Severity. This is the biggest economic crisis that america is facing 75 years, the greatest Health Crisis in a hundred. There must be a relief package with the size of thec historic challenge, the skinny package, package that doesnt solve so many of the problems that america faces with the American People and it cannot happen. But our republican friends are waiting ideologically that the government should not take forceful action, that we should leave the welfare of the American People to the winds of the private sector, it just does not work like that, especially in a time of national emergency, the private sector cannot do it so why we started to generate forward momentum, weeding our partners in the white house to go much further and let alone the republican senate. With 20 or so republicans of the majority leader. One example, the administration has finally said we shoul extene moratorium on evictions that they can refuse to provide actual assistance for the renters themselves. What good does not do, we can prevent americans from being kicked out of their apartment for another few months but if they cant pay the rent, they well be right back at square one when the moratorium expires even more unpaid bills. Extending the moratorium only solves half the problem, republicans continue to stonewall support for state, local and private government. Who shed more than 1 million Public Service jobs this year end will continue to lay off teachers and firefighters and more if congress does nothing. In the early days of the crisis, state and local government brought this disease basically on their own, the Trump Administration could not be bothered with the National Response to supply them with necessary resources, and now mcconnell and others on the republican side say they put 0 into the proposal for state and local and republican centered with teller mayors and county executives, we want to be here for you, thats what our leader is for. Well, not acceptable. One. Unemployment insurance, a w Senate Republicans have belatedly accepted the view that we should extend the enhanced benefit of 600 for an extended period of time, democrats have proposed and voted for in the house, of course, many Senate Republicans, most Senate Republicans still object to that but still at least a few of come around, at the moment the white house is not there, we are not going to strike a deal unless we extend the Unemployment Benefits which have kept nearly 12 million americans out of poverty. The same goes for healthcare, testing and tracing, how is everyone in the white house can get tested, everyone in the nfl can get tested but average americans cannot access easily or get results back fast enough. More than seven months into the crisis, this administration does not have adequate or plan for the adequate capacity of testing and contact tracing, it is a shocking failure on the part of the Trump Administration and the republican senators. So democrats are insisting that we provide enough resources to finally slow the spread and defeat this d disease. In the single most appointing tar recovery, the American People know that the Trump Administration in the republican adherence in the senate are to blame for this huge failure and testing interesting, they demand that we act and act fully now, not with some halfbaked poorly funded plan that one do the job, which is where thene do the job, administration seems to be out right now. And americans and democrats are insisting that every american should be able to vote this november, safely and confidently in person or by mail. Covid has affected how we will vote, many more will vote by mail, there will be a need for polling places, maybe more of them, and they need to space people out as they vote. Ct are not going to stop fighting until state election systems and the post office which is part of getting the mail there on time get the resources thatd. They need, elections are a wealth of our democracy and the only answer as to why neither the republicans in the senate nor the white house want to do anything about it is they fear a few free and fair election. That is a membe core of the rep. We will keep fighting, there have been alarming reports about recent failures of the post office, about residence in michigan and pennsylvania not getting their medicines or their paychecks for three weeks or more. The Postal Service is vital and not just for elections but every single day. The new postmaster, a big donor of President Trump which many believe is his main qualification as to why being chosen has enacted new guidelines at the post office the experts say will cause severe delays and mail delivery and then he refused four weeks to even hold a phone call with democrats including myself about this issue. I called three times, he did not have the time to call back when i was so concerned about mail delivery in new york and the rest of the country. So we have insisted to mr. Mnuchin mr. Meadows on meeting with mr. Joy, it will take placeit later today, we ned to resolve the problems of the post office, there is lack of funding and new regulation that get in the way to the Timely Delivery of mail. We must resolve those in a way and to be delivered on time for the election and for the necessities of people. Each and every one of these issues is critical and there are many more, we need answers and movement on all of them, not just on one or two. But some of our republican friends seem content to possible so they can check the box and go home. We cannot do that. We cannot agree to an inadequate bill and then go home while the virus continues to spread in the economyan continues to tak detee in the country gets worse, we will keep going stepbystep, inch by inch until we achieve the caliber, the extent, the depth and breath of the legislation that the American People need, deserve and. Want. In stark contrast, the republican leaderid has decided that hed rather just log partisan hotshots from the four each morning rather than joint and productive negotiations. It is