Work on a measure that was approved by the house yesterday providing 8. 3 billion in emergency funds to combat the coronavirus. Senate lawmakers are expect today vote on that measure later this afternoon and work on a bill to reset u. S. Energy and environmental policy. And now to live coverage. U. S. Senate here on cspan 2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. God of us all, thank you for this moment that unites us in the fellowship of prayer. Make us conscious of your presence and unite us in our efforts to do your will on earth. Inspire the hearts and minds of our lawmakers to strengthen the bonds between us, as they seek to live lives of integrity. May no partisanship mar the unity of spirit they must have to make america stronger, wiser, and better. Deliver them from every unworthy motive, as they labor to honor you. Lift their burdens, lessen their fears, and give them your peace. We pray in your great name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Grassley madam president. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i would like to speak in morning business for one minute. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley an independent judiciary is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. Judges serve Lifetime Appointments free from political pressure so that they can render impartial judgment without fear of retribution. Yesterday, unfortunately, our country took a step in the wrong direction with the Democratic Leaders comments. At a microphone in front of the Supreme Court, the democratic leader harangued and warned justices gorsuch and kavanaugh by name. He said they would, quote, pay a price and, quote again, wont know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions, end quote. At best, it was an injection of partisan politics into the process that should be immune to these justices. At worst, it was a threat targeting two sitting members of the Supreme Court. Now, either way, i encourage my colleague, the democratic leader, to apologize to those Supreme Court justices and to do it here on the floor. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell madam president. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i had planned to spend my remarks today discussing our bipartisan, bicameral agreement to fund the fight against the new coronavirus. I was looking forward to congratulating all my colleagues and discussing all the important ways this funding will help our Public Health experts, Frontline Health care professionals, and state and local officials combat the spread of this virus and mitigate its effects. Its a serious agreement to meet a serious challenge, and today we will send it to President Trumps desk. So today will be an important day for the country, and it was going to be a proud day for the senate, but instead, the nations eyes are on this body for an entirely different reason. A few weeks ago, i spoke on this floor about a dangerous trend that threatens our selfgovernment. I explained how some in the Democratic Party appear more interested in attacking the institutions of our government than in working within them. How democrats increasingly respond to political disappointments with extreme claims that our system of government itself must be broken. The failure cant be their own. It cant be that the left needs better arguments or ideas. No. No. The fault must lie with the constitution itself. Democrats have tried to cloak their anger at President Trump in rhetoric about protecting norms and institutions, but in reality, it is their own side of the aisle where any institutionalism is rampant. Rampant. We could talk about attacks on the office of the presidency, on the electoral college, on the first amendment, on the senate itself, but most striking of all have been the shameless efforts to bully our nations independent judiciary, and yesterday those efforts took a dangerous and disturbing turn. By now, many already know what the democratic leader shouted outside the Supreme Court yesterday morning. Im sorry to have to read it into the record. First, he prompted a crowd of leftwing activists to boo two of the associate justices, as though Supreme Court justices were professional athletes and senator schumer were jeering from the stands. And then the senior senator from new york said this i want to tell you, gorsuch, i want to tell you, kavanaugh, youve released a whirlwind and you, you will pay the price. You wont know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions, end quote. Madam president , im not sure where to start. There is nothing to call this exception a threat, and there is absolutely no question to whom, to whom it was directed. Contrary to what the democratic leader has since tried to claim, he very, very clearly was not addressing republican lawmakers or anyone else. He literally directed the statement to the justices by name, and he said, quote, if you go forward with these awful decisions, which could only apply to the court itself. The minority leader of the United States senate threatened two associate justices of the u. S. Supreme court, period. Theres no other way to interpret that. Even worse, the threat was not clearly political or institutional. As ill discuss in a moment, these kinds of threats are sadly nothing new from Senate Democrats. This was much broader, much broader. The democratic leader traveled to the workplace of the two judges, and in front of a crowd of activists, he told those judges you will pay the price, right in front of the Supreme Court building. And you wont know what hit you, he said, right in front of the Supreme Court building. If any american had these words shouted at them from the sidewalk outside their office, they would hear those threats as personal. And most likely they would hear them as threatening or inciting violence. Thats how any american would interpret those words if they were directed at us, and thats certainly how the press and leading democrats would have characterized them if President Trump or any senior republican had said anything remotely, remotely similar. Weve seen much more hay made out of much less. Perhaps our colleague thinks this is absurd. Perhaps he would like the most generous possible interpretation that he got carried away and didnt mean what he said. But if he didnt even admit to saying what he said, we certainly cannot know what he meant. At the very best, his comments were astonishingly, astonishingly reckless and supplemental irresponsible, and clearly, as the chief justice stated in a rare and extraordinary rebuke, they were, quote, dangerous, end quote. Because no matter the intention, words carrying the apparent threat of violence can have horrific unintended consequences. In the most recent year on record, madam president , the United States Marshal Service tracked thousands of threats and inappropriate commutations against the judiciary. Thousands of threats against the judiciary. Less than three years ago, of course, an unhinged and unstable leftwing activist attempted a mass murder of Congressional Republicans at a baseball field right across the river. A Senate Leader appearing to threaten or incite violence on the steps of the Supreme Court could literally be a matter of deadly seriousness. So i fully anticipate our colleague would quickly withdraw his comments and apologize. Thats what even reliably liberal legal experts like Laurence Tribe and neil kagel have publicly urged. Instead, our colleague doubled down, doubled down. He tried to gaslight the entire country and stated that he was actually threatening fellow senators, as though that would be much better. But thats sufficient. And then a few hours later, the democratic leader tripled down. Instead of taking chief Justice Roberts sober statement