Its a heavy obligation that we have before us. On march 17 i was contacted by the Tricounty Health department to notify me that march 10 i had, march 11 i had been in a meeting with a colorado who tested positive for the cobit 19 and at the advice of the Tricounty Health department and attending physician in the capital i entered self quarantine to protect my colleagues , our community and family and that time is now expired as of this morning. I certainly regret the fact that i missed a vote that passed 90 to 8 to complete phase 2 of our help to address covid19. Had i been here the boat would have been 91 to 8 but throughout that time i was important and i had an opportunity to visit with om thousands of coloradans, telephone town halls in every Congressional District to hear from Business Leaders and individuals who have lost their jobs, to hear from Business Owners terrified about what happens next, to hear from parents home with their kids not knowing if they go back and how tofigure out , house zoom works, to figure out how site works and figure out how technology works, to teach their kids at home. Throughout this process i have adopted a threepronged approach to what we must doas a country. To get through the crisis at hand. We have to address the Immediate Health epidemic area what we are doing to as the experts say flatten the curve to stop the spread provides the resources to test the protective equipment that we needed to our state to make sure they can fight this invisible virus. What we can be doing to give them the tools, the skill they need for the heroic efforts of our frontline healthcare providers, the doctors, nurses, janitors, the classified workers, all the people who have been so heroic to provide healthcare to our people, thats phase 1, making sure we stop this ha epidemic and address the needs of the American People. As throng two of this threepronged approach is about making sure we provide individuals with immediate assistance, people who are terrified about what happens to their jobs, how theyre going to make ends meet, how theyre going to put food on the table, pay their rent, n pay their mortgage. Will they have a restaurant to go back to . Thats strong two of this approach. Businesses of and running, to make sure when this Health Epidemic is over , this Health Emergency is over, we can make sure we have an economy that snaps back and runs strong and we will do that because we will rise together area that we will do it united. We will do it because we in this country know how to overcome great challenges. But were taking these measures to quarantine and self isolate not because we are fearful of the virus, not because we are afraid of what will happen if we dont but doing it out of love for each other, love for our neighbors and community and our grandparents and our children. We take the guidance of the Health Experts and Public Policy experts seriously because we want to share that love with people , to stop the spread. So that we can avoid the surge that could overwhelm our Healthcare Systems because we know under thebest Case Scenarios , best Case Scenarios, were looking at a situation that could utilize 95 percent of every hospital bed in this country. For the next year. We do this out of love for each other and for our community and to protect one another. In colorado right now we have roughly 1000 confirmed covid19 patients. Weve lost 12, perhaps moreby the time i am giving the speech in colorado. These lives , those who tested positive, their loved ones are all in my prayers today. The governor for colorado issuing emergency declarations, i spoke with the governor to talk about how we can providethe resources that colorado needs. Over 2 million peopleacross the denver metro area are now in some kind of a shelter in place order , ordered to stay at home. Our nation is uneasy. Our future is uncertain. And the level of anxiety that our country faces is the highest ive ever seen. But we dont need to have an uneasiness about our future because we will rise together. We will come together as a snation to overcome this. We know ourfuture , the future of this nation will be prosperous again. And our economy will be thriving again. G that our communities will be able to celebrate what we have overcome because thats what we do in this great nation. We rise. We rise together. We stand together. Coloradans have stepped up in every way possible and in that uniquely colorado way we have had businesses producing cotton swabs, whiskey distilleries that are producing hand sanitizers for hospitals, for home healthcare. We have protective equipment thats being donated by the Denver Broncos and bite Marijuana Industry and by so many other businesses across the state of colorado who are stepping up in ways that make all of us proud. Theyre checking on their neighbors, checking on their friends, making sure that elderly people in their church theyve met are okay. Making sure that we check in with our loved ones and those around us. Weve been able to get the successful tests up and running in different places across colorado, helping different organizations and Healthcare Facilities find new ways to process this se overwhelming burden. And oas this place as phase i that gave millions of dollars to colorado, as we passed phase ii with prepared additional testing and nutrition programs and other ways to meet this challenge, we now turn to phase 3. Phase 3 addresses all three prongs of my approach. It addresses the Health Emergency. It addresses assistance to individuals and the ability of our economy and businesses to snap back when we address this Health Emergency. It needs to pass now, it should have passed days ago. I dont think the American People give a hoot whether this idea was a republican idea or a democratidea. I can tell you in my conversations ive had with American People around colorado they havent once said to me we hope the