Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240713

U. S. Senate while the chamber continues debate on an economic a package, negotiations are ongoing but it is possible senators could vote as early as monday on the deal. Live to the senate here on cspan2. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain dr. Barry black will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal lord, you are worthy of our praise. Save us from the forces that threaten our nation and world. Lord, inspire our lawmakers even though the earth seems to tremble and the mountains seem to shake. May our senators always embrace your divine principles and live blameless lives. Give them the wisdom to labor with integrity and to seek your divine approval. Illuminate the darkness that inevitably comes and lead them to your desired destination. Empower us all almighty god, with a faith that will keep us surefooted even in slippery places. We pray in your great name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington d. C. , friday, march 20, 2020. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john kennedy, a senator from the state of louisiana, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. Mr. Grassley mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask to speak in morning business for three minutes. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley on september 11, america was attacked by evil. Thousands of our countrymen were murdered by terrorists. In an instant the nation was gripped with fear and anxiety, and as our buildings burned, we mourned the loss of our fellow americans. But as we mourned, we also became very united as a country. We came together and stood as one against a common enemy. That unity laid foundation for our victory and helped our military men and women deliver justice to those who sought to destroy us. Now we confirm a similar challenge confront a similar challenge. Unlike the 9 11 attacks, our enemy today is faceless. We cant see it or hear that enemy. We cant send our armed forces to hunt it down and to protect it, but much like our response to the terrorist attacks nearly 20 years ago, we must unite as a country. The threat we face is perhaps the greatest since world war ii, so much like our response to the terrorist attacks 20 years ago, we will be united. Never before have we shuttered so much of our country, businesses closing, restaurants particularly, all kinds of stay at home, in other words. Never before has our society changed so much, seemingly overnight. The coronavirus issue could prove as deadly as any war in recent history, and that is why its everyones responsibility to do their part. In congress weve already passed legislation to provide emergency relief, and our job isnt done yet. Further unprecedented economic and Public Health support is on the way. What we do in washington and state capitols across our country is only one part of that solution. Its a civic duty of every community, every family, every individual to enlist in this fight. Make no mistakes. Our nation is at war. A war on our own soil. This war and this enemy arent like anything that we fought before. Our strategy and tactics will be different, but the stakes are just as high. This war wont be waged on foreign lands with tanks or guns or troops. It will be waged right here in hospitals, in Public Places and in homes and with personal responsibility, personal sacrifice, and patience on the part of our people. It is on every american to exercise these values. Do not gather in large groups. Dont hoard crucial goods. Keep your distance from those you must be near. Protect yourself and others by washing your hands, covering your cough and knees, and clean and sneeze, and cleaning commonly used surfaces. Work from home if you can. Check on your neighbors. Call your relatives. Offer to help each other, especially the most vulnerable. Were all in this together. Much as we did before, we must shed party labels and put aside partisan politics. We must ban together and hold on to our national identity, our families, and most importantly our faith. Throughout history americans have risen to the occasion when confronted with crises. Im confident this time will be no different. Its up to each and every american to fight to spread the spread of this deadly virus. Countless lives depend on it. The days and months ahead will be tough for everyone but just like postworld war ii, a safer, a healthier, and a more prosperous United States of america is just around the corner. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday i introduced the coronavirus aid relief and Economic Security act. Senate republicans bold proposal to continue combating this Health Crisis and the economic crisis it is causing. And i called on our democratic counterparts to join us immediately at the table for urgent discussions so that the senate can deliver major relief to the American People as soon as humanly possible. Im glad to say that talks are already well under way. Earlier this morning, a number of our Committee Chairmen began indepth bipartisan talks with their democratic counterparts. We were joined by representatives from the administration and those talks continue right now as we speak. Here are the next steps. These memberlevel discussions will proceed with the goal of reaching agreements on each of four components of the legislation by the end of today. By the end of the day, agreements on each of these four components. This would allow the first procedural vote to occur before the end of the day tomorrow. And that would allow a bipartisan package focused on immediate challenges to pass the senate monday. The nation needs and expectations are perfectly clear. Workers, families, Small Businesses, and the foundations of our economy itself need swift action. And in the senate swift means bipartisan. The senate rose to the occasion earlier this month. We united across party lines to pass billions in quick funding to support the medical response. And we did it again just this week. We passed the more modest proposal that came over from the Democratic House quickly and in a bipartisan fashion. Now our nation needs a major next step, and we need it fast. Thats why Senate Republicans produced a bold initial proposal to give shape and structure to these discussions. First, our cares act would deliver direct financial help as quickly as possible to the American People. Senate republicans want to put cash in americans hands. For americans whove lost work, this would be the quickest possible first wave of government assistance to supplement Unemployment Insurance and help with bills and immediate needs. For our nations seniors, this would supplement Social Security and provide further relief for those who are at heightened risk and have had to change their routines literally overnight. And for Americans Still working, this infusion of money would provide a little more certainty in this very uncertain moment. And the opportunity to invest in local economies where possible. Second, our proposal would provide the quickest possible access to desperately needed liquidity for Small Businesses all across our country. Our proposal would use existing channels and Small Business existing lending relationships to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency capital. A significant cash infusion as fast as possible so that more Small Businesses can hold on to their workers, weather this disruption, and come out on the other side instead of having to resort to layoffs or shutdowns right away. No tangled new bureaucracies, no delaying this urgent aid while we try to redesign complex programs from the ground up. Just the most direct path, the most direct path to the cash that Small Businesses need to keep making payroll while in many cases the government itself is chasing away their customers for the sake of Public Health. This straightforward approach is already earning support. A coalition of Small Business advocates has already written to express their hope that, quote, both republicans and democrats can come together to pass this. Third, our bill recognizes that big structural National Crisis requires a big structural response. Let me say that again. Our bill recognizes that a big structural National Crisis requires a big structural response. We want to empower the Treasury Department to engage in targeted lending, not bailouts but loans to key sectors and industries which this pandemic is hurting. Again we want to preserve employeremployee relationships wherever we can. We have to fight to protect jobs and we need to recognize that our nation will need industries to come back online quickly on the other side of the crisis. Fourth, and this is crucial, our legislation will continue to push surged resources to the front lines of the medical battle against the virus itself. We want to expand access to testing and treatment to further encourage and speed up research on therapeutics and eventually vaccines. To continue to fund the hospitals and Health Centers that are treating patients and we want to expand Health Care Workers access to critical equipment and supplies, including including respirator masks. These are the four big things our bill seeks to do. As we speak at this very moment, senators on both sides are discussing the details and exchanging suggestions on all four of the pillars that ive just outlined. So once again, mr. President , this will not be the first bill we pass to combat this crisis or the second. And i do not expect it will be the last. This legislation does not need to contain every piece of Ongoing National effort. In fact, that would be impossible. But everyone everyone from Public Health experts to economists to working families of this country, everyone has made it clear we need to deliver relief and we need to deliver it now. We need to go big. We need to minimize new complexity. And we need to move swiftly. We need to push immediate relief to americans. We need to keep americans employed as much as possible and help job creators literally stay afloat. And we need to continue taking action to stand with medical professionals and protect our nations health. Laidoff workers cannot wait. Struggling main street businesses cannot wait. Our hospitals and Health Centers cannot wait. So as i said, i hope these memberlevel discussions will be able to produce agreements in principle on all four components by the end of the day today. In fact, they must Reach Agreement by the end of the day today. That would leave tomorrow for drafting legislative text and for the first procedural vote. And that should allow a bipartisan package focused on immediate challenges to pass the senate on monday. The