And finally, another element and im just describing some of the elements, mr. President , but i wanted to highlight some of these things is getting more resources to the men and women on the front lines of this pandemic who are every day out there in the Health Care Industry trying to keep americans, alaskans healthy and alive. How much . Theres a lot in it, but the number is 100 billion. For hospitals. For health care providers. Let me say that again. 100 billion. Now, the minority leader was on the floor the other day. I was kind of stunned when he said something along the lines of this partisan bill by the way, its not partisan, okay. This was written by republicans, democrats. A lot of these ideas are from both sides. It doesnt do anything to help hospitals. We need a Marshall Plan to help them. I think 100 billion is a constituent good start. Thats in the bill. So, mr. President , as i mentioned, i was proud i have been proud of the work of this body. I have been proud of my colleagues, both sides of the aisle. No ones got wisdom on how to fix all of this. No one knows whats coming in the future, but i think all of us know that we need to act, and we need to act boldly and we need to act in a bipartisan way. And we did it. We did it. Again. In less than a week. Not a perfect bill, thats for sure, but its going to provide help to my fellow alaskans, to americans. Its massive. Its bold. Its bipartisan. Its timely. And as of yesterday, i thought we were going to go another bill out to the American People quickly. Hope. Thats what they need. Yes, the senates working. And if for whatever reason and im not going to point fingers the wheels started to come off. On this one, the one that we really need. And the bill has been filibustered. That means we cant even get on the floor to debate it. We cant start debating it. Now, look, i have been listening to my colleagues, both sides of the aisle. There has been a lot of anger on this floor. A lot of back and forth. My good friend from nebraska just talked about this idea that somehow my colleagues on the other side filibustered this bill that the senate has been working on to make room for speaker pelosis bill. I really, really, really hope thats not true. I really hope thats not true. I dont think theres one member of this body, republican or democrat, who could defend that, what senator sasse just read on the floor. And then there started to be talk about, well, the bill that we had that were focused on is all about bailouts. Thats a charged term, mr. President , as you know. But you could talk about the 20082009 tarp bill. I wasnt a member of the senate then in the financial crisis as a bailout. I think thats a good description. Why was that a bailout . Because you had people on wall street taking risky actions that eventually cratered the Financial System by the way, they made a ton of money doing it cratered the economy, and then they had to be bailed out because the banks were going to go under and it was going to ruin the u. S. Economy. Thats a bailout. Thats a classic bailout. But, mr. President , what were seeing right now is much more like a natural disaster, much more like a war. Theres no one to be blamed right now. The airlines arent being shouldnt be blamed for happening whats happening right now. This is a pandemic. So this term being thrown around, oh, its a bailout, what were trying to do is help the american worker, help the american family. Its not a perfect bill. But we are dealing with a natural disaster. Something came over from overseas onto our shores, and were now all trying to deal with it. Mr. President , im going to conclude by saying im on this side of the aisle. Im a republican with principled views on certain issues. I certainly have strong views about protecting my state. But i have also tried to work throughout my time in the senate with my colleagues on both sides. Some of my closest friends are my democratic friends, and im proud of that work. Thats how you get things done in this body. Some i have been working with all weekend. This issue should not be about partisan politics. So my point was not to come down here on the floor and make this a partisan speech. We are facing one of the most unprecedented challenges in the history of the United States of america. We certainly need to move beyond politics. And if you looked at what was going on in the senate, until yesterday, thats exactly what we have been doing for the past three weeks. Are there areas of compromise in this bill . That hopefully can unlock things . Sure. Two that i have been working on and supporting, again with my democratic colleagues, pressing my colleagues on. Could we have more transparency on this federal Facility Program . Sure. Absolutely i would be very much in support of this. Are there ways to help shore up the stressed pensions for the great working men and women who build things in america . Yes. But, mr. President , were running out of time. We are running out of time. We need to pass this bill now. And why do we need to pass this bill now . Because its going to help the people we represent. Its going to help people in connecticut and virginia and colorado and montana and alaska. And they need hope. They need hope right now. And again, this bill isnt perfect, but its got a lot of hope. And once we pass it, then all of us are going to need to do the hard work to making sure that the implementation of this bill goes as effective and smoothly as possible. And then when we see mistakes in it which there will be we need to come back here and act to correct those. Thats what we need to do. We are these are exceptional times for our country, mr. President. We had an influenza outbreak in 1918 that ravaged the world, and it particularly ravaged my state. As senator murkowski said earlier today, one of the things that has got a lot of us troubled in alaska was 100 years ago when the influenza came through, it did finally get to some of our alaska native villages. I have over 200 communities not connected by roads with very limited Health Care Facilities, and during the spanish influenza, many of these communities were completely wiped out. Scary times. A scary time. But were going to get through it. Were going to get through it stronger, more resilient, and the way were going to do it is if were all working together, which we had been until about 24 hours ago. So i think the provisions outlined in this bill, while not perfect, are what the American People are looking for. They can help minimize the damage done by this pandemic, and i certainly hope that we come together the way we have been for the last three weeks in a bipartisan way to get this voted on, passed as quickly as possible because every hour of delay imperils the incredible American People that we represent. I yield the floor. Mr. Blumenthal mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. Im pleased to follow my friend and colleague and fellow marine from alaska. We are separated by about as far a geographical distance as can be