to heart, he lashed out again and tried to imply the chief justice was biased, biased for doing his job and defending the court. Let me say that again. He tripled down and he lashed out yet again and tried to imply the chief justice was biased for doing his job and defending the court. Our colleague therefore succeeded in attacking 33 of the Supreme Court in space of a few hours. Throughout the impeachment, in the senate trial, for months, washington democrats preached sermons about the separation of powers and respect between equal branches. So much for all of that. And sadly, this attack was not some isolated incident. The leftwing campaign against the federal judiciary did not begin yesterday, not yesterday. My colleagues will recall that during the impeachment trial, the senior senator from massachusetts, and outside pressure groups tried to attack the chief justice sitting right in that chair for staying neutral instead of delivering the outcomes that they wanted. These same groups same to senator schumers defense yesterday with gratuitous attacks against the chief justice for condemning the threat against his colleagues. And last summer, last summer, a number of Senate Democrats sent an extraordinary brief to the Supreme Court. It threatened to inflict institutional change on the court if it did not rule the way the democrats wanted. In other words, give us the ruling we want or well change the numbers of the court. Heres what they wrote. The Supreme Court is not well. Really . The Supreme Court is not well. Perhaps the court can heal itself before the public demands it be restructured. Now, what that means is you rule the way we want or were going to expand the numbers and change the outcome. A political threat, plain as day. As you read the document, you have expected it to end by saying thats some nice Judicial Independence youve got over there. It would be a shame if something happened to it. It couldnt have been more clear. Independence from political passions is the cornerstone of our judiciary and our country. Judicial independence is what enables courts to do justice, even when it is unpopular to protect Constitutional Rights even when powerful interests want them infringed. Judicial independence, madam president , is what makes the United States of america a republic of laws rather than of men. Its been almost a century since the last time democrats threatened to pack the Supreme Court because they wanted different rurallings. Different rulings. History still judges that disgraceful episode to this day. So i would suggest that my democratic colleagues spend less time trying to threaten impartial judges and more time coming up with ideas that are actually constitutional. Fortunately, this extraordinary display contains oneironic silver lining. These clumsy efforts to erode a pillar of american governance have just reminded everyone why that pillar is so crucial. These efforts to attack Judicial Independence remind us that independence is essential. Every time democrats try to threaten sitting judges, we are reminded exactly, exactly why the framers gave them life tenure and salary protection. Precisely why they did it. Every time democrats toy with packing new seats on the court, were reminded exactly why Justice Ginsburg recently said, nine seems to be a good number. Justice ginsburg said nine seems to be a good number. The distinguished men and women of the Supreme Court do not and must not serve at the pleasure of angry partisans. Must not serve at the pleasure of angry par partisans. Me do not need to pay any mind to unhinged threats as shameful as they may be. In fact, as the chief justice reminded us yesterday, they are duty bound to pay such things no attention at all. Their Job Description is simple. To apply the law to the facts as the chief justice put it, without fear or favor from whatever corner. I have great confidence the court will do just that. Im confident that if the facts and the constitution would have led the court to disappoint democrats the day before yesterday, they will still feel free to do so today. And tomorrow. And beyond, notwithstanding these shameful tactics. Now, i had hoped i would not need to reiterate what every republican senator told the court in august after Senate Democrats sent their threatening brief. But today i have no choice but to say it again. Republicans are absolutely and unshakeably committed to the core constitutional principle of an independent federal judicia judiciary. The core constitutional principle of an independent federal judiciary. As long as this majority holds the gavel, we will never let the minority leaders dangerous views become policy. This majority will ensure the only casualties of this recklessness are the reputations of those who engage in it. The presiding officer under the previous order, leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of s. 2657 which the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 357, s. 2657, a bill to support innovation in advanced Geothermal Research and development and for other purposes. Mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer are we in a quorum . The presiding officer we are not. Mr. Schumer thank you, madam president. Now, madam president , i just listened to the republican leader, and there was a glaring omission in his speech. He did not mention what the rally yesterday, my speech, or the case before the court was about. A womans constitutional right to choose. To the women of america, what were talking about here, what i am fighting for here is your right to choose. An issue, of course, leader mcconnell completely ignored in his speech. I feel so passionately about this issue and i feel so deeply the anger of women all across america about Senate Republicans and the courts working hand in glove to take down roe v. Wade. I just read about a woman in shreveport who under the louisiana law now before the Supreme Court would have to travel over 300 miles to exercise her constitutional freedoms, and this is happening in states across the country. Republican state legislatures are restricting a womans right to choose so severely as to make it nonexistent, and the courts are now likely to go along because Senate Republicans have confirmed nominees they believe will strip away womens rights and fundamentally change this country. Going so far as to deny a duly elected president the right to pick a Supreme Court justice. Republicans are afraid here in the senate to confront this issue directly so they try to accomplish through the courts what they never would accomplish in the court of Public Opinion, and they leave women out in the cold. So yes, i am angry. The women of america are angry. And yes, we will continue to fight for a womans right to choose. I will continue to fight for the women of america. Now, i should not have used the words i used yesterday. They didnt come out the way i intended to. My point was that there would be political consequences, political consequences for President Trump and Senate Republicans if the Supreme Court , with the newly confirmed justices, stripped away a womans right to choose. Of course i didnt intend to suggest anything other than political and Public Opinion consequences for the Supreme Court, and it is a gross distortion to imply otherwise. Im from brooklyn. We speak in strong language. I shouldnt have used the words i did, but in no way was i making a threat. I never, never would do such a thing. And leader mcconnell knows that. And republicans who are busy manufacturing outrage over these comments know that, too. Now, what will remain long after the clamor over my comments dies down is the issue at hand, a womans constitutional right to choose and republican attempts to invalidate it. The fact that my republican colleagues have worked systematically over the course of decades to install the judicial infrastructure to take down roe v. Wade and do very real damage to the country and to the american way of life, that is the issue that will remain. And we owe, i owe an obligation to the women of america to fight for their Constitutional Rights. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Durbin madam president , i come to the floor this morning as a Senate Colleague who may know Chuck Schumer better than most. We lived under the same roof for almost 20 years. We know one another. We know each others families. We have been together through moments of sadness and triumph. I know him well, and i come to the floor this morning to make this statement i respect chief justice john roberts, but i respectfully disagree with the statement he made yesterday about senator schumers comments before the Supreme Court building. It is not in Chuck Schumers nature to physically threaten anyone, anyone, or to create a dangerous situation for any person. That is just not Chuck Schumer. Even his passion, as you just heard, about the issue of Womens Health care would not lead him to that position. Yes, as he said, he could have chosen his words more carefully, but is there a person in public life whos ever stood in this chamber or any other who wouldnt say the same about some public utterance . What troubles me is that his being admonished publicly by President Donald Trump for his use of words. Being admonished by President Trump for his use of words. It just takes your breath away, to think that this president , with his thousands of tweets and statements and utterances, outrageous as they have been, would be standing as a judge of others when it comes to the use of language. And i listened carefully this morning, as senator mcconnell, the republican leader, came to the floor and spoke, when he talked about his singular respect for the Supreme Court and the Judicial Independence. He used the phrase repeatedly, Judicial Independence. He called the judiciary, rightly, a pillar of the american government. Does senator mcconnell think we have forgotten what he did when it came to this same Supreme Court after Justice Scalia passed away . He intentionally left a vacancy on the court for almost a year before it was filled for political purposes. We remember when president obama in the last year of his presidency offered the nomination of Merrick Garland, a highly respected Circuit Court judge in the district of columbia. Do you remember what this republican leader, senator mcconnell, did in response . This man who so admires this pillar of the american government, the judiciary . He refused to even personally meet with Merrick Garland, president obamas nominee, and he instructed his colleagues on the republican side to do the same, to shun him, to give him the cold shoulder, and to make it clear that for a year, there would be a vacancy on the court because he, senator mcconnell, was praying he would get a Political Community to fill that vacancy if a republican were elected to the presidency. And of course, thats what happened in 2016. So for senator mcconnell to come before us and talk about his respect for the court, keeping politics out of the court, calling it a pillar of the american government, has he forgotten what he did to Merrick Garland . And incidentally, despite his constitutional contortion that for some reason in the last year of a presidency that president has given up any constitutional right to fill a vacancy, senator mcconnell was recently asked, well, what if that happens in the last year of President Trumps administration . Well, he wasted no time saying of course i would let President Trump fill the vacancy. As transparent as possible, his partisan motives when it comes to that Supreme Court. So if he wants to show respect for the court, it certainly has not been demonstrated, starting with the vacancy of Justice Scalia. And how about his single minded effort, senator mcconnells single minded effort to fill every federal vacancy across the United States as quickly as possible . Sadly, with men and women who scarcely have any experience and service in our judicial system. So far, President Trump has said to this senate and senator mcconnell has accepted and approved nine nominees for federal judiciary who have been found unanimously unqualified by the American Bar Association. Nine men and women who have such extreme backgrounds or such limited experience they shouldnt sit on the federal bench but senator mcconnell, with his respect for the judiciary, couldnt wait to give them Lifetime Appointments. Oh, you ask wait a minute, what about president obama . How many did he send to the senate who were found unanimously unqualified by the American Bar Association . None. None. Not one. That is what were facing here with senator mcconnells singular strategy to fill the courts with people who share his extreme views on Womens Health care, on civil rights, and on so many other fundamental issues. So preaching on this floor about your respect for the Supreme Court, your respect for our federal judiciary doesnt go very far when you take a close look at the record that senator mcconnell has written. So at this point, let me suggest that we move forward from this day and not dwell on what the Morning Headlines might be. We have work to do. And it would be better if we did it in a bipartisan fashion with respect for one another. I stamped ready to work with those on the other side of the aisle to achieve that goal, but i want to say at this moment that dwelling on this particular chapter doesnt serve the American People. They didnt send us here to squabble and fight. They sent us here to pass important legislation that respects their right to quality, accessible, Affordable Health care. They sent us here to make sure that women have the basic constitutional right to make the most important personal decisions of their lives. They sent us here to make sure that we serve this country in giving working families a fighting chance. All of the other things that we spend time talking about on this floor diminish in comparison. Its time for us to roll up our sleeves and let the senate be more than a rubber stamp for the federal judiciary when there are partisan goals in mind by senator mcconnell and others. Madam president , i yield the floor. I suggest i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Thune madam president . The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Thune madam president , are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are. Mr. Thune i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune madam president , as i begin this morning, i want to associate myself with the remarks of the republican leader, senator mcconnell, earlier this morning. The attacks that were made by the democratic leader, senator schumer, on the Supreme Court yesterday were not only irresponsible, they were reckless, and they were shameful. And i think we need to just call that what it is. And for them to suggest for him to suggest that this isnt what he meant and that this is somehow manufactured outrage on the part of us or republicans in general doesnt fit with the way that these comments came across either, because i want to read for you from the cnn Supreme Court reporter, and i quote, schumer speaking at a rally of abortion rights supporters appeared to threaten kavanaugh and gorsuch, President Trumps two Supreme Court nominees who were confirmed after bruising nomination fights. Thats the interpretation, not of fox news but of cnn. And i think we need to be very clear when comments like that are made that threaten an independent judiciary in this country, they need to be called out, and they need to be walked