Mr. Portman mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from ohio. The presiding officer mr. President , im here on mr. Portman im here to talk about the steps congress should take with respect to the coronavirus pandemic. Im start with the legislation that majority leader senator Mitch Mcconnell introduced yesterday, one of the aspects of it that hasnt gotten much attention and i think is very positive and an effective way to get the economy moving in a safe way is some tax legislation. These are tax credits and Tax Deductions that help to encourage the hiring of new workers but also to do so in a safe way. These are the kinds of things that make a lot of sense and have a lot of bipartisan support and appeal. So i think it should be part of whatever final package we end up with. The goal of these tax incentives is to say that we want people to reenter the workforce but do it in a safe and sustainable way. For example, in the mcconnell proposal is legislation i introduced called the healthy workplace tax credit act. Its very simple. It says there will be a credit on the employer side of payroll taxes against qualified employee protection expenses and workplace reconfiguration expenses to ensure employers can afford additional safety measures. As im traveling the state of ohio, i see the plexiglass dividers. Youve probably seen those in offices where its a more open setting. You see in a lot of retail places. Theres a cost to that but also a cost to the personal protective gear, the masks and the gowns and the other the gloves and the other things that people are needing in order to have a safe workplace. Ive also seen as i have been at some of the factories around ohio that they had to reconfigure the factory space in order to provide more social distancing. At one plant i was at, a ford plant, they had expanded the lunch room in order to provide more social distancing at the lunch room and that, of course, meant that there was less space for manufacturing. These are costs and these are the ciens of kinds of things that could be part of this credit. So my hope is that, you know, whether its the thermometer check or whether its more testing or whether its p. P. E. Or whether its more hand sanitizer, that we could encourage people to use these things by having a tax credit. It would provide immediate stimulus to the economy as well which is a good thing because many businesses would be operating at a loss, not have taxable income but have payroll Tax Liability and this is a credit to the payroll tax. It also applies to nonprofits as it should and 501 c 3 s. I was at the drug and alcohol addiction entities in one of our counties the week before last and they had plexiglass up and frankly theyre hurting in terms of their budget right now but they felt like they had to have a safe place for people to work. We want everybody to have a safe place. We want people to go back to work and go back safely. I commend senator mcconnell for including that bill in the cares it. 5 2. 5 fan that was 2. 0 package that was released this week. It would build Consumer Confidence that all the appropriate measures are being taken. Its important to get consumers get in the mix and whether its people going back into a restaurant and feeling safe or getting back into a retail establishment, if people feel safe theyre more likely to go back and this economy can get going again. So i think its something that both sides of the aisle should be able to support and it will show were doing everything we can to get people back to a more normal life. Second, with the Unemployment Rate still at about 11 , we need to encourage hiring and employer retention as this virus continues to affect our economy. In the mcconnell proposal we have a way to create this incentive that builds on legislation weve already passed in the form of the work opportunity tax credit. This is an existing law that gives employers an incentive to hire individuals who might not otherwise be able to get a job. Categories now include as an example our veterans so if you are a veteran, have a tough time getting a job, you can go through the work opportunity tax credit. The employer can get a credit for hiring you initially. By the way, almost everyone i talked to they end hiring these people full time paying them full wages but they get a credit bringing them on. So it works. Another example is folks who have been out of prison, Second Chance individuals have a chance under the work opportunity tax credit to be able to get a job. We have proposed adding a new category which is qualified covid19 employees, those who are on unemployed insurance immediately prior to their hiring date. It increases the work opportunity tax credit amount for this new targeted group of individuals from 40 to the first 6,000 in wages to 50 for the first 10,000 in qualified wages. Again, it encourages us to help get people from Unemployment Insurance back to work. Lets say they work for a company thats not going back because of covid19. Lets say its a Movie Theater or Bowling Alley or maybe its a bar. Those individuals would qualify. Third, i support a proposal in this mcconnell draft that builds on whats called the Employee Retention tax credit. Thats already in law. We put it in law in the first cares act. The credit was a good start but it needs to be updated and expanded given the course of our economy since march and whats happened with the coronavirus. This credit applies to employers who have operations partially or fully suspended due to covid19 and any related Government Order saying that youve got to shut down. But chose to retain their affected employees. Its a credit that increases from the cares 1 from 50 to 65 for employee, from 10,000 under current law for the whole year and also helps businesses that have had a 25 decline in revenues, not a 50 decline in revenues. A group of companies that may not have qualified for a p. P. P. Credit or p. P. P. Loan, may not have gotten one but theyre having a tough time keeping their workers. This