Reflections on the life and legacy of john lewis here on the floor, in the story of america, john was one of those special heroes whose moral clarity shone out like a beacon for others to follow, a north star who inspired his fellow americans to join him in the glorious work of perfecting our union. Today as we honor his extraordinary life in the capitol, many of us, his friends, his colleagues, are filled with a deep sense of loss. But i want to share a short message of hope. It seems easy to forget that john lewis was just a teenager when he started the work of redeemi redeeming. Its easy to forget that john lewis was just a teenager when he started the work of redeeming the soul of america, as he put it. He was 18 years old when he first met dr. King. 21 when he was arrested as a freedom fighter, 25 when he was beaten bloody on a sunday in selma. The civil rights the fight for civil rights has always been driven by the righteous indignation of our young people and our time is no different. Once again, young people across the country are rising in a Mighty Movement for justice and equality supported by the vast majority of americans. The memory and legacy of john lewis life lives on in each and every one of them. And that fills me with hope. Now on a very different subject. Over the past several months Senate Democrats have been appalled that republican colleagues refused to work with us in any significant way to help defeat covid19 or provide relief to americans during these unprecedented times. We do not understand how, faced with the greatest economic threat in 75 years, in the greatest Public Health threat in a century, the Senate Republican majority was content to do almost nothing for three long months as more people died, more were thrown out of work, more Small Businesses went under. Last week, finally, our republican colleagues said they were coming out with a plan. But even after all the delay, even after leader mcconnell put the senate on pause for three months, Senate Republicans in the white house were so unprepared and so divided they couldnt even agree on a proposal among themselves. 10 weeks, 10 weeks after democrats passed the comprehensive bill through the house, Senate Republicans couldnt even agree on what to throw on the wall. Last week was a slow motion train wreck on the republican side. It couldnt have come at a worst time and will cause immense and potentially irrevocable damage to our country. Evictions expired last week when 10 million americans lived in households that missed the rent last month. Enhanced Unemployment Benefits for 30 million out of work expire this week without a proper solution. No matter what we do, states will not be able to quickly restart any unenhanced Unemployment Benefits because Senate Republicans dithered for what seems like eternity. Were on the precipice of several cliffs, destructive cliffs for one reason and one reason only, the white house and Senate Republicans capitol get their act together and wasted precious time. These issues could have been solved months ago, the lack of urgency and understanding and empathy for people who need help from Senate Republicans have led us to a very precarious moment. Today, it seems, we may finally see the republican proposal on the next phase of covid relief. Who knows if well see legislative texts or just an outline. It also appears the republican proposal will not be an actual coherent bill, but rather, a series of small, piecemeal ideas. Thats a metaphor for their first 100 days. Lack of unity. They cant even put one bill together they are so divided. So a few senators put in this one, a few senators put in that one, a few senators put in another one. Not only do we not know if the president supports any of these proposals, we dont even know if Senate Republicans fully support them. Yesterday the republican chairman. Judiciary Committee Said half of the Republican Caucus will vote no on any additional stimulus. The greatest crisis america has faced in close to a century on health, 75 years on economy, and our republican colleagues cant even agree among themselves about what to do, and have put out a few piecemeal pieces that dont come close to doing the job. Weve waited months, months for the republican covid relief bill and it turns out we wont even get a bill and republicans probably wont support it. Worst still, based on reports on leader mcconnells bill just now, the response to covid19 is totally inadequate. It wont include Food Assistance for hungry kids, kids whose parents cant feed them. They say no relief. How hardhearted, how cruel. Is it that those wealthy right wing people who dont want to pay any taxes should say kids shouldnt eat . The private sector aint doing it, you need the government. Hazard pay for essential workers, risking their lives for us. What about funding for state and local or tribal governments. Their in the tank, were approaching a new month. Many, many, many he thinks is workers will be laid off. Bus drivers, sanitation workers, and firefighters. The republican proposal would ignore not one or two or three, but scores of major