Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is chair of the House Democratic caucus. He was joined by congresswoman Katherine Clark at a briefing early. The talked about the weeks legislate agenda and call for additional coronavirus aid. Good morning, everyone. We had a very emotional caucus call today, dedicated largely to remembrances and reflections on the life and legacy of john robert lewis, our dearly departed colleague and american hero, civil rights icon, friend to everyone, friend to truth and justice here in america and throughout the world. We had two special presentations. Professor meachum as well as don porter. Professor meachum of course is working on a biography of the life journey of john lewis, and don porter is documentarian produce the recently released documentary, john lewis, good trouble. Keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize and continue the countrys long, necessary and majestic march toward a more perfect union. That is what we will continue to do as House Democrats in his honor. This has been a very difficult year dealing with the dynamics of the covid19 pandemic, both the Public Health crisis and an economic crisis, addressing the continuing reality of systemic racism here in america and now, of course, the passing of the Legendary John lewis on the same day as reverend c. T. Vivian, anotherral wart hero of stalwart hero of the Civil Rights Movement passed away. So congressman lewis would have wanted us to continue our work with the fierce urgency of now. And that is what we will continue to do. Later on today, as you know, Speaker Pelosi as well as leader schumer will be meeting with secretary mnuchin as well as white house chief of staff mark meadows to discuss the intervention that is long past due as it relates to addressing the pain, suffering and death experienced by the American People as a result of the covid19 pandemic. House democrats acted in may because we understood then that the pandemic was not over, it was just getting started. Why has it taken so long for the white house and nat republicans to get and Senate Republicans to get serious . When we have a situation with where more than 140,000 americans have died, almost 4 million americans have been infected, over 50 million americans are unemployed, the economy is in a recession possibly heading toward a depression, and the senate for months, the white house for months has done nothing. Its time to act. Its time to act now. Its time to provide relief to the American People so we can decisively turn this coronavirus situation around. I now yield to the distinguished vice chair of the caucus, Katherine Clark. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And our caucus and if our nation and our nation mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, the icon, the peacemaker, the justiceseeker, john robert lewis. Personally, i can tell you i never really got used to working with john lewis. It was never ordinary to even have a casual hello. A hug. His typical greeting of, you know, hello, sister. Welcome, sister. How are you. Getting to walk back and forth to the capitol and even to plan a sitin. To be in his presence was always profound. John knew oppression. He knew racial violence. He had been beaten, clubbed, spat on, denigrated. He had experienced the worst forms of bigotry, and he had seen the very worst of people. Yet it only seemed to deepen his faith and steel his determination. He emerged the kindest man i have ever known. His compassion, his integrity was the hallmark of everything he did, big or small. I was very fortunate to be able to go on several pilgrimages with john to selma and walk the civil rights trail with him. To hear john lewis speak of the events of march 7, 1965, from the center of that Edmund Pettis bridge is a transformative one. And that bridge has a very unique structure. It is a steep rise and then it flattens in the muddle and then a in the middle and then a steep descent. And you realize standing with john, hearing him describe those events that it wasnt until 25yearold john lewis was in the middle of that bridge leading a column with Jose Williams of marchers 600 strong, it wasnt until they were committed to crossing that bridge that he could see the violence that lay ahead, the sea of state troopers, the angry mobs. And im sure you could feel the violence that was to come in the air. But john did not falter. He continued to march. And we know what happened. They were gassed, they were trampled, they were beaten. But they remerged stronger reemerged stronger and marched again and made it to montgomery e and made the Civil Rights Act the law of the land. And this is very similar to where we are as a country now. We are in the middle of the bridge, and we can see whats ahead of us. We can see people who want to divide this country, who want to use the power of bigotry, who want to incite violence, who want to take away opportunity and want to destroy an includes i economy inclusive economy. And so were at a crossroads. And this pandemic has brought so many of the structural and racial inequities to light. So we have to honor the work of john lewis by doing the work of justice. We must honor him by restoring the Voting Rights act. We must honor him by signing the justice in policing act. We must honor him by voting this week on the no ban act. We must confront persistent racism in our health care, in our economy and in our criminal justice system. We must continue this work, and there is so much to be done. John lewis has passed us the torch, and we must march together and let his light, his unique and wonderful life be our guide post as we go forward. Questions . A question, if i may, on john lewis. Obviously, with the pandemic Funeral Services might be a little different, but is there any talk about [inaudible] doing that in a way that would be socially distanced . And second, on a different topic e, on appropriations, there was a next package of bills released yesterday, and it doesnt include [inaudible] before the fiscal year. I will defer to our resident appropriator on the leadership team, katherine, on the second question and also give her the opportunity to weigh in on the first question. Speaker pelosi has been in regular communication with the family of congressman lewis, and they have clearly indicated that no arrangements should be made and and or announced until the reverend c. T. Vivian a close friend of congressman lewis and one of the pioneers of the Civil Rights Movement and the sitins, one of the architects of the moral strategy of nonviolence