in this nation, alaska and connecticut. And im also pleased to be followed by a colleague from colorado who is almost smack in the middle. And we are united, despite our geographic differences and despite our political differences. And i want to assure the American People that the contention they have seen on this floor in no way reflects the reality of our hope and desire to move quickly and to move big to address this unprecedented, historic crisis. A Health Care Emergency and an economic emergency in this country. The reality is that right now, less than 25 yards from us, the minority leader, the democratic leader, chuck schumer, and perhaps the secretary of the treasury or his representatives and also representatives of the white house are literally working on a better bill, a bill that better protects workers, workers and families should come first. Not corporate interests. Small businesses should be a priority. They are the economic backbone and major employers in our country. And it will be a better and a bigger bill in addressing the medical surge that this country must confront. The imminent soaring of numbers of cases, the potentially fatal infections that are about to deluge our hospitals and Health Care Facilities and the need for ventilators, masks, tests, gowns, all kinds of equipment that will help to save lives. I think all of us could do well by listening to the American People about the need for a bigger, better, bolder bill, and i have been inspired by how resolute and resilient the people of connecticut have been. Over the last two or three weeks, i have talked to them around the state of connecticut before we were restricted in our meeting, and then by talks on the telephone, by teleconferences, and conversations. I have spoken to them within the last few days to the Greater Danbury Chamber of commerce and Small Businesses that they assembled and large ones, the Northwestern Chamber of commerce, meetings of Small Businesses from the hartford area, the federally qualified Health Centers of connecticut, hospitals, executives, doctors, and professionals who are dealing with this crisis now on the front lines, and of course local officials, just today, the South Central council of governments with mayors and local officials from up and down the coast of connecticut, great nonprofits, americare, food banks like food share, and what they are telling me is do it urgently, do it big, but do it right. We need to do it quickly, but we need to get it right. And that is why this additional time is absolutely the right thing when were talking about almost 2 trillion in taxpayer money, and a crisis that demands the kind of careful and deliberate thought. I was a critic of the last bailout because it insufficiently protected workers and consumers, and we know that we can do better than they did then, and we will because we are putting workers first. And what i have heard in listening to the people of connecticut, talking to Small Businesses who are fearful about closing their doors and going broke, workers who are scared about losing their jobs, and nonprofits who are frightened about failing in their missions, for lack of resources, is that they are hurting, they are fearful about being crushed by this health care and economic crisis. And thats why we need to Work Together to protect the men and women who own those small h. And mediumsized is abouts with a general just loan and grant program. We should take care of their workers with expanded Unemployment Compensation program and guarantees that those Small Businesses will in fact maintain their payrolls. And if were going to provide money to big industries, like the airlines, we must include conditions, Strings Attached that put workers first. No layoffs, no salary cuts for workers or salary increases to the corporate executives, and no stock buybacks and treat consumers fairly. That the should be the set of principles. Right now all across america and in connecticut, working families are worried about whether theyre going to the see another paycheck. Theyre worried about how theyre going to pay their rent and utility bills, put food on the table, clothe their children, and Small Businesses are watching years of hard work, years of risktaking and Entrepreneurial Energy potentially teeter on the brink of absolute collapse. We face calamity and catastrophe, not the fault of any of them or workers or large or small executives. But we must respond to the magnitude of this moment. I spoke on a Radio Program this morning on wplr. Is it bipartisan . The answer is yes. Weve been on two relief packages and we will be 0en this one as earlly as tomorrow or the next day because no partisan plan will pass, as the creation of one party or another. Storefronts and inventory lists apparatus the backbone of our economy. Its the millions of men and women who go to work every day and even tomorrow will do their jobs, even in the face of the uncertainty and the fear that they confront, doing right by our economy means doing right by them, workings families of america. Theres much that the president could do if he uses, for example, the defense production act or similar kinds of power that so far he has resisted invoking. He could provide the medical tools that we will need to confront the coming crisis by taking advantage of the offers hes received from g. M. And other Major Companies to produce the ventilators or the private protective gear that will help to save lives. There is much that we all must do in continuing to observe the restrictions that will help save lives, not only restrictions physically in our homes but also the perspective that we must have that we are in for a long fight against this invisible foe. And it will be much longer than 15 days. It will be a matter of months, not weeks. And we must have the resilience and resoluteness that i have heard from the people of connecticut and their voices, as i have spoken to them. We live in no ordinary time, as Eleanor Roosevelt said about her era. And we must muster the same kind of determination, grit, and courage to face it. I know there is that transcendent sense of urgency to do it quickly and to do it right and a shared sense of purpose that ultimately will get us to the other side of this crisis. And we will be better and stronger and a bigger nation, not only in our economy. We will be a bigger nation because we have come together in meeting this crisis. So shared sacrifice must mean truly sharing the benefits with workers, with families, and with Small Businesses who will ultimately help us to save our nation and our economy. And my hope is that we will do it quickly, but we will do it right. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. Mr. Bennet thank you, mr. President. Im sorry. Mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from colorado. Mr. Bennet thank you, mr. President. Id like to thank my colleague from connecticut for his remarks tonight and for the hopefulness he has expressed. I a. Been here now for 11 years and i ive been here now for 11 years and i cant predict success and i cant say it is assured, but i can say that it is very likely that welcome together on a deem i hope we come together on a deal today and i think the American People will assess the progress thats been made for workers as a result of taking a little bit of extra time for hospitals as a result of taking a little bit extra time, for state and local governments who are going to benefit mightily because of the work that weve done. And so i rise tonight really not to get into this back and forth about this because i think we are going to address it. I think we are going to address it in a way thats meaningful and in a way thats bipartisan and in a way that can help give the American People a measure of confidence that were doing our job. For those of you that have heard me over the years on this floor, i dont always come here with a report that optimistic. But tonight given everything ive heard over the course of the day, i want to say this is a serious problem. Its an unprecedented challenge. We have to rise to this challenge together. And i believe that when the votes are counted on this bill, it will have been a better bill for the work thats been done and the vote will be a big bipartisan vote. Which would be a shot in the arm for the country and for the American People. I want to talk not about this backandforth. I want to talk about something thats confronting us, and that is the worst pandemic in a century. Just a month ago, just 30 days ago, nobody here would have imagined 30 days ago we had 30 confirmed cases in the u. S. Today there are over 41,000 cases. The most anywhere outside of china and italy. The president is right. He goes out and says, there are 140some countries that have this. Thats true. Were in the top three of those countries. 379 americans have died as were here tonight. And in the middle of the worst Public Health crisis in a century, our medical community doesnt have the basic supplies and equipment they need to respond. This matters, mr. President , because if we dont get our doctors and nurses protective gear, theyre going to get sick. And if they get sick, they cant help everyone else whos sick. That is a huge problem. And our medical professionals in colorado, as in the commonwealth of virginia, all across this country, have been begging for us to Pay Attention to this for months for months. The chief medical officer at Denver Health, which is our fabulous Public Hospital in denver, one of the leading hospitals in this country, the chief medical officer there says, they do not have enough tests or swabs to keep pace. And the turnaround time for toasts is taking much too for fests tests is taking much too long. Our u. C. U. Is full of people waiting for test results. We need faster testing. Hopefully those coming. Bits been a lopping time getting here. Every Single Health care worker whos tested in this country but doesnt get a result for five or six or seven or eight days, even if they dont have the coronavirus cant go back to work. And as a result of that, we face a severe shortage of Health Care Workers in this country. Denver health, they say, were burning through our professional protective equipment to the point that were on short suppliers as is every other Health Care Institution in denver and likely in colorado. If this continues, she said, were going to have to put two patients on a single ventilator. Thats not how its supposed to work. In colorado, our nurses are sewing masks because they dont have masks. My wife was sewing a mask at our home in denver yesterday. In the United States, in the 21st century, we have doctors who are getting just a single mask and being told to use it indefinitely. I was on the phone this evening with doctors from and administrators from our hospitals who are telling me that they are having to ration swabs for tests. Its a twoswab test, but theyre only using one swab because they dont have enough swabs to do it properly. There are doctors that are having to use the same mask patient after patient when the whole the mask is designed for it to be only one patient. Thats the way its supposed to work. They are violating protocols of the food and Drug Administration and the centers for Disease Control because they are rationing equipment, that theres no excuse in this country, the richest country in the world, they should be rationing during this Public Health care crisis. Government shutdowns, masks, shields, clothes americas Health Care Workers dont have any of it. And you know what they spent today doing . They spent today scrolling through ads not all of them, not the ones are patients, but the ones who have to equip our medical professionals scrolling through ad after ad after ad. From where . China. Saying that there are masks for sale in china. They have no idea whether these are flybynight organizations, these companies are requiring Denver Health and other hospitals to put the money up front and say, youll get the masks three or four weeks from now. They dont even know whether those masks will come. They dont know what the quality of those masks will be. We were told yesterday by the president that china was sending us masks and now all of those seem to be being sent to italy. I saw a quote from a doctor in california who said, its like were at war with no ammo. Thats not their fault. That is not their fault. And they are on the front lines of this war. We should be ashamed. We should be ashamed. I am. So the question is, how are we going to make sure our medical community has the supplies and equipment they need . Perhaps it would be useful to be honest about where we are. To start with. The department of health and Human Services estimates that we are going to need 3. 5 billion masks to fight this pandemic this year. And when you hear me tonight use the word mask, just in your own mind add the word government shutdown, add the words gloves, the word gloves, added word shield add the word shield. Because they need all of that. 3. 5 billion masks to fight this pandemic this year. When the Administration First came with their fairs supplemental with their first supplemental requesting 1. 8 billion, today year at 2 trillion in just the last month, just the last month. They came and said, 1. 8 billion. They said were going to need 350 Million Masks. We need 3. 5 billion masks. Billion. Billion masks this year. Today in america, we have exactly 35 Million Masks. That is 1 of what we need. Not 80 . 