crises in america right now. In addition, based on what the leader has said, the republican proposal wont go nearly far enough even in the pieces they try to do something with, the small number, the disparate number, the unaggregated number since each piece seem to be separate since they cant get agreement among themselves. When it comes to our schools, the republican proposal does not provide enough resources for them to reopen safely. Major league baseball, with vastly more resources than the average School District has taken pains to restart its season safely and yet we learn today 13 players and staff on one team alone have contracted the coronavirus. How can republicans ask our schools to protect the safety of our children without the necessary resources or guidance when multibillion Dollar Industries like baseball are having trouble doing it and are they just afraid of President Trump who wants the schools to open without any help . For his own whatever is in his own head which isnt about the safety of america. But the plan is totally inadequate. It appears that Senate Republicans have finally come around to the fact that the democratic position on extending the moratorium on evictio evictions, or maybe just the moratorium on foreclosures. Well see whats in the proposal. Theyve come around to that, but they dont support helping americans actually afford the rent or their next mortgage payment. That makes no sense. We can prevent landlord or banks from kicking americans out of their homes for another six months, but what then . Those same americans may be six months behind on their rent or mortgage. They will have no hope of making up the difference. And what will the landlords do . At all landlords are big companies. Some of them like in my neighborhood are landlords of a two and three family house. If no one can pay the rent, that hurts them, too. How are they going to pay for heat or electricity . It is essential that we do whats in the democratic heroes october and provide money to pay the rent or the mortgages for those thrown out of work through nofault of their own, with no income. The heroes act provides 100 billion to help renters pay the rent. 75 for home owners to pay the mortgage. Heroes act would prevent another housing crisis in america. The republican proposal, assuming they even address housing issues, would only delay a catastrophe a few months. The and the greatest deficiency in the proposal may be the plan for unemployment insurance. According to reports, the white house and senate want to extend the hands down benefits the democrats secured in the cares act, but only provide a percentage of a workers former wage. There are four reasons this is a terrible policy. First, it would hurt the unemployed. If youve lost your job through nofault on your own, republicans say take a 30 tax cut. Sorry. If youve lost your job through nofault of your own, republicans want you to take a 30 pay cut. Can you believe that . Youve lost your job, you cant get to work, the administration bungled this crisis, and now they want to taked 1600 out of your pocket every single month. Blaming the victim. Blaming the victim. Maybe again for some of those republicans, hard right money people dont want to pay taxes to help anybody. Dont want the federal government to help anybody. Let me tell you, you cant do this without the federal government and the federal Government Resources and the private sector cant take care of this on their own. Thats one reason. Second it would exacerbate poverty. A recent study showed the enhanced benefits have prevented 12 million americans from slipping into poverty. Its probably been the greatest Antipoverty Program that weve had in a very, very long time. Why on earth would we slash and burn benefits, keeping American Families out of poverty . Third, it would devastate our economy. One of the few things that has this economy not getting worse is that people have money in their pockets to buy goods. Consumer spending is going up. You know why, my republican friends . Large part because of the generous benefits in the pandemic unemployment insurance. Mark zand, the other great economist said just that, just that. Consumers consumer purchases are helping the economy from getting worse. Theres money in the pockets of consumers to help them pay the bills and shop in stores and more. What do our republican friend want to do . Cut the benefits to americans who are spending the money as soon as they get it. Taking one of the few policies stimulating the economy off the table. Thats why an analysis from a respected place, moodys, hardly a. It would cost over a million more jobs this year. And fourth and finally, the idealogues come up with a plan and it done work. Its going to be impossible to implement. Republicans at the last minute while they waited and waited and waited, three weeks ago Speaker Pelosi and i wrote to leader mcconnell and said sit down and talk to us now. We heard nothing. They waited and waited until theyre up to the cliff with an entirely new system where states would have to calculate a different benefit for each