[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 80 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2400-S2402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           April Jobs Report

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, some economists have another name for 
the recession that we are living through, the one that was caused by 
the COVID pandemic. They call it a ``she-cession'' because the economic 
hardships and job losses have fallen disproportionately on women, 
especially on working mothers. It is ironic that we are having this 
conversation the day after Mother's Day and reflecting on the current 
state of American families in the midst of a pandemic but, equally 
important, on the state of American families and the state of the 
mothers of those families and the economic realities that they face.
  There are 2.5 million American women who have dropped out or were 
pushed out of the workforce since the start of this pandemic. In a 
recent ABC News poll, 25 percent of women said they are worse off 
economically now than they were a year ago compared to 18 percent of 
men. A survey last fall found that almost 40 percent of working mothers 
in my State of Illinois--40 percent--lost their jobs or are working 
reduced hours. Nearly half of all working mothers of color reported the 
same.
  There are many reasons that this recession has been so economically 
devastating for so many women, but the two biggest reasons are these: 
Women are overrepresented in the industries that have been hit the 
hardest by the pandemic: restaurants, retail, leisure and hospitality. 
Women are also the primary caregivers--in some cases, the only 
caregivers--in the vast majority of American families. With schools and 
childcare programs closed, what choice does a working mother have 
besides stepping back from work?
  For millions of American mothers and their families, the stimulus 
payments, the enhanced unemployment checks, the increased child tax 
credits, and other economic benefits in the American Rescue Plan have 
literally been a lifeline. They have enabled these mothers and families 
to feed their kids and to keep their homes during the worst recession 
since the Great Depression.
  So it has come as a bit of a surprise that our Republican colleagues 
would choose to start Mother's Day weekend by vowing to end enhanced 
unemployment benefits for more than 8 million American workers. They 
cite the April jobs report as their justification. After we added 
770,000 jobs in March--a strong showing--we learned last week the U.S. 
economy added only 266,000 jobs in April. Immediately, our Republican 
colleagues cited the disappointing jobs numbers as proof that the 
recovery has clearly stalled and that we have to do more to get people 
back to work, as if it justifies ending enhanced jobless benefits.
  They seem to think that additional unemployment benefits make 
American workers lazy. They imply that Americans would rather sit at 
home, watch nonstop Netflix, and eat chocolate-covered cherries rather 
than go back to work. They must not know many American workers. 
Americans want to work. Americans work longer and harder than their 
counterparts in almost every nation in the world. We should be proud of 
that work ethic and what it has meant to America.
  The reason many workers haven't returned to the workplace isn't 
because they are lazy. People remain afraid of this coronavirus. They 
lack adequate, affordable childcare. They may be caring for older 
family members or be dealing with personal health conditions. That is 
the reality of life in families and, particularly, in struggling, 
working families. Taking away the enhanced unemployment benefits they 
need to be able to feed their kids and

[[Page S2401]]

pay their rents or mortgages does nothing to change that reality except 
to make it worse.
  Our Republican colleagues will say that the April jobs report is the 
reason for their renewed determination to stop sending these enhanced 
checks to the jobless families. The truth is--the real truth is--these 
Republicans think the Federal Government ought to do the bare minimum 
to help working families weather this pandemic. That is their credo: 
Government isn't the solution; government is the problem even during a 
once-in-a-century health crisis. Whether the economy is adding jobs 
quickly or slowly, whether the COVID infection and death rates are 
rising or falling, the Republicans have fought to scale back Federal 
unemployment benefits for workers.
  Not one of our Republican colleagues--let me repeat that--not one of 
our Republican Senate colleagues voted for the American Rescue Plan. 
Remember that one? That was the plan by President Biden that put more 
money into the purchase of vaccines; that finally set up a nationwide 
effort to administer those vaccines; that sent the $1,400 cash check to 
working families--a check that had been promised by the previous 
administration--that gave an additional helping hand to small 
businesses to get through the pandemic; and that did, in fact, increase 
or, I should say, lengthen the period of time that people would be 
eligible for unemployment benefits.
  That is a pretty good, important package; don't you think? When you 
look at what it did for America, it came just in the nick of time for 
many. You would have thought, wouldn't you, with 50 Republican 
Senators, that one--one--Republican Senator would have supported those 
things. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