crisis is moving fast. The senate is here. We are working, and we are going to deliver. The presiding officer under the previous order, leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. A senator mr. President. Mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Enzi thank you, mr. President. I want to oasht myself with the remarks i want to associate myself with the remarks of the leader and thank him for the task forces who pulled together, who are now working across the aisle to come up with this package that we should be able to start working on today or tomorrow. I appreciate his comments that were going to work through the weekend. This is unusual for the senate and for the house. But the senate is here, the senate is working, and were trying to come up with solutions that will keep america moving. I particularly want to talk about one piece of the package because ive been getting calls from Small Businesses. Small businesses that are saying weve been shut down. Weve been told that we cant do anything with our business right now. Thats not all businesses. I do know the Grocery Stores are doing very well, probably having their best year ever. That will tail off a little later in the year when people are oversupplied, but right now Grocery Stores are probably doing well. Every other part of the economy is doing poorly, whether its restaurants or shoe stores or i think i saw where they even got permission now to deliver liquor. Before you had to buy it from the store. You couldnt get it delivered to your house. As a concession of the definitey were having to keep from shutting down every business, that concession has been made in some places now. But my point is that Small Business employs most of the people in this country, and Small Business is the one thats having difficulty right now. Big businesses always have a little bit of leeway, a little bit more of a forward plan. And because of their size, they have more flexibility. A Small Business does not have that. And whats been brought to my attention this last week are people who have payroll coming up, and they said now weve been kind of shut down shut down by the government they like to say, but its shut down by the virus actually. The virus is whats creating this panic, and in order to keep people well weve suggested all these Different Things that people ought to be doing, and i hope theyre following that. But for Small Business, this is disastrous. If theyre not selling anything, theyve got no cash to pay their employees. If theyre not selling anything, they dont need the employees. If they dont need the employees and they fire the employees, then they go to unemployment, and the unemployment lines are long. Thats not where we want people. We want people, particularly ones that are trained for a particular job, to be available for that job the minute that job is available again. And one of these packages takes care of that situation. One package will provide for loans to Small Businesses provided they keep their people on. Now remember, these people arent producing anything, so theres no revenue coming in to pay that loan off. It also provides, provided they keep their employees and when the thing is over, they still have their employees, the payroll part of that and any immediate thing there are other things they absolutely have to pay. They have to pay their rent, or if somebody else has a financial problem. They have to pay for the electricity, the heat, and all the regular things a business has to pay for besides employees. But provided theyve kept those employees on, those direct costs will be forgiven. So thats encouragement for every Small Business out there to relax a little bit. I always say that the definition of a Small Business is when the owner wakes up in the middle of the night and says tomorrows payroll. How am i going to make payroll . And believe you me, that happens to those Small Business men out there. You have a bad week, so who doesnt get paid . The owner doesnt get paid. Hes got to pay those people and he does pay those people because he wants those people around. And thats the crisis that were facing. How do we keep those people around so that when the business comes back, theyre available. The business can go forward as it did in the past, and this package will do that. I only wish that there was some way we could do it faster than monday. Dont hold your breath, monday is you know, were talking about congress. That doesnt mean things will get done by monday. They ought to be done today. But monday looks like the earliest possible time that they can get done. So the message that im giving is Small Business men, hang on. Hang on a little bit longer. If this passes, you will be able to keep your employees. Their employees will be paid. Thats important. Thats the way to get money out into the economy pay employees. And let them keep their Health Insurance that way. If they go into unemployment, they lose their Health Insurance. We dont want that to happen either. So this is a solution that needs to happen right away for the employees as well as the employers who i had a call from one this week that said ive got to declare bankruptcy. If you do something, will i not be eligible because i declared bankruptcy . Its a reorganization bankruptcy, but i need to reorganize so i can find the cash to pay my employees. Im pretty sure that the bill has a stipulation in it that if you declare bankruptcy after march 1 that youll be eligible for this plan. And be able to keep your business going. Not in a comfortable situation because none of us know when this is all going to be over. None of us know what the residual effects are going to be on the Business World. But we do need to have a vibrant Business World out there providing for the needs of people. Weve really become reliant on others. Hardly any of us produce our own food anymore. Hardly any of us produce anything that we use any more. We could and we can, and people probably are just to get by. But thats not what were used to. Thats not what we expect. Thats not how we live. Thats not how we enjoy life. We enjoy it by being able to have a job and being able to buy the things that we need to have and the recreation that we want to do. So im hoping that this package can go through in an expedited way. And im particularly hopeful that the Small Business part, which is where most of the people in the United States work, can go through so that they can be paid, so that they can keep their insurance, and so that theyre ready to do what they have been trained to do and want to do and like to do when the time comes that this virus is passed and people can be out there and doing all of the things that they like to do again. So i encourage the Small Business men to hold on. Help is coming. Thats pretty tough to hear from congress, im sure, but this is one where i think people are realizing the severity and the importance of speed and how many people well, i dont think weve quite grasped how many people yet are involved in this and could be saved by this, but we will. And i ask those businesses to hang on while we do our job. And i thank the senate for staying through the weekend to work this problem so that we can do it in a timely manner, hopefully by monday. So hang on out there, america. Help is on the way. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Durbin mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Durbin i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin mr. President , yesterday i came to the floor with some optimism about what we could be including in the legislation currently being considered in the senate to respond to the coronavirus Public Health emergency. I laid out priorities ranging from shoring up Hospital Systems to measures to provide direct assistance to students, workers, businesses, and families through this economic crisis. Since that time, leader mcconnell has released the republican draft, his offering for this third package. Its a 250page bill that some estimate will cost a trillion dollars. That is a daunting price tag, except when you put it in context of the American Economy and what it takes to keep us on track or put us back on track. Our top priority must be immediate direct relief to the health care sector. Our heroic doctors, nurses, First Responders, lab techs and the hospitals and Health Clinics they support. Yesterday, i spent an hour on the telephone with the governor of illinois, j. B. Pritzker, talking about the reality on the ground in my home state and the choices that he faced. Its a tough job being governor. Never tougher than when you have to make a decision about the lifestyle of families and individuals, about businesses and their future, and literally a lifeanddeath choice in terms of policy. No one willingly accepts that, but when you run for high office, there is always that possibility. Hes concerned, and i share his concern, about the capacity of our hospitals and clinics in illinois to abide to deal with the infections that are becoming more and more common in our state. The numbers of infections are growing as the number of tests are increasing, an indication that there are many undiagnosed people in our midst, and that number is likely to continue to increase. Those who administer the hospitals of illinois have given us some yardsticks to measure the future. They suggest to us that if 20 of the population of my state should become infected for a 12month period of time, they will need 88 of our hospital resources to respond. If that same 20 becomes infected over a sixmonth period of time, it will be double that capacity. In other words, 176 of our current hospital capacity. It would push our system beyond the breaking point. If the infection rate, though, is double that, 40 for any period of time, our hospitals, as good as they are, as big as they are, as prepared as they are, cant handle it. And if thats the situation in our state, its the situation in many other states. At that point, well be dealing with serious overcrowding and triage decisions being made under heartbreaking circumstances. Thats why many of us on this side of the aisle feel that this third package offered by the other side really needs to be changed and improved so that we do have what senator schumer has called a Marshall Plan for the hospitals and health care of america. We desperately need it, and we need it now. Waiting to come and face this at some later date makes it that much more difficult. Our Health System is currently stretched to its absolute limit. Surge staffing, emergency protocols, shortfalls of masks and protective equipment, cash flow running out in just weeks. The plan that we have before us, the draft plan for