[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 134 (Friday, July 30, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5204-S5205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I rarely come to the floor to directly 
respond to speeches given by my colleagues. I normally like to use the 
Chamber to make my own arguments on their merits rather than to make 
arguments against specific colleagues.
  But yesterday I listened to a speech by Senator Cruz of Texas, and it 
was one of the most dangerous speeches that I have ever heard given on 
the Senate floor, and it deserves a response.
  Now, I understand that Republicans don't want to talk about the 
economy. They don't want to talk about the fact that we have had more 
jobs added to the economy in the first 5 months of President Biden's 
term than any other first-term President. I know they don't want to 
talk about the rapid expansion of the economy that is happening.
  I understand Republicans don't want to talk about what we are 
debating on the Senate floor right now, which is the biggest bipartisan 
investment in infrastructure in the history of the country.
  And I also understand that the Senator from Texas doesn't like the 
new guidance announced this week by the CDC. And he is not alone. From 
what I can tell, a lot of Republicans here are upset, as are a lot of 
nonpolitical Americans. Nobody likes to wear a mask. Nobody likes that 
the new recommendation is that some Americans need to wear them. Again, 
I don't like wearing a mask. I hate it. My kids hate the masks more.
  But here is what the CDC said. The CDC's scientists have been 
carefully following this dramatic increase in cases that we have seen 
all across the country as the Delta variant spreads, even through 
vaccinated people. First, we can't ignore this, the fact that there has 
been this huge increase in cases. The national 7-day average is triple 
what it was from a month ago. We are averaging 40,000 new cases a day.
  This is a big problem, and it is overwhelming parts of our healthcare 
system. Now, I wish this weren't the case, but it requires us to think 
about adjusting policy.
  Second, the CDC is looking at this new evidence that indicates that 
even fully vaccinated individuals who become infected with the Delta 
variant can carry the virus and transmit it to others, even if they 
don't get sick. Now, this latest development is important because it 
allows the Delta variant, the more contagious variant, to spread 
faster. Early information from the CDC shows that the Delta variant is 
as contagious as the chickenpox, more contagious than earlier strains 
of COVID.
  And, remember, not every American today is vaccinated. For instance, 
my youngest son is 9 years old. He can't get vaccinated. If the 
evidence suggests that I can transmit the virus to him, even if my 
vaccine prevents me from getting really sick, then that matters.
  Finally, with so many Americans still unvaccinated, the virus still 
has plenty of bodies in which to mutate. Right now, the good news is 
that we have got three authorized COVID-19 vaccines that are pretty 
effective against severe illness. But the worry is that eventually the 
vaccine is going to mutate into a version of itself that is resistant 
to the current vaccines. And with so many Americans choosing to stay 
unvaccinated and evidence suggesting that vaccinated people who are 
infected with the Delta variant can transmit it to people who are 
unvaccinated, the CDC has concluded that, right now, we need to take 
additional steps to cut down on the pathways that the virus has to 
spread and keep mutating before it is too late, and we have a virus 
that our vaccines don't work against at all.
  Now, what does the new guidance say? It recommends that fully 
vaccinated people wear a mask in public indoor settings, in places in 
the country where there are a lot of cases. And since most young kids 
aren't vaccinated, the CDC is also recommending that, when school 
opens, teachers and kids should wear masks.
  That is the argument that the CDC is making. That is the evidence 
upon which they have issued their new guidance. And it is perfectly 
legitimate to contest the CDC's decision or the reasons that they gave 
for making the decision. It is OK for anybody in this body to disagree 
with the conclusions that they reach.
  But that is not what Senator Cruz did yesterday. He didn't come to 
the floor and argue against the merits of the CDC's argument. No. In 
fact, not once during the speech--and I watched the whole speech--did 
he ever reference the actual reasons for the CDC's new guidance, not 
once.
  In fact, he claimed that the CDC offered no explanation. At one 
point, after mischaracterizing the CDC's announcement, he asked 
rhetorically why the CDC changed the guidance. ``Who knows?'' he said. 