  There are things we can do to get this economy moving again. We need 
to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated, No. 1. President Biden 
has done a remarkable job, but we still have work to do. We shouldn't 
sit back and relax. Every person vaccinated is another person 
protected. Also, the people around them are protected. The fundamental 
fact remains, as we talk about all of the economics and all of the 
government philosophy, our economy cannot recover completely until this 
virus is under control.
  In addition, if the Republicans want to solve the problems facing our 
workforce, there are pretty obvious answers: Sit down, and talk to a 
working mother who lost a job, who has a child at home, perhaps a young 
child, and ask her: Well, how soon can you get back to work?
  Her question back to you: Senator, how soon can you take care of my 
little boy? How much is it going to cost me?
  That is the reality. The daycare center is probably closed, and the 
babysitter may not be available. There are lots of reasons. It just may 
be too expensive. That is the reality of work for American workers 
today. That mother isn't lazy. That mother faces a challenge that not 
one of us wants to see in our families. Either our children or 
grandchildren, we don't want them to be pawns in this whole public 
debate about when we are going to start or stop helping families.
  We need to face this workforce problem because it is really key to 
it, this childcare crisis in this country. Do we care enough about 
families and children to make sure there is affordable daycare? 
President Biden does. He is talking about a program nationwide, thank 
goodness, which will finally address this issue and put a goal in place 
to keep the cost of daycare manageable for every family regardless of 
its means.
  So what did the Republican Senate leader say last week? He said he 
was 100-percent focused--100-percent focused--on stopping the Biden 
administration. That is an echo of what he said in the first, early 
days of the Obama Presidency. He came to the floor, and instead of 
talking about what we could do to work together to try to find some 
bipartisan ground, he said that he hoped to do everything he could to 
make sure that Barack Obama was a one-term President. It didn't take 
him long to come back with a similar statement with regard to the Biden 
Presidency.
  It is not encouraging, but I am encouraged by the fact that there are 
some Republicans who just don't agree with it. I hope that they will 
step up. I hope that they will show that we can still work on a 
bipartisan basis. This ``100-percent'' stopping the Biden 
administration from Senator McConnell cannot be the basis for a 
successful congressional session.
  The Senate Democrats have an agenda; it is true. We are 100-percent 
focused on getting this pandemic under control and building a better 
future for our families. We would like to work with our Republican 
colleagues to do it. Although they didn't join us, for example, on the 
child tax credit, I do believe that they really care about the children 
in America, particularly the poor children in America, and care enough 
to want to help them with daycare, with early kindergarten classes, 
with extending the school year beyond the 12th grade for skills that 
are needed.
  The Presiding Officer knows this well because we come from the same 
State. Last week, I had an exciting visit in Normal, IL. Things are not 
normal in Normal, IL. They are exceedingly beyond normal. I visited the 
Rivian plant. The Rivian plant has an incredible story.
  It used to be the Mitsubishi auto plant. Six years ago, it closed. 
One thousand workers were on the payroll at the time they lost their 
jobs, good-paying jobs. And there sat that empty factory out on the 
cornfields just west of Bloomington-Normal.
  The mayor of the town, Chris Koos, called me a year after the 
Mitsubishi plant had closed and said: ``Senator, I think I've got a 
buyer.'' I said: ``Chris, what are you drinking?'' ``No,'' he says, ``I 
really believe there's a new company that makes electric vehicles 
that's really interested in the Mitsubishi plant.''
  Well, he was right, and thank goodness he was. Fast forward 4 years 
later, and a visit last week, he showed this amazing facility, which is 
now going to be expanded because of the plant that is going to build 
electric vehicles. They already have models on the floor that you can 
see of SUVs, trucks, and delivery vans for Amazon. Amazon is a major 
investor in Rivian.
  And we are not just seeing it in Normal. We are seeing evidence that 
our State, the State of Illinois, has a chance to become an EV State.
  I looked up in the Will County area. The Governor was there last 
week, talking about help for a plant that is going to build the heavy 
trucks and buses that are needed--electric vehicles for the future.
  Go to Libertyville, IL, and there is a Dutch supplier of power 
generating equipment that is relocating some of its facilities in our 
State.
  And at the same time, Argonne Laboratory has been doing research on 
battery technology and leading the Nation in doing it for years, and we 
believe it is a combination that really pays off.
  So how will our State or any State tap into this new economy? With 
trained and skilled workers, with families that don't have to worry day 
in and day out about daycare.
  We have to make sure that we are ready in Illinois and across the 
Nation for this opportunity. President Biden does. He understands it 
because he understands the challenges to working families.
  I can't understand the opposition of the Republicans in Congress to 
President Biden. They seem to be determined to make sure that America 
always finishes a solid second. The Biden administration disagrees, and 
I do too.
  We have the capacity to continue to lead the world and to continue to 
lead the world's economy, but it isn't by sitting back and patting 
ourselves on the back and talking about who won the last election. We 
have to roll up our sleeves on a bipartisan basis and get this 
workforce ready and stand behind our families that send these workers 
into the plants that are going to create the products that are going to 
make a success story out of the 21st century. That is what President 
Biden is for, and I couldn't agree with him more.
  I want to sit down and talk with any Republican who is willing to be 
honest and serious about doing this together, and we also ought to take 
on the other issues that we know plague our economy and our families--
reducing the cost of prescription drugs, building an infrastructure for 
the 21st century.

