2 15 p. M. Eastern and we have live coverag here on cspan2. Earlier sators john thune and dick durbin talkn the ongoing coronavirus pandemic the governments response. Madam president , yesterday drugmaker madonna fired for emergency youth authorization from the fda for the Covid Vaccine and the fdas Vaccine Advisory Committee is scheduled to discuss pfizers Covid Vaccine next week and is excited to review maternals shortly thereafter. That it is entirely possible that by the end of december the fda will have authorized, not one, but two Covid Vaccines that are so far shown more than 90 effectiveness in preventing the disease. This is very hopeful news. It is a tribute to the innovative power of the private sector and the efforts of congress and the Trump Administration to expedite the development of Covid Vaccines. The light at the end of the tunnel looks like it is on the way and at the same time, madam president , it is essential would not minimize with happening with covid right now but cases are surging and are likely to surge further and doctors and hospitals are struggling. It is essential that we maintain key Safety Measures until the vaccines arrived. Now, more than ever we need to keep wearing masks, washing her hands and maintaining social distance. The more responsibly react to the more we can protect ovlnerable members of the population and keep our doctors and hospitals from being overrun. Acting responsibly can also help further economic shutdowns would be a devotee and blow to a lot of struggling businesses. I know its been a long hard year and that everyone is tired of the additional Safety Measures that we had to take but the beginning of the end is insight and we need to hold on for a few month longer and keep doing everything we can to prevent further virus spread. At the same time, madam president , it is important that state and local governments use their authorities responsibly and think carefully about the impact of the health and Safety Measures that they are putting in place. It isst also essential that elected officials are respecting their Constitutional Rights notably the right of assembly and the free exercise of religion when imposing coronavirus restrictions. I was pleased to see the Supreme Court upholds this principle in its recent decisions suspending ciccone in new york measures targeting houses of worship. New york city is not the only place where churches of faith disproportionately strict restrictions but earlier this year washington dc, for example, the mayor celebrated mass protests vastly exceeded recommendations for gatherings size even as she maintained strict restrictions on houses of worship and is pleased to join in amicus brief in the u. S. Or Dc District Court in support of capitol hill Baptist Churchs lawsuit against the dc government asking that the churchs constitutional right to free exercise of his faith be respected in the same way as te protesters right to freedom of speech. Throughout this pandemic weve unfortunately seen a significant degree of hypocrisy for many on the left who call for or imposed strict restrictions on activities that they deem nonessential while celebrating activities that they approved but opposed significant risk of coronavirus transmission. Madam president , the First Amendment cannot be applied selectively. When imposing coronavirus restrictions lawmakers need to exercise the greatest respect of the first freedom and the free exercise of religion and ensure the churches are not subjected to disproportionately unfair measures but more than that politician should do everything they can to ensure that religious worship is supported as far as possible during the pandemic. Worship is an essential activity and it should be afforded the same respect and deference governments have afforded nail salon, liquor shops and bike stores. Madam president , the next few Weeks Congress will be cap passing key legislation including a bill from the government and i am hoping that we will be able to add a covid relief bill to that list. All the Money Congress is already invested in covid relief has gone a long way towards meeting the countrys needs there is more we need to do. Replicants put forward an additional target of relief package month ago but democrats have delayed additional covid relief by insisting on bloated legislation filled with unrelated and unreasonable demands. It is been impossible to negotiate with democrats for the simple reason that democrats have made it clear that compromise is not an option. It is our way or the highway, democrats have said. Its either up multitrillion dollar bill or nothing at all. Madam president , democrats have to note that they dont have a chance of getting their bill through both houses of congress and to the president s desk. The reasonable thing for them to do, if they really want to help americans, would be to work with the publicans to pass a bill that delivers some of what they want. Republicans and democrats agree number of things for more money for schools, testing, vaccines to another round of Paycheck Protection Program relief for the hardest hit small businesses. We should be able to arrive at a acompromise legislation that bh sides can agree to. We should pass that compromise legislation before the end of the year. I was encouraged to hear a few democrats are looking to develop bipartisan coronavirus legislation and i hope we will be able to convince the speaker and the democratic leader in the senate the working with rob lukens really working with them and notng pretending to negotiae while refusing to actually cover my eyes is the right thing to do for the american people. It is been a rough year for the country, madam president. Lets close it out by working together to deliver the additional relief that americans need to weather the restf this pandemic. Madam president , i yield the floor stomach madam president. Senator from illinois spent madam president , how bad is covid19 pandemic . Im sure we each look at it in personal and family terms and we had just gotten through a thanksgiving like no other for my family and many others. We decided that safety was more important than being physically in the same room with the family members that we