Lost. My home state of new york has been hit the hardest. The loss of so many precious lives and the suffering of so many families unable to comforts or even say goodbye to a loved one has been extremely painful,t enough to break your heart. At the same time while we are grieving we are also inspired by the bravery of our doctors and nurses and healthcare workers, First Responders and other daily heroes and many of them are immigrants on the front lines of this crisis. To them we owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude and enormous thank you that i hear out the windows of my compartment and many in new york at 7 00 p. M. When we applaud them as they change shifts every night. Its an act that brings isolated new yorkers together. But more than that this congress, the senate, must deliver the people of our country relief and we have come together on several occasions to pass historic legislation in this time of crisis and they passed 96nothing which shows this body can come together in a time of crisis which should give americans some hope and solace. But let me be very clear. Atour work is far from over. The republican leader has called the senates back into session despite the fact that the District Of Columbia appears to be reaching the peak phase of this Public Health emergency, despite the risks we face by gathering here in the capital, despite the risks faced by security guards, cafeteria workers, janitors and the staff who operate the floor of the senate. I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you and all of those capitol hill workers for being here today and for doing their jobs so that we can do ours. But mr. President , if we are going to be here if we are going to make these fine people come into work in these conditions let the senate at least conduct the nations business focus like a laser on covid19. At the moment, the republican leader has scheduled no significant covid related business to the floor of the senate. Tonight we will vote on a nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory commission and later this week the republican majority on the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing for a manifestly unqualified totally divisive rightwing judicial nominee and when the topic of covid related legislation has come up leader mcconnell has simply drawn partisan lines in the sand and first he suggested to states and localities should go bankrupt and let them go bankrupt. He has since realized his mistake and walked that back. But then only a few days later the leader blocked the leader vowed to block any bill that does not include legal immunity for big corporations that operate on safely and put workers in harms way. The republican leader said his redline in a future relief package is not a National Testing program and is not more help for Small Businesses or Housing Assistance for families and it is not rescuing our healthcare system, leader mcconnell wont support new legislation to fight this evil disease unless it gives big corporations legal immunity. Judicial nominees, legal immunity for big corporations and in all due respect, republican leader, these are not the nations most urgent priorities right now. There are much more pressing issues that deserve not only the senates focus and attention but should be the e subject of bipartisan negotiations for the next emergency relief package, known as covid four. Here are just a few. Our Health System is under enormous strain and we need more money to float to hospitals, Community Health centers, nursing homessi. Essential workers, many on low wages work longer shifts at great personal risks and they deserve hazard pay. Each first of the month brings a new rent to families suffering Financial Hardship and relief for renters and homeowners must be on the agenda. State and local governments are stretched to the breaking point. Imperiling the jobs of teachers and firefighters, Police Officers and food inspectors and other public employees, state, local and tribal governments deserve federal support. And so as we begin to contemplate to a return to normal Economic Activity down the road one thing is certain we are not testing nearly enough americans, not nearly enough to know when the moment is safely reopened our country and we have arrived. Despite the length of the crisis now measured in months the administration has yet to develop an adequate National Strategy on testing. These are urgent issues we should focus on and these are problems the American People want to come together, democrat and republican to solve and these are the topics, not red lines in the sand on ideological wish lists that we should be debating and negotiating for a future bill read the republican leader himself acknowledged there is not enough testing on the front the front lines but as reconvened the senate to do nothing to address the problem. As we returned to work under the cloud of crisis Senate Republicans should concentrate recovering from covid19, not confirming rightwing judges or protecting big businesses that threaten to put workers at serious risks. The administration has done a poor job of implementing part of the cares act and the most recent supplemental emergency legislation. Democrats have urged our republican colleagues to at a minimum hold hearings on the implementation of covid related legislation passed by congress. Its a positive step that Senate Republicans should not beginning follow our request and considering scheduling oversight hearings in the coming weeks with Team White HouseCoronavirus Task force officials but these hearings are important and congress can make laws that only the executive can come but the timehonored responsibly of congress, given to us by the founding fathers, is oversight and to make sure that the executive is executing the laws so we need to hear from dr. Fauci and dr. Birx, secretary mnuchin, secretary chairman powell and we need to know why so many Small Businesses are having trouble getting loans while larger and well more connected businesses are not. We need to know why Unemployment Insurance checks are failing to get to workers and maybe above all we need to know are we still dont have enough tests. Months ago in early march is what President Trump said, quote, anyone who needs a test gets a test. It was a lie then and it remains a lie now. Administration officials promised 27 million test kits would be available by the end of march and it is now may and it still has not happened. The president has continued to pressure states and businesses to reopen and he refuses to take responsibility before the one thing that would allow them to do it safely, testing, the white house knows or you know how the white house knows its safe to hold a press conference they test all reporters before allowing them into the Briefing Room . What does light has to b put foh the present a meeting with Business Leaders . They take everyones temperature and administer a coronavirus test. Why on earth is there not a plan for the rest of the country, the whole country . Not just the country in the white house and many experts, most experts say we need far more test then we have for it if had been on the same track in that country uses nationwide testing to stop their outbreaks like canada would be testing to Million People a day right now and already tens of millions would be tested and some experts say we should increase capacity to 30 million tests a week later this year and others are calling on it for be even higher but right now we are testing only 230,000 people a day. A drop in the ocean compared to what is needed. We need Testing Capacity now but we will also need it later. Geme believe that covid19 will Research Later in the year, perhaps with a vengeance and there were reports today that the cdc has projected a growing number of deaths from coronavirus into the summer and yet we still dont have adequate testing or even an indicationtr that they are focused on the problem. If, god forbid, this virus comes back in the summer or the fall the best way to deal with it is testing, short of a vaccine which we wont have by then. Testing, we dont have it. The lack of a National Testing strategy, the painfully slow buildup of Testing Capacity and the gross exaggerations of success by the administration has gone on for too long. This administrationin needs to take on responsibility for a National Testing regime and deliver on it immediately. It is in the eyes of most experts the best way to deal with the Current Crisis and certainly the best way to prevent a future crisis from growing out of control. So, mr. President , there can be no doubt that this will be one of the strangest sessions of the United States senate in modern history. Our offices will. Be empty, caffs working from home. Senate democrats will not hold regular Office Meetings in person and will do them by teleconference. Anyone who comes into the well of the senate to speak will wipe down the microphone and desk with disinfectant and refrain from the usual practice of handing our speeches over to the senatete recorders. We will wear masks in the hallways of this capital and on our way home and we will vote in small groups and not do what comes so naturally to every public official, shake hands. The American People are watching us right now and they expect us to do our jobs but they expect us to come together to address the issues that really matter and we cannot, cannot and must not merely go back to business as usual here in the senate. It is not business as usual out in our country. Leader mcconnell must hear this. Right now leaderit mcconnell and the republican majority should show the divisive judicial in the partisan divisive redlines. Lets focus on working together and to heal the sick and employ the unemployed, stabilize the economy and make sure that the administration properly execute the laws we pass so thate