We are supposed to leave these on now that is the latest rules. Okay i had a new york yankees one but it had a strap at the bottom and a strap at the top and i couldnt quite figure out what to do. You have a bow, mine didnt. I tied it in a bow. Mine didnt have separate strings. [inaudible] will okay. Thank you everybody. Let me think senators durbin, stabenow and warren for joining us. We want to talk about whats happening to our country and the votes for today and tomorrow. Our country is an enormous pain. Weve had 220,000 people die, millions six. The number is going up. 6 million americans missed their rent payment last month. Millions are losing their jobs. Small businesses are going under left and right. We have so many different problems. And what do the republicans do, leader mcconnell, a stunned. They cant get anything done. The caucus is divided. Leader mcconnell and Senate Republicans are the major barrier to preventing us from getting a bill. Even when steve nguyen calls them up, they say they are not going to do anything. What was indicative of what happened is what happened at the appropriations committee. Pelosi said we are numbers 143 and he said we could get up to 119, so they decided to have the appropriators get together. The republican appropriators at our instructions are to start at zero. We dont have any other instructions. So, when the American People are suffering, to put this political stunt on the floor for a second time is cruel, its harsh, and it shows a complete lack of leadership and caring for the suffering of the American People. Now what are we doing, we are making an effort to bring to the floor the heroes will. Its a bill that passed the house that would have a realistic chance of helping people. And it has many things in it that are not in either bill that are being brought up today and tomorrow by the Republican Senate stunt. Let me remind you what they are, some of them. We are going to focus on three. One is healthcare. We need more testing and tracing. The bill has 75 billion and more importantly, even the plan laid out for how to do it because the administration has been incompetent. We gave the money and 9 billion is still sitting there for the states to do tracing and they havent even distributed it yet even though it was passed in the original cares bill. So, we need money for testing and tracing but we need money for the hospitals, the doctors and nurses and healthcare workers. We cannot leave them behind. We need money for patients who are sick. None of that. Healthcare, testing and helping our healthcare institutions and the American People when they need healthcare. Second is schools. We need our schools to reopen safely. Everyone wants to reopen we cannot leave teachers behind and nor can we leave the parents behind who have jobs but if their kids are not in school, what are they going to do, and the third area we are focused on is small business. This bill leaves out so much that the heroes bill has in it. No targeted aid for the minority businesses, no targeted aid for local news media, critical access hospitals and nonprofits. The money smaller businesses use is easiest of all because it is a grant. There are so many places where the bills are inadequate and dont meet the need. So it is a sham, but nothing is going to pass. Mcconnell cannot even put a bill on the floor. All he can do is put the motion to table and then vote against it. A sham and stunt if there ever was one and its the second time they are doing it. Then they put poison in the bills tomorrow they know democrats want to accept and my colleagues will address some of those as well. So, every day families are left behind in so many different ways, so later today we are going to turn up the pressure on republicans and we are all going to have to cast a vote whether they want to vote on the heroes bill or not, which is comprehensive. 72 of americans according to new york time siena support another 2 trillion stimulus package like heroes. Half the republicans do. So, americans will see exactly where the Senate Republican values are. Whether they care or want to go through the game and pretend they are doing something while actually doing nothing and its a shame what they are doing. Senator durbin. Idiots. Thats what President Trump called the Public Health expert that worked at the federal government and he put doctor Anthony Fauci in the same sentence. I dont think they are idiots. I think they are experts. The president is uncomfortable around them because they are warning us we are about to see a surge in infections and deaths in america. Sadly with 5 of the worlds population and 20 of the covid19 deaths. Just south of the nation of canada. We have 2. 5 times the number of people dying from covid19 as canada. Whats wrong, theres no leadership. Thats what it comes down to in this debate. This president says hes tired of talking about this. His people are having rallies. They are not worried. Sadly they endanger their lives every time they show up at one of those rallies. We know that and he obviously doesnt care. So the medical imperative of more and more infections and more and more deaths is a reality. We take it seriously, so seriously nancy pelosi passed her bill five months ago. Mitch mcconnell as he brought it to the floor refuses to. Witness after witness made it clear this shouldnt be the breakneck priority of the senate. Covid19 should be the priority if we are going to save lives and reopen the economy. So members needed recovery and that is what they are going to get. But we know what is missing. Whats missing is more testing in a time when we needed more Contact Tracing and help for hospitals and clinics and medical professionals all across the country. Dramatic cuts when it comes to unemployment benefits, food stamps, rent help, stimulus checks, when it comes to the mcconnell proposal all left out. The bottom line i will leave you with is this, he did put his redline on the bill to make sure that it wasnt going anywhere. Youve heard him say it over and over on the floor nothing is going to pass unless i can have immunity from liability for the biggest corporations in america when it comes to covid19. The American People see through that. If mcconnell creates that kind of immunity, what is the likelihood of those companies will do the right thing to protect their employees and customers we are determined to get a real bill that addresses this problem. Thank you. Good afternoon. The people in michigan, the people across america need help and they need it right now. They needed it yesterday. And its really not stimulus, its about survival for michigan families. Its about survival for our businesses. Under the republican bill, too many people are left behind. Thats the bottom line. Instead of giving people the help they needed, they need, thd a bill that ignores our urgent testing and other healthcare needs. Our families, our children, and far too many of our businesses. If we want parents to feel confident that their children can go back to school safely, if we want people to feel that they can open up their businesses safely