republican only version passes or the democrat only version passes. Thats not what theyre saying. Theyresaying do your dog on job because we are scared about what happens next. We passed the release we need to get them back on their feet to make sure they know theyre going to have food on the table, to pay rent. I cant imagine what somebody who built for 50 years as a Small Business must be going through every hour we delay wondering if that fiftyyear dream is going to stand and survive. Shame on the people around here who said lets have one more day of delay, one more hour of delay. Because a republican could get theirway or a democrat could get their way. When i was at home not once did i hear anybody say could you stall a little bitmore for partisan purposes . The American People are rising above the fray. They are meeting this challenge in the spirit that eyi hear in every conversation i have read they are donating blood. They are sharing that love i talked about withtheir neighbors , their community. Theyre figuring out ways to be together even when we are supposed to stand apart. Thats what the American People are doing and we are bickering aboutphase 3 and we will have phase 4 and phase 5 but you know what weve done . Wevemanaged to get back i hope to the starting line. We didnt run through the tape. We havent finished the job. Weve made it i hope to a place where we can nowknow we are back at the line and we can run together. To fix what will be tremendous needs and address tremendous needs of this country. To answer the anxiety that every single one of our constituents have. Thats what congress should do. Thats what Congress Must do and i am glad and ill be proud to vote for this bill today. Because we have to get this job done and theres more work to do. We have to make sure that people understand that the recovery and the benefits they are going to be receiving willhelp answer that anxiety , to hopefully give them hope. That the new categories of Unemployment Insurance that have been created under this will give them the ability to know its going to be okay. To know that the Small Business loans that are being made available will help that restaurant stay in business. I talked to eve in auroraand she didnt know how she was going to survive because she converted her business to take out but didnt know how successful that would be. To roberta in pueblo who had the same questions about how the restaurant was going to survive , this Small Business loan will help people pay payroll to bring those people back onto payroll that they may have let go because they didnt know how they were ga going to make ends meet, to pay their mortgages and to have that loan forgiven , to keep this economy in a place where it will be vibrant again. Because thats what we do in this country. We dont look back, we look forward and in colorado we look up to that great rocky stmountains horizon and dont look down, look up and see the next horizon and we strive for that optimistic next day. Thats what we do in colorado and i know this country does the same. You know, i talked to a 70yearold colorado and in on a Teletown Hall you could hear it in her voice. She didnt know what shewas supposed to do. The cause she was old, older than the experts say should be out and not following guidances. But she said i cant find the disinfectants and cleaners that i need. How do i find that . We were able to find her relief and the Grocery Stores have stepped up and provided special hours for people and their delivering to people like the woman that i spoke to. Theyre providing information to their communities and theyve got clerks. Theyve got cashiers. Theyve got people stocking the shelves on the front lines of this fight keeping our Community Safe so to all of them, thank you for the work they are doing each and every day. Its important to recognize in this country that weve seen greatchallenges. I remember my grandmother who passed away this past year talking about her experiences in the great depression. This country has been through the great depression. Weve been through the great recession. We will make it through the great infection. Thats what we do as a country. Thats who we are as a people. The senate will approve this bill today and the house must approve it without delay no excuses , no delay. Ask the doggone bill now. It shouldnt have taken this long. Do your job. Do our job. Get this done. Wewe will act out of love for our communities. We will act out of compassion. And we will rise to the spirit that has made this country great. Ive heard so many of my colleagues come together and talk about wartime footing or they talked about how weve mobilized in a way that maybe the people havenever seen in their lifetime. It reminded me of what thomas paine wrote in the crisis during our revolution. Which actually George Washington read to his troops. And here is what thomaspaine said. I call not up on a few but upon all u. Not on this state or that ry state but on every state. Come up and help us. Lay your shoulders to the wheel better to have too much force than too little when so great an object is at stake. Let it be told to the future world that in the depths of winter when nothing but hope and virtues could survive that the city and country alarmed at one common danger came forth to meet and repulse it. We were taught in sunday school that our struggles lead to perseverance. That perseverance leads to character. And that character gives us hope. We will get through this, america. We will start with this bill but weve got a lot more work to do. But to my colleagues, do our jobs. Get it done. No excuses. Mister president , let me be very honest telling you that there is much in this bill that we have not yet seen in the print out yet that i am concerned about. I am especially concerned that the administration will be able to expand 500 billion in virtually any way they want