That come up with their list and we come up with hours without dialogue doesnt latest where we need to be. Lets have a dialogue and do it in a safe and thoughtful way. Madam president , i yieldn. The floor. Now, madam president , our country is facing an unprecedented Public Health emergency. It with severe and potentially longlasting economic consequences. As covid19 spreads, our local Health Officials and Health Experts tell us were woefully unprepared for what is about to hit us. Public Health Infrastructure likera hospital beds and masks d ventilators must be produced and procured. Testing is still not at proper capacity. And the resulting economic downturn from this virus is already impacting millions of American Families, workers and businesses, small, medium, large alike. First on a personal note, please, americans, take care of your yourselves. Avoid unnecessary contact even though i know that so many of the meetings and gatherings and celebrations that wet had plannd a speed postponed. Its painful but not as painful as the continuing spread of this awful virus. And a little advice, and this s not universal but i heard this from a number of medical people that i trust. Take your temperature in the morning and in the evening. Its a good way to check that, whether you have this illness, and it is progressing within you. Not all experts agree with that many do. In my view it cant hurt its something im doing. Im purging my family to do it. Im urging my staff to do it. Now, to our response here in the senate and in the congress. The response to the coronavirusq will require a massive mobilization of public resources, federal, state and local, as we have marshaled before only inar wartime. Its going to require congress to work in b a bipartisan way ad with uncommon speed. And the American People, too, must pull together and sacrifice in ways small and large, the normal way ofe life in an effort to combat this disease and limit its spread. All hands must be on deck because the task before us is daunting. And may yet eclipse the pain felt by workers and families during the Great Recession at least for many families. Now whats t the first order of business here in the senate is to take and pass the recent house bill, and do today. It will provide free coronavirus testing. Thats essential. It would extend paid sick leave it would give food assistance, medicaid reimbursement and expanded Unemployment Insurance i understand some of my colleagues on the site of the aisle might want to amend legislation or have it written differently if they were the ones putting it together. But i remind them that leader mcconnell said he would defer to the agreement between the speaker of the house and secretary mnuchins. The president has said he will sign this bill if the Senate Passes it. So if we change the bill that will go back to the house, be delayed and delayed theme eightt contains forng American Families coping with the impact of the virus. So please, my colleagues, we love of opportunities to legislate, and it will be a great need for them but lets move this now. Lets move this now. I believe our site of the aisle will clear this. I hope the other side will and it will be on the president s desk today. Lets hope and let us not delay any longer. But theres much more to be done. Once this legislation is sent to the president s desk covert two, our work is not over, not even close. We must soon moved to other necessary make to address the coronavirus and its widening impact on the health and wellbeing of the American People. Today im presenting a series of proposals to congressional appropriators that would provide initial infusion of the least 57 billion dollars for our proposal is big, bold but it is also targeted. It focuses on those americans in the parts of the Health Sector in the, most indeed now. Hospitals and treatment, unemployment, insurance and medicaid, loan forbearance and aid to Small Business, childcare and Senior Citizens. It focuses on those who need help, dont have ane income because theyve lost their job temporarily. Of those who need help with Senior Citizens come with children who are not in school, of hospitals who are short of equipment and may be personnel. Thats the immediate focus. Thats what we must do right now. Focus on those who need help immediately, and do it in a way that deals with the structural problems in the country that has made the attack of this virus more virulent, more harmful and worse. By contrast isop reported that ministry is proposing a massive bailout federal bailout of industry and a payroll tax cut. If are going to follow up, the house bill with another Major Economic stimulus package which we must, our major focus cannot be based on bailing out airlines, cruises and other industries if we must first prioritize Economic Solutions that a focus on workers and their families come solutions that wouldld allow us to fix our broken unemployment system, rebuild our Public Health system which ism, overburdened, say sml and mediumsize american businesses that have a cash crunch and will go out of business even though they were healthy a month ago because no one is buying the products or using their services here lets remember, corporations are not people. People are people, and