until he is funerallized on thursday. Thereafter its my expectation that the family will make the announcement as to a funeral and or Memorial Services or other types of ways in which we, even in the midst of a pandemic, will make sure we honor the tremendous contributions of congressman lewis. [inaudible conversations] out of respect for the family, im not going to weigh in on what should or shouldnt take place. Those discussions are occurring. The family will guide us, as they always do, as to the appropriate way in which congressman lewis life and legacy should be honored. Thank you. And its my understanding that we will be taking up the leg Branch Appropriations bill. It is one that, as a member of that subcommittee, that i am very proud of. Not only does it take care of the agencies within its jurisdiction, but it makes a clear statement that the symbols of treason and of hatred that are in the capitol no longer have a place here. It is bringing a new level of accountability and transparency to our Capitol Police and the work that they do. It is making sure that we have paid internships so that the opportunities open here in our capitol and the work that we do are open to all. So there are many wonderful things about this bill, and we we look forward to passing out in the house. Passing it in the house. Sir, can you talk about your expectations with the coronavirus negotiations starting off now. Will democrats be looking [inaudible] in the negotiations . Are you willing to compromise on some of the aspects of out, particularly [inaudible] benefits technically expiring in 49 states in just a few days. Overall, democrats are always looking for common ground. We have passed four different bipartisan bulls to date. The heroes excuse me, the heroes act should be the foundation of congress fifth intervention at this moment. There are several important aspects of the heroes act. First and foremost, we provide approximately 875 billion in assistance for state and local stabilization. States across america have been hit incredibly hard. Their budgets have been decimated. And if congress does not step in to provide assistance, then a bad situation in many of these states will continue to get worse. Because those budget cuts will result in cuts in Public Health, public safety, public education, Public Transportation and a wide varian few of public variety of public goods that will add additional pain to the American People in the context of a pandemic. It seems to me that it would be cruelhearted and callous to cut off the extended and expanded Unemployment Benefits that are scheduled to expure expire right now on july 31st. The heroes act extends those expanded Unemployment Benefits into next year. That is appropriate because the pandemic is not over. And in many parts of the country, its just getting started. And how clueless do you have to be to suggest that when more than 50 million americans have been unemployed and displaced as a result of the pandemic and the mismanagement of it by this administration, that we should walk away from providing Everyday Americans with the assistance that they need to make it through this storm. If congress does go over that cliff, who ises that a failure of . Who is that a failure of . It would be a failure of leadership in the senate and in the white house. The house acted. Two months ago. To extend the Expiration Date as a result of our desire to continue to intervene on behalf of the American People because the facts, the science and the evidence suggested that we needed to do so. [inaudible] payroll tax cut should be part of this. Is there anything democrats [inaudible] in order to include that . Or are you open to that this. Im going to yield to katherine. The payroll tax issue has never been a part of our discussions here on the House Democratic caucus side. It is not in the heroes act because theres no evidence that its an appropriate intervention. If you cut the payroll tax, who actually are you helping in terms of the broader context of tens of millions of americans being unemployed who arent going to pay the payroll tax because they are unemployed . It doesnt even appear that Senate Republicans support the idea of including the payroll tax. It seems to me more of a president ial gimmick in an Election Year as opposed to a legitimate public policybased intervention on behalf of the American People. Let me yield to katherine. The payroll tax proposal by the white house another incredibly frustrating and dangerous focus of this white house when what they need to be doing following the science. Where is the National Plan for testing and tracing . Where is the National Call for a plan to safely reopen schools . That is something we have not heard from this president. That is not something weve heard from our secretary of education. Yet it is critically important not only to families, but to the future of our children. And to make sure that our teachers and staff are safe. Why is the president talking about a payroll tax instead of talking about childcare . If we do not bail out childcare, we have the potential to lose 40 of all providers. That is a staggering economic effect for the 23 million families who depend on it and for the work force and our employers who need those moms and dads to come back to work safely. But if we dont follow the science, if we dont have testing and tracing and policies around social distancing, if we are not funding ppe and making sure that we are producing the lifesaving equipment that we need, we are not going to have a healthy economy because it is totally dependent on having healthy americans. So this focus of this president is just another example of his dangerous leadership, his preoccupation with his own poll numbers, with how wall street is doing, with his own wealth and fortune. And ignoring the tragedy that is unfolding for the American People. Two questions, if i may. One, the heroes act was passed two months ago plus, and as you mentioned, the conditions have worsened in a lot of places around the country. So it seems highly unlikely that the allotments that were proposed and passed at the time are still relevant, are still appropriate. With that in mind, do you see any places within that bill where you would need more at this point . Maybe some places where you would need less as these negotiations go forward . You need more than 3 trillion that was in the heroes act. And, two, we understand that Speaker Pelosi city on that call just said she would like to have this thing wrapped up and through the house by the end of next week. Is that the