back. And i appreciate the fact that the democratic leader acknowledged today that he should have said it differently, but it doesnt in any way diminish what was said or the context in which it was said or the attacks that were made on the Supreme Court. They need it needs to be recognized as that. And i think all of us need to be, as United States senators, aware, aware no matter what the audience, particularly when you are the democratic leader, of how these things come across and what they mean to the people who have been threatened by them. Madam president , im pleased that republicans and democrats in both chambers have quickly come together to provide emergency funding to combat the coronavirus. And i look forward to voting this afternoon to send this important funding measure to the president s desk. On another subject, madam president , our nation is poised for the widespread deployment of the next generation of internet technologies, 5g. With its incredible speed and connectivity, 5g will usher in a new era of innovation. Advances in medical care, the largescale deployment of precision agriculture, safer transportation technologies, 5g will bring all of these things and more. But like any new technology, 5g networks will present new risks and vulnerabilities. Because 5g will mean a vastly greater degree of connected devices, the risks with 5g will be greater. Thats why an essential part of deploying 5g networks has to be looking at how we can mitigate security risks. Yesterday the Senate Commerce Committee Held a hearing on supply chain risks for 5g. We need to ensure that the Component Parts of our devices and of telecommunications net works are secure. That means ensuring that 5g equipment comes from trusted vendors. Currently one of the biggest suppliers of 5g equipment worldwide is a chinese company, huawei, which is supported by the Chinese Government. Much of huaweis equipment is built with back doors, giving the Chinese Government access to Global Communications networks. The United States has taken a number of steps to prevent equipment from huawei and another suspect company, z. T. E. , from being used in u. S. Communications networks. But these Companies Still pose a risk to the United States. For starters, some u. S. Broadband providers often in rural areas still have equipment from huawei and z. T. E. In their Communications Networks. And a number of our allies and trade partners, entities with whom we regularly share information, including Sensitive National security information, have used or are using technology from huawei and z. T. E. Yesterdays Commerce Committee hearing focused on both of these issues. We discussed socalled rip and replace with hardware from trusted companies. Last week the Senate Unanimously passed the secure and trusted Communications Networks act, which is now with the president to be signed into law. This legislation will help Telecommunications Providers with the cost of replacing Network Components that pose a security risk. I cosponsored this legislation, which was developed by Commerce Committee chairman roger wicker. Madam president , cost is a major obstacle for small broadband providers when it comes to replacing telecommunications hardware. But as one Expert Witness at the hearing noted, a lack of qualified Telecommunications Workers also poses a barrier to replacement. I recently introduced legislation, the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce act, to help increase the number of workers on the front lines of replacing this equipment and deploying new, secure 5g networks. I hope, madam president , this legislation will quickly make its way through the senate. Replacing problematic hardware in our domestic teleCommunications Networks will help ensure the security of our communications to come. As i said earlier, thats not the only challenge were facing. We regularly exchange information, including Sensitive National security information, with our allies and trading partners, and this information can only be secure if networks on both ends are secure. Thats why the United States has called for other countries to reject Telecommunications Technology from huawei and z. T. E. While some countries have committed to using trusted companies to build out their teleCommunications Networks, other countries are still planning to make use of huaweis technology. Thats why im introducing legislation today to make Telecommunications Security a key objective when negotiating future trade deals. This legislation is critical as the United States begins formal trade talks with the United Kingdom and with other allies. We should be using trade agreements to push for enhanced Network Security globally, which would benefit not only our country but every country with which we do business. As one witness noted at yesterdays hearing, this legislation and i quote is long overdue. And i could not agree more. Madam president , over the next i should say, over the past few years, weve talked a lot about the importance of having United States win the global race to 5g. There are Important Reasons for that. For starters, having the United States at the forefront of 5g technology will mean big benefits for our economy and for american workers. But theyre also there are also important security reasons to have the United States at the head of the 5g revolution. If we lead the world in implementing 5g, we will have the chance to set standards for 5g deployment, including, most importantly, Network Security standards. It is no exaggeration to say that having the chance to set worldwide standards for 5g is critical. Its critical, madam president , to our National Security. Our teleCommunications Networks already play a huge role in our National Security, and that role will only grow as we fully adopt 5g technology. We need to ensure that u. S. Networks are as secure as it is possible for them to be. Madam president , i appreciated the witnesses who took the time to address the Commerce Committee yesterday. There is not better way to learn what needs to be done for 5g security than to hear from the people on the ground who spend every waking day managing Network Security issues. I look forward to continuing to work with all of my colleagues in the senate to advance telecommunication security and ensure that the United States is fully prepared for the 5g future. Madam president , i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from south carolina. Mr. Graham id ask unanimous consent to terminate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Graham thank you very much. Later in the day ill be making a motion to table the paul amendment that would require offsetting the 7. 76 billion for the coronavirus against the foreign operations account. Senator pauls at it again. Hes consistent. I respect his view. I just reject it. What he would be doing is basically upending the f. Y. 2020 agreement passed by congress and signed into law by President Trump. He would be putting our nation at risk if this amendment actually passed. 1 of federal spending is foreign assistance in different fashions and ways, including our commitment to our friends in israel and other programs we have that i think are National Defense oriented. The u. S. Global Leadership Coalition consisting of 500 businesses, n. G. O. s, military and faith leaders have warned that cuts of this magnitude would have devastating consequences on our ability to confront unprecedented global challenges, including chinas growing influence around the world, supporting partners in the fight against extremism and addressing impacts. I would go further, this cut would devastate the foreign assistance account in terms of being able to deal effectively with the effects of the virus overseas. David beezly, the head of the World Food Program warned in an a. P. Article that hed like to make part of the record if i could at this time. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Graham he says that the coronavirus continues to create panic around the world and theres an economic downturn. Ive been telling european leaders and leaders around the world you dont have enough money set aside to address the needs in africa, east africa, west africa, in the middle east right now. Were only beginning to understand the cost associated with the virus. I want to compliment senator shelby and leahy for putting this package together, compliment the white house and the senate and house. It was a huge there was a huge vote in the house. If we accept senator pauls offset amendment, you will be devastating our ability as a nation to deal with this matter overseas and as to senator pauls world view, i have consistently rejected it. When it comes to international terrorism, i have no desire to go back to the pre9 11 footprint of where we ignore problems over there hoping they wont come here. And when it comes to fighting disease and containing viruses, i think we understand that we have to be present over there and in an effective way to control the spread of the coronavirus, ebola, and other diseases that can make their way to america. So weve always rejected these type offsets by senator paul. I think the best thing we could do is have an overwhelming bipartisan vote. Count me in for dealing with the deficit but this is opinion wise and pound foolish because the 7. 76 billion if its taken out of the foreign operations account, it makes this country less safe. On multiple fronts. And he will be making a motion to table at the appropriate time and urge my colleagues to understand that what happens over there matters to us over here. And this would devastate programs like the Benjamin Gillman international scholarships, bria college in western kentucky participate in. Its a Ripple Effect of enormous proportions and its not going to do much for the debt but it will do a lot to make us less safe. Senator leahy. Mr. Leahy mr. President , just my friend and colleagues on the floor, i totally agree with what he just said. Senator shelby and i will be giving longer statements in a few minutes. But senator graham and i have had the duty really to put through the foreign ops for an operations bill for a number of years now. Weve tried to do it in a bipartisan actually a nonpartisan way. And as a result, it has gotten very, very strong support from both sides of the aisle, which is what we hope will happen now. I will certainly be voting with senator grahams motion to table when he makes it. This i mean, every senator, he or she can vote any way they want but i would note for our colleagues, senator shelby and i and key senators, including the senator now on the floor, both parties have worked every day, every evening, our staffs, weekends in order to get where we are. This is a product of every single republican, every single democrat who wanted a voice in this, a chance to speak to it. Both senator shelby as chairman, myself as vice chairman, we made sure that voices were heard. I yield the floor and suggest the mr. Graham i would like to just compliment again you and senator shelby. You always deliver you seem to be able to do things that most people cant do at a time when we need you to deliver for the body and the country. Ive got two i have an article, u. N. Food aide chief fears for african introduces new crisis. I would like to introduce that into the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Graham and a u. S. Leadership coalition letter. And i would wrap up saying senator paul is consistent. Every time he wants to pay for something, he comes to the foreign assistance account. I understand, you know, the argument why are we spending over there when we have problems here. That sounds good until you realize how the world is. On september 10, 2001, the day before 9 11, we didnt have one soldier in afghanistan, not an embassy, not an ambassador, not a dime of aid. The taliban were in charge and they gave al qaeda safe haven and thats where the planning attacks originated. It would have been nice to have influence in afghanistan on september 10. All i can say, ill never go back to that pre9 11 mind set of ignoring the world because ive learned like most americans the world can come here in a very bad way or a very good way depending on how we defend ourselves. And this 1 of the budget, foreign assistance to deal with problems over there is absolutely essential in terms of global help. He exempted the global help component of the foreign assistance account but the money, 7. 76 billion will destroy other things in the account that i think are vital to our Public Health here and our National Security and our alliances. You cannot fight problems like this by yourself. You need partners. You need to get involved over there so the virus didnt spread anymore here than necessary. So i hope that people will listen to what senator leahy just said, that this was a negotiated agreement. We all came together to get a budget. Senator shelby and leahy did a wonderful job working with the house and the white house to get us to where we are today. This amendment would upset everything. And im going to move to table it at the appropriate time. And with that ill notice the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Cardin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from from maryland. Mr. Cardin i would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. Officer if officer without objection. The presiding officer the senate will proceed with consideration of House Resolution h. R. Resolution h. R. 604, which the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 6074, an act making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2020, and for other purposes. Mr. Cardin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that floor privileges be granted to michael thomas, a member of my staff, for the remainder of the 116th congress. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cardin thank you, mr. President. At the end of fiscal year 2021, the fiveyear authorization for the elementary and secondary education act, our nations foundational prekinder garden is supposed to expire. While i understand that previous authorizations took 13 years and allowed an entire generation of students to matriculate, i am here to stress that our kids cannot wait for the needed transformational changes in additional funding investments. To provide a stronger federal partnership to states and local communities that have worked together to support transformational change that will ensure Educational Equity and quality for all Public School students, i introduced the true equity act, stands for the transformational and educational quality and urgent investments in todays youth act. My home state of maryland has been long recognized as having one of the best Public School systems in the country. According to the independent newspaper education week, this ranges from having an entire countybased local School System ranked as near the top in the nation to individual schools producing National Leaders in academic achievement. In addition, maryland was one of the first states to offer halfday preschool for 4yearolds, has broad access to advanced placement courses for High Schoolers and pays for dualenrollment students. I am proud of these accomplishments. However, not all of our students have found success. In the 2016 maryland General Assembly and governor of maryland established a commission on innovation and excellence in education chaired by the former chance letter of the University System of maryland, William Britt kerwin, to