But, you know what . Most of america is ordinary americans who count on the quality of our Public Schools. And i can tell you, a lot of parents are worried about how are they going to be able to have an education for their children given the challenge in the schools. The school cant afford to convert the way it operates. Either in the school in a very altered manner or providing work stations and computers and broadband so every child has the ability to work online. Now, we know that even that is going be far insufficient because so many children are in households where there isnt going to be the type of fullon, allday assistance to help them utilize that online. We know that. But shouldnt we be providing the resources to give the to minimize the gap between the best off and ordinary families . Shouldnt we be trying to do everything for our children . You know, my dad was a mechanic. A mechanic that works in a sawmill is called a millwright. He said it is the best job in the world. You keep the machinery humming. It meant every worker had a job to come to. It meant the company made money. Everybody was happy if he could keep the machinery running, and he did. He did a marvelous job. He was pretty disappointed when the company was bought by an investor and the mill was shut down overnight, and the timber that the company had was sold to another company, a bigger company. But in that context of a father with a powerful ability to keep machinery humming that would benefit so many other people, he loved the fact that we had good Public Schools, and he told me son, because we live in america and have these Public Schools, if you go through the doors of that schoolhouse and you study hard, you can do almost everything in our country. What a glorious vision for an ordinary working american to say to their child because we live in america, you can do almost anything in our country. The horizons are boundless because we have good Public Schools, but its 11 weeks since the house acted. Have we acted to provide good Public Schools . All of our teachers and our administrators and our parents and our School Boards are saying we are just around the corner from the ordinary start of school, just before or just after labor day. Where is the u. S. Senate . Mitch mcconnell sent us home. He shut this place down. While our childrens education, preparation for a very unusual and difficult year, goes untended because there arent the resources. And i can tell you, you know, im hearing a lot from the medical community. My wife mary is a nurse. She is a home hospice nurse so she goes and coaches families as their loved one goes through the final chapter of their life here on our planet. And a lot of these folks that she visits, because they are in hospice, it by definition means they are quite ill. And often the families around them are elderly. And they are very concerned about any, any presence of covid or coronavirus. And what she hears is that we need to tackle this pandemic, and what do the scientists and Health Care Experts say . They say a National Investment in personal protective equipment. They say a National Investment in a testing strategy to be able to do massive numbers of tests, to help identify folks who are carrying the virus and spreading the virus that are asymptomatic, as well as those that actually have symptoms. And a massive National Investment in tracing so that we can follow up when somebody is identified as carrying the virus and who did they get it from, who were they in contact with so those folks can go into quarantine and stop the chain of infection from person to person to person. So the house 11 weeks ago passed a bill that has massive resources for testing and tracing, and for 11 weeks, the leadership of this body has said not needed. Lets do nothing. Lets just treat this as just another thursday. Just another thursday. No concern. Then i hear from folks who are really worried about the nutrition for our children, not just the education, but nutrition, we worked hard to get the e. B. T. Program to help out because of school sites being shut down, but what about this coming year . Why arent we helping with nutrition . The house 11 weeks ago acted, but here its just another thursday. No crisis, no concern when children across america are going hungry. The bill that the house passed had resources for state and local government to help address the hemorrhaging of funds. I noted that oregon predicts just in its State Government a loss of 10 billion over the next three biannum. For them to sustain their basic programs, they need help. I heard today from the president of one of our public universities, our fouryear university, Oregon State University in corvallis. They are estimating a massive loss of revenue. And so they need this bill which would direct support for our fouryear institutions, and they know that the state, if its going to be able to sustain its support for the universities, the money doesnt come in the front door and out the back door, we need to provide help to the State Government. And i know this isnt a bluered issue. I know that blue and red governors are saying the same thing. I know blue and red county commissioners are asking for the same help. So i say to my colleagues it is unacceptable, it is morally unacceptable to just say this is another thursday, all is well. We have waited 11 weeks to act after the house. Whats another week . What does it matter if a family that has been able to pay its rent or its mortgage or its utilities or put food on the table because they got 600 a weak extra help in unemployment, what does it matter if they lose their home . What does it matter if they are evicted . Well, ill tell you this. It matters a hell of a lot, huge impact on that family for a long time to come. I dont know how many of my colleagues have worked in the area of assisting homeless families, but when you are destabilized, when you are tossed out, when you experience homelessness, when you are living in your car with your kids or its a basement this week and its a van the next and who knows what shelter will let you in, it destabilizes and knocks you down for a long time. It makes it hard to get ready to go to a job interview. It makes it hard to present yourself effectively in job interviews. It puts all kinds of stresses on the family relationship. Is it really okay that we shut the senate down when families are going to be evicted . Because we shut off that 600 per week and a moratorium on evictions expired . This, colleagues, is not just another thursday. This is a moment of national crisis, a pandemic crisis, an economic crisis, and we need to be in crisis mode. We need to be here day and night. We need to be working on each of these issues that was addressed 11 weeks ago in the house while