1 of what we need. Nationwide tonight our hospitals have 160,000 ventilators among all the hospitals we have in the greatest country in the world. Johns hopkins estimates were going to need another 40,000 ventilators by the time this is done. And you know what i heard tonight in colorado this might be of interest to the other senators that are here tonight because new york represents half of the cases in this country right now, the concern from colorado and im sure from your states as well is all those ventilators are going to go to new york as they should right now because thats where the greatest need is. Whats going to be left for the rest of us . Whats going to be left for the rest of us in seven days or ten days or 20 days . How can we be this foolish . How can he be this blind . The administration hasnt taken this crisis seriously enough from the beginning. And when it comes to the equipment that people on the front line need, the ammunition to use their words that the people on the front line need, theyre being ignored or dismissed with a bunch of happy talk about how were going to solve this problem. We can even if we can even admit there is a problem. And the result of something i never thought i would see in the United States of america, the country i grew up in. States like new york and new jersey are literally being forced to outbid states like new york are being forced to outbid new jersey and california to secure critical supplies while theyre fighting throughout the worst Public Health crisis in a century. Yesterday the president said during his press conference in the white house, he said we want them to be on that market, on that open market because we might lose money if were not on that open market. Exactly the opposite of what he thinks is happening is happeni happening. Governors like andrew cuomo are being forced to pay 7 for surgical masks that just a week ago cost 85 cents. My doctors in colorado told me tonight stuff yesterday that was five times the cost of what it ordinarily is today is seven times the cost of what it ordinarily is. In colorado or Childrens Hospital is paying 70 cents a mask, ten times what they were spending a month ago. Ventilators used to call a few thousand dollars now cost up to 40,000 because the president wont act. He will not provide the National Leadership that we need. Ten days ago he said on the test, i dont take any responsibility at all. Thats what he said. He may think he doesnt have the blame for everything thats gone wrong and im sure he doesnt. But he does have a very profound responsibility now that only the president of the United States has when governors from across the country raise the supply shortages with him last week, he told them to, quote, get it yourself. He told them that the federal government is not, quote, a shipping clerk. He said, quote, the governors locally are going to be in command. We will be following them. And we hope they can do the job. Quote, we are there to back you up should you fail. We are failing, mr. President. We are failing to address the seriousness of the Public Health crisis this country is facing, and we are going to rue the day that we said it was the hospitals problem to solve, that it was the governors problems to solve, that it was the states problems to solve. And i want to say this to the American People tonight because it is really important that you know what the facts are. Its important for you to know that we dont need tens of thousands of masks or millions of masks. We need billions of masks. And all the other equipment that i talked about earlier, gowns, shields, swabs, the elements of tests, the reagents that are necessary to take those tests. When i say we, im talking about the Health Care Professionals that we are relying on to be the front line in this effort. And what is the president s response to this . Hes touted the shipments coming out of our National Stockpile. Im coming to think this National Stockpile must be more like a really Small National warehouse. Colorado received that shipment yesterday. Were grateful for it. We are grateful for the shipment we got from the National Stockpile. But i want my colleagues to hear me. The department of Public Health in colorado estimates that those supplies will last for a single day of statewide operation, one day. When the president comes out and talks about the tens of thousands of masks that, you know, are going to new york or california as if that can make the difference, it wont make a difference when you need millions of masks. And then at a press conference yesterday he suggested that new commitments by private businesses will somehow be enough. He said the numbers are quite large and we have tremendous numbers of Companies Making equipment. We have respirators. We have ventilators. We have a lot of things happening right now. We have millions of masks that are coming, millions of masks, not billions. They will be here soon, he said. They will be shipped directly to the states. He failed to mention that soon actually means 18 months from now. Thats not going to help us. We dont have 18 months. Its literally life and death. And its for all of these reasons, mr. President , that we ask the president to invoke his authorities under the defense production act which gives him and him alone the ability to mobilize private industry so we can ramp up production in a coordinated and coherent way, so we can have a National Approach to fixing this broken supply chain, to fixing the empty storerooms, and to putting these critical supplies and equipment on the front line. And i was so pleased that he invoked those authorities five days ago. But instead of using them, hes equivocating. He said things like we have the act to use in case we need it, the president said, but we have so many things being made right now by so many he didnt finish the sentence but he meant in this voluntary effort, which i deeply appreciate, by the way. Dont get me wrong. Every single mask and every single gown and every single shield that can be manufactured and every single respirator that can be manufactured or lent to the people on the front lines, thats important. But its not going to solve this crisis. Its not going to keep us in a position where we can actually flatten the curve. He said yesterday, were not a country were a country not based on nationalizing our businesses. Call a person over in venezuela. Ask them how did nationalization for their businesses work out. As every senator here knows, the defense production act doesnt nationalize businesses. It is our tool. It is a mechanism. To create a coherent strategy for our Public Sector and our private sector to produce goods based on an Urgent National need and the government pays market value for those goods. It has a strategy for how those goods will be distributed around the country as the epidemic moves from place to place. It is unacceptable that were in a situation where states are having to bid against each other, where the hospitals in colorado are having to bid against each other. They said to me tonight, michael, if you could just get us five Million Masks and send them to colorado, we could distribute them but it makes no sense for us to be looking up the yellow pages in china to buy masks. And i said to them i wish that were enough. I wish that would be enough, but as long as colorado is going to have to compete with new york, is going to have to compete with new jersey or compete with florida or texas, it wont work. And its not just the price, although that is shocking. The