Bless each and every one of us. It. It been so interesting talking to our tennesseans and as they have faced the issues that we have with coronavirus. What is happening, and the mother response to it in how we are going to fight, were going to win this war. We are going to defeat this. We have to look at it as hard health and food and Financial Assistance and a couple of my tennesseans last night, as we were talking and discussing this, whether thoughts of their questions to me went to is the relationship that we have with china. And how can we trust that we know what china new, that we know when they knew it and their lack of transparency around what is happened with covid19. As weve gotten a couple of months past the start of this, really these questions are unanswered. And how do we tell our tennesseans on the phone last night, even as this virus it came out of wuhan china, they had in december and it has now touched Six Continents and we know that people dealing with containment, they are dealing with medications, they were dealing with having to go through the process and the kids in cairo, getting them exceeds that is necessary with covid19. In their questions that people have, correctness are compounded by the realization of how china has chosen not to be honest and not to be transparent in their dealings with the rest of the world. In the way beijing handled this initial response to the coronavirus was nothing new. In fact, deflection and lights meant to protect the communist party as part of their standard operating procedure. They have decided norms guiding regarding and embrace innovation by defined Property Rights and still, intellectual property they steal it. Its a matter of course. We have used companies that have suffered for decades. By what china has done to steal, their intellectual property to infringe on their intellectual property. They define the sovereignty and then and their 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. Look at their behavior. And it is this act of defiance that makes them just an incredibly dangerous. I have to tell you, this is been something that is been on for quite a while. Though we only need to go back a decade to place the flag marking our awareness of what has become very familiar story. And over the decades started to manufacture and started to pull it was manufacturers there and then started to mistreat their intellectual Property Rights. People became aware of what was going on. Write it ten years ago when i was a member in the house, and we were doing much of the same work we are doing right now. In the u. S. Senate and we were preparing in advance authorization bill. Mr. President even m then, we realized the stress that china and chinese stateowned Companies Posted to our National Security. We draftedme t amendments blockg the purchase of wildlife supplies equipment. And indeed, they are still hearing about the need to block the purchase of that equipment not only for us but for our allies. In that action was ten years ago but chinas influence has continued to grow. Now we have done is pretty much our part here in the senate to show that action, even if the rest of the world has allowed beijing cook cat capitalism to perpetuate to to telluride to judaism. Last year we had selfdetermination and indeed to this day, not fight goes on and even though the threats sincere of covid19 has caused those protesters to the protest in the different way. I cosponsored hong kong human rights and democracy act and sponsored legislation prohibiting the commercial export of covered munitions items to the Hong Kong Police force in the world moves on even as that standoff in hong kong continues in the senate was forced to pin a resolution asking the international on the big new company to rape ms. That the 2022 winter games to a country that we suspect human rights. Really quotable move. It leads me to wonder why was china given this honor in the first place. I have to tell you nobody seems to really know the answer. The aggression is that they displayed towards taiwan, intimate and the outright repression. This is something that has gone unchecked and many times it is due to fear of economic retaliation. I addressed this body several times in the subject of wai wei. And the National Security vulnerability in our network. In their effort to undermine our sovereignty, are not limited to hightech espionage and indeed, the 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, were they seeking to do mr. President , they are seeking to establish their own hightech cyber spypy networks. And we know what they are up to. This month i introduce the bill to temper the influence of china backed confucius institutes on American College campuses. Weve all read the stories lately. How they have been infiltrating our institutions of higher learning. How they have coopted of the staff or the professors. This is something that needs our attention. It is followed on the heels of Higher Education and espionage and effect and another effort of preventing beijing from increasing his hold, on the minds of our younger generations. Weve called Chinese Tech Companies like to talk, when called them on the carpet for their censorship. Their data collection. And their privacy practices or lack of brevity we should say. But content from the popular apps, still dominates social media. In chinas hold on the economy is never been more apparent. And they reported that beijing use the media and to censorship censorship about the coronavirus and yet beijing remains defiant and attacking present trump in tweets and accusing Everyday Americans of racism for daring to suggest that covid19 originated in where, wuhan, china. They are as many other people like to say, there gas lighting us and is madness so it brings us to ask when will enough be enough. We must not let our present concerns about the response to coronavirus, detour us from thinking longterm. This pandemic will change our relationship with china and 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. And as we think about a way forward to bring manufacturing back to the United States, we need to remember this. I have spoken several times about the vulnerability in a pharmaceutical supply chain. Ive encourage my colleagues to support the bipartisan securing americans medicine, which i am sponsoring alongside my colleagues from new jersey, cinnamon senator menendez, fwithout intervention, the fda expects the pharmaceutical industry will continue to read real and Chinese Companies to make the pharmaceutical ingredients of the api, that are necessary for somebody of our prescription and over the coun overthecounter drugs. If it poses to our supply chain, it is real. On february 27, 2020, the fda announced a shortage of one drug that is used to treat patients with coronavirus. They attributed the shortage to difficulties obtaining the ati and 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 is not been transparent. Name Hidden Information from us and 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 in our own peril. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity today, i want to also talk about what else is going on. I appreciate my colleagues in tennessee talking about and i am completely agree it is something that we are going to have to seriously look at as we get through this process. We have to come to dependent. And i appreciate her efforts in that regard. And i want to talk today, and i know we have a lot going on up here printed for those who are watching in the market people, you need to understand that while this may be empty appear, and this form may be empty, there is a lot going on in the unit let it sit senate going on 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 and our workers, our economy from all sectors, is safe. 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 the social distancings and those things that we have talked about now for several weeks. To tryrt to get folks to do your part. But as were trying to do our part and 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 with along with the administration to try to make sure that we do those things for americans. Over the past, few weeks, i have talked with countless Business Owners local and state officials. I have heard from a lot of folks who are scared to death. They are not telecommuting because their jobs are not like that. All of which are t alarms about where we are today. Where will be tomorrow and next week. Over the comingom weeks, and evn potentially months. Businesses are having to lay off folks, furlough workers, sending a surgical to the unemployment lines. We have seen that in just the past few days. And this 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. They will go bankrupt without customers as folks take home and practice the social distancing that we know that we have to do it. Im states start enacting forced closures of schools and events, those businesses shutter and hopefully it will only be a temporary shuttering. First and foremost, there are steps that we can all take again to stop the spread of the virus and get the economy on the right track. And its up to us individually. In the meantime, we have got as members of congress and Public Officials across the 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 businesses in the state of alabama, in particular can continue to be payroll and keep workers paid so that they can continue to make their obligations. Thats where my proposal, and i talked to a number of callings about. So in addition to providing the same kind of direct assistance payments it is been kicked around now, whether it be checks or in some form or another the people are widely talking about right now, i would also like to see anyone a fund that can quickly get cash into the hands of Small Businesses so they can make their payrolls and not have to lay off workers. I am calling this the Small Business lifeline fund. It would provide no interest, 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 and circum concert some circumstances. It would offer up loans up to 7s last three months of payroll. With no one employee receiving more than 5000. And i repeat that because that would affect so many people in the country. Loans up to 75 percent, businesses last three months of payroll with no one employee receiving more than 5000 per month. This fund, the key is this, it would pass directly through the payroll company. In the Payroll Companies around this country are used by about 40 percent of american businesses. 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 cut the infrastructure in place. Their smart toys, because of god payroll and Employee Data makes it quick and efficient. It uses the infrastructure and the pipeline that already exist without having to go back and reinvent or create a new positive dynamics it could may or may not work. We note that the Payroll Companies system in this country work. 40 percent of folks use it. This process would help to alleviate the strain on her unemployment programs. It would be a sinless way to continue to pay workers. And also ensuring that payroll taxes and continue to fund and portable programs like medicare, medicaid printed Social Security. I want you to think about this. What we are talking about doing is not just a onetime 1000 own check, or to time 1000 go to, its literally finding the payroll with the way it exists. Maybe only 75 percent of it, the people who are used to getting those payroll checks, through ctyroll processor, how their taxes are deducted, they have the Social Security detected in the medicaid and medicare expenses deducted, those things was still coming. It is just that we have created a fund from the federal government to do that printed so it goes straight back to the federal government. I think is part of this, we would also like to offer assistance who are some point, who they are micro businesses and according to the irs debt in 2017, there were some 26 million Sole Proprietorships in the United States. That is a lot of folks who are out there working hard, hustling everyday to make their businesses, their little piece of the american dream, successful pretty but they dont have the cash reserves to fall back on. We could carve out and make sure that they are taking care of. And 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 to check here and check their especially for those who are the most loanable two shocks that we have seen in recent weeks. Weve got to be bold. Ive got to be big. We need to act fast. We need to cut the bureaucracy. In this way using these payroll Companies Make so much sense. I want to emphasize that this is only one piece of this overall puzzle. Does not cover everyone. It will not cover folks in the big economy and 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. And can get money to vote, their wages, and get to the rhino so that if we also have to do things like make mortgages and rents, we dont have to do these the board because folks will have the money to pay his mortgages, pay those rents to help those businesses stay afloat as well. In a effect of doing Something Like this, not only would be in almost, with this Small Business lifeline fund, we can send a message to folks mainstream. Its the lifeblood of ra, community and to take of keeping them afloat so that it can get right back on track as soon as we can get things back to normal. Right now they need us. They need us in congress, the neatness of the local level, and state level. I urge my colleagues to look at this very seriously. This package that we are putting together that hopefully will get done in the next day, hopefully hours. So that we can all get back to our state and our families to do those things necessary but keeping in mind, that whatever we do, folks understand whatever we do in the next day or so, is only going to be the next step. I dont want anybody was listening to think that this is the end of it or were just going to finish up working home. We constantly have to monitor this and wet dont know what the future holds in some