the other side does not address these needs. It has no new appropriations, no real funding or authorization for staffing or equipment, and only meager changes when it comes to programs like medicare. What this pandemic demands is that Marshall Plan. For health care, an immediate funding boost to our Health Care Systems, clinics, and health departments. Mass production of masks, respirators, gloves, and ventilators. Two days ago, the president acknowledged that he has the authority under what i believe is called the defense recovery act to say to manufacturers change whatever youre making and make more respirators. Change whatever youre making in terms of masks and make more medical grade masks to meet the need across this country. I hope the president will use that authority. Thats why it was created in the law. We also need to support our workforce, we need to increase medicaid funding, and we need to put an end to medicare sequestration. Im also calling for the inclusion in this package of a bill known as the rural hospital relief act. Im cosponsored that bill with senator james lankford, a republican from oklahoma. It would keep the most financially vulnerable hospitals afloat during this challenging time by providing them access to the stability of the critical access hospital program. Every state with small town hospitals and rural hospitals should pay close attention to this bill that we put in. It could be a great help to hospitals that are otherwise struggling. Anything less, im afraid, we will be turning our back on the selfless and heroic work of the Frontline Health workers. How can we say enough about these nurses and doctors and Health Care Workers, these men and women who literally risk their lives for every patient that comes through the door. We need to maintain access to health care for people who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic, too. We must offer federal funding to cover the costs of cobra coverage for people who lose their jobs but want to keep Health Insurance. Currently, if you lose your job and you have Health Insurance where you work, you can maintain your current Health Insurance but you have to pay for the employers share since you no longer work there. The premiums go through the roof in those circumstances, and many people cant afford these cobra payments. Why dont we include it in this package, this third package coming before us, a subsidy for those families so they can keep their Health Insurance even if they are not on the job. We certainly dont want them uninsured. Its not good for them. Its not good for our country. Its certainly not good for our Health System. Its bad enough that millions of people may lose their jobs. We dont want to also have them lose their health care in the midst of a Public Health emergency. Lets step up and help them now. Now, i was not included during the drafting of the bill that was presented by senator mcconnell, but id like to give two pieces of feedback from two colleagues from his side of the aisle. The first said, referring to this package, relief to families in this emergency shouldnt be regressive. Lower income families shouldnt be penalized. That was a quote from senator hawley of missouri, a republican senator. A second republican senator said, referring to this draft package, and i quote, the current bill shouldnt give lower earners smaller checks. Thats directly contrary to my proposal. We need to fix this to ensure lower earners get equal payments. That quote is from senator romney of utah. I agree with both of them. We should make sure that if there is any Financial Relief coming to people across the country, those in lower income categories should get as much or more than anyone else. I cannot agree more with their assessment. The direct cash benefit measure in this plan would give those the most in need of assistance and the lower income categories, sometimes nothing at all. Additionally, the bill contains a provision that would allow middle and higher income earners to receive more of a benefit than low to moderate earners. Thats upside down, mr. President. Goldman sachs released projections this week that unemployment claims may rise to 2. 25 million this week. That would be the highest level on record. This proposal that we have been given by the other side falls far short of making sure that we have enough resources to deal with this influx of unemployment claims. The bill also lacks any moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, leaving those who are particularly vulnerable at risk of being cast out on the street during a Public Health crisis. Instead of expanding paid sick leave to more who need it, im afraid the new bill tries to further limit that protection. The mcconnell bill provides no additional funds to the military. We have a supplemental appropriation which is supposed to be taken up. Why isnt it married into this bill . Why dont we do it all at once, get it done. We know were going to need it, and there is no point in delaying. We need to help our military and then we need to provide resources to many of our states that are high and dry because of the costs of dealing with this Public Health crisis and the additional claims on their unemployment benefits. We need the National Guard and the Defense Department pushing assistance to every level of government during the pandemic. That means supplying masks and inventors and beds and ventilators and beds to communities that need them. Im also with senator duckworth reaching out directly to the department of defense. I want to find out if we can Start Building field hospitals in the parking lots of major hospitals across our state. Weve done it before when we had to, particularly dealing with the ebola crisis overseas. We need to do that right here at home. Take the expertise of the army corps of engineers and other professionals at the pentagon. They are ready to move on a moments notice to build a field hospital, if needed, for our men and women in uniform. Lets take that same willingness and expertise and translate it into more bed capacity and room capacity at the hospitals most in need. Protective equipment across this country still is not at the level it should be. For the men and women in the military as well as those in civilian life. The proposal before us ignores the desperation we are hearing from cities and towns and states. Without tax revenues coming in, they are running out of cash to keep operating services and meeting payroll. We need a surge of federal funding through current programs with flexibility for states and localities to allow them to keep paying their workers and ensuring things like transit, airports, schools, and housing. The mcconnell plan also does not provide muchneeded Education Assistance to deal with the increased expenses related to closing schools and moving to online learning. We have to make sure that this new Technology Keeps our kids learning even though they may be home in the process. It provides nothing for this emergency for these emergency needs, and that bill i hope will be improved today as the democrats get a chance to sit down with republicans for the first time and talk about compromises. The republican majority leader himself said this is a Public Health crisis with an economic crisis strapped to its back. Well, i couldnt agree more. So where are the test kits . Where is the protective equipment . Where is the assistance for working families . Lets get it done. The senator from kentucky has given us a deadline to do it by tomorrow. I think that is ambitious, but lets try to meet it and do it on a bipartisan basis. I couldnt agree more that some affected Industries Like the airlines and hospitality, along with small and midsized businesses, need to be assisted. We can also take care of American Workers and families at the same time. I think its incumbent on us to do both. In short, the senate needs to act now to fix the major flaws pointed out by both republicans and democrats in this third package. I stand ready to work on these fixes. Just a few minutes ago, i left one of the working groups. It was a very positive atmosphere and attitude. The two sides were sitting down and trying to work out their differences. For the dark time ahead, we need to continue to remind the American People that we can rise to the challenge, both political parties. Not to politically fight but to find political answers and compromises that solve these problems that ive outlined here today. The bottom line is many people are sitting at home, some are even following cspan in their absolute boredom trying to figure out what to do with their lives and they are listening for our speeches. My report is this we have passed two major pieces of legislation involving billions of dollars. We have done it in record time. We have done it on a bipartisan basis. Both have been signed by the president. This third measure that may reach a trillion dollars in cost is a challenge for sure, but one that we can meet again on a bipartisan basis. We owe america at this moment in our history nothing less. Mr. President , i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer mr. President . The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, mr. President , the coronavirus continues to challenge our nation in extraordinary and unimaginable ways that were unimaginable a few weeks ago. Our Public Health systems are coming under enormous strain. Our hospitals and other medical facilities lack the necessary supplies and resources. And as measures to isolate the public broaden, workers are filing for unemployment at unprecedented rates. Small businesses are on the brink of collapse. American families are desperately in need of support until they can resume their normal lives. And ive heard from these people, the people who are isolated. Ive heard from people who have sick loved ones in Nursing Homes and cant enter to see them. Ive heard from Small Business people who struggle their whole life to build a Small Business and finally it looks like its beginning to succeed and they may be wiped out. The urgency of doing something now is so, so, so important. Both parties in Congress Must Work Together as swiftly as possible to get something done that is as big as bold as possible. This is one of the worst crises america has faced. The American People need help fast. Senator mcconnell has proposed what is now the third phase of legislation to confront the coronavirus. We are all eager to work in a bipartisan way to quickly get another bill to the president s desk. But at the moment the mcconnell bill is inadequate. Leader mcconnells proposal does not do nearly enough to address the Public Health crisis in terms of hospitals, medical