will encourage them to keep their workers and bring on new workers. Its the kind of support our Workforce Needs as companies reopen, helps to bring people off the employment rolls. Its a pull into the workforce and thats a good thing. These are commonsense proposals. Whats more, theyve been historically policies that have had bipartisan support. I worked with my friend senator ben car din on the other side cardin on the other side in expanding the work opportunity tax credit has always had bipartisan support. On the healthy workplace tax credit, senator sinema has a similar bill. Goes a little further but very similar. I see why we cant take what we see works and make it better in the new package. Again, these tax incentives are the kind of bipartisan consensus voters we ought to be looking at right now to get us to a new package and hopefully by the end of this week. We have tone sure, i think all of us agree, the safe reopening of our economy and these tax revisions do that. Mr. President , id like in a separate part of the record by unanimous consent to include this next discussion about china. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman another aspect of the covid19 legislation is a partial a part of the bill that focuses on how do we deal with bringing back our personal protective gear, production from overseas, particularly from china, and how to deal with the concern we have that some of the work were doing on therapies and cures by the way, theres substantial more resources, billions of dollars that go into this in this bill that other countries arent taking this research. So right now in labs all around america, some of the best and brightest minds are at work on therapies, cures, and vaccines for covid19. Its changed all our lives in the past few months and we stand to benefit from these medical breakthroughs. We want them to happen. So again congress has already appropriated billions of dollars and in the mcconnell proposal, there is billions more for this purpose. Thats appropriate. But as we work to find a cure, there are troubling reports emerging that china in particular is actively trying to take this research for themselves. As the f. B. I. And the cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency warned in may, there has been a pattern, and i quote, targeting and compromise of u. S. Organizations conducting covid19related research by china affiliated cyber actors and nontraditional collector, end quote. F. B. I. Director wray was even more pointed about this threat earlier this month stating on july 7 that at this very moment, he said, china is working to compromise American Health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and academic institutions conducting essential covid19 research. Just last week the Justice Department filed charges against a chinese researcher who failed to disclose her ties to the Peoples Liberation army while conducting medical research at stanford university. While she was not accused of stealing the research in this case, this kind of arrangement where scholars are essentially agents of the Chinese Government to gain access to our cutting edge labs around the country to find re research so sneak back into china is too common. Their attempt too steal for their own benefit is unfortunately not surprising. As we have all seen over the past few months chinas failure to live up to its International Commitments on Critical Issues like transparency and human rights have led to some of the issues weve had, particularly with regard to the lack of transparency on the unchecked spread of the coronavirus from wuhan. Frankly, relations with china are not good right now in part because of that. And unfortunately our problems with china extend to our labs and our universities. As chair of the Senate Permanent subcommittee on investigations, i led a bipartisan investigation last year into this issue. Over the course of a year we learned how the Chinese Communist party has used socalled talent recruitment programs notably its thousand talents plan to systematically target the most promising u. S. Based research and researchers and pay them to take their american taxpayer funded Research Back to chinese universities. While stealing this research is bad enough, whats worse is its not taken for academic purposes. Instead according to a state Department Witness at our hearing last november, quote, the Chinese Communist party has declared the Chinese University system to be on the front line of military, civilian fusion efforts for technology acquisition. This means theres a clear link between the research being taken from american labs and the latest advancement in chinas military and its economy. Theres more recent attention to this topic of Research Theft which is a good thing. We need to talk about it. We need to expose it. We need to deal with it. Recently both f. B. I. Director wray and attorney general barr has spoken about this threat. Director wray announced the f. B. I. Is opening a new chinarelated investigation on this topic every ten hours. A new investigation every ten hours. With around 2,500 counterintelligence investigations going on around the country. Weve seen this type of Research Theft in my home state of the ohio. Just a couple of months ago, a National Institutes of Health Researcher affiliated with both the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western University was accused of hiding that he had received more than 3 million from the Chinese Government to effectively take and replicate his Cleveland Clinic research at lab in china. Hes actually accused of taking biological saxes from cleveland, ohio, to wuhan, china. This was taxpayerpaid research by the n. I. H. Hes not alone. The n. I. H. Has recently reported that 54 scientists and researchers have either resigned or been fired as a result of an n. I. H. Investigation into american taxpayerfunded grant recipients for their failure to disclose financial ties to foreign governments, particularly china. According to the