love. We turned to face time and zoom in every other contrivance we can find to maintain a connection with children, grandchildren and other people we love. The situation is dire and the infection and death rate in my home state has been heartbreaking and in terms of the number of people who had their lives changed have had their lives ended because of it. I can use one example of how bad it isn and it wont mean much to those listening but the city of st. Louis is a large metropolitan area with millions of people and i grew up nearby on the other side of the river and one day last week the st. Louis hospitals were unable to take a covid19 patient and as a result that patient was transported almost 100 miles away in quincy, illinois to a hospital so the patient can receive the care they needed. Think of that, not an Available Space in the city of st. Louis and last month a dear friend of mine feeling ill who lived in illinois went to the area and went to one of the most outstanding hospitals in the city and she was told she couldnt be admitted because there was no room for her and she went to the second most reputable hospital in the city with the same report. Finally, with the third try she was admitted to another hospital in three days later she passed away. In a desperate situation she was turned away from two major hospitals because they did not have room so we can argue long about the danger of this covid19 whether it is itmething to take seriously or not and there are still those who insist it is not. We cant escape the reality that 13 million americans have already 13. 5 have already been infected with covid virus and over 267,000 american lives have been lost. My heart goes out to those families, their loved ones and some of whom were my friends and one very close friend who lost their lives. For all of those fighting covid19 today, including members of congress, i wish them well, godspeed, and get well and come back and join us in a positive way. There are a number of infected americans continues to rise it is that we take safety precautions, social distance, wearing masks, staying home as much as possible and im worried about the health and safety of our country but im also worried about the millions of americans who find themselves in dire straits as Economic Impact of this pandemic lingers and i think of some of the restaurants in chicago and in my own hometown that ive visited with my wife from time to time argon and they will not return. Sadly, everyday decisions are being made by businesses just like those that they just cant continue to lose money. It clearly is a call to action for congress to do something. Some to stay focus on this status of the stock market, indexes or monthly job reports as proof the economy is recovered and in fact, i met with a group of senators from the other side of the aisle who said it is the dominant opinion of the majority of republican senators that we dont need and that we have recovered and we are on our way. I dont see it that way at all. I think we clearly need to breathe life into this economy that reaches families, neighborhoods, communities and towns. The wall street journal and oe dow jones average or interesting to read but for most. Americans it is not part of their regular Life Experience that its just a question about whether or not they can keep their family owned business open or whether or not that store or restaurant that they always valued as part of the community is gone forever. We know the stock markets are the single job report are not reliable measures in the economys Overall Health and the fact is too Many Americans are still living life on the brink. Look at the long lines of people in their f cars waiting for foo, spending hours of their day trying to get a donation of food. Some of them are embarrassed by the experience and they should not be. It reflects the reality of what life is like for many people who just, short time ago, or volunteers at that same food bank or contributed to it. They are waiting anxiously for relief wondering if Congress Even knows it. Set a record of 88000 americans hospitalized last tuesday, one week ago. One corner of our hospitals are reporting critical shortages of doctors and nurses who have been fatigued with months on the front lines. I cant help but be personally moved by these doctors and nurses who stand before us to talk about what it is like in an emergency room day after day and these are rocksolid professionals who have given their life to medical profession. How many times have we watch them break down in tears as they tell us what they are going through . To talk about the emotional stresses we face and the depression we face having to stay home and away from my friends and family and think about what they think everything will they and the danger to their own personal health and the danger to their families as a part of this. It really begs for us to take this much more seriously here on the floor of the United States senate. In the weeks leading up to thanksgiving one in eight americans, 26 million, did not have enough to eat and millions of americans are claiming some form of un appointment insurance if we do nothing, if we do nothing in the senate other than to act on the executive calendar, l which the republican leader refer to this morning, the day after christmas 12 million americans would be cut off entirely from unappointed assistance. 12 million. If we dont do something those will be in a desperate situation. If Congress Fails to act that date will be an ominous storm day in our history and the issues facing the state and local governments are at the forefront of combating this kindness has continued to be a priority in their budgets are being hammered by shrinking revenues and without additional aid many will have no choice but to cut Important Services that manyn rely upon or raise taxes n families already hard to hit. We must take action to protect our state ander local government workers and the firefighters, the teachers for the First Responders and in the coming weeks 30 million americans are facing the risk of eviction without additional help. Merry christmas, youve been evicted. We leave these marks from earlier and take you back live