identify the policies and practices so that maryland schools at a level of the highest School Systems. There was a review of the current funding formulas and Accountability Measures utilized to ensure Educational Equity and quality. How maryland schools prepare students for Postsecondary Education in theworkforce and to make recommendations for the state on needed funding improvements across the state and local School Districts. These reviews are necessary to support growing populations of children with disabilities, how to improve and expand programs supporting postsecondary credential attainment, and other policy changes to address the academic achievement gap that has persisted along racial, ethnic, and income levels between students of color and lowincome students compared to the higherincome and white peers. To meet this expansive charge, the commission included stakeholders from across our stake state including representatives of the maryland General Assembly, including our now speaker of the house of delegates and state Senate President , the governors office, county elected leasheds, educational leaders including state and local school board representatives, our state and local superintendents, leader of our state public University System, teachers, business leaders, and leading educational advocacy organizations such as the maryland state education association, the maryland Parentteacher Association and maryland family network. In addition to the members of the commission, the commission actively sought input from the public with numerous meetings soliciting Public Comment held across our state. In january 2019, the commission unanimously released their interim report that found maryland students scored in the middle of the pack on the National Assessment of educational progress known as the nations report card that is given to representative samples in the fourth, eighth, and 12th graders in every state. The gaps in achievement between social and economic children with disabilities were far too large in a state like maryland that has established policies meant to provide a worldclass Public Education system. The Commission Also reported that less than half of the kinder gardeners entering our School System are ready to learn and fewer children are graduating college or career ready. This is in spite of the estimates that by 2022 nearly twothirds of the jobs in maryland will require at least a postsecondary credentials, whether 42 whether they be nationally recognized industry certificates or two or Fouryear College degree. For instance in to 17 just under half of all students in maryland high schools received a proficiency score in their english 10 exam. That exam helps evaluates a students readiness for college or career. This integrated data shows that continued struggles to close academic achievement gaps among racial and socioeconomic groups. Along racial lines, 77 of asian students, 67 of white students were proficient. However, only 34 of hispanic students and 29 of African American students earned proficiency scores. The commissions interim report highlighted that despite maryland being ranked as being one of the top five states with the highest household median income, our large number of maryland students are living in poverty. 43 of maryland students are lowincome or eligible or free or reducedprice school meals, meaning that they come from families at or below 185 of the federal poverty line. For every ten Public Schools across our state, there is a concentration of poverty where enrollment consists of at least 5 of students living in poverty. These schools are in all of our subdivisions except one. In 15 of maryland schools at least 80 of children are low income. Student attend the schools with a concentration of poverty receive less funding per pupil than other School Districts. For example, 53 of African American students attend schools with concentration of poverty while only 8 of students attend these schools. The academic achievement gap between maryland students with means and our lowincome students is stark. On the english 10 exam, 62 of economically advantaged students earn add passing score while 28 of those that are on free and reducedprice students were deemed proficient. These statistics are stark. We know we have a problem. We have to deal with it. The commission reported that these academic achievement disparities continue into College Enrollment where fewer students of color and lowincome students enroll in college than their white peers. We need to do something about this. Concerns about the state education in maryland was not limited to student performance. The commissions interim report also found that students face a rotating carousel of teachers throughout their time in school. With the average salary for teachers in maryland approximately 25 less than professionals with comparable levels of education, its difficult to attract to the profession. 60 of our new teachers are recruited from outside our state each year. This is a common problem we have throughout the country. Once those individuals arrive in the classroom, 47 will leave by the start of their third year. The turnover is tremendous. Its salary issues, working conditions. It makes it difficult to get the true professionalism and commitments that we need in education. This difficulty in recruiting individuals and constant turn leaves the local Education Systems facing shortages in critical need areas such as special education, language, and the stem fields. In order to address these inequities in education, the commission unanimously agreed on a proposal for five transformative policy recommendations in their interim report that would provide significant additional investments in federal, state, and local funding and modify policies for marylands prekindergarten through 12 Education System. The five main policy recommendations would first invest in highquality, Early Childhood education and care through a significant expansion of fullday preschool to be free for all lowincome 3 and 4yearolds so that children have the opportunity to begin kindergarten ready to learn. Second, it invests in teachers and School Leaders by elevating the standard and statisticcing of the teaching profession including a career ladder and salaries comparable to other fields with similar educational requirements. Third, it creates a worldclass instructional system with an International Benchmark curriculum that enables most students to achieve college or careerready status by the 10th grade and then pursue pathways that include college, advanced placement courses or a rigorous Technical Education leading to credentials and higherpay jobs. Forum, it provides support to students that need it the most with broad and sustained support for schools serving high concentrations of poverty. With afterschool and summer academic programs and Student Access to needed health and social services. And finally, it ensures excellence for all through an accountability Oversight Board that has the authority to ensure that transformative Education System recommendations are successfully implemented and produce the desired improvements in student achievement. These reforms will be implemented over a tenyear period creating a sustained and coordinated effort to transform marylands Public Education system into a worldclass system elevating the teaching profession and eliminating educational inequities. An independent analysis confirms that the cost to implement the commissions recommendation will pay for themselves shortly after the tenyear implementation period. Last year the maryland General Assembly recognized that our children cannot wait to implement the commissions recommendation, and establish the blueprint for marylands future to lay the groundwork