We are living through the greatest economic crisis since the depression, and the greatest Health Crisis since the spanish flu in 1918. So it should not be hard to convince republicans in the senate and the white house to provide urgent and necessary relief to the American People. The 3. 4 million in the heroes act was based on the countries and needs which is so large and so diverse. Its not a political position. Its what our country needs. Its schools, businesses, renters come , homeowners, essel workers, post office, elections, state and local governments, our healthcare system. Leader mcconnell doesnt seem to understand this. He sees everything through a political lens, but we democrats only at the real needs of people and they are large. They are in many different places and that is why we called for a large bill. Because it was needed. Because the American People demanded it. But at this point the American People are on our side. Twothirds by survey data support the 3. 4 billion democratic plan, not the skimpy republican plan that doesntla deal with peoples needs. But at the end of last week, after days of arduous negotiations, Speaker Pelosi and i continue to run into republican transitions. They didnt see peoples needs the way we did. I didnt see the depths and breadth of this crisis. So like any normal negotiation, we offer to move in their direction if they would move in hours. Lets meet in the middle, we said, in the middle. Thats how negotiations occur. Thats how you get something done. The white house said no. It was difficult for us to offer that compromise. The democraticno position is tht we want to devote enough resources to defeat the virus and see the American People throughe this crisis. The republican position is to give much less than whats needed. Democrats dont want to leave large portions of theco country and the economy to fend for itself. Buthe the reason we want to meet in the middle is that getting major legislation through congress is the only way to achieve something significant for the American People. Rather than compromise, ill republican counterparts said take a hike. Quite literally, they said virtually this in the room. No, its going to be our way or not way. We are not going to meet you in the middle. Why . Why wouldnt they . When the needs are so great, when the are so many people suffering and so many more who will suffer if we dont act. Well, its because this Republican Party is tied in so tied in a knot that it cant agree to anything. It can only spewed the same political speech every day. The republican, leader mcconnell has admitted that 20 republican senators will not vote for any more relief for the American People. The senate bill that the leader keeps referring to, the republican leader, lacks the support of Senate Republicans. He cant bring it to the floor because so many of them will vote against it. The president himself called the republican bill somewhat irrelevant, one of the few things that has some truth to it that he says about this crisis semi relevant. Its not some possible democrats blocked. Senate republicans spiked it. The moment it came out. Why . Maybe they thought that these executive orders would be a way out. So tied in a knot they cant legislate or even bring themselves to join his to meet in the middle. They were clinging to the hope that the president to do something on his own through executive orders, but as we have seen, executive orders in general are not going to get the job done. Especially the incompetent ones issued over the weekend. President trumps recent executive orders are so unserious in terms of beating the large needs of america as to be pathetic. Meeting the large needs. Take for example, the payroll tax to four. It makes no sense to even republican members of congress and according to reports some members of the administration opposed a payroll tax deferral because it would do next to nothing to our workers or the economy. Remember, the president did not cancel payroll taxes. He cant. He just referred to them most employers will continue to withhold the payroll tax so that their employees will not be hit with a very large tax bill in december when the deferral expires. And adp, a nonpolitical Payroll Processing company, said quote, it may take months to implement the president s new policy. It feels like forever ago, but candidate trump promised he was different from republicans and would never touch Social Security or medicare. Well, guess what. Deferring the payroll tax is a security and medicare. In case the president s intentions were not clear, he said that after the election he may permanently cut the payroll tax which would deplete the trust funds and destroy Social Security and medicare as we know it. If youre a senior or hated to Social Security and medicare and are waiting for it, watch out. Watch out. Seniors throughout the decade since weve had Social Security have jealously regarded the trust fund. An abnormal trump says well, maybe we should get rid of it because we should defer, we should get rid of the payroll tax altogether. So this executive order is an example of many false promises that donald trump has made, and just as important, it is so put together with spit and glue that in all likelihood many states will not implement it at all. Some of said so. And many moref even if they want to implement it will take months, several months, while people will not get there unemployment benefits. The easiest thing to do for the good of the economy for keeping millions out of poverty, which president , president s pandemic and upon entrance is then, just renew the Unemployment Insurance. But because of the hard right, because so many republicans dont want to spend the money, even for people who have lost jobs through no fault of their own, doesnt happen. And the idea that the American Worker is looking for an out is demeaning to the American Worker, leaderll mcconnell. Americans want to work. There is pride in work. The old one majority of americans if given the choice of the job or Unemployment Insurance for a period of time, even if that Unemployment Insurance is not exactly what they got paid, they would take the job. We know that. America believes in the work ethic. So how demeaning to the American Worker to say they are looking for a way