when it comes to this cascading crisis we should help our fellow americans first. Even as we plan and execute policies that protect our economy. Administrations proposal, if that is to summit, and massive bailout of industry and a payroll tax cut doesnt do that, it doesnt target at the people who most need the help. And in a package that we are going to dose here, which must e passed in a bipartisan way must contain large elements of what im talking about and maybe other things as well that help the people who are in need. I will be sending my proposal in a powerpoint slide every one of my colleagues shortly, and i hope that they will understand the need for it. Ive consulted with large numbers in our caucus, and we have broad support for these proposals, and some others. So again, when it comes to this cascading crisis, helpful americans first. Even as we plan and execute policies that protect our economy. First, we take actions to fight this virus first, we give lifeline store workers, our parents, students, seniors, our Small Businesses. If your house is on fire, the first thing you worry about is not smoke damage to the roof. You try to put out the fire. Thats what our proposal does. It needs first and foremost we were to address the coronavirus itself and the people most impacted. In the midst of a sprawling health and economic catastrophe, industry bailouts should not be at the top of our priority list. Now, our proposal also does not include a payroll tax cut. That option may be premature and the wrong response to the problems we face today. There are much better ways to get money in the hands of the americans who need it most, in the ways they need it most. For example, in our proposal for Senate Democratic proposal if youre a worker and you lose your job or cant work, you qualify for nearly 10,000 over six months in unemployment benefits. If you cant work to cut you get sick and youres employer doesnt provide paid sick leave, we would allow you to apply for Unemployment Insurance and get reimbursed. And were also under senator murrays leadership doing more on the sick leave front. If your hours are cut and you suddenly cant pay your mortgage, you will lose your home, or are otherwise struggling to make ends meet because you choose to pay her mortgage but then cant pay other vital expenses, our proposal would let you defer your Mortgage Loans or six months. No penalty fees or impact on your credit. We will do the same for student loans. We will do the same for Small Business loans, a sixmonth moratorium. That helps real people. If youre a working parent and suddenly you have to worry about finding a safe place for your kids to stay during the day, we would providecy emergency fundig to safely wrap up Childcare Services for heavily impacted heart of the country. And if youre a Small Business, suddenly facing cash flow problems, we would allow you to apply for low interest loans and other forms of direct Financial Assistance i can offer relief quickly and allow you to overcome this problem and keep your business going in a healthy way. And these are just a few examples. Our proposal includes much more, but includes what is needed in needed immediately. It includes what governors across the country are calling for, a two Public Health systems and citizens impacted by this crisis. And i would say to my republican colleagues, we want to work wih you. You will have different ideas, but our ideas must be contained in a package. The thing the administration has been talking about, if thats true, is not good enough at all. One of the thing we need. As we more testing becomes available, the numberon of confirmed coronavirus cases will inevitably increase and the strain on our Public Health system will become even greater. We are going to need massive investments to ensure we have the capacity and necessary infrastructure to treat all americans that need it. Our proposal addresses that as well. So as we discussed what is to come in the next few weeks, i strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, both ends of the capital, to review our proposal and organize our next organize our next legislative response around these ideas. In conclusion, madam president , this crisis is going to demand more from all of us. More from f the administration d a president that is been far too slow and waking up to the scale of the challenges we now face. More from a congress that is to set aside partisan squabbles and work together, and more from the American People who must diligently follow Public Health guidance and indoor massive disruptions of their daily lives. I know my family is in doing that right now, so are millions and millions and millions of families across america. We have to stick together, be strong, support one another and we will get through it. We will. Wewe have not faced a Public Health crisis of this global scale in recent times. We are unsure how long the disturbance to our National Economic life will last, but we americans have overcome challenges of this magnitude and even greater before, and we will again. It will demand determination, cooperation and sacrifice. It will demand an enormous cordoning coordinate effort by the government ofhe the united stats at all levels to protect the th