fact that there are people gouging in a moment like this is appalling. Its not just the price. Its the availability. The nurses and doctors in denver, colorado, or in any city in this country tonight should not be using one swab for a test that takes two. They should not be wearing one mask all day long with a mask thats designed to be worn just with one patient. Donald trump said the president said yesterday he looked into this as a businessman. He was shocked at all the masks being thrown away. We ought to be able to sterilize the masks. There are Important Reasons why we have those rules, to protect our Health Care Workers and so we dont spread disease. By the way, i asked, i said look, does it solve your problem that the president has said we can use construction masks now in our Health Care Facilities . They said, were grateful for the additional masks that were getting, but its not remotely helping fix the problem, the scale of the problem. And a lot of these masks actually arent appropriate in a health care setting. Theyll do anything. Theyre not saying theyre not looking their nose up at it. I had somebody say to me today, one of the people on the call said theyd gotten masks from a fingernail salon. And that they had no idea what quality the masks were. There was asian writing on the outside of the package. They dont know what it is but those masks will be there whether they run out of all the other masks. Thats what theyre going to use. Thats what were using in the United States of america tonight . Thats what were telling the people were asking to save our lives, to save our parents lives . Thats what were saying . Im sure the other senators have had the same experience that ive had, which is ive been in touch with companies all over my state that stand ready to help produce supplies and equipment. The president said yesterday, one of the problems he had with this one of the challenges he had is you wouldnt have any idea where to begin. Dont know who makes ventilators. Maybe they made them a long time ago and theyd forgotten how to do it but we surely surely he doesnt believe that we cant figure that out. That we couldnt figure that out in a split second where the manufacturing capacity is in this country to do what needs to be done. But these companies have said to me that nobody in the administration has been in touch to tell them what to make, how much to make, or where it should go. And the truth is, and the truth needs to be understood. I say to my colleagues thank you for your indulgence. Just i think this is a moment in time when when we have to get this right, and we are getting it so wrong. The truth is, as much as we welcome all of the citizens and businesses who are stepping up on their own, it wont be enough. Haine hanes cant make 3. 5 billion masks. They cant do it in the time we need it done. G. M. And tesla cant manufacture 40,000 ventilators. The two million mask that that the Vice President trumpeted yesterday from apple. We appreciate. Its an infinitesimal amount. It sounds like a big number. The president actually said yesterday the reason i come out and read these big numbers is so you will know that we are sending out lots of stuff to th. And i think that is a complete misimpression that somehow this is handled. Or that we have got it together. We are one nation under god for a reason, mr. President , and that is to respond to a challenge just like this one. It cannot be one hospital at a time. One state at a time or one business at a time. That wont work. Its not a strategy. In fact, its making matters worse, worse. Because not only are we not fixing the supply chain but the pricing is getting completely distorted and people are compete ing with an incredibly scarce amount of goods. This is not a substitute, mr. President , for a coherent National Strategy to figure out how we will meet the critical supply shortages throughout the country, and every single day it gets worse. You can hear the panic in the governors. And in the people working in our hospitals. And the people that are working with people who are having to go in on under unsafe conditions, willing to do it. On the front line of this war, with no ammunition, with no ammunition. And as much as the president may not want to make these hard decisions, for whatever reason, because he hopes for the best because maybe the medical thing will work itself out, maybe instead of 18 months it will be shorter for a vaccine, maybe the hot weather will make things better. Hes literally the only one with the authority to call america to this challenge. The president is portraying himself as a wartime president , but he is leaving it up to hanes to plan dday. It wont work. He needs to give the front line of this war the ammunition they need, and he is the only one that can do it. No one else can do it. This senate cant do it. So there has been a lot of back and forth today about, you know, a brief delay in passing this economic package. As i said, i hope very much it will pass. I hope very much we will have a deal soon. I hope very much it will be bipartisan. We should do our work, and we should get that done. But i beg you, i beg you, my colleagues in the United States senate, every member of this body should be calling on the white house and asking why, after weeks, months, there is still no plan to make sure our doctors and nurses have the gear to protect themselves. Why are hospitals why our hospitals still dont have the ventilators they need to treat people, and why its not obvious where those ventilators are going to come from, why we still dont have a Clear Strategy from this administration to arm the front line that is waging this war while were here tonight. This is perhaps the greatest challenge our country has faced since the second world war. It probably is. And it is scary. But we have risen to the challenges before. And i think we can raise rise to this one. I may not have voted for the president. I may not agree with much of what he does, but i urge him to act. I urge him to use the authority thats granted to him uniquely in america, out of 330 million americans, only the president of the United States has that authority. He won that election. He has that authority. We cant do it without him. Lives are lit literally at are literally at stake in colorado and across the country. We need him to lead, and i beg every Single Member of this chamber to do whatever you can, because you have influence on him, to get him to understand the gravity of the situation were facing, the scale of the situation that were facing, the scope that were facing. And the lack of preparedness that needs to be addressed by invoking his authority under that statute. With that, mr. President , i thank my colleagues for their patience, their indulgence, and i yield the floor. Mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the minority leader. Mr. Schumer thank you, mr. President. I thank my colleague for his impassioned words. They were right on the money. Now, mr. President , the senate is going to adjourn shortly, but that doesnt mean negotiations are slowing down one bit. Secretary mnuchin just left my office. We have had some very good discussions, and in fact the list of outstanding issues has narrowed significantly. We are going to work on into the night. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Kaine mr. President , i riso speak today, but in my office as i was alternately talking to virginians and talking to colleagues about our goal to find an economic package that will backstop workers in the american economy, i had the tv on and i was watching what was happening on the floor. And i decided i would come and just speak for a few minutes because i frankly think that whats been happening on the floor today is sort of artificial, and it doesnt really show to the American Public what is truly going on. There are a lot of speeches that were taking place where it was sort of a blame game, and i dont think thats what americans wanted to see today. There was a vote, just as yesterday, another vote today that failed, a vote that was destined to fail, and i dont think thats what americans deserved to see today. What americans didnt see yesterday and today is the intense dialogue and debate and discussion around the third Coronavirus Response bill. By far the largest. It is important to get the details right. We spent time to get the details right in a bipartisan way to pass an 8 billion, 8 billion supplemental appropriation just two weeks ago. We spent time to get the details right to pass an extension of paid child care and Unemployment Insurance that had a cost of about 100 billion. We are now talking about an economic stimulus package that could be as high as 2 trillion. The American Public wants us to get the details right. As i look at the stimulus discussions, its sort of five pillars is the way i describe it to virginians. Its workers and their families. Its Small Businesses. Its Large Businesses and Industry Sectors. Its state and local governments, and its our health care network. Workers, were all hearing from people in our states who were so significantly affected, they are without salary and wages. How are they going to pay their rent or their mortgage b . Mortgage . They are in danger of eviction and foreclosure. How are they going to pay child care and other expenses. We should accept that and this package has to be right for working people, and the details matter. Only about 26 of American Workers are covered by the Unemployment Insurance system, so we cant just rely on that old system if we really want to backstop all the people who have lost income and protect them and their families. I saw that the government of the United Kingdom over the week has decided to just make it guarantee make a guarantee to all working people, we will backstop you for 80 of your lost earnings during the time period of this national emergency. We should hold ourselves to that standard and try to provide a package that backstops workers and their families, those who were low and middle income. Thats pillar one. Pillar two, Small Businesses. I think there is huge agreement on this. Small businesses are the engine of the american economy, the employer of first resort for americans, but those Small Businesses, including nonprofit, cultural, an Service Organizations have significant challenges, and we need to get them through this tough time. If we get them through the tough time primarily with loans and then we come out of this Public Health challenge into a challenged economy and they just have more debt on their books, were not really going to help them. And so the Small Business pillar of this is very important to get them through this challenging time and do it in a way that does not just saddle these Small Businesses with more debt. Third, Large Businesses and the industry sector. Of course we need to provide protection for them. Thats not the issue. And frankly, the issue is not even really the amount of the protection that must be provided, it must be significant. However, we learned through the stimulus package in 2009 and through the tax bill in 2017 that dollars given to many of the Large Businesses without conditions can be spent in very economically unproductive ways. So its important to get those details right. Limits on using these federal funds for executive compensation, limits on using the funds for stock buybacks. We can get the details right so that the dollars that are provided to our large Industry Sectors and businesses are used to protect their employees. States and local governments. Were all on the phone with our governors, with our mayors, with county health officials. We have all watched them close down school systems, close down universities, deal with extra health care challenges, deal with skyrocketing Unemployment Insurance applications in every jurisdiction in the country. We should provide them resources to deal with those challenges, and my hope as a former governor, and we have other former governors in the chambers when we provide assistance to state and local governments, well do it in a way with maximum flexibility so they can use those funds in the way they see fit to meet the local needs that they have experienced. The last pillar and i will close here. And this is to continue my colleague from colorados passionate plea on behalf of our Health Care Industry. The last pillar is the key important one, and that is the appropriate level of resources to our health care infrastructure. There wont be any amount of economic stimulus that will work if we dont handle the Public Health crisis in a very smart way going forward. Nothing we could do we could make it 3 trillion. We could make it 4 trillion. We would be pouring the money away if we do not get the Public Health crisis right. And if we get it right, that will be the single most important thing to restarting the economy. And so the last pillar of the five pillars that were spending time on is support for hospitals and community Health Centers and other Health Clinics and Health Care Professionals. And also supporting child care for them. We have got to keep our frontline Health Care Workers at work, but many of them have children in schools that have now been closed. We dont want them having to stay home with their kids because there is no child care when we want them at hospitals and clinics. And so part of that fifth pillar has to be to protect these Health Care Workers, not only their physical health but their ability to go to work every day. I believe we are close on the negotiation. I dont like watching stemwinding speeches from the floor blaming whos responsible for not being able to pass a vote when i know 20 yards away the white house is sitting down with democrats and were getting closer and closer and closer to come up with a package that can gain bipartisan acceptance as it should. The American Public needs action. The American Public needs big action. But if were going to spend 2 trillion and we spend it the wrong way, we will regret it for years. If we spend if we spend it the right way, we can do it doing men and women minimal damage to our economy. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Rounds thank you, mr. President. First let me say thank you to my colleague, the former governor of virginia and the senator from virginia now. As a former governor, we have a real interest in making sure that there is a good, cooperative spirit between the federal government and state governments. But this evening as weve gone through an entire day which is rather unusual in the senate to have one senator speaking after another, with others here, at a time in which we should be exercising separation, as they say, to have had as many colleagues on the floor shows just how serious the United States senate is taking this issue. Perhaps the frustration laid out by members of my conference is that we really want this to move forward as quickly as possible and we understand that its very difficult to put together the resources in order to buy those additional pieces of equipment that our friend from colorado laid out unless we have a longterm plan here in which to also pay for it. And what id like to do is share a little bit just in terms of a summary of whats in the proposal right now and that we believe is an appropriate, major step in taking care of funding to respond to not just the medical emergency but also the economic emergency that we have in front of us right now for men and women that are worried about where theyre going to get the next paycheck. First of all, under the appropriations section, we have 75 billion for hospitals thats included in the proposal. 20 billion additional for Veterans Health thats included. 11 billion more for vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other preparedness needs. Theres an additional 4. 5 billion for the c. D. C. , the center for communicable diseases. And the reason why weve put that in there is because we want to be ahead of the game when it comes to making sure they have the resources to take care of the Emergency Needs that we know are showing up right now. Theres also an additional 1. 7 billion to add new medical equipment to the strategic National Stockpile, as my colleague from colorado was suggesting. This is an area where we need to beef it up and we need to be able to provide that additional equipment. Thats included in this bill that right now has been here for two days. Also we understand that at the state level there are other needs as well. Theres 20 billion in here for Public Transportation emergency relief. Theres 10 billion built into the bill right now for block grants to the states. Thats the broadest type of resources that we provide to the states today. And theres anndditional 5 billion to be added to femas Disaster Relief fund. Fema is now at a level one, which is basically their highest level. Theyre coordinating now on a 24hour basis with every single state in the nation directly, back and forth, to provide an avenue of communication and logistics so that when parts are found or equipment is found in one area, it can be coordinated to get to an area where it is needed, not so much because we always have all the supplies we we have available right now. But because we want the supplies we do have to get to where it is needed as quickly as possible. There are other parts that are also important. And one of the reasons why ive seen the frustration on the republican side of this discussion is because theres men and women right now that dont have a paycheck coming in. Theyve been laid off, through no fault of their own. Theyre being laid off because of covid19 and because their bases have been businesses have been asked or in some cases directed to close. And when that happens, we feel an obstacles to try to at an obligation to try to give them an opportunity to get through the next few months to get ready for the recovery if we properly manage the emergency before us. Id like to just go through them briefly so that after an entire day of discussion, theres at least an understanding of whats in the bill today just for men and women that are hurting today. On a perperson basis, were offering about 250 billion in Additional Resources for a child. Theres 500 for every child in a family. But thats on top of 1,200 for a mother and a father. And what were suggesting with that is that it doesnt mean that youve got to have made that much. This is a refundable tax credit and it is available to individuals regardless of if they even made that much or paid taxes on that in the last couple of years. This is really important because this is immediate, upfront payment from the Internal Revenue service, i. R. S. , back to individuals. And the sooner we pass this legislation, the sooner those dollars can get out to people who right now are hurting and they need this additional assistance at this time. Not a month and a half or two months from now, but as soon as we can get it to them. Additionally, we have an unemployment proposal that increases the amount of money that goes into the unemployment funds in the amount of about 250 billion as well. Now, how does that break out and what does it mean to an individual . If an individual is on an appointment today, besides what theyre getting from the state, first of all, firstdollar coverage with no oneweek period. And, second of all, were adding an arizonadditional 600 were adding an additional 600 per week, per week, for the next nine weeks their vulnerable for. That doesnt mean that unemployment stops at that point. But theres 600 additional during that nineweek period of time. This is important for individuals who have no other place to go and have already been laid off because weve told thesis abouts that they have to shut down. Another piece of this product right now that i think is an excellent piece and one that i think not only offers emotional support for men and women that are struggling but it also shares through Small Businesses an amount, about 350 billion, that goes to Small Businesses, businesses that are under that are under 500 employees in size. And when we define an employee, were talking about an f. T. E. , or fulltime equivalent of 40 hours. So if youve got two half times, youve got one f. T. E. But what weve offered to Small Businesses in this is a very simple loan and Loan Forgiveness Program that they can go down to their local lender and apply. And the local lender is the person that puts the papers together and so forth, but what it allows them to do is to say, look, i just have been told that my business is shut down. I dont want to lose my employees. What they can do is borrow the money to to inpay the payroll and benefits for those individuals that they would be laying off otherwise. And if they keep them on for a period of up to eight weeks, we forgive the loan, because of the grant. But the reason for that is if we dont do that, those same individuals will be on the unemployment rolls. Why make them go through that Emotional Distress and