows who we are as a party here 
in the Senate and who we should be as a nation. Let me say: A 20-
percent boost in incomes for Americans who are struggling the most; 
zero percent for those who are at the top already, who are doing very 
well.
  Let's contrast this to the Republican tax bill, which skewed in 
exactly the opposite direction. If people want to know the difference--
the difference in terms of how Democrats feel about whom we should help 
and how Republicans feel about whom we should help--contrast this bill 
with the most major accomplishment during the 4 years that Donald Trump 
was President and it is very apparent.
  Back in December, Democrats promised that, if we won the majority, we 
would deliver $2,000 checks to American families. That is exactly what 
we have done. Promise made; promise kept. We helped pass $600 checks in 
December and added $1,400 in the bill we just passed.
  Because Democrats kept that promise, Americans are going to receive 
the help they need quickly. The checks will stimulate the economy, and 
they are targeted to those Americans who need it the most. It is a 
promise kept.
  The OECD, or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development, projected that the American Rescue Plan could as much as 
double America's economic growth this year. As a result, it also 
revised upward its projections for the entire world's economic 
recovery. Once again, the United States is going to lead the way.
  And so, because of what the Senate did last week, healthcare costs 
will go down, child poverty will be cut in half, Americans will receive 
direct financial support, and the economy is set for an enormous boost. 
It is a great beginning for a new administration and a new Senate.
  And that is to say nothing of the schools that will receive support 
to reopen faster and safer, the restaurants and small businesses that 
will receive a lifeline, the millions of recently unemployed Americans 
who will continue to receive enhanced benefits until Labor Day, and the 
millions of workers and retirees who will see their pension plans 
protected.
  Of course, one of the most important aspects of all is the support 
this bill will give to speed vaccinations and expand testing--exactly 
what we need to defeat the virus.

[[Page S1411]]

  In short, this is one of the very most significant pieces of 
legislation to pass the Senate in years. It is broader, deeper, and 
more comprehensive in helping working families and lifting Americans 
out of poverty than anything--anything--Congress has accomplished in a 
very long time.
  So I am extremely proud of the bill we passed this week--exceedingly 
proud. I am exceedingly proud of everybody in our caucus; our committee 
chairs, whose leadership allowed us to act swiftly at a moment when 
Americans needed help fast; and the Members, who pulled together and 
realized no one is going to get everything he or she wants, but the 
need to come together and get something done when we had no margin for 
error was wonderful.
  I want to thank President Biden for his bold and steady leadership. 
He was instrumental in putting this bill together and helping to get it 
over the finish line.
  And I am exceedingly proud of the staff, who toiled behind the 
scenes, who worked incredible hours under incredible stress to prepare, 
perfect, and pass the American Rescue Plan. The staff are the unsung 
heroes of this bill. So I want to spend just a moment to sing their 
praises.
  First of all, to all the members and staff of the Senate committees, 
thank you. I have submitted all of their names into the Congressional 
Record to acknowledge their weeks of hard work assembling different 
portions of the bill, negotiating compromises, writing legislative 
text, petitioning the Parliamentarian, and managing a colossal 
amendment process.
  To all of the floor staff--the doorkeepers, the clerks, the 
reporters, the cafeteria workers, the custodial staff, the Capitol 
Police and National Guard--the entire Senate gave you a standing 
ovation on Saturday, and you deserved every second of it. Thank you, 
thank you, thank you once again.
  And, finally, I need to spend some time thanking my own staff. I 
think they are the best staff anyone could ever have. They are amazing. 
They are amazing. Every Senator believes they have the best staff on 
Capitol Hill, I guess, but I am no exception. I couldn't do what I do 
without them. They are amazing. The chiefs who run the show: Mike 
Lynch, Martin Brennan, Erin Sager Vaughn. The floor staff: the amazing 
Gary Myrick, Tricia Engle, the whole floor staff--thank you.
  And then three names that I have to give a particular shout-out to 
because you could truly say that without these three we wouldn't have a 
bill: Gerry Petrella, Meghan Taira, Charlie Ellsworth.
  My staff--I would like to brag a little about them if I might. My 
staff boasts some of the most brilliant legislative minds in the 
country--folks who know the nitty-gritty of every issue in their 
portfolio, who fashion solutions to the most difficult problems in the 
country and then turn those solutions into action.
  And thank you to my executive team, who keeps me somewhat on time and 
is a tremendous asset to the entire Democratic caucus.
  Thank you to our phenomenal research team, ready to supply the right 
fact at the right moment. You ask them: Look this up, find this out. 
Boom, the answer appears right away.
  To everyone at the Senate Democratic Media Center, the SDMC, who are 
clipping and editing videos at 3, 4, 5 in the morning; to our amazing 
press team, who gets the word out so skillfully; our engagement team, 
who does fantastic work with the groups affected by the legislation we 
pass; and our entire State staff--I just visited some of them. I just 
came back from Buffalo and Syracuse--who make sure that our work in 
Washington always responds to the needs of New York.
  I wanted to mention each of these different groups, but in reality 
they are a team. They pull together, and they are friends as well. They 
celebrate holidays together, and we share each other's joys and 
sadnesses in life--a team that works together, helps each other, 
supports each other, and supports me; a team that gets up every morning 
with a passion to make the lives of their fellow citizens better. It is 
impossible, just impossible not to be inspired by them and by that.