difficult to listen to tha Republican Leaders spend such a malicious fiction as why congress is yet to pass another round of relief when he cant even sit in the room with us and negotiate, when he cannot even create a modicum of immunity and is disturbingly divided caucus. For three months, leaderco mcconnell and Senate Republicans put the senate on pause when it came to the coronavirus, as covid spread throughout the south and west, as did mention states hit daily records for hospitalizations and 50 million americans fall for unemployment, the Senate Republican majority hunearly comes along as if it we living in a different universe. Leader mcconnell schedule confirmation votes onn rightwig judges, the chairman judiciary in Homeland Security held hearings on the president s wild conspiracy theories about the 2016 election period and conducted desperate fishing expeditions hoping to dig up dirt on the family the president and political rival. It was not even remotely related to covid. All through that time, democrats came to the floor to practically beg our colleagues to consider covid relief legislation, we ask consent to pass relief no fewer than 15 times in every single time republicans blocked a request. One Senate Republican finally decided to write a bill which is the legislative equivalent of a dumpster fire, republicans bickered among themselves for over ae week and a half before finally giving up, they did not release a coherent bill, just a series of proposals with corporate giveaways and carveouts. Republicans proposed the tax breaks over martini lunches but no Food Assistance for hungry kids. 2 billion to build a new fbi building to boost the value of a trump hotel but not a dime to help americans afford the rent. And then to top it all off, almost as soon as the Senate Republican plan on covid was released, it became clear that Senate Republicans did not c it. In President Trump called a semi irrelevant, semi irrelevant is what President Trump called the republican proposals. Leader mcconnell basically gave up and left democrats and the white house to negotiate the next bill so for strange reasons for leader mcconnell to criticize those who are actually engaged in negotiation while he issut intentionally staying adamant. His alice in wonderland rhetoric flipping everything on his head and accusing the other side of the sins that leader mcconnell is in fact committing was extremely counterproductive. Since Senate Republicans clearly cannot reach a consensus, any agreement will require a lot of democratic votes decisive to say the Republican Leaders rhetoric impositions are not helpful in that regard. While Republican Leadership continues to sit on the sidelines, democrats areom in te room working hard, thats what the American People expect of us, they want to see us working to get something done in this time of extraordinary challenge. I yield the floor. Madam president. Youre recognize. I want to think the senator from new york, thank you for the negotiations that hes engaged in, it is nothing short of amazing that the republican leader of the Uniteded States senate comes to the floor of the senate every morning and rcriticizes senator schumer and speaker policies were sitting in the room day after day after day trying to hammer out an agreement to help america in this time of need, while there are two and features of the table, kevin mccarthy, the House Republican leader does not attend the meetings and sadly the republican leader of the united States Senate is also boycotting these meetings. I cant rememberimn a time when this has occurred, ever. , no time in history when there was a critical, National Decision to be hammered out between the parties and the leaders of the Republican Party in congress refused to attend the meetings. Senator gives polished speeches on the floor criticizing senator schumer and Speaker Pelosi who should be polished, he has time to practice instead of going into the negotiations which could actually make a difference in the future of america. Americans are genuinely concerned where they should be, we are facing a National Health emergency, this pandemic sadly where the infections are spiking across america. It is still amazing to consider two numbers, the number five, the United States has about 5 of the worlds population, 25, the United States is generally 25 of the covid infections in the world, 5 of the population, 25 of the reported covid infections in the world, how did we reach this point where this great developed civilized and strong nation has been brought to its knees by the pandemic, we reached this point by lack of. Leadership, the American People know that there has been leadership failures at the top, they know that this president refuses to e listen to experts,f the experts Say Something that he does not like to hear, he banishes it as dr. Fauci has found. We also know that this president is downplaying the threat that sadly is taking american lives, thousands by the day, just yesterday or the day before that he branded this pandemic is often over, really,y it certainy is not anybody in america that would agree with that statement, certainly nobody is paying any attention to the sad reality that is facing families. In this president has failed to feel the truth, hes been engaged in medical quackery, the discredited by the sources that text uncontested, it is not the answer. The president should knowbe better. For goodness sakes, he does not have the confidence to make a medical judgment along these lines, that will not stop him and many people crossed america fed up with it, whether its lysol cocktails or ultraviolet insurgents, lord only knows what will come up with next. As a time when people are literally sick and dying and or healthcare heroes are risking their lives every day, this president goes off on the flights of medical fantasy, the American People are fed up with it. And this president is fed up to take the action that america desperately needs, we cannot reopen this economy, we cannot consider reopening schools