investigation, more than 90 of the scientists had undisclosed ties to china. Unfortunately, as it stands, our Law Enforcement agencies cant go directly after these researchers for hiding their foreign conflict of interest for not telling the truth while taking taxpayer money. As important as it is that we speak out against these improper actions by china around the world, its also critical that we take steps to clean up our own house right here in the United States, make america more resilient against china. One way we can do that is by stopping research developing in our labs from going to china at our expense. Im pleased to say we have an opportunity to change that right now because this legislation is included in the covid19 legislation. And in doing so, take stand in a bipartisan manner in defense of our values of research, transparency, collaboration, fairness, and national security. Its called the safeguarding American Innovation act, our legislation. And i introduced it along with senator tom carper and a group of bipartisan senators to ensure that individuals are held accountable for failing to disclose their foreign ties on federal grant applications. It will also reform the grant vetting process. It will require more safeguards on Sensitive Research from our Research Institutions and universities and will help us better track who is working on taxpayerfunded research. This bill is ready to pass the senate. The homeland security, Governmental Affairs committee voted to approve it last week with bipartisan and unanimous consent. And im fleeced say that again leader mcconnell has chosen to include this legislation in his phase five proposal, the cares 2. 2 package because it will sesqui as safeguard for the 150 billion that americans give to scientists to conduct research every year, thats the taxpayer funding that goes into our Research Institutions. In that regard, including the safeguarding American Innovation act in this cares. 20 bill can and should be viewed as a fiscally responsible matter. As we take a stance against behavior china has gotten away with for far too long, lets do all we can to put american institutions on a solid footing as well. Its time to put an end to the Chinese Communist party theft to our taxpayerfunded research, including covid19 research. I hope my colleagues will join me in approving the act. Mr. President , id ask unanimous consent to have this next remark be in a separate part of the journal as well. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i am a he also here on the floor to talk about another critical issue we should be addressing. As we speak, there continues to be a many looing crisis involving whats called our multiemployer pension system. Without reform, its going to result in pension benefit cuts of over 90 for more than 1. 4 million workers and retirees and unnecessary bankruptcies for a lost Small Businesses. Including many in my home state of the ohio. Multiemployer Pension Plans are defined benefit plans maintained by a lot of different companies, multiple companies, and a labor union that pull together their pension assets to cover all workers and retirees in the plan. The multiemployer system now comprises roughly 1,400 plans covering almost 11 million participants and their families. Unfortunately, its on the verge of collapse. Years of bad federal policy with respect to funding and withdrawal, liability rules, losses on risky investments have led to this crisis and the current economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus has made the situation even worse. Not only is the system underfunded by about 638 billion, but the federal entity that ensures thats pensions shall the pension benefit guaranty corporation, is also projected to become insolved in less than five years. So the multiemployer part of the pbgc, pension benefit guaranty corporation, is projected to become insolvents in less than five years. We cant let that happen. In my home state of ohio, we have more than 50,000 active workers and retirees in multiemployer Pension Plans that are facing deep benefit cuts if we do nothing. With hundreds of Small Businesses contributing to these plans, they could be forced to close if we fail to act. There are about 200 Small Businesses in ohio that are going to have huge liabilities, many of whom will not be able to continue to operate. We cant let this happen. Nearly 42,000 of those ohioans, by the way, many of them veterans, participate in a single plan called the Central States pension fund, which is also the largest plan considered to be in whats can a considered to be critical status and is projected to become insolvent by 2025. It is that insolvency that will take down the pbgc. The good news is that proactive action now will reduce the cost of fixing the problem, will ensure a secure retirement for these participants and their families and will ensure certainty for employers to make investments in goodpaying jobs. The further good news is that the House Democrat proposal, which passed as part of the heroes act its called the emergency pension plan relief act is more similar to the senate version, the Senate Republican structure, than the previous democrat plan. So not only is the democrat plan in their covid19 response bill called the heroes act, but its also more similar in structure to legislation that some of us have been working on over here on the senate side. That means we have a better shot, i believe, this year than weve had in a long time to try to solve this crisis and do it in a bipartisan way. In my view, in order to solve is this, its going to entail three key principles. First, were all in this together. And that means that we all have a shared responsibility. House democrats have proposed using only taxpayer money to rescue these plans. None of the stakeholders are asked to, again, have any share of responsibility. Thats not the wait to get bipartisan support in congress. Employers and participants must also share the responsibility, especially since about 94 of taxpayers