  So I ask unanimous consent to enter the names of my entire staff into 
the Record because, as I told them on the phone Sunday, even if they do 
nothing else in life, they have saved by their work many, many lives. 
They have made the lives of millions--millions--of people considerably 
better because of their hard work, their dedication, and their faith.
  So I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the names of 
my entire staff
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       I would like the Record to include the names of my staff 
     who worked tirelessly to prepare, perfect, and pass the 
     American Rescue Plan: one of the most significant pieces of 
     legislation to pass the United States Senate in decades. 
     Their names are as follows:
        Abdelhaq, Yazeed, Achibar, Kathleen, Aleman, Jasmin, 
     Armwood, Garrett, Babin, Reggie, Banez, Robert, Barjon, 
     Didier, Barton, Steve, Battle, Sharon, Benavides, Jackie, 
     Biasotti, Allison, Bluitt, Tinae, Bodian, Lane, Bowman, 
     Quinn, Brennan, Martin, Burns, Caroline, Byrne, Sean, 
     Cardinal, Jon, Cardona, Selena, Carranza, Ramon.
        Chang Prepis, Joyce, Charlery, Kristen, Cole, Emily, 
     Contes, Helena, Cook, Andrew, Cooke, Dave, Coutavas, Sophie, 
     Daly, Annie, Dayal, Tushar, Deveny, Adrian, Dickson, Jeff, 
     Dirienzo, Lindsay, Donovan, Patrick, Eagan, Ryan, Ellsworth, 
     Charlie, Emanuel, Marissa, Engle, Tricia, Fado, Kelly.
        Flood, Sam, Fuentes, Matt, Geertsma, Joel, Glander, Megan, 
     Goodman, Justin, Gray-Hoehn, Hayley, Gutmaker, Joshua, 
     Haberl, Gunnar, Harris, Jasmine, Hawley, Marisa, Hickman, 
     Rob, Housley, Jon, Huus, Amber, Iannelli, Mike, Ileka, 
     Steven, Jackson, Rachel, Jamaica, Jessica, Jean, Mike, 
     Kazibwe, Rodney.
        Kiandoli, Cietta, Kuiken, Mike, Lee, Monica, Lopez, 
     Julietta, Lynch, Mike, Magaletta, Grace, Mann, Steve, 
     Mannering, Amy, Marcojohn, Anneliese, Martin, Ryan, Mehta, 
     Hemen, Meyer, Ken, Molofsky, Josh, Moore, Catey, Moreno-
     Silva, Michelle, Morgan, Rachel, Murphy Vlasto, Megan.
        Myrick Gary, Najafi, Leela, Nam, Alice, Nehme, Joe, 
     Nguyen, Alex, Nicholson, Jordan, Nunez, Diana, Odgren, 
     Andrew, Olvera, Lorenzo, Orlove, Suzan, Ortega, Sol, 
     Osmolski, Rebecca, Oursler, Nate, Paone, Stephanie, Patel, 
     Vandan, Patterson, Liza, Patterson, Mark, Petrella, Gerry, 
     Pina, Oriana, Reese, William.
        Revelle, Justine, Rivera, Tony, Robinson, Alexandra, 
     Rodarte, Sam, Rodman, Scott, Rodriguez, Crisitian, Roefaro, 
     Angelo, Rosenblum, Zack, Ryder, Tim, Seijas, Nelson, Shah, 
     Raisa, Sharbaugh, Tyson, Sinpatanasakul, Leeann, Skapnit, 
     Amanda, Sledge, Alexa, Smith, Hannah, Sonnier-Thompson, Bre, 
     Spellicy, Amanda, Sundaramoorthy, Dili, Sweda, Emily.
        Talley, Hanna, Taira, Meghan, Tam, Catalina, Taylor, Anna, 
     Taylor, Terri, Tepke, Paige, Timothy, Kimarah, Tinsley, Dan, 
     Vaughn, Erin Sager, Velez, Cyre, Virgona, Nicole, Vogel, Kai, 
     Vorperian-Grillo, Karine, Watt, Brad, Watters, Veronica, 
     Weir, Emma, Yoken, Dan, Younkin, Nora, Zeltmann, Chris, 
     Zomorrodian, Reza.

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I want them all to know how much I 
appreciate their work and how much the country does and what a great 
difference it has made in the trajectory of our wonderful Nation.

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