individual worker. The implementation will be a nightmare. Let me read you, my office called state unemployment offices about this proposal. On the west side, it would take months, we dont have a way of calculating the wages of individuals. Were not equipped to do anything, but flat amount. Need a serious transition period, even changing the dollar amount would take two to four weeks, two to four weeks where people have no money. Another southeastern state, medium sized again, very difficult. This state said. We need public statements from the feds that people wont be able to get benefit for many weeks or months. Need to be realistic so our office arent overwhelmedment. Even if you get 600, you need to reapply. And government offices or unemployment offices, even clean extensions of fpu. Thats pandemic insurance, we would not have to reapply for clean 600, but weeks to do retroactive payments. Three states, a very big state in the west, a big state in the midwest, and a smaller state in the west. It would take many months, this would cause chaos with our constituents. A great plains state, two months minimum to implement. Big state in the for the east, smaller state in the west, eight weeks or more to implement. Small state in the west, we have turned off the 600. Any claims not decided prior to that date will have benefit of this if eligible. Any filed yesterday forward would not. Another option, another flat amount is best. Large state in the east. Extension of 600 could be seamless. Lower flat will take time, percentage of wages, impossib impossible. Chaos, chaos. You change the unemployment benefit, its going to take weeks if not months for most people to get it, the economy crashes, people are hurt. They get kicked out of their homes, they cant see their kids. What are you doing . The republican proposal on Unemployment Benefits simply put is unworkable. It will delay benefits to are weeks if not months, as we slide into a greater degree of recession. And by the way, the idea that we need to drastically reduce these benefits because workers will stay home otherwise is greatly exaggerated. Most americans are not going to quit their jobs, forego benefits and a steady salary in order to receive temporary Unemployment Benefits. Thats what leading economists say. These benefits are a lifeline to tens of millions who want to work, are ready to work, cant find work because there arent jobs for them. The vast majority of people dont have jobs to go to. Lets face it, folks, our country is in the middle of multiple crises. Tens of millions of americans are jobless. American families are struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. Nearly 150,000 americans have died, a stunning and heartbreaking loss of life and in response, Senate Republicans have presented us with a halfhearted, half baked legislative proposal. In short, the republican plan is too little too late. The republican plan is weak tea when our problems need a much stronger brew. And incidentally, i heard leader mcconnells alice in wonderland interpretation of what happened in the last three months. The first bill he says was the way we should go. Well, lets remember what happened. Republicans put their own bill on the floor, democrats said no, and then finally, you folks came to the table, negotiated with us, and the bill is far more a democratic bill than a republican bill, now that and we know that. On the other hand, the other alternative, which the leader referred to as the justice in policing, that was totally partisan. Sometimes im amazed at the words the republican leader can use. He says he wants to be nonpartisan and our bill is a socialist manifesto. Which one is it . Which one is it . Here is what we should do. Republicans should scrap their approa approach. We dont even know how much are for what pieces. They should use the heroes act, comprehensive, strong and bold, for negotiations. And Start Talking with democrats in a serious way about the real problems our country is facing again. This is a serious, serious crisis, Biggest Health crisis in a hundred years. Biggest economic crisis in 75. The republican mantra, let the private sector do it, is just not going to work. Weve got to understand, that times are different. The crisis is real. We need an active bold series of government programs, not keep cutting and cutting and eliminating and eliminating, to solve our Health Problem and to get the economy out of the morras. We democrats have been waiting to negotiate with our republican colleagues for more than two months. Im bitterly disappointed and frustrated by the delay and the inadequacy of the product. We need bipartisan bicameral negotiations to meet the needs of the american people. Speaker pelosi called on leader mcconnell and others to join me in the Speakers Office half an hour after the republican plan released, republicans in the house and senate must join us. The Senate Republican ran down the clock and tossed an air ball. Yield the floor. The u. S. Senate is about to gavel in to begin legislative work for the day. Senators will be considering two nominees for a