do not participant in the system. Do not participate in the system, many of whom are struggling with their own retirement security. As an example, some would hire employer contributions are to sustainably provide benefits they promised. Second, we need to ensure that we safeguard the longterm Financial Health of the pbgc so we arent back in this fiscal crisis again soon. Part of that should be a new small variablerate premium pour plans, but we also need participants in federally rescued plans to pitch in with solvency fees paid directly to the pbgc. These do not have to be large payments. The federal government and the taxpayer, i think you are willing to play a role as long as this is viewed as something thats part of shared responsibility. But its important that all stakeholders are contributing to the health of the pbgc. Inin addition to us here in congress and, therefore, the taxpayers, because insolvency would be in no ones interest. Finally, we have to enshould you are that theres longterm solvency for these multiprovider plans. That entails some Structural Reforms to the funding rules for contributions so that bailing out these plans doesnt become a habit of the federal government. We dont want to ifism this problem having to fix it again. We should gradually phase down the rate of return at which plans assume in budgeting for promises that are made to participants. Partly because that keeps these plans from going bankrupt, partly because thats just fair. Investment risk is a problem in these plans now. And we need to give more certainty to workers and retirees. The pension crisis is an issue that i along with senator grassley, senator Sherrod Brown from ohio and many other colleagues in the senate have been trying to solve for quite a long time. We had a bicameral and bipartisan solution very close at hand at the conclusion of a Committee Process that ended about a year and a half ago, but we werent quite able to get there. I think it is achievable, particularly now. But only if were willing to listen to each other and willing to come around the table for a real discussion. Republicans have reached out. I reach out today. Were ready to find an acceptable compromise, were ready to talk. But that discussion needs to be driven by the merits of solving this issue, not just the politics of the moment. We owe solving this problem to those beneficiaries, the retirees, to the workers, the active workers in these plans, and to the Small Businesses participating in these plans. Weve got to find common ground, deliver a sustainable and lasting solution. I believe we have an opportunity right now, this month, to be able to try to come together, working with the house and the senate and the administration. Everybody has a responsibility to do it. We talked about shared responsibility with regard to the plans. Theres also a shared accountability here in the u. S. Congress. This is our job. We can get this done. I think were quite close now with similar structures and having gone through various iterations during the select Committee Process a year and a half ago. Lets do the right thing. Lets act now. I yield back my time. Mr. Portman i ask that the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of business with senators permitted to speak you can to ten minutes each. Officer without objection. Mr. Portman i have eight requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have at approval of the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Portman mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 479, s. 2638. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 479, s. 2638, a bill to amend title 49 United States code to require small hub airports to construct areas for nursing mothers and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding the to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of calendar number 489, s. 2381. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 489, s. 2381, a bill to require review by the Government Accountability office of screening protocols of the Transportation Security Administration relating to breast milk and formula and for others purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that the committeereported substitute amendment be agreed to, the women, as amended, considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Thursday, july 30. 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 that morning business be closed. Finally, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the kan nomination under the previous order. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Portman if there is to 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 Senate Stands adjourned until senators today have been working on nominations including the White House Budget OfficeDeputy Director and member of the National Labor relations board. In the meantime of the four, negotiations continue with the republicans 1 trilliondollar Coronavirus Response plan in the second package says that covid19 pandemic in the u. S. Live coverage of the debate when the Senate Returns here on cspan2. This is a republican 1 trilliondollar Coronavirus Response plan was unveiled on monday and includes a second round direct Cash Payments of 400 and continuous extended Unemployment Benefits starting the last plan for reducing the additional payment from 600 to 200. The republican plan includes Business Owner tax credits and Liability Protections for covid19 issues. The republican and Democrats SenateLeaders Exchange accusations today over covid19 response negotiations. We start with senator Mitch Mcconnell. When the Senate Passed the care zach back in march, we were trying to prepare the nation for economic paralysis. And medical battle of the century. At the very same time. Hospitals Healthcare Providers in Small Businesses and working families neededd help fast and the senate stepped up and historic fashion. From is our legislation is help cushion of pain of the crisis from coasttocoast. Our nation is not finished with