for the implementation of the commissions recommendations. Starting this year, the blueprint for marylands future is assessing lowincome families access to expanded services and Early Childhood education including free prekindergarten for 3 and 4yearolds from lowincome families. The blueprint for marylands future is assisting in the recruitment of new teachers through increased teacher pay and career ladders for existing teachers to help train the next generation. A newly established Career Readiness standard will allow Maryland College students to en roll in dual courses. The blueprint strohss marylands education formulas to better target resources to students who need additional assistance including children with disability, English Learners and students in school with high concentration of poverty. This is all done while increasing accountability to ensure that the additional investments are properly implemented and help our students succeed. Thats the path that were on. I agree with advocates and other elected leaders that understand our kids cannot wait for adoption of these recommendations at some point in the future. We need to act now. We need to implement these recommendations now and view them as a National Model for other states to aspire to. Without transformative change, we will continue to hope for significantly different results with only incremental changes, or we can be bold and change the future of our children and our country and every child with the highquality Education Skills training that they need to be successful and climb out of poverty. I reject the arguments from those who would claim that the recommendations are too costly to implement. Without the full implementation of the commissions recommendation, we are failing in our primary goal of government of providing Better Future for our children, allowing them to slip behind their national and international peers. These arguments also fail to recognize that the investments in our children can lead to a lifetime of reduced cost in public safety, health care costs, as children grow can grow and support themselves and the their future families through education they received in Public Schools. These investments will pay back dividends in a stronger economy that will benefit all of us. I believe that we should not allow states and local communities to make these transformative changes on their own. The federal government should be a strong federal partner in ensuring accountability and addressing educational inequities for our children. That is why i introduced the true equity act. This legislation purposely modeled after the commissions recommendation establishes four new supplemental federal grant opportunities for state and local School Districts committed to addressing educational inequities while Holding States and local School Districts accountable for failing to properly support their students. Strengthening the federal governments commitment as a partner in education, the four new true equity grants would provide an additional 1 of federal funds for every 2 of state and local funds committed to education beyond their f. Y. 2019 spending levels. State and local School Districts receiving a grant would be required to meet a maintenance effort to ensure that the state and local education spending is maintained and not allow the federal governments funding to backfill reductions in state and local commitments to educational funding. As a requirement to receive one of the four new true equity grants, a state would be required to have an independent Oversight Board to ensure that the state and local districts are meeting their state designated Educational Equity goals and have the ability to hold the state and local School Districts accountable for not meeting the targeted goals. These grants are flexible to allow local communities to meet their needs over a severalyear period whether through the establishment of a college and Career Readiness pathway to support High School Students dual enroll mt. In local community ledges and provide a jumpstart on colleges, additional funding to expand the number of Early Learning hubs in the state. Or training for teachers on how to address the needs for children with disabilities. As Congress Begins to look at the next reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act, i urge my colleagues to listen to the voices of marylanders across our state who know that our kids cant wait for the implementation of these recommendations and support the true equity act. I congratulate members of the commission who thoughtfully researched and crafted this National Model for states to be able to see transformative change and raise their Education System to that of a worldclass School System. We owe our children nothing less than providing them the best possible outcome in our nations Public Schools. Mr. President , i would suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Paul mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from kentucky. Prawp praw i ask unanimous consent that we. Mr. Paul i ask unanimous consent that we dispense with the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Paul i call up my amendment 1506 and ask it be reported by number. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk the senator from kentucky, mr. Paul, proposes an amendment numbered 1506. Mr. Paul mr. President , my amendment would pay for the emergency funds for the coronavirus. I think that we should not let fear or urgency cause us to lose our minds and cause us to act in an irresponsible fashion. I for one have looked at foreign aid over the years as welfare that we send to other countries that really is not particularly in our best interest anyway. If you follow foreign aid through the years, what you find is that it goes from middleclass folks in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. Frankly, people enrich themselves at our expense. They steal our money. The mubarak family now is worth billions of dollars in egypt that they have skimmed off the top. The history of this throughout the third world is legion and is well known. My amendment would basically say that you would take the 8 billion from the welfare we give to Foreign Countries and we would pay for this. I see no reason why we shouldnt do this. Im not opposed to the emergency funding but i think the emergency funding should be gotten from elsewhere in the budget, and thats the responsible way to being the a. Every day people across the country confront unexpected expenses. We budget, we plan, but things happen. When they do, we adjust and plan accordingly. And sometimes we confront an expense that is not only unexpected but urgent. Thats where we find ourselves today. We want to respond to make sure we are providing resources to our medical professionals and researchers. Thats important, and i fully support that, which is why we should use this moment to ask ourselves at a moment like this whether its really necessary to keep spending on wasteful things. If we dont consider this now, when will we ever consider this . We want an all hands on deck response, so we should be cutting out waste and moving those resources into something of more immediate concern. So if the coronavirus is of immediate concern and i think it is lets address that situation now, but lets do so by taking money from less urgent things and taking money that we are wasting overseas, taking money that is often stolen by third world dictators. Thats exactly what im proposing today. We have the money. We dont need to borrow more money. We just have to start setting our own priorities. For example, we shouldnt spend another dollar developing a foreign economy this year. That spending should be stopped and the money should be spent here to buy