until we dramatically invest in better, quicker testing, that is a reality. As senator schumer said earlier, americans wonder how the president manages to test everyone who crosses the threshold of the white house over and over every single day by Major League Baseball in the National Football league can get test results in a matter of hours while americans are standing in line and waitingla r results that are marginally irrelevant when theyre delivered five or six days after the test. What good is a test if it tells safe 60s agoare when you want to see your grandchildren today, that is the reality of testing in america, what has this president done about it, hes made statement after statement through all the tests we couldat possibly want o every american. We know better, all across america we know better. Testing has improved and increased but its not where we need it. That should be the highest priority of this menstruation but it failed when it came to providing personal protective equipment in the field when it comes to providing testing. But the biggest failure is the attitude of the Senate Republican leaderes and the president when it comes to the crises america faces, first the Coronavirus Crisis and second the economicst crisis. The biggest tragedy is in fact that they believe that we should do little or nothing, little or nothing when we are facing some of the greatest challenges over time, some of the greatest challenges in american history, the American People would expect us to take it seriously and to aggressively go after the coronavirus in the spread and aggressively help this economy back to its feet, we have come up with a plan which senator mcconnell has come to the floor and mocked everyse single day, past the house are presented gives 11 weeks ago, 11 weeks ago, Speaker Pelosi passed it in the senate, what is happened in 11 week. Speech after speech after speech deriving the experts of the house representatives and little to nothing on the other side to show for it. Finally last week they start trickling out a few ideas here and there, they were not very good. They refuse to participate, not even attend the negotiation sessions with the white house income to the floor each day and mocking criticized democratic efforts to deal with the issues before us, as far as the recovery is concerned it is essential that we dedicate ourselves to it, but first coronavirus. First, get the infections under control and save the lives of those who have early been affected, that is the first thing that needs to be done. The republican approaches too little and too late. We have come up with the 3 trilliondollar plan, they came up with the trillion dollar plan and said we may not spend that much. In a particularly, troublesome for me is this attitude toward the Unemployment Compensation being paid to americans, i cannot believe the senatorth frm kentucky when he came to the floor today and tried to pit our healthcare heroes against unemployed saying theyre going to work everyday, why should we give any money to those who dont go to work every day. Really, we have four unemployed americans, four unemployed americans for every single jobop opening. I dont believe the doctors, nurses, or medical professionals are fighting covid every s singe day resent those who are unemployed. I think they understand full and while the devastation of this pandemic, not only on the individuals that they treat but the economy at large. When it comes to the healthcare heroes, the democrats have stepped up and called for hazard pay will the republicans join us . We think these healthcare heroes nddeserve it. That and more, gratitude and more for all that they have given to the United States, let me say a word about those who are receiving unappointed benefits. I met with five of them in chicago last week. I heard their stories, asked him a few questions, i learned a little bit about their lives. I was unsurprised of the hardship that they face, many of them have been out of work for four or five months already. It ise no surprise that almost half of the people out of work have exhausted all of their savings at this point, even with unappointed benefits. And i asked those who are unemployed, what do you do with the checks that are sent to you each week. It is pretty obvious to them what to do, you pay the mortgage if you had one. The car payments was not possessed and taken away, repossessed, they try to keep food on the table, they tried to keep the people issuing the credit cards to pay, these are the basics of people face every single day but the republicans do not seem to get that. They dont understand it because they dont get to know these people or ask them what life is like. They are not on a bed of roses was 600 a week when you consider the deaths that they face, when you consider the expenses that they face in you consider the fact that many are struggling to pay for their own Health Insurance at this point, a family trying to pick up the cost of their Health Insurance that their employer once provided half of, finds himsef spending 1400 1700 a month on that alone, that is the reality. And for the record, of those who have returned to work in ameri america, we are grateful that they are back to work or happy that theyre back to work, 70 were making more money on unemployment then returning to work, why would they do that, because they are not lazy people, their people who take pride in work and believe if they return even if they make more on unemployment. They know unemployment is a temporary help and they want to get back to work. A place where they can prove their worth as individuals and feel some satisfaction but theyre going to work and doingt their best, that is part of the reality. Let me also address for a moment, the issue of reopening schools, there is a debate raising crosscountry about what this autumn will look like for the nation schools, schoolchildren, teachers and school staff. You heard the president who has literally threatened those who do not reopen the schools that