why have it in such a position that they may not get the benefits back that the Small Business is offering today . Weve done Something Else as well. We said for that Small Business owner, we know many of you have mortgages, ongoing payments, so well also let you include your mortgage payments as well. And your ongoing rent, lights, and so forth. And if you keep open, you can also apply to have that part forgiven as well. Up to a grand total of 10 million per business. Why . Because we want stability in the marketplace. And we think thats what a lot of employees want. Wed like to have that out this week. Thats one of the reasons why you see the frustrations and the irritations on the republican side of the aisle here because we really thought that these items that we thought we were negotiating in good faith with members of the other side, with working groups that had both included in such a fashion that we could move through this fairly quickly. As a matter of fact, i think youve heard members on the the other side of the aisle talk about the fact that theyre not disagreeing with those things. Theres another part, too. Theres larger businesses over 5000 size. Over 500 in size. Were not going to give you a grant program. Were not going to be in the position of bailing you out, but what we do want to do is to make liquidity and loans available to you, loans that you can afford. Were going to ask some conditions of that, yes. But the idea here is to allow them to survive and to be ready to go back into business back in to business. These seems to be the position where we have the most dissension among the two parties. While we are proposing that they cant use this to buy stock back i think some of our democratic colleagues thought we had to strengthen it. Fine, that shouldnt take two days to work out. They think we should have some more guidelines. Fine. But that shouldnt take two days to work out. The goal here is to keep as many people employed and to keep those businesses operational so that as we move through this health emergency, that those businesses continue to do business in the future. Theres a larger portion in this which we also talk about, which is for the airlines and so forth. We have a frustration as well with our democrat colleagues because of some of the suggestions that have been made. We dont think that think should have to remake their board of directors if theyre going to get a loan. We think that the airlines are critical, not just to save the airlines but because business relies on airlines and people rely on airlines now to get from one place to another throughout the United States. Weve also included about 17 billion to take care of those separate industries in which we have national defensespecific issues. We think this has been wellthoughtout. It doesnt mean there isnt room for more negotiation. But time is of the essence. As we sit here this evening, more people will diabetes, more people will get more people will die, more people will get sick, more men and women will find themselves wondering where theyll get their next paycheck. Every single day matters. So our request to the members on the the other side of the aisle who have twice now said, no, we dont want to take the first procedural step to get onto the bill, what we say is, look, youve got to push hard on your leadership to come to a consensus and, please, this is emergency legislation. This should not be a christmas tree. It should not be a piece of legislation that since it needs to pass that we can now put a wish list of the other things other things that one party or the other has been trying to get in law that does not have consensus on. This is where the areas of contention are this evening. So, to the men and women that are out there that are concern concerned, i can share with you i think we have a good plan, one that will come to close to 1. 9 trillion in terms of what we are offering. But at the same time it needs to get out as quickly as possible. And its got to be as simple as possible for those men and women to be able to apply for in an unemployment line or the businesses to apply at their local banks so they can keep people employed or for that larger business to understand that liquidity is available to get them through a very difficult time, but its not going to be a grant. Its going to be a loan. And finally, an area which is important that perhaps can have some additional thought put into it, and that is that not just the hospitals at the local level need our support and our assistance right now because they cant do this by themselves. But were going to find state after state is going to be in knocking on our door saying, you shut downiest abouts in our state, shut down businesses in our state in order to quell this emergency. But in order to do so, the revenues that are generated because of those being a tastes, we dont have. Youre going to have state revenues down significantly. They are going to be coming in and visiting. Im concerned that between in package and the next package, we have to recognize the impact to state governments who provide so many of the services that men and women rely on a daily basis. So id like to thank you for your time, mr. President. I think this is important, and i think the message that we have to have as responsible message, members of this body in which today we truly did have debate and discussion on the floor. We have to finish this and we have to do it in such a fashion that it reaches men and women who are counting on us as soon as possible. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. Mr. Rounds mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Rounds thank you, mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of executive calendar 632, that the nomination be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Rounds mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations, executive calendar 238, 451, 453, 571, and 630. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the nominations en bloc. Mr. Rounds mr. President , i ask consent that the senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate, that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc, the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. The question on the nominations are en bloc. All members say aye. All opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nominations are confirmed en bloc. Mr. Rounds mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that 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. Rounds mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, march 24. Further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour 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. Further, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h. R. 748. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Rounds mr. President , if theres no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned until 10 00 a. M. Tomorrow. Starting now its book tv on cspan2. Good afternoon, everybody