[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1849-S1850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, we are at a critical point in our battle 
against COVID-19. While we are still losing Americans to the virus, we 
have reached a stage where most of us are able to resume many of the 
daily activities we used to regard as normal. But our sustained effort 
to improve health outcomes and keep our economy on track is running out 
of funding. Now is the time to act.
  Over the last 2 years, our communities have taken necessary 
mitigation measures. Healthcare and frontline workers have given 
everything they have to care for our loved ones. The Biden 
administration, with funding provided through the American Rescue Plan, 
has worked hard to ensure we had the resources necessary to continue to 
adapt our response to COVID-19.
  After the peak of the Omicron variant, the reduced COVID-19 
transmissions has made it safer to reconnect with friends and family 
and resume some of the activities we have all missed during the past 2 
years. Due to the tireless work of the Biden administration, testing 
capacity and therapeutics are more available than they have been at any 
time during the pandemic. Over 81 percent of Americans who are 5 years 
or older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccination, and nearly 50 
percent of Americans who are eligible are fully vaccinated and have had 
a booster. In Maryland, 91 percent of Marylanders 5 and older have had 
at least one COVID-19 vaccination shot.
  Overall, we have made significant strides in fighting the COVID-19 
pandemic, but the threat is not over. Many Americans have children who 
are too young to be vaccinated and are immunocompromised or otherwise 
at high risk, so they may not be able to resume normal activities. 
While positivity rates and hospitalizations are decreasing, almost 700 
Americans still are dying, on average, each day.
  Additionally, new variants continue to emerge. Countries across 
Europe and Asia have seen new spikes in cases due to a more contagious 
version of Omicron known as BA.2. We could soon see a renewed surge as 
we are oftentimes only weeks behind rising cases in Europe. This latest 
subvariant already makes up 35 percent of the cases here in the United 
States.
  Fortunately, at this stage, BA.2 appears no more severe than the 
original Omicron variant. In the United Kingdom, however, as BA.2 
increased, children 2 to 11 years old had the highest rate of 
infections of any group in the country, the younger children.
  To respond rapidly to emerging variants, we must keep financing 
pandemic prevention and response needs. The White House and the 
Department of Health and Human Services have made it clear that at 
least $22.5 billion of additional funding is necessary to replenish 
pandemic prevention programs that are nearing completion or have 
already been depleted. Without these funds, we will have to cut back on 
critical aspects of the pandemic response.
  Here are some examples. Our national testing capacity will decline, 
leaving us vulnerable and less able to detect emerging variants. It 
will become harder to diagnose infections early enough to take 
effective treatments. Also, uninsured individuals may no longer be able 
to access vaccines, tests, and treatments for free. This will cut off a 
critical support for uninsured individuals and health providers who 
care for them if they become ill with COVID-19.
  In addition to testing and acute care, vital COVID-19 research will 
suffer if we do not provide sufficient funding. Continued development 
of new medications and vaccines is critical, but without additional 
funding, research will stop, leaving us potentially vulnerable to a 
variant resistant to our current arsenal. Specifically, the National 
Institutes of Health may shut down some of its COVID-19 research.
  Further, the Food and Drug Administration recently granted an 
emergency use authorization for a new monoclonal antibody treatment 
that is effective against the Omicron variant. Without additional 
funding, however, the Federal Government won't be able to continue 
ordering the monoclonal antibody treatments, vital therapies for 
immunocompromised patients, and antiviral pills, all of which are 
already in short supply.

  Additional funding is critically important if we want to see the 
United States continue its leadership role in distributing vaccinations 
across the world to prevent more and worse variants from taking off and 
arriving on our shores.
  I will continue to fight to ensure that we get additional COVID-19 
funding. The American Rescue Plan Act demonstrated our ability to pass 
legislation that quickly ramped up pandemic response efforts and 
effectively mitigated the negative economic impact of the pandemic. 
This legislation has been critical in helping individuals and 
communities respond to the challenges brought on by the pandemic. Local 
governments have had to provide essential services at an unprecedented 
level, and they have risen to the occasion without falling into 
financial ruin. Now is not the time to take the foot off the gas.
  Restaurants, for example, still need help. The American Rescue Plan 
created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, but the $28.6 billion 
provided to the program was not enough to meet demand. I remain gravely 
disappointed that the fiscal year 2022 omnibus spending package 
Congress passed earlier this month did not include additional 
assistance for restaurants and other hard-hit small businesses. For the 
last 2 years of the pandemic, nearly all restaurants have been under 
great strain as they have struggled to keep staff and adapt to the new 
variants, while facing increased pricing due to supply chain 
disruptions and inflation. And those have been the restaurants 
fortunate enough to survive the pandemic. Thousands have closed their 
doors for good.
  More than 100,000 restaurants received grants from the Restaurant 
Revitalization Fund that have helped them keep their doors open, but 
more than 180,000 restaurants that submitted their applications on time 
to receive funds--their applications were there--have received no funds 
at all. That is not fair, and they desperately need our help.
  If Congress had not acted quickly to replenish the Paycheck 
Protection Program when it ran out of money weeks after it opened in 
April 2020--and we did that, by the way, with strong, almost unanimous 
support, and it was hundreds of billions of dollars that we were 
short--the program would have been a half-measure, necessary but not 
sufficient. Instead, we extended the emergency aid needed to meet the 
crisis we faced, and that is exactly what we need to do again with the 
Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
  For the past 2 years plus, I have worked hard to secure vital 
resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that those who are 
struggling from the economic effects or emotional toll have the 
necessary support going forward. I will continue that fight.

[[Page S1850]]

  The novel virus continues to challenge our Nation and the world, so 
we must be prepared. I urge the Senate to pass necessary additional 
funding for COVID-19 relief so Americans can continue to face this 
challenge head-on and prevail.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.