and get back to work, republicans cannot leave millions of people behind, and that is exactly what Mitch Mcconnells bill does. Right now it isnt safe. The cases, hospitalizations, deaths are spiking. Hospitals and nurses are struggling to get enough ppe. Healthcare professionals are exhausted and stressed and at a severe risk of burnout, but the republicans leave them behind. And the bill leaves millions of families behind. The extra 600 a week provided in the care package was a lifeline and it needs to be extended. They found more than 25 of michigan residents, one out of four thought that they were going to be evicted or have their home for closed on within the next two months. Mitch mcconnells bill also leaves hungry children and families behind. We have 40 of those who are on snap Food Assistance in the country whove gotten no additional help through this entire process of covid. And finally, they are leaving far too many businesses behind and the employees that work for them. Restaurants and gyms and breweries and theaters that have revitalized michigans small towns all across our state. These Small Businesses need help now, and the initial round of ppe we also fought for 30 billion in dedicated funding to support underserved communities and nonprofits. That also is not in there and they are left behind. We need to approach this pandemic and economic pain its unleashed with the seriousness and boldness that it deserves. Our healthcare providers, children, families and businesses need help right now. This isnt the time to leave anybody behind, and democrats are fighting to make sure that they are not. Thank you. 220,000 americans are dead from covid19. Millions more have contracted the disease and continue to suffer. We have tens of millions of people across the country either unemployed or are afraid they are about to lose their jobs. Parents are struggling because they cant get to daycare and they cant get their children into school. Small businesses that have shuddered and are not sure if they will ever be able to reopen. Restaurants who cant see a Business Plan going forward. Minority owned businesses that have been hit the hardest and what does Mitch Mcconnell do, please politics instead of helping people. This bill that he is putting on the floor again isnt a bill about helping people. Its a bill about leaving people behind. Who does he want to leave behind, he wants to leave behind every Single Person in the country worried about covid19. No help for the hospitals, not enough for tracing or testing or our doctors and nurses, just leave them behind. And what about parents, schoolchildren. No money here for the kids that are caught in between, having to try to study from home. This bill leaves millions of Small Businesses behind. Firstclass tickets for giant corporations. A release of liability, no matter how irresponsible they are. They dont have to worry about missing their own employees or their customers, sick to the point of dying. Mitch mcconnell says those folks get a firstclass ticket on the mcconnell train. And how about parents, wealthy parents who want to send their kids to private schools, the mcconnell train says lets have the taxpayers pick up the bill for that. Full tax credit for sending your kids to a fancy boarding school. How about that. In other words, what mcconnell is doing is playing politics of the ugliest sort. He wants to stand up and claim hes helping the American People know. Hes playing the same game. No help for the people who needed and lots of help for the people who dont. Thats not where the democrats are. The democrats are here for working families, people struggling, Small Businesses, restaurants, minority owned businesses, for our doctors and nurses and people in Public Health trying to get their arms wrapped around this covid crisis. This is what its going to take not only to deal with this immediate healthcare crisis, but also the economic crisis that is tumbling behind it. Thats why the democrats will be voting know today. Questions on this subject. Leader mcconnell has been doctor no when anyone approaches him. We have to see if this is another change. He doesnt speak too man to mane about these things. How do you see this particular issue playing out because it seems like it isnt going to happen. We want to get a big bill that will meet the American Peoples needs as soon we can. So, nancy pelosi is fighting to get one now and as you know we have been met with intransigence by the Republican Senate. We will try to get one in the lameduck and should we win the presidency and when the senate after that. The sooner the better but it needs to not leave people behind. It needs to be this is the greatest economic crisis in 75 years, we need something that rises to the occasion. If this bill doesnt get through and get support, businesses are hurting out there. A. We dont want to leave anyone behind, period. You do one thing and what about everybody else. And what about the people some republicans may say i dont have to do anything else. We cant do that as a country, not as a party but as a country. We need to include all the people. Are you going to tell a mother who cant feed her kids forget it, tell someone being evicted from their home forget it, totally school that cant open to forget it, not us. On the Amy Coney Barrett hearing, some progressives spoken out criticizing senator feinsteins handling of the hearings. I wonder what you make of that and do you plan to make any changes to the judiciary ive had a long talk with senator feinstein. Thats all im going to say about it right now. Can i ask about North Carolina, republicans sorry about that. On the extramarital relations and just wanted to see are you still confident its like it is across america. The native americans to be protected from preexisting conditions and Senior Citizens to be able to afford their drugs, the need of people who dont have healthcare to get it. Thats the number one issue in North Carolina and thats why we are going to prevail. On that topic, obviously running this campaign against the Supreme Court nominee based on healthcare [inaudible] focused specifically on healthcare there are a whole number of issues but the number one of salience to the American People, you know, Supreme Court, the American People say the court will take away our healthcare, thats what the American People want us to delay. Overwhelmingly. We are in the middle of a great crisis, the pandemic. People that needed help with preexisting conditions long before the pandemic. Mother or father whose child has cancer doesnt want to be told by the Insurance Company you cant get insurance and then watch their kids suffer. That is such an important issue. We talked about the womans right to choose and labor rights and environmental rights, we talked about Voting Rights and civil rights and they are all important. But healthcare has been the number one issue out there in the country and we chose to emphasize it. Thank you, everybody. I feel like i have a habit of taking it off when i start talking. [laughter]
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