this body sat on its hands. Sitting on your hands when the people of america need us, that is not acceptable in the u. S. Senate. Lets act boldly. Lets act decisively. Lets recognize that we must rise to meet this National Challenge and do so now. And i yield to my colleague from michigan. Ms. Stabenow mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from michigan. Ms. Stabenow mr. President , i want to thank my friend from oregon both of my friends from oregon. We are Oregon Strong on the floor. We have great, powerful, effective senators from oregon, and i want to thank both of them. I want to thank senator merkley for his words as well as my colleague and friend from delaware and New Hampshire and maryland. Were on the floor today because we know this isnt just another regular thursday where you can close up for the week and go home and do whatever is going to be done and then maybe come back monday, maybe tuesday, maybe wednesday. We dont know because we dont know whats happening on negotiations. But oh well, oh well, there is no real sense of urgency anyway, right . There is an incredible sense of urgency, and as we have been saying this afternoon, this should not be treated like just another end of the senate week on a thursday afternoon. We have the Largest Health pandemic in 100 years. As of today, its about 160,000, 160,000, 160,000 deaths in this country. You cant even wrap your head around that. 160,000 people, and yet were a little over 4 of the worlds population. We have 25 of the deaths. This did not have to happen. This should never have happened. It should never have happened. And to be in a situation where people are acting as if we have got all the time in the world. How many people have to die before we wrap our arms around what is happening and have a National Strategy on testing and Contact Tracing and a National Strategy to make sure we have all of the testing materials and the p. P. P. And everything that our doctors and nurses and other professionals need, and we are treating this with the seriousness, the seriousness that it deserves. This is a Health Pandemic. We have to get our arms around this. We have to manage it until we can get vaccines. We did come together and Work Together on a bipartisan basis in the beginning. That is what is just so frustrateing and disheartening and maddening about this situation we are in now as we go forward, because its not done. I wish it was for my own family and everyone elses. Its not even close to being done, and we have a responsibility to continue to be there and to have peoples backs to address the pandemic and all of the Economic Hardship that has happened as a result of that. Now, in the cares package, it was comprehensive, it was great that we were able to come together. One of the things was that the treasury, is the fed able to basically have the capacity to have a safety net under the stock market under our Large Businesses . Dont worry, keep investing, we have got a safety net for you. But for somebody on unemployment, somebody who is worrying about feeding their children tonight, tomorrow, the next day, somebody who is worried that the water is going to get shut off or lose their shelter right in the middle of a pandemic, we tell people stay home. By the way, wash your hands frequently. And then the water gets turned off or you have no shelter and youre on the street or you cant feed the kids or the additional money, the 600 that is allowing you to pay those bills goes away, which is about a 60 cut in michigan for people getting help. No safety net for you, huhuh. There are 31 Million People right now that are on unemployment insurance, and somehow people want to have us believe that nobody wants to work. There is over 31 million jobs out jobless out jobs out there, and people just dont want to take them, they dont want to work. I can tell you its not true in michigan. People in michigan work. We grow things, we make things, we innovate, we build things. People in michigan work and work hard. And it is not their fault that we have a 100year Health Pandemic that has pushed everybody back down and taken away the capacity for businesses to be safely opened and for people to continue their jobs. And people would expect that in the United States of america, that all of us would care about that. And it wouldnt just be another thursday afternoon closing up shop for the weekend or beyond. Now, one other thing i want to stress is that when we talk about supporting communities right now you know, as the president said, it was up to the governors to step up. Its up to local communities to step up and keep people safe. No National Response necessary. I. T. The governors. Its the its the governors. Its the mayors. Its the county commissioners. Well, theyve done that. Theyve done that. Took all their resources to do everything possibly to make sure people can be safe, get the p. P. P. , create a way for people to get testing, do all the other kind of things to help people. And now for the senate, for the president of the United States to say we have no responsibility to step up and have their back and support them is incredibly irresponsible. And what i find so interesting, when we talk about who are we talking about locally . We want the restaurants to open, and yet you have to have a food inspector before you can open the restaurant. In michigan, thats funded through the county, county government. We are concerned about First Responders, police and fire and 911 call centers and all of the people that respond to keep us safe. You know who the Largest Group that will be losing their jobs without help for local communities and states is First Responders and law enforcement. In fact, i had a very prominent Police Leader in michigan tell me that the only people he saw trying to defund the police were donald trump and mitch mcconnell. Because they didnt and arent and Senate Republicans arent willing to step up to support funding for First Responders. As well as the Public Health as well as the teachers as well as everyone else involved. Mr. President , these are not normal times. These are not normal times in terms of the health risks for families, these are not normal times in terms of our economy and whats happening, not to count not even to count the fact that Racial Disparities are on full display now in front of us in every part of our economy and services. This is not a normal time. This should not be a normal thursday afternoon in the United States senate. Every single one of my democratic colleagues feels a sense of urgency and panic about what is happening. People need help. There are incredible hardships, and they deserve that help. The u. S. House of representatives passed help over two and a half months ago. Senator mcconnell at the time said he