America. And in the midst of that, that rising up for Police Department rethinking and Police Department murder and brutality, in the midst of all that, our country continues to suffer from the covid19 pandemic which in a number of locations in this country is actually getting worse and which has up to this point killed over 110,000 people and infected over two million americans. And then on top of all of that, the struggle for Racial Justice dealing with ap pandemic in the midst with a pandemic in the midst of all that we have the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. And in the last number of months, as you know, over 32 million americans have lost their jobs. Mr. President , in the midst of the struggle for Racial Justice, in the midst of this horrific health care crisis, in the midst of this economic meltdown, the American People are demanding to know what their government is doing in response to these crises. We were elected as senators, members of the h
Protected civil rights writ large. So this is going to require a longterm bipartisan commitment. But not just from us in washington but folks in the state capitals, city halls, and Police Departments across the country. Because ultimately its the local officials that have the responsibility to hire and fire the police chief, to make sure that bad Police Officers are removed from the force. And thats where the nearterm responsibility needs to lie, because we dont have that capability here. But we do believe, i do believe there are concrete steps we can take right now to address the racial injustices that were exposed once again with the death of mr. Floyd. So i appreciate senator scott and leader mcconnell for responding to this crisis with the urgency that it deserves, and im proud to be part of this effort in the senate. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from. The presiding officer the s