[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 62 (Monday, April 12, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I was grateful for the opportunity, as I 
am sure we all were, to be back home for the last 2 weeks for the State 
work period and to talk to our constituents. Some of my conversations--
and I suspect I am not alone--some of these conversations were virtual. 
But most of us are glad to get back to whatever the next normal is and 
have more and more human interaction rather than the isolation and, 
frankly, some of the anxiety that comes along with being kept apart. We 
are social animals, we human beings, and we thrive on and we, I 
believe, need that kind of interaction. But so far this year, most of 
it has been virtual.
  I did have a chance to speak to the Texas Hispanic Chamber members 
and the members of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber as part of their annual 
legislative summit. Like many of the folks who do fly-ins at least once 
a year, we have had to forgo that, so this was a virtual meeting. But I 
did get a chance to hear from many of the members and particularly 
their board members on the importance of our response to the pandemic 
and the progress they have in turn been able to make through things 
like the Paycheck Protection Program.
  I also was able to join friends from Webb County--that is Laredo, 
TX--the North American Development Bank and their private partners, to 
announce a $216 million investment in a new solar farm, which they are 
very excited about.
  I was glad to be able to visit with a number of Texans in person, 
with all of the appropriate safety precautions we have all learned so 
well.
  I was able to kick off National Volunteer Month at the San Antonio 
Food Bank with a number of incredible nonprofits and people with big 
hearts who are volunteering even amidst the--hopefully the waning days 
of this pandemic, at the food bank. I hope Texans and folks all across 
the country will continue to find ways to support one another by 
volunteering with local nonprofits this month and into the future.
  I also was able to meet with venue owners and operators at Antone's 
in Austin, which is the live music capital of the world, on the day 
before applications opened for the U.S. Small Business Administration 
shuttered venue operators grant. This grant program was established 
through the Save Our Stages Act, which Senator Klobuchar and I 
introduced and which was signed into law as part of the December relief 
bill. These small venues were excluded from the Paycheck Protection 
Program and, of course, were among the first to close and will be among 
the last to open. But what we did in the Save Our Stages Act will go a 
long way to ensure that the marquees at our most beloved live 
entertainment venues can shine bright once again, and I am eager for 
the funds to reach Texas venues.
  Then, in Dallas, I joined my friend Congresswoman Eddie Bernice 
Johnson to announce bipartisan legislation we are introducing in 
response to the deadly winter storm that hit Texas last February. This 
legislation will help build resilience in our electrical infrastructure 
throughout the country and will help ensure we are better prepared for 
whatever extreme weather Mother Nature sends our way.
  It was great, as I said, to visit with folks in person again, and I 
am glad to see a gradual return to our new normal, as more and more 
Americans are vaccinated.
  Even though the issues I was discussing throughout my State were 
different, one common theme that I brought up everywhere I went was to 
continue to encourage Texans to get vaccinated. So far, 9 million of us 
have received at least 1 dose of the vaccine, and 5.6 million Texans 
are fully vaccinated. Obviously we are not out of the woods yet, but 
Americans have every reason to be optimistic about the headway made in 
the fight against COVID-19.