out, they are looking for a way to scheme the system. Thats not the new york worker i know. But, of course, when unemployment is over 10 , you can be looking for a job which you may not get one. Thats the reason so many people are on pandemic Unemployment Insurance. So the president s plan was nothing short of a disaster. In termsts of its inability to e implemented. Its the effect on Social Security and medicare, and the demeaning way in which it looks at the American Worker. The president s executive order, therefore, are a disaster. And the president s executive order on evictions is the best example of all sizzle and no stake. Itot does not even guarantee a moratorium on evictions. It merely instructs federal agencies to quote review and consider whether its appropriate to halt evictions, let alone people who have fallen nine on the rent. So the three of the things the president has done dont work. The deferral of the payroll tax hurts Social Security and does not pump money into the economy. Cutting the employment uninsurance will take weeks and months to implement, and hurts American Workers and demeans them. And the executive order on evictions is, lets consider something. We know what that means in jargon around here. Lets not do it. Lets just talk about it. So President Trumpsre executive orders are hardly worth the paper theyre printed on. You dont have to take my word for it. Ask republican senators from South Carolina and nebraska who are not too thrilled with it either. E, and, of course, the biggest problem with these executive orders is not what they do, but what they dont and cant do. The orders dont address testing, tracing and treatment of covid19. Desperately needed to curb the Health Crisis which in turn is hurting the economy soco badly. The orderlies have money to save a reopen our schools and provide the ppe and other help to keep kids, teachers and staff safe. The orders will not give Food Assistance to our kids and families. The orders will not aid state and local governments, firefighters, annotation workers, bus drivers, healthcare keep our communities running could lose their jobs. The orders leave out funds to ensure elections can be carried out safety amid covid19. The orders do nothing to keep our post offices open to make sure o our elections are conducd in the state and sound manner during this covid crisis. The fact is we are facing an unprecedented crisis. The government is going to have to commit resources to fight this disease and economic devastation it has wrought. Executive orders cannot do that and, therefore, will always be sufficient, especially those crafted in such a poor way as these. The only way to crush the fibrous and truly protect american working families is to pass a comprehensive bill in congress that is equal to the challenges facing our country. Democrats made ready to return to the table. We need a republican to join us there and meet us halfway and Work Together to deliver immediate relief to the American People. We are ready as soon as our republican colleagues, off this you that it is their way or no way, and beat us in the middle now before i yield the floor want to take a step back and talk about the core problem in our negotiations over the past few weeks. President donald trump and Republican Party certainly in the senate are not apply to the suffering of the American People. The white house to the greatest domestic challenge of the 21st century can be summed up in five words issued by President Trump in an interview last week. It is what it is. President trump was challenged to defend his claim that covid19 is under control. How come heol was asked . A thousand americans are dying a day. President trumps response, it is what it is. It is what it is. Thats how the president of the United States of american response to the howl in fact, the more than 1000 1000 americe dying every single day from a virus his administration has failed to contain. Not a morsel of empathy, not an ounce of sorrow, not a shred of remorse for the many mistakes his administration has made. The president says it is what it is. What a shocking admission of president ial failure. We live in the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth, and yet countries around the world manage to test their citizens can isolate cases, stop the spread of the disease. Countries with bigger populations than ours and countries with a fraction of the resources and knowhow. President trumps response to this crisis is a national and international embarrassment. Theth president says it is whatt is. President trump is not the only one who dismisses the gravity of covid19. The lack of empathy and understanding start at the top, but it goes all the way down. The president and chief staff said covid19 isnt such a big deal for schoolchildren compared to the flu. Leader mcconnell put the senate on ice for four months in middle of the Global Pandemic because his party didnt feel the urgency of acting, his words. And now by the leaders own admission more than onethird of the Senate Republican caucus doesnt want to vote for anything, anything to help the American People. The economy is failing. Small businesses are closing. State and local governments are cutting essential services. Americans cant pay the rent and will be thrown out of their homes. Families cant afford to feed their children. Such a worker stone at ppe reversing our kids back to School Without a plan. The number of americans we are testing is going down. The diseases ravaging our nursing homes. Americans are dying, so many and in so short a time that Funeral Homes and morgues t are storing the dead in refrigerated 18 wheelers, and get the president says it is what it is. The president , his aides, his party in congress are not even awake to whats happening in this country. That is the reason why Senate Republicans delayed for four long months, and that is the reason we have been unable to find agreement at the white house. I yield the floor. Thank you, mr. President. I wante to thank my norton lear of the democratic leader, mr. Schumer, for his remarks. There are not many of us around here in the senate today. Its pretty quiet. Walk through the halls, virtually nobody around. Thats what it was like last thursday afternoon. Thats what it was like here in the senate