supplies, beds, doctors, nurses, measures to ensure that americans can access and afford coronavirus treatment. The bottom line is very simple. If we dont deal with the Health Crisis, nothing we do will make the economy any better. So its number one. We have to its not anywhere help for our hospitals. Many small ones are going to close. Rural ones will close. Big ones will have real trouble. We must do something and yet there is nothing in leader mcconnells bill to help hospitals. Now were told we may do it in a supplemental later. Later is no good. We need a Marshall Plan for hospitals right now, right now and we need local governments that are also on the front lines to get dollars in their pockets. Many of them will go broke. Leader mcconnells proposal is also skewed in favor of corporations rather than the workers and families who much more urgently and acutely feel the pain in reduced hours and unemployment. And leader mcconnells proposal includes a few ideas that shouldnt be included in all, such as tax cuts for multinational corporations and restrictions on paid sick leave that Congress Just expanded. This morning democratic ranking members of six committees met with the republican chairs of the corresponding committees to hear the rationale behind the mcconnell bill and to begin a bipartisan dialogue. Democrats will soon respond with policies we believe must be included in the legislation and things that we dont think belong in this legislation. Our goal is twofold. Address the Public Health crisis now and put workers first as we do it. Democrats want to do as much as possible to prepare our Health Care System for the growing storm it faces. And we want to help the working americans who are most immediately affected by the economic slowdown and help them in real and significant ways. In that respect democrats have five important priorities that ill speak about now among others we have many other priorities as well and we are sending all of our priorities over to the republicans soon enough. Americans need a marshal plarntion number one. America needs a Marshall Plan for hospitals and our Public Health infrastructure. In a few weeks hospitals could be overrun with patients and there will still be a great shortage of gloves and masks, i. C. U. Beds and ventilators, even and especially testing. To cite just one example, the two biggest hospitals in albany, Albany Medical Center and st. Peters Health Partners have announced theyre suspending testing in order to conserve the few they have for Health Care Workers and highrisk patients. Access to tests continues to be a problem in other places throughout my state as well. And theres great shortage of equipment. The story that rings in my ear, that certain places that have the tests dont have the swabs so they can undertake the tests. Were short of supplies up and down the line. Its masks. Its protective clothing and gear. Its beds and its doctors and nurses themselves. We have to do more. We need a Marshall Plan right now for our Health Care System. Two weeks ago, three, four weeks ago many of us were talking about the problem of testing, the lack of good testing was about to occur. Many of us said three weeks ago, four weeks ago we dont have these tests, everything is going to go down the drain. No one listened. At least no one in the administration until recently. Well, we are saying now that in two, three weeks our hospital situation will be the same. It will be massive and deeply, deeply in trouble. Thats why we need to act now, not later in a supplemental but now. We also need to dramatically increase Unemployment Insurance, what were calling employment insurance. Its really Unemployment Insurance on steroids but it keeps people furloughed in their jobs and so we call it employment insurance. And why do we need it . Because so many workers have been forced home and are prevented from working regular hours. You work in a restaurant and there are no customers, youre not going to work. A boss who youve worked for and worked so well with for years cant afford to pay you. To go on existing Unemployment Insurance wont work. Its hard to access. Doesnt cover a whole lot of people. And furthermore, it does not pay back workers full wages they were earning. We need to change all three of those things so, one, every worker who is unemployed gets a paycheck equal to what they were earning before this crisis. Paid for by the federal government. That way the business, small, medium, large can put them on furlough and then when the crisis is over, theyre back but theres money in their pockets. No worker, no family, no one should lose a paycheck or go into financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus. This is a very important provision. I talk to people all across my state and the country. When they hear about it, they love it. Its not giving money to everybody. There are some people, thank god theyre still employed. But there are many, many who have lost their jobs and one check when they may be out of their jobs for three, four, five months isnt going to be enough. Unemployment insurance gives money the whole period of time the crisis exists at your present salary level and covers just about everyone. It makes the most sense of any program that ive heard in dealing with those who are losing their jobs and in terms of dealing with stimulating the economy because well bring the economy back to where it was. All these Unemployed People will be getting paid the same amount of money. Now, second third rather, paid sick leave is a must. We need to be expanding paid sick leave, not restricting it as this current proposal suggests. Senators murray and gillibrand working in conjunction with their colleague congresswoman delora in the house who put together a good bill. It should be in this big proposal. Fourth, we need to put our workers first. If we are going to consider bailing out industries, they cannot then be allowed to turn around and cut jobs, cut wage, cut benefits. They cannot be allowed to use the money for stock buybacks. They cannot be allowed to give salary increases to executives. Phase three needs to put workers first, period. These are our values. And finally, we need to rescue Small Business. Many of them have been asked to close their doors for the sake of Public Safety. We need to help businesses access the necessary liquidity to pay their insurance bills, to pay their rent or mortgage, to pay their expenses so that when this crisis ends, they can rebound stronger than ever. Democratic ranking members are already discussing these priorities with their republican counterparts. And of course there are many other priorities as well. Dont have it would take too long to highlight all of them, but theyre all on a white paper we have sent to leader mcconnell and to the republican chairs. And in almost all these case, democrats already have prepared and drafted the legislative language on these priorities. We are ready to go. About two hours ago i spoke with President Trump about these five priorities. I mentioned them all and President Trump told me he was open to these ideas. In fact, the president explicitly told me he would oppose Companies Using bailout money on buybacks, even though such a prohibition is not in mcconnells bill. I also urged the president to immediately employ the defense production act and harness industry to get ventilators and other critically needed medical equipment to those who need it. He told me he would do so and then saying it to someone who must have been in the oval office, wherever he was, get it done so i think were on the road because we cant waste a day in terms of getting the d. P. A. Going. Congress will make whatever resources are needed available to the Defense Department very quickly to implement this act. More broadly, i told the president we need to come together and cooperate in this time of National Crisis. He agreed. We need to work with uncommon speed and make this next bill what it needs to be. We need it to be workers first, with a Marshall Plan for hospitals. Democrats are already at work with our republican colleagues to get this done. Now its been 20 days since the first covid19 was detected in new york. Today, 20 days later, 7,000 cases, more than a third of the total number in our country. In a time of public emergency, new yorkers have been asked to make extraordinary sacrifices. The government mandated except ing essential services, 75 of the workforce must stay home. To all of my fellow new yorkers, staw y strw yorkers, stay strong. We will beat this back and on the other side we will come out stronger. To the thousands of new yorkers and those who volunteered to join our medical reserve to help sick patients, thank you. God bless you. The nation owes you a debt for your courage and willingness to answer the call to serve. Our medical workers are already performing a Herculean Task that will only get more daunting in the days to come. But know this, workers, the country is with you. We support you, we respect you, we love you, and we are already working on policies that will ease your burden as much as that can be achieved. And finally, to my senate colleagues, what we must do in the next few days is unlike anything any of us has ever done in our time in congress. This is a crisis without modern precedent. Were going to have to flex muscles that of may have atrophied. Were going to have to cooperate in ways we may not be accustomed to. We are going to have to work to produce momentous legislation in the span of a few days. We will do it because we must do it. The American People are suffering, our businesses are shuttered, our factories lie a dell. Our lie idle. Our workers are without work. Let us come together and do whats necessary to protect the American People in this time of stark challenge. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Booker mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Booker are we in a roll cal, a quorum call . The presiding officer we are, sir. Mr. Booker i would like to vitiate the quorum call, sir. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Booker im grateful, mr. President. This past week weve seen the spread of covid19 has become a crisis not just for our nation but a crisis for every american. Today millions of americans are asking themselves how will they endure this crisis . How long will the crisis last . How will it affect their families, their communities, their nation as a whole . We have many people that are now trying to do the dollars and cents of this crisis, literally sitting down to try to calculate how many weeks they can stretch the last two weeks of pay. We see people who have been furloughed, had their hours reduced, been laid off. We have seen Small Businesses from the mom and pop pizza joint to small interior design shops to barber shops, are all trying to determine how they can keep themselves afloat when their doors are closed, how they can deal with their fixed costs. Ive been on the phone with so Many Employers in my own state who have spoken to me about the challenges they have trying to continue to cover the Health Insurance of their employees even with the fact that no revenue is being brought in by their businesses. Over and over again restaurants, bars, coffee shops, our sports arenas, hotels, all of them have been emptied and millions of workers, millions of workers have been let go and had their hours slashed. On top of that, schools across this country, from colleges to kindergartens, have been closed and millions of families are now scrambling to try to find child care. College students are displaced, moving back in with families. This is on so many levels a true crisis like none of us have ever faced before in our nation. And the emotions are running the gamut. People are angry, people are afraid, people are fearful for their own physical safety as well as their economic wellbeing. And this is something that is challenging because we do not know how long it will last. The one thing we do know is that this crisis is a shared one, but many people face their own privately painful challenges. I want to give you one example. There is a single mother in my state, mother of two, who works at a nursing home and is also raising her granddaughter. At work, she cares for elderly patients. And because family members can no longer visit, shes rising to the challenge of not just being a professional there, but she also feels that she is serving as a surrogate family member. And now for weeks the basic personal protective equipment she needs to keep herself safe is in short supply, is literally dwindling down. She also makes for all of this incredible work, this incredible dedication, literally on the front lines she makes 14 an hour. And with schools now closing, her teenage children will be responsible for caring for her granddaughter while she works because she cant afford child care. She doesnt know what she would do if she got sick and actually had to miss work. Shes living every day afraid of getting the coronavirus. There are millions of families in this similar situation and millions of americans who are getting up every day knowing that theyre going to work is essential for the wellbeing of others, but yet they still dont know how theyll take care of their families. The most recent bipartisan relief package that came out of congress, the Families First Coronavirus Response act, is a very important step in helping those families in combatting the spread of the virus and its effects. It will help to increase testing, ensure the availability of emergency paid family and sick leave for many workers, increase Food Assistance and make emergency Unemployment Insurance available for more workers that really, really need it. Now as we turn to the next package of policies and funding to help americans that are suffering now, we know that this is a moment that demands bold, Decisive Action and doesnt leave anybody behind. We know we are a nation born out of crisis. We know that our founding ideals have to understand this government was formed to protect people, to defend people. We in our declaration of independence talk about mutually pledging to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. The spirit of this nation is about being there for each other, coming together to be stronger despite the crisis, despite the challenge. And i am so grateful at this time were seeing bipartisan work on both sides of the aisle as we are all seeing from our personal lives to our states as a whole, were all seeing the urgency. Im worried now that the first proposal that weve seen, though, falls short of addressing the needs of our Health Care Workers and First Responders, those americans that are really putting themselves out there. Im confident, though, that we are going to come together in the coming hours to try to create a package that rises above or rises to meet the moment were in. Right now our nations First Responders, our firefighters, our Health Care Professionals are being asked to respond to situations where they dont have the personal protective equipment they need to stay safe. In my own city, i talked to the head of Public Safety who talked to me about the courage of these folks who no matter what are going to go to work even without that protective gear. But dear god, should we be doing everything we can because if they get sick, if they cant show up, we see a cascading crisis. It would be disgraceful, it would be dangerous. So its not an exaggeration to say that if we dont move quickly to get personal protective equipment to our frontline responders were going to be illequipped not just to fight covid19 but we could see the widespread interruptions in the delivery of all lifesaving emergencies in america p. Also this bill that we have seen now that we must make better, it must address not just in issue but also do more for Health Care Workers and First Responders to get them the equipment they need. Theres a lot of things that i feel strongly about that i know will be in these negotiations. We should all be able to agree on supporting our veterans and v. A. Facilities as they prepare to fight this virus. Theres gaping holes in that in this bill. We should all agree on funding for our transit systems, like amtrak, that are going to make sure that keep our country connected and that those systems dont fail and fall, especially when we need them switched on and running vibrantly when our economy gets going. God, we should all agree that this is oo a time to deal with some of the massive shortfalls we have. Now more than ever while places like south korea have uniform broadband, we should make sure devices for our students are critical if were going to continue to educate our children for the months ahead. We should all agree on providing tests for our troops that are still serving in highrisk areas like afghanistan. We need to make sure these bills address for these holes. We should all agree on strengthening our Community Colleges and our minorityserving institutions so they too can continue to educate their students digitally. These are holes that must be filled. We should all agree that we need to be providing funding and flexibility for our schools and food banks to continue to serve meals to children in our country so that crisis or not crisis, the next generation can grow healthy and strong. We should all agree that the utilities in our nation should not be shut off during this crisis. We need to address that in this bill, and that families regardless of income who are already now struggling to make ends meet dont see themselves without light, power, gas. These holes in this bill should be addressed. We should all agree that everyone must have coverage for testing and access to Health Care Services that keep them and their families safe, and that includes the people who are in our country, whether theyre documented or not, because our health is directly interrelated with their health. And to make sure the only people that can get treatment are citizens of the United States, ignoring the millions of people that are not means that the citizens of the United States are at risk. We should also think about those folks that we dont think about enough, like those that are incarcerated, as well as the correction officers and workers who deal with those that are incarcerated. Were not doing enough to address that pending crisis in our country. There are holes in this bill. I want to take one moment, though, to address an aspect of this bill which there seems to be general consensus about but which can be made so much stronger, and thats the issue of Cash Payments. Economic relief packages coming from this body should be about offering everyone relief, including those through no fault of their own that now find themselves on that financial brink. Its why we must strengthen Unemployment Compensation that includes both increasing benefits across the board and expanding eligibility to include more workers like gig economy workers and other independent workers, and thats why i specifically want to address this cash payment part, because thats not enough. The idea of Cash Payments, im so grateful to see a lot of my colleagues be supportive of that idea. Earlier this week, senator bennet, brown, and i, along with several of our colleagues, proposed sending Cash Payments directly to american families, starting with 2,000 sent immediately to every american, low and middle income, with initial payments if our economy remains in distress. Under our plan, in the worstcase scenario, if our economy remains in distress, a family of four over an entire year with three tranches of payments would be eligible for 18,000. Critically, our plan would not require an income threshold to receive payment, which means everyone under a certain income level would qualify. The current proposal would exclude exactly the people and households who actually need it most, by creating an income requirement and phasein, this plan currently proposed would be skipping over the most Vulnerable People. That means a mom who quit her job to spend the last year caring for a sick child or a husband or a parent with alzheimers whose fulltime job had been caring for that spouse or loved one would receive nothing under this plan. It also means that a College Student forced to leave school, having sources of support at college no longer now, trying to enter the job market but not able to, would receive nothing under this plan. Some tips workers, seasonal workers, people coming out of the criminal justice system, paid their debt to society, would receive nothing under this plan. This is a moment that we have to understand that we should be thinking boldly, acting in a bipartisan way, at a scale we have never seen before because we have never seen a crisis like this before. This is not a time to do something thats anemic, thats inadequate, that leaves some of the most Vulnerable People out in the cold when we know those people, they are our family members, they are our neighbors who wouldnt qualify for the plan that it is right now. I know those family members because theres people that live in my community. Someone who worked their entire life just last year has a mother thats dying, quit their job to try to support them. These are folks we know, they might even be in our own family. We shouldnt exclude them at this time. And by the way, including