aspect so we will be back if necessary we will do things differently if necessary. Joe things i want to mention before i yield the floor. About this for my state for long time that is the need for Medicaid Expansion. Alabama is one of those he states, it did not expand medicaid. We are talking about increasing the federal government portion of that. Adding additional medicaid funds for the state like alabama, we will get those extra benefits for short but we will get as much as we should have if we had an expanded medicaid pretty senator warner and i have a bi bill, states achieving medical expansion. It is not mandatory, does not make the states Medicaid Expansion, it does not make them do that. It gives them the same incentives they had a number of years ago. Soso to stay like alabama, some 300,000 people, to get access to medicaid do not have insurance right now. It cannot get that and im wondering our Rural Communities everywhere in the state of i alabama, what in the world am i going . To do if i catch this virus. Where am i going to go but ultimately, our hospitals, our doctors, our safety nets that we are putting in part of this package we will have to cover it anyway. We all know that. Sooner or later weo will have to cover it. So i would love to be able to see the same outcome of the state achieving Medicaid Expansion act get out there of this package. Lets have the opportunity, not a single state would have to expand medicaid if we pass this bill. But we at least let those local leaders decide for themselves whether it is time that we give many ofortunity to so the people in our states, that are caught in between medicaid and the job in which they are eligible for Health Insurance benefits. It would be a quick,ck easy, way to make sure that we are doing our part. I would urge the debt be put in there. Finally, today has been a day that ive heard from so many peoples where in our undeserved communities in alabama printed the African American community for communities inhe alabama, te preachers are calling in the mayors are calling, i have been on the phone all day. They are concerned. It is not that their concern because they dont leaveke the state has is mine because ive taught the official. The fact of the matter is that we still this country, across the 50 states, we dont have enough tests and we dont have enough for personal Protection Equipment in hospitals, by testing labs, everybody in alabama, just like every other state. We are hurting. We need the supplies. The states are doing a good job. But i want to make sure that in alabama and across this country, we dont leaver. Out the poorest of the poor and we dont leave out the underserved communities that we dont just place Testing Facilities in the big urban areas with the mega churches of the big hospitals like in birmingham which are awesome but we also make sure we have these clinics set up around state grid and the black belt of alabama, the poorest of alabama counties where people cannot drive an hour and a half or two hours to get a test. If we gotta make sure that we spread this out. This disease will spread out. It wont just be concentrated in our urban areas. You will continue this rent into the sender served areas. Families live together, grandmothers take care of the grandchildren from the aunts and uncles take care of their nieces and nephews plaintiff and theyre all theree together. With that figure out a way to protect them. And to get test to them. And make sure they are treated and part of this urban area and we have and have easier and ready access. One who and why talk in the day and then its back to the people. I assure you we are doing a lot of peer. I know she has been working on the phones. Talking to different people everywhere ago and i do see senators most of us are doing things my phone and remotely. Everybody is working the phones back to the state to make sure that we do the right things. But at the end of the day, this about you. But the people of america because everyone in this country, everyone heres a phrase from the old civil rights days, everyone is a foot soldier in this moment. Everyone can do their part. We appropriate money, we can designate, we can do those things necessary that we is that federal government can do but we cannot stop the spread of this virus. U. S. Senatorwe cannot stop the spread of this virus. We can only stop it among ourselves. We cannot stop it across the country. Only you can do that. Only the foot soldiers in america, the hundreds of millions of people that we have this country and stop the spread of the virus by hating the warnings and doing the things necessary with social distancing and washing your hands. My hands arrived in washington so much printed we are the foot shoulders, you are the foot soldiers. You can stop this. Smokey the bear was talking about only you can prevent forest fires in the fact that the coronavirus is covid19 virus, is that forest fire across hiso country and only you can help stop the spread printed and today i want to be a little more patriotic a lot about it. I want to invoke, one of my heroes. Who used this desk at one point, john f. Kennedy and hes 59 years ago, when he was sworn is as president of the United States under the famous were that sent such an emotion throughout america, the really got so many in this country patriarchs standing up for what we do and he said, ask not what your country can do you view, but what you can do for your country. That is what every american has to ask themselves today. What can i do for my country. We got a tornado that is run through you can go out and get a omainsaw in a few neighbors, is not like days where hurricane has comean through and you can o get bottles of waters and doctors and send the folks. What you can do for your country today is to stop the spread of this virus pretty way you can do for your country is to try to stay home as much as you can. The social distancing, that is what you can do for your country. And if you do that, businesses are going to have problems. We know it. That is what we are trying to work on. That we provide safety net in the necessary tools so that if we canas love that curve and get past this, and we will become back even stronger. But to get there, we have to have you, we have 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 to help everyone around you and we will do that, we will bluntness are and we will make this thing is least severe as possible we will move forward, stronger and better because at the end of the day, where are the United States of america rated. On the senate floor earlier today, before the session wrapped up, the majority leader came to the floor to lay out what is next in the senate. Concerning the coronavirus economic aid package including a saturday session. Here are his comments. I ask unanimous consent to proceed for the session of morning business. Speaking up to ten minutes each. Without objection a move to proceed 157 hr 748, the clerk will report. Code 1986, tax on highcost employers sponsored health