expectation . Is that realistic . The speaker has publicly made clear, and i believe this is the per spect i weve of the entire House Democratic caucus that we need to address this issue with the fierce urgency of now which, based off the legislative calendar, means finishing it by july 31st. The American People need a meaningful and assistance formative intervention and transformative intervention so we can turn this around. Our position is our position. Its in the public domain. It is the heroes act. Initially, senator mcconnell and the white house took the position that nothing needed to happen, and the states should dechair bankruptcy. That was a morally declare bankruptcy. That was a morally bankrupt position that senator Mitch Mcconnell articulated. Hes now moved away from that. And initially they said, well, maybe we should do a trillion dollars. Crisis hasnt gotten better, its gotten worse. Apparently now theyre saying, well, maybe we need to do at least 2 trillion. Theyre moving closer to our position. Which is our position. What is in the heroes act as it relates to unemployment insurance, another round of direct stimulus payments, childcare assistance, assistance for renters and homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages and their rent as well as robust assistance for states and localities is central to being able to turn this around in addition to additional funding for testing, tracing and treatment and eventually being able to have the Infrastructure Ready to universally administer rack administer a vaccine. I just want to add to that, to go back to childcare as the chairman mentioned, that is an example of how we have the heroes act, we passed it over two months ago. The need now is greater than it was, and we are going to continue to meet that need for american families. Thats why next week were bringing up two bills around childcare assistance, because we need 50 billion just to stabilize childcare and make sure we dont lose almost half of all providers. Can and that capacity to serve children and families. We also are going to be passing a bill that includes a Grant Program that i proposed, a 0 10 billion Grant Program that will help the providers meet the demands they have. A provider in my District Needs to build a vestibule on a Family Childcare home so she can safely check temperatures and assess Childrens Health before bringing them into her home with our own family and the other children he provides care and Early Education for. Whether its buying equipment that can sanitize toys or putting up modular walls, we need to have that kind of investment to we can safely provide the care that we need. And third, we need to make this affordable to families. And thats why there are tax credits within those bills, to try and help make a childcare what it is and to show by investment that we understand that this is essential infrastructure and that we are not going to have an economic recovery unless we make the long overdue investments. And that includes looking at wages. 96 of childcare providers are women, 40 of them are women of color. And they are chronically underpaid. So part of this is also an Economic Justice issue. And that is how the house caucus is approaching this pandemic. The heroes act stands on its own, and we need it now more than we did even two months ago as we see our numbers, as the chairman outlined, reach record heights in this pandemic. But we also have to keep being flexible and meeting the needs of American People as they develop. And thats what were committed to doing. Those are crucial needs and they are related to the coronavirus emergency, then why not fight for them in something that is actually going to to pass like the next round of relief . If the house passes a standalone childcare bill, the senates not going to take them up. Negotiations are ongoing right now, and its my understanding as they escalate later on this afternoon that everything that should be on the table will be on the table. But the framework for reaching an agreement is the heroes act. The coronavirus a onceinacentury pandemic that requires a onceinacentury meaningful congressional intervention. That is what we did when we passed the heroes act. That is the type of agreement that we need to come to at this moment. Haas question . Haas question. Last question. Looking at new york city and c. B. 12 and 15 in monroe e county, lots of problems there. Are you at all concerned a bad sign for the fall . Theres reason to be concerned given the dynamics of protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of the American People on the one hand while making sure that everyone can carry out their constitutional right to vote on the other in the context of a pandemic. There are a lot of challenges with the elections that took place most recently in new york, in georgia and in other parts of the country. That is why in the cares act house the democrats fought hard for 400 million in Election Security grants so that we could help states and localities administer their elections in a manner that allows for voting from home, early voting and adequate poll sites given the need to socially distance. We have included in the heroes act an additional 3. 6 billion so we can complete the job anden insure in america no one has to choose between their health, safety e and wellbeing on the one hand and their constitutional right to vote on the other. Thank you, everyone. The nats in recess for party lunches. When they return at 2 15 eastern time, theyll continue work on the 2021 Defense Authorization bill. Follow live Senate Coverage here on cspan2. Booktv on cspan2 has top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. Coming up this weekend, sunday at 4 30 p. M. Eastern Princeton University professor eddie glon on race in america. Hes joined in conversation with author, activist and harvard University Professor cornel west expecter at 9 p. M. Eastern on after words, Washington State democratic congresswoman jayapal with her book, use the guide you have. Shes interviewed by connecticut democratic congressman jim himes. Watch booktv on cspan2 this weekend. U. S. Attorney general william barr appears before the house judiciary committees general oversight hearing on the Justice Department on tuesday, july 28th. Watch live coverage on cspan. Watch anytime on cspan. Org or listen on the go with the cspan radio app. Senate majority leader Mitch Mcconnell said today republicans plan to offer another stimulus aid package which will include payments to american. He spoke on the senate floor for about 10 minut