them helps to further the impact of this stimulative effects of this plan. It literally puts more money into our economy in the hands of people that will spend it, and that will have a multiplier effect. We need to be injecting cash directly into our economy. And giving People Agency again in their lives at a time that so many people feel helpless amidst this health and economic crisis. And god, we need to be doing it quickly, getting payments to people as soon as possible. For seniors, these payments should simply be added to their next Social Security check. And i remind you that about seven million of our seniors live at or below a poverty line because their Social Security checks dont go far enough. For our veterans, they should receive theirs at the same time as they get their v. A. Benefits. We can do that quickly. For everyone else, the i. R. S. Should send checks or deposit funds directly into their bank account. This is the kind of action we need to ensure that once we get through this Public Health crisis, we have the tools in place we need to reactivate the worlds greatest economy and enable it to recover. And the great thing about designing something this way is we can put in place now while were all assembled here as a body. Ive said this to my caucus, and i didnt mean to be in any way dra cronian, but there are 100 of us. Its likely some of us could be sick. Well, were all assembled here. Lets put things in place so they are triggered, if the economy is still down, it triggers the next set of actionses. Instead of having to come back and negotiate things. Put it with triggers. It triggers more actions like the next tranche of payments. If the economy at the end of the year is still where it is, lets trigger another automatic payment. Thats not just common sense. Its proactive. It means people can begin to rely on those resources, do the kind of planning by having predictable sources of income and not having the challenges that im starting to find now just for a week or two, the emotional challenges now, the stress of families. I talked to medical professionals this week that worry about this home isolation, people stressed over bills, people worried about their next paycheck. This is an emotional strain to our country, and it will have physical manifestations. I want to say that i love my nation for so many reasons, but one of the reasons is because its often been my Life Experience that during the toughest times, i have had to witness the best of us. I was a College Student in 1989 when a horrible earthquake hit the bay area. We in stanford were closer to the especially center than epicenter than even San Francisco was. I saw the fear but i also saw the best of america, the best of who we are. People pulling together, sheltering friends, sharing food. It was one of these experiences as a young person coming of age that i will never forget. I was not happy an earthquake happened, but god, it so inspired me to see the best of who we are. Later, a young man, city councilman in newark about ten miles from the world trade center, 9 11 happened. Horrible, horrible things. I lost my childhood best friend in those buildings. But god, in that crisis, what did we do in this country . God, i remember the lines, people lining up in front of hospitals to donate blood. How people pulled together, stood for each other, sacrificed for each other. It was something so powerful, so patriotic. People remembering that patriotism is not a flag pin. Patriotism is love of country. You cannot love your country unless you love your fellow countrymen and women. Love is not sentimentality. Its sacrifice, its service. Its being there for each other. God, when Hurricane Sandy hit new jersey and thousands of people lost their homes, power shut off in our communities for days or over a week, again i saw the best of who we are in a nation, in a crisis, in a challenge. We dont pull apart. We pull together. We stand up for each other. We serve each other. It may put us back individually, but the generosity i saw, people reaching into their bank account, buying blankets, buying food. It was inspiring. Putting people up in hotels who were out of their homes. It hearkened me back to the stories i heard from my parents and my grandparents about what it was like in the Great Depression in poor communities in the south and how much people were there for each other. It reminded me of world war ii. My grandmother literally until the day she died, African American woman bragging about her victory garden, how eagerly, how it gave her pride that she was rationing, how this poor woman who worked as a domestic at times was buying war bonds, everybody was pitching in. Thats who we are. Thats america. And now the wealthiest nation on the planet earth is facing one of its biggest trials. I pray one of the biggest trials of my lifetime, if not the biggest trial. The most wealthiest country on the planet is showing what we are called to be. I have always felt that the bible, that the prophet elijah, that we are the light to other nations about how you pull together, stand together, fight through a storm, fight through a crisis. We are showing what we do for each other. Not just the men and women sitting in these seats. Its all of us. In the greatest crisis of our lifetime, what are you doing for other people . I pray our legislation keeps that spirit in mind when the most common faith talks about what are you doing for the widower, what are you doing for the orphan, what are you doing for those in prison, i hope we keep that in mind. Its not a time for half steps or half measures. Its time for the bold spirit of america. Where we stand up for each other. We dont pull apart. We come together. We dont tear down. We rise up. Thats where we are right now in american history. In this great global pandemic, we are a light unto each other, as well as to the world. In the senate right now, while there still are 100 of us here doing the work, lets do it nobly and boldly, generously of spirit. Lets extend civic grace. Because this crisis is not bigger than who we are. We will endure. We shall overcome. God bless america, and may god bless each and every one of us. Thank you, mr. President. Mr. Booker mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Booker i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mrs. Blackburn are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are. Mrs. Blackburn i ask that we suspend the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, mr. President. It has been so interesting talking to our tennesseans as they have faced these issues that we have with coronavirus and what is happening. Our response to it and how were going to fight, and, yes, were going to win this war and were going to defeat this, but we have to look at it as our health, food, and financial assistance. A couple of my tennesseans last night as we were talking and discussing this, what their thoughts and their questions to me went to is the relationship that we have with china, and how can we trust that we know what china knew, that we know when they knew it, and their lack of transparency around what happened with covid19. Now as weve gotten a couple of months past the start of this, really these questions are unanswered. And as i was telling our tennesseans on the phone last night, even as this virus that came out of wuhan, china, they had it in december, it has now touched six continents, and we know that people are dealing with containment, theyre dealing with mitigation, theyre dealing with having, going through the process of getting the antivirals, getting the vaccines that are necessary to deal with covid19. And the questions that people have around this are compounded by the growing realization of how china has chosen not to be honest and not to be transparent in their dealings with the rest of the world. The way beijing handled its initial response to the coronavirus was nothing new. In fact, deflection and lies meant to protect the communist party is part of their standard operating procedure. They have defied norms governing the protection of human rights. They embrace innovation by incursion, defy property rights, and steal intellectual property as a matter of course. We have u. S. Companies that have suffered for decades by what china has done to steal their intellectual property, to infringe on their intellectual property. They defy the sovereignty of other nations and territories, and they defy what should be their role as a leader in the Global Economy. Certainly they want to be a market economy, or so they say, but look at their behavior. And it is this act of defiance that makes them just incredibly dangerous. And i have to tell you this has been something thats been going on for quite awhile, but we only need to go back a decade to place a flag marking our owe wairns of what has our awareness of what has become a very familiar story. And over the decades as china started to manufacture and started to pull u. S. Manufacturers there, and then started to mistreat their intellectual property rights, people became aware of what was going on, and it was right at ten years ago when i was a member in the house that we were doing much of the same work that we are doing right now in the u. S. Senate. We were preparing a Defense Authorization bill. And, mr. President , even then we realized the threat that china and chinese stateowned companies posed to our National Security. We drafted amendments to that years ndaa blocking the purchase of huaweisupplied equipment. Indeed were still hearing about the need to block the purchase of huawei equipment not only for us, but for our allies. Now that action was ten years ago, but chinas influence has continued to grow. What we have done is pretty much our part here in the senate to expose those bad actions, even as the rest of the world has allowed beijing to coop the trappings of capitalism to perpetuate totalitarianism. Last year we saw the people of china rise up. Indeed to this day that fight goes on, even though the threats and fears of covid19 have caused those protesters to have to protest in a different way. I cosponsored the hong kong human rights and democracy act and sponsored legislation prohibiting the commercial export of covered munition items to the Hong Kong Police force, but the world moves on even as that standoff in hong kong continues. The senate was forced to pin to pen a resolution asking the International Olympic committee to rebid the 2022 winter games to a country that respects human rights. Really quite a bold move, and it leads me to wonder why was china given this honor in the first place. And i have to tell you, nobody seems to really know the answer to