Anyone who listened to that speech or, frankly, many other speeches 
that are being given by Republicans all across Capitol Hill this week 
would logically come to the conclusion that the CDC had offered not a 
single explanation for the new guidance.
  Then, after creating the impression that the CDC didn't have any 
reasons for the new recommendation, the Senator from Texas announced 
that he had discovered the reason. He said that the real reason the CDC 
changed their guidance was because the CDC is ``an arm of the 
Democratic National Committee'' and that Democrats in Congress are 
``faithful little foot soldiers'' of the CDC
  He offered no explanation as to why it would benefit Democrats 
politically or the DNC or the CDC to recommend mask wearing. He just 
simply claimed that the CDC was a political puppet of the DNC and the 
guidance was politically motivated.
  The closest he came to a more detailed explanation of this claim was 
when he talked about the school guidance. There the Senator from Texas 
claimed, without any evidence, that the only reason the CDC made this 
decision was because it was demanded by

[[Page S5205]]

``union bosses'' and that the ``CDC said `Ma'am, yes, ma'am, we will 
issue the order demanded by the union bosses.' ''
  That is all made up. And the Senator from Texas isn't the only 
Republican saying things like this. There are dozens of national 
Republicans making these same wild, unfounded allegations.
  The political agenda at the CDC that Republicans allege is a fiction. 
It is constructed out of thin air. And it is, frankly, an insult to the 
thousands of dedicated, nonpolitical public health professionals at the 
CDC who just go to work every day trying to keep Americans safe.
  These aren't politicians. These are epidemiologists and scientists 
and doctors who have worked their entire lives trying to keep this 
country safe. I am not saying they get it right every time. I have 
criticized many of the decisions made by the CDC during the pandemic. 
It is OK to criticize their decisions, but to claim that they are all 
corrupt, they are these politically controlled ``hacks,'' that is an 
outrage.
  And rhetoric like that is going to get people killed because we are 
still in the middle of the epidemic, and what anti-CDC Republicans are 
doing through these attacks on our public health agencies is to 
intentionally undermine people's faith in the Nation's preeminent 
public health institutions right at the moment where we need people to 
believe in them.
  I am not saying they should be immune from criticism, but criticism 
should be based on the science. Contest the new evidence the CDC says 
that requires people to wear masks again, but saying that the 
scientists are deliberately ignoring the science to effectuate some 
top-secret political agenda--give me a break.
  And, by the way, what political interest is served by recommending 
that people wear masks indoors again? People hate masks. There is only 
political downside to suggesting that people start wearing them again. 
It just belies plain old common sense to say that politics is behind 
the new guidance.
  If the CDC was worried about politics, they certainly wouldn't be 
recommending anybody wear masks again. And, by the way, that is all the 
CDC is doing: They are giving guidance. Over and over, Republicans 
refer to this new guidance as an ``order'' or, as the Senator from 
Texas said repeatedly, an ``edict.'' They know that is not true. They 
know that is not true.
  But Republicans want to scare you into believing that the Federal 
Government has more power than it does. The CDC doesn't require people 
to do anything; they issue recommendations. But that doesn't suit this 
narrative about socialist, statist Democrats secretly pulling the 
strings of their marionettes at the CDC.
  It is ridiculous. It is ridiculous.
  Don't come to the Senate floor and make things up. Don't destroy 
people's reputations and careers with wild, unsubstantiated allegations 
about political motivations. The CDC doesn't get it right 100 percent 
of the time, but they don't have some secret political agenda. But the 
more people believe that they do, the less likely it is that people 
will follow their recommendations the 90, 95 percent of the time that 
they do get it right, and that will guarantee that this virus never 
disappears.
  I understand there is an element of the Republican Party that just 
wants to destroy all government institutions and is seeking to 
discredit any effort by any public agency to do good in this country. 
In normal times, I would argue that that is dangerous, but in the 
middle of a pandemic it is deadly. And Republicans of conscience should 
come to this floor and start telling the truth.
  I yield the floor
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.