they may lose federal funding if they dont reopen schools, what is that funding spot for, special education, school lunches, help for kids in poor schools, the message has been reiterated by the loyal education secretary betsy devos, she too has joined in the threats of schools and dont reopen, now the republicans in the senate have taken their threat and turned it into legislation, with their proposal and the next relief package, let me be really clear, there is a concern about empty classrooms, those who study childhood behavior loo worry that lack of socialization takes its toll when childhood development, teachers are signals with evidence of child abuse which may be going unreported, Remote Learning works well for some boat not for others. But thats not the concern of this president , he wants schools back so he can claim a false victory over the coronavirus. Last week i led 20 for my colleagues to the majority and democratic leaders, proposing to him putting children and teachers into any danger by conditioning funding when schools reopen in person. Recently i had the opportunity to visit the Little Village of the academy in chicago with the Public Schools chief janet jackson, some wonderful people are there each day passing out lunches to the kids in the neighborhood who come around the school, they have not reopen for classes, they hopet they will bt that decision is still to be made. I tell you in chicago, around my home state of illinois, school boards, administrators, teachers and others are facing these decisions honestly, they have to provide safe and effective learning environment for students and for teachers, whether that be in person, in school or at home. Unlike President Trump who is nicely insulated in the bubble of the white house with the multiple daily covid19 test for everyone who just might come in contact, these education professionals in my home state o of illinois have to answer directly to the families and their communities, it is a decision that local officials are best suited to make without intimidation or threats of washington, d. C. , the washington has a role to play, the best thing we can do to help local School Districts through this difficult follow and beyond to provide the assistance and one that keeps students and staff safe for allowing the learning and development to continue effectively. Its why we negotiated for coronavirus package pushing for the coronavirus childcare education relief act being led in the senate by patty murray of washington. In addition to supporting childcare, Early Education and higher education, the bill provides 175 billion to elementary and secondary schools to help technology cleaning staff and other needs of schools. It provides School Districts based on their share of lowincome children, that way it is similar to the cares act o which brought more than 200 million to the Chicago Public schools in a total of 512 million across her state of illinois. Compare that to 175 to the 70 billion offered on the republican side, another classic example, we believe this is a Serious National Issue when it comes to education, republicans do not. The amount of money that they propose is a fraction of what we offer at its condition on the schools reopening in person regardless of what is the safest thing for the school of the the students in any given area. Hocongress should not be puttg state and local officials in a position of choosing desperately needing federal assistance to the safety of students in school personnel. Congress should not incentivize prematurely or penalize those for the Public Health situation making it dangerous. The argument for the administration seems to go well in school to reopen, they either dont deserve or dont need any help. That is just not the case. Even schools that are not able to reopen in person, need assistance insuring their students especially those lowincome families have the ton learning, they need help keeping ystaff on payroll so they can return in person in the future and addressing any difficulty this pandemic has created, school buses with social distancing, worldly be need for additional buses and bus drivers, in addition to funding, the federal government should also ensure that they have guidance to support safe reopening, free from political influence and president ial quackery, we also need the flexibility to continue serving critical meals for students regardless of what the school year looks like this fall. Chicago Public Schools have done an incredible job providing 18 million meals since march, we need to ensure the u. S. Department of agriculture provides alternative options in need for no kid in america goes hungry. Schools in chicago and around d their state dont need any more tweets or selfcongratulatory mr. President. They need federal resources and guidance based on the sides are governogovernment has to offer. Thats why am inviting this relief package to be a level to meet the challenge that we face across america. Let me close by saying this. Majority leader comes to the floor rarspecial interest, perhn explain why the republican proposal for the relief of the covid19 virus includes 2 billion allocation for a new fbi building across the street. Perhaps he can explain the 3 milliondollar wish for the department of defense trying to make up when the president as the almighty while in the southern border, perhaps majority leader to explain the liability and unity which is being proposed by the republican side as a redline take it or leave it, walk away if you dont like it approach. Oner thing if the republican leader were in the room to actually negotiate, he makes a redline and walks away, that redline is a subsidy to the separation for america giving them liability for immunity when it comes to possible court suits, when we want standard to make sure all businesses and everyiv individual or group or business is doing our best to keep america safe, we say dont worry about liability in court with Public Health
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