that question. The aggression that they display toward taiwan and tibet and the outright repression of the uighurs, this is something that has gone unchecked, and many times it is due to fear of economic retaliation. Ive addressed this body several times on the subject of huawei and chinas leveraging of the impending 5g rollout to create National Security vulnerabilities in our network. Their efforts to undermine our sovereignty are not limited to hightech espionage. Indeed, their goal is to place their equipment thats why it is so incredibly affordable to so many countries and so many of our allies. And in placing this equipment, what are they seeking to do, mr. President . They are seeking to establish their own hightech cyber spy network. We know what theyre up to. This month, i introduced a bill to temper the influence of china confucius institutes on American College campuses. Weve all read the stories lately of how they have infiltrated some of our institutions of higher learning, how they have coopted some of the staff or professors. This is something that needs our attention, and its followed on the heels of the stop Higher Education espionage and theft act, another effort to prevent beijing from increasing its hold on the minds of our younger generations. Time and again, we have called Chinese Tech Companies like ticktock, we have called them on the carpet for their censorship, their Data Collection and privacy collections or lack of privacy, yet content from their popular apps still dominates social media headlines. Chinas hold on the Global Economy has never been more apparent and now there are reports that beijing used the media and key word censorship to suppress information about the coronavirus, and yet beijing remains defiant, attacking President Trump in tweets and accusing Everyday Americans of racism for daring to suggest that covid19 originated in . Where . Wuhan, china. They are, as many younger people like to say, theyre gaslighting us, and its madness. So it brings us to ask when will enough be enough . We must not let our present concerns about the response to coronavirus deter us from thinking long term. This pandemic will change our relationship with china in every single way. It is inevitable. Starting now, we must take advantage of this knowledge. As we think about an exit strategy from the coronavirus crisis, we have to think about this. As we think about a way forward to bring manufacturing back to the United States, we need to remember this. Ive spoken several times about the vulnerabilities in our pharmaceutical supply chain, and i again encourage my colleagues to support the bipartisan securing americas medicine cabinet or samc act, which im sponsoring alongside my colleague from new jersey, senator menendez. Without intervention, the f. D. A. Expects the pharmaceutical industry will continue to rely on Chinese Companies to make the active pharmaceutical ingredients or vapis that are necessary for so many of our prescription and overthe counter drugs. This threat it poses to our supply chain is real. On february 27, 2020, the f. D. A. Announced the shortage of one drug that is used to treat patients with coronavirus. They attributed the shortage to difficulties obtaining the a. P. I. From a site in where . China. That site has been affected by guess what . Coronavirus. We do not need to remain vulnerable. We need to realize that we are dealing with someone who has not been transparent. They have Hidden Information from us. They are causing shortages of drugs and vaccines and antibiotics, and it is time for us to learn from these lessons. If we ignore them, we will do so at our own peril. I yield the floor. Mr. Jones mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from alabama. Mr. Jones i would also i appreciate my colleague from tennessee there talking about the supply chains. I completely agree with her. It is something that we are going to have to seriously look at in the as we get through this process. We have become too dependent, and i appreciate her efforts in that regard. I want to talk today i know we have got a lot going on up here. For those that are watching and the American People, you need to understand that while this gallery may be empty and this floor may be empty, theres a lot going on in the United States senate right now. There is a lot happening to try to make sure that we save this economy, that we do those things necessary to try to make sure our businesses, our workers, our economy from all sectors is saved. And again, i want to go back to the things that you can do as americans, and that is to stop the spread of this virus. Do those social distancing, do those things that we have talked about now for several weeks to try to get folks to do your part, because were trying to do our part. We are doing this in an incredibly bipartisan effort. I think you will see a lot of things coming out of the senate and out of the house, along with the administration, to try to make sure we do those things for americans. Over the past few weeks, i have talked with countless business owners, local and state officials. Ive heard from a lot of folks who are scared to death, working folks that are now at home. They are not they are not telecommuting because their jobs are not like that. All of which are alarmed about where we are today, where were going to be tomorrow, and next week and over the coming weeks and even potentially months. Businesses are having to lay off folks. Theyre having to furlough workers, sending a surge of folks to the unemployment line. We have seen that just in the last few days. Which is something that as we were moving, we just thought we would not see. Small businesses like restaurants, main street retailers will go bankrupt if were not careful. Theyre going to go bankrupt without customers as folks stay home and practice the social distancing that we know we have to do. And as states start enacting forced closures of schools and events, those businesses shutter and hopefully it will only be a temporary shuttering. First and foremost, these are steps we can all take again to stop the spread of the virus and begin to get the economy on the right track. It is up to us individually. But in the meantime, we have got, as members of congress and Public Officials across this country, from local county officials and city officials to the governors and state legislators and members of congress, we have got to do all that we can to make sure that our businesses and particularly the Small Businesses which make up an overwhelming amount of business in the state of alabama in particular can continue to meet payroll and keep workers paid so that they can then continue to make their obligations. So thats where my proposal comes in that i talked to a number of colleagues. So in addition to providing the same kind of direct assistance payments that is being kicked around now, whether its through checks or in some form or another that people are widely talking about right now, id also like to see a new fund that is created to quickly get cash into the hands of Small Businesses so they can make their payroll and not have to lay off workers. Im calling this the Small Business lifeline fund. It would provide a nointerest bridge loan for up to three months to be paid back over five years with no interest. And this is a work in progress so there are even proposals to make sure that this loan can be forgiven in certain circumstances. It would be administered through the Small Business administration. It would offer loans up to 75 of a business last three months of payroll with no one employee receiving more than 5,000. Now, i want to repeat that because it would affect so many people in this country. It would offer loans up to 75 of a business last three months of payroll with no one employee receiving more than 5,000 per month. Now, this fund, the key is this, it would pass directly through the Payroll Companies. Payroll companies around this country are used by about 40 of american businesses. They mostly cater to the Small Businesses, with fewer than 500 employees. Payroll companies are in the best position to do this because they have already got the infrastructure in place. Theyre a smart choice because they have got payroll history. They have got the Employee Data that makes this quick, it makes it efficient. It uses the infrastructure and the pipelines that already exist without having to go back and reinvent or create a new whole set of dynamics that could may or may not work. We know the Payroll Company system in this country works. Again, 40 of folks using it. Now, this process would help to alleviate the strain on our unemployment program. It would be a seamless way to continue to pay workers, while also ensuring payroll taxes can continue to Fund Important programs like medicare and medicaid, Social Security. Now, i want you to think about this. What were talking about doing is not just a onetime 1,000 check or twotime 1,000 check. Its literally funding the payroll the way it exists. Maybe only 75 of it, but people that are used to getting those payroll checks through a payroll processor, have their taxes deducted, they have their Social Security deducted, they have their medicaid and medicare expenses deducted. Those things would still come in. Its just that we have created a fund from the federal government to do that. So part of what we are fronting comes straight back to the federal government. Now, i think as part of this, we would also like to offer assistance to folks who are selfemployed, who run microbusinesses. According to i. R. S. Data, in 2017, there were some 26 million Sole Proprietorships in the United States. Thats a lot of folks who are out there working hard, hustling every day to make their businesses, their little piece of the American Dream successful. But they dont have the cash reserves to fall back on in times like these. We could carve out and make sure that they are taken care of in the short run. This is not the time, in my view, to shortchange the economy. This is not the time to send out just a check here and a check there, especially for those who are the most vulnerable to cataclysmic shocks that we have seen in recent weeks. We have got to be bold, we have got to be big. We need to act fast. We need to cut the bureaucracy. Thats why using these Payroll Companies makes so much sense. Now, again, i want to emphasize that this is not this is only one piece of this overall puzzle. It doesnt cover everyone. It will not cover folks in the gig economy. It will not we have to do other things to make sure Unemployment Insurance and other things are available to them in a similar fashion. But this is a big piece of this