[[Page S2402]]

  The truth is that last week's job report is a ringing endorsement for 
the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan of President 
Biden.
  Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, more than 220 million shots have 
been administered, and more than 100 million Americans have been fully 
vaccinated, allowing businesses all across America to start to reopen. 
We need to build on the success of the American Rescue Plan, not 
dismantle it piece by piece. We need to work together to invest in 
workers and families for the 21st century, not grind Congress to a 
halt, as some might prefer.
  The American Jobs Plan will enable American workers and businesses to 
build on those successes. It will help reduce barriers for entry to 
many workers. It will direct billions of dollars toward helping 
dislocated workers develop new skills and secure a stable, well-paying 
job, building wind turbines or electric vehicles or making other 
American-made goods that will be in high demand in the years to come.
  Another priority for Democrats is throwing a lifeline to working 
parents. Fortunately, we have made some progress on that front with the 
child tax credit expansion and other provisions in the American Rescue 
Plan. Those policies put more money in the pockets of middle-class and 
low-income working families in the midst of the worst economic 
recession we have seen in decades.
  When President Trump left office, 30 million Americans couldn't 
afford to put food on the table. Think about that. Just 1 month after 
the American Rescue Plan, that number was reduced to 17 million, and we 
should never accept that or any number as acceptable in the future. We 
have cut the number of Americans going hungry by nearly half since 
President Biden took office, but we still have work to do.
  We need to provide more relief to parents so they can work a full-
time job, if they choose, without having to worry about finding a safe, 
reliable place for the kids. We have to ensure that low- and middle-
income families pay no more than 7 percent, that is what President 
Biden is asking, no more than 7 percent income on high-quality 
childcare. And that is on top of billions of dollars in funding the 
American Jobs Plan would invest in building and retrofitting childcare 
facilities across our State and Nation.
  Last week's job report is a wake-up call. We can't just wish this 
crisis away. We have to act and act together. We can't reopen our 
economy fully until the virus is under control, and then we can't wait 
for 10 years to get back on track to where we were a year and a half 
ago.
  We can't build a prosperous economy for the future unless we address 
some of the systemic shortcomings that prevent too many workers from 
participating fully. Even if next month's job report exceeds 
expectations, such as the one in March, we need to rebuild our economy 
and put working families at the center of it, and make bold investments 
in the future right now.
  We can keep good jobs in America and build industries that have a 
future if we are ready to invest in American families.
  I hope our Republican colleagues will not say: Let's go slow; let's 
be satisfied with second. You know, maybe we just can't compete with 
some other countries in the world.
  I don't buy it. If we believe in America and its workers, we need to 
invest in them and their future. It is time to think bigger. It is time 
to believe that this country has a future which is going to be bright 
if we come together and do our job to stand by working families and the 
men and women--and, in this moment, particularly the women--who need 
that helping hand.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Duckworth). The Senator from Alabama.