felt no sense of urgency. In fact, he suggested that states and cities go bankrupt. Thats one way to do it. Lay off all the police officers. Firefighters, food inspectors, teachers. People in our country and i know people in michigan feel an incredible sense of urgency to both manage and get beyond this health care pandemic, which is not going to be easy. Its going to take all of us working together. But they are anxious to do that, and theyre anxious to open up the economy safely and to open up our schools safely, and know that there is some sense of normalcy that we can count on again. And thats going to take all of us working together on a bipartisan basis to get it done, and its going to take a sense of urgency, a sense of responsibility for the role that we play at this moment in time in the history of our country, in peoples lives. Its going to take a lot of hard work, and its going to take political will more than anything else. Because the other things we can do. We have to decide you have to decide you want to do it. I hope very, very soon that senator mcconnell, our Senate Republican colleagues, that the president and the white house decide that they want to work with us to really get things done for people all across our country. Mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer no. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of executive calendar 820 through 832 and all nominations on the secretarys desk in the air force, army, and coast guard, that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations executive calendar 833 and 834. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate the presiding officer the clerk will report the nominations en bloc. The clerk nominations, securities and exchange commission, hester maria pierce of ohio to be a member. Caroline a. Crenshaw of the district of columbia to be a member. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate, if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc, the president be immediately i note the absence of a quorummified of the senates notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. The the question can he occurs on the nominations en bloc. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nominations are confirmed en bloc. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, executive calendar 810. The presiding officer without objection. The clerk will report. The clerk nomination, office of the director of national intelligence, christopher c. Miller of virginia to be director of the National Counterterrorism center. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Question occurs on the nomination. All those in favor, say aye. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nomination executive calendar 549 had 792, 793, 94, 95, 796, 797, 798, 802, 803, 804, 806, 807, and all nominations on the secretarys desk in the foreign service. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate. If confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, en bloc, the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Question is on the nominations en bloc. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The snogs are confirmed the nominations are confirmed en bloc. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the knot senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 676 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 676 to authorize the production of records by the permanent subcommittee on investigations of the committee on Homeland Security and governmental affairs. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 677, submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 677, designating august 16, 2020, as National Airborne day. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. Res. 678 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 678 designating september 2020 as National Child Awareness Month and so forth. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i further ask the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. Res. 659. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 659, designating september 2020 as School Bus Safety month. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble at the desk be considered and agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, as amended, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the committee on e. P. W. Be discharged from further consideration of s. 4075 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk senate s. 40 5,a bill to amend the public works and Economic Development act of 1965 and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committeen discharged from further consideration of s. 3703 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. 3703, a bill to amend the elder abuse prevention and prosecution act and so forth. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharge and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of s. Con. Res. 37 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. Con. Res. 37, concurrent resolution honoring the life and the work of Lewis Lorenzo redding and so forth. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i further ask the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the coons amendment to the preamble at theesque did be considered and agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 427, s. 2299. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 427, s. 2299, a bail to amend title 49, United States code and so forth. And for other purposes. The presiding officer without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the committeereported substitute be withdrawn and the wicker substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be 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. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Energy Committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. J. Res. 74. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Joint Resolution he 74 requesting the secretary of the interior to authorize a unique and onetime arrangement for certain displays on mt. Rush more National Memorial and so forth. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the thune amendment to the resolution at the desk be agreed to, the joint resolution, as amended, be agreed to and passed and the preamble be agreed to understand at the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 00 p. M. August 10, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. Finally, following leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak thereiner for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell if there is no 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 3 00 p. M. On
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.