puzzle that can get money directly to folks. Their wages can get to folks. Their wages can get to them right now so that if we also have to do things like forbearance on mortgages and rents, we dont have to do it across the board because these folks will have the money to pay those mortgages, pay those rents to help those businesses stay afloat as well. The Ripple Effect of doing Something Like this, i believe, would be enormous. With this Small Business lifeline fund, we can send a message to folks on main street who are the lifeblood of our communities. We can take this idea up, keep them afloat so they can right back on track as soon as we can get things back to normal. Right now, they need us. They need us in congress, they need us at the local level and they need us at the state level. So i urge my colleagues to look at this very seriously for this package that we are putting together, that hopefully we will get done in the next day, hopefully hours, so that we can all get back to our states and our families to do those things necessary, but keeping in mind that whatever we do this week, i think folks understand whatever we do in the next day or so is only going to be the next step. I dont want anybody who is listening to anything any of us say to think this is the end of it and well finish our work and go home. Well have to constantly monitor this. We dont know what the future holds in some aspect. We will be back if necessary and do things differently if necessary. Two other things i want to mention before i yield the floor. Ive talked about this for my state for a long time. That is the need for Medicaid Expansion. Alabama is one of those few states, i think 14 or 15 states that did not expand medicaid. Now, as part of the package were talking about now, were talking about increasing the federal government portion of that, adding additional medicaid funds. But for those states like alabama, we will get those the extra benefits for sure but we wont get as much as we should because we havent expanded medicaid. Senator warner and i have a bill thats called the same act. States achieving Medicaid Expansion. Its not mandatory, doesnt make the states achieve Medicaid Expansion. It doesnt make them do that but it gives them the same inning centives they had a incentives they had a number of years ago. In a state of alabama, some 300,000 people can get access to medicaid that do not have insurance right now, that cant get that and wondering in our Rural Communities and everywhere in the state of alabama what in the world am i going to do if i catch this virus . Where am i going to go . Ultimately our hospitals, our doctors, our safety nets that were putting in part of this package, were going to have to cover it anyway. We all know that. Sooner or later were going to have to cover it. So i would love to be able to see the same act, the states achieving Medicaid Expansion act get out there and be part of this package. Let states have the opportunity. Its a states right issue. Not a single state would have to expand medicaid if we pass this bill. But we at least let those local leaderleaders decide for themses whether it is time that we give this opportunity to so many of the people in our states that are caught in between medicaid and a job in which they are eligible for Health Insurance benefits. It would be a quick, easy way to make sure were doing our part. And i would urge that that be put in there. Finally, today has been a really today has been the day that ive heard from so many people where in our underserved communities in alabama. The African American community, the poor communities in alabama, where the preachers are calling, the mayors are calling. Ive been on the phone all day because they are concerned. And its not that theyre concerned because they dont believe the state has them in mind because ive talked to state officials in alabama and there are plans. But the fact of the matter is we have still in this country across the 50 states, we dont have enough tests. We dont have enough personal protection equipment. My hospitals, my testing labs, everybody in alabama is just like every other state. Were hurting. We need those supplies. Were giving the money where the states are doing a good job. I want to make sure that in alabama and across this country we dont leave out the poorest of the poor. We dont leave out the underserved communities, that we just dont put Testing Facilities in the big urban areas that the mega churches or the big hospitals like ive got in birmingham which are awesome but that we also make sure that weve got these clinics set up around the state. In the black belt of alabama and the poorest of alabama counties where people cant drive an hour and a half or two hours to get a test. Weve got to make sure that we spread this out because this disease is going to spread out. This disease is not going to just be concentrated in our urban areas. It is going to continue to spread. And in these underserved areas in particular, families live together. Grandmothers take care of their grandchildren. The aunts and uncles take care of their nieces and nephews. And theyre all there together. And weve got to figure out a way to protect them. Weve got to figure out a way to get those tests to them and to make sure that they are treated just as if they are part of this urban areas that we have that are that have easier and ready access. You know, i want to end where ive talked the other day and where ive ended so many of my talks and that is back to the people in alabama and the American People. I can assure you were doing a lot up here. I see my friend from alaska who is presiding here. I know shes been working. Ive watched her back here working the phones, talking to people. Everywhere i go where i do see senators and most of us are doing things by phone and remotely, everybody is working the phones back to their state to make sure we do the right things. But at the end of the day, at the end of the day this is about you. This is about the people of america because everyone in this country, everyone, to use a phrase from the old civil rights days in birmingham, alabama, everyone is a foot soldier in this movement. Everyone can do their part. We can put money, we can appropriate money, we can designate, we can give tax breaks, we can do those things necessary that we as a federal government can do but we cant stop the spread of this virus. A u. S. Senator cannot stop the spread of this virus. We can only stop it among ourselves. We cant stop it across this country. Only you can do that. Only the foot soldiers in america, the hundreds of millions of people that weve got in this country can stop the spread of the virus but heeding the warnings and doing the things necessary with social distancing and washing your hands. My hands are about raw, ive washed them so much. We are the foot soldiers. You are the foot soldiers. You can stop the spread. You know, the other day when i was here on the floor, i pulled out a picture of my old friend from my childhood, smoky the bear, talked about the fact you can prevent forest fires. The covid19 is a forest fire across the country. You can help stop the spread. Today i want to be a little bit more patriotic about it. I want to i want to invoke, you know, one of my heroes who used this desk at one point, john f. Kennedy. It was john f. Kennedy 59 years ago when he was sworn in as president of the United States, uttered the famous word that sent such an emotion throughout america, that really got so many in this country, patriotic, standing up for what we do when he said ask not what your country can do but what you can do for your country. Thats what every american has to ask themselves today. What can i do for my country . Its not like days where weve where weve got a tornado thats ripped through and you can go out and get a chainsaw and help your neighbor. Its not like days where a hurricane has come through and you can go get bottles of water and diapers and send to folks. What you can do for your country today is to stop the spread of this virus. What you can do for your country is to try to stay home as much as you can, to social distance and work those things. Thats what you can do for your country. And if you do that, yes, businesses are going to have problems. We know it. Thats what we are trying to work on. To make sure we provide that safety net, that we provide the necessary tools so that if we can blunt that curve and we can get past this, then we will come back even stronger. But to get there weve got to have you. Weve got to have you standing up and speaking out to everyone to do your part, to do those things necessary, to make sure you do for your country what you should be doing and help everyone in this country, help everyone around you. And when we do that, we will blunt this curve. We will make this as least severe as possible. And we will move forward stronger and better because at the end of the day, were the United States of america. Madam president , i yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of executive calendar number 604 and 606 through 2628 and all nominations on the secretarys desk in the air force, army, marine corps, navy, that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate and that the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Senate Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of p. N. 1611 and the senate proceed to consideration of that nomination. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i move to proceed to calendar number 157, h. R. 748. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk motion to proceed to h. R. 748, an act to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on highcost employersponsored health coverage. Mr. Mcconnell i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 157, h. R. 748, an act to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on highcost employersponsored health coverage, signed by 16 senators as follows mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell now, mr. President , i just filed cloture on the motion to proceed to a shell that will serve as the vehicle for the cares act. Member level discussion is going on as we speak. The goal is to Reach Agreements on each of the four components of the legislation by the end of the day. Senators here, were working and were going to deliver. I have one request for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, a adjourn it adjourn until 12 00 noon saturday, march 21. Further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. Finally, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h. R. 748. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the senate