supplies, to help expedite research and to support our communities. The funds im proposing to keep at home have been used abroad for all kinds of unnecessary and wasteful things. Ill give you a few examples. We send u. S. Taxpayer dollars to fund kids from pakistan to go to space camp in america. We spend money combatting student truancy in the philippines. Weve been funding the peruvian green new deal. We actually send money to help deported Illegal Immigrants start up businesses in el salvador. What business is it of the u. S. Taxpayer to fund people who broke the law trying to break into our country . Its insane. I think this money would be better spent at this point in time on research on coronavirus in response to this epidemic should it become worse in our country. The list doesnt stop there. I dont know why we cant greap to spend this agree to spend this money on the coronavirus instead of spending it abroad. We spend over 50 billion a year in afghanistan, building their roads, building their schools, trying to create a nation where there really is no nation. We need to spend that money here at home. Besides, its the law. We have a law called paygo, or pay as you go, which is supposed to require congress to pay for new spending. Its been around for a couple of decades, and yet we have broken the law thousands of times. What do they do . They see something they want. Theyre a kid in a candy store and they want to spend, and so they just ignore the law. What happens . Every year they exceed the payasyougo. They dont do the thing youre supposed to do which is offset this with a spending cut and they write a small little note in there saying weve agreed to ignore the paygo rules again. The other way they ignore the rules on paygo is everything is an emergency. You say what would we do if we didnt have this, if it werent an emergency . We already spend billions of dollars and have spent billions of dollars over years preparing for epidemics. We fund the c. D. C. We fund the n. I. H. Theres a lot of money out there. But once again, im not against giving additional money, but we should just make a decision. We should be mature people and say were just not going to print up the money or borrow it from china. Were going to take it maybe from something less necessary. When we dont want to pay for new spending, we waive these rules on paygo. We declare the spending to be emergency and get around the requirement. Thats how we got a 23 trillion debt. We actually borrow 2 million every minute. And people say weve got to do something. People are running around crazy, weve got to do something. Whos going to do something about the 23 trillion debt . Do we not have five minutes to take a vote . In 15 minutes well be taking a vote and people can say were not going to borrow more money. We can take the money from somewhere else in the budget that is less pressing but mark my words there is no fiscal responsibility up here among either party. It will be a small minority of us who will say that this funding should be offset by taking it from somewhere else in the budget. In times of emergency, Congress Scrambles to put together new spending, but we should be working just as hard to pay for the cost that comes with emergencies. Which is a higher priority . Spending millions of dollars to stabilize the supply chain of medical supplies and treatments here at home or spending millions on International Arts festivals . Which is a higher priority, spending millions to train frontline medical professionals here at home on how to limit exposure to the coronavirus or spending millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, paving roads in afghanistan . My amendment gives us a chance to set priorities. We can support our communities and give our medical system the resources it needs, and we can do it without adding to the debt. Thats the responsible way. My amendment would do exactly that, and i encourage other senators to consider fiscal responsibility. Thank you, mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President , i would hope and i know other senators have already spoken on this. But i would hope members would oppose the paul amendment. The amendment would cut, among other things, 7. 3 billion from the department of state and us aid. It would decimate programs that fund the Foreign Policy priorities of both the administration and the congress. A cut of that size is about twothirds of the total funding appropriated for these purposes, some of which has already been spent. I remember when secretary mattis , james mattis was secretary of defense, a man i admired from his work with the marine corps, as a fourstar general, and also defense secretary. He was not a man who looked at the world or the needs of our military in an abstract fashion. He dealt with it every day. He came before our Appropriations Committee, and he said, if you want to cut foreign aid, buy me more bullets. He made it very clear that there are areas in the world that what we do keep us from having to go to combat. The paul amendment would practically eliminate the remaining budget for programs to strengthen democracy, combat corruption from World Economic growth, improve water and sanitation, aid victims in war and natural disasters and support our allies and partners in countless ways. The funding for the program that would be cut by the paul amendment is how we make our presence felt around the world. It actually totals less than 1 of the federal budget. Senators of both parties both parties voted overwhelmingly to include this funding in the fiscal year 2020 state operations appropriations bill. And in case anybodys forgotten when that was, that was just three months ago. To the coronavirus represents a serious Public Health threat. We have to respond now. We have to treat this as the emergency it is. And id ask unanimous consent that a letter from the u. S. Global Leadership Coalition addressed to senator graham and myself, incidentally they represent more than 500 u. S. Businesses and nongovernmental organizations, a letter they sent to senator graham and myself opposing this amendment. Id ask that that be printed in the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy and, mr. President , i know, again, senator shelby and i will be speaking further on this. I ask that my whole statement be placed in the record as though read. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy with that, mr. President , i do not see another senator seeking recognition, so i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Graham mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from south carolina. Mr. Graham i ask unanimous consent to terminate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Graham i ask unanimous consent that all debate time be considered expired. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Graham i move to table the paul amendment and ask for the yeas and nays. The presiding officer is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote . Seeing none, the ayes are 80. The nays are 16. And the motion is agreed to. Under the previous order, the time until 1 45 shall be equally divided between the leaders or their designees. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senate will be in order. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senate will be in order. Please take your conversations out. The senate will be in order. We have a senator wishing to speak. The senate will be in order. The senator from washington. Ms. Cantwell thank you, madam president. I come to the floor to speak about the ongoing crisis of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak and to urge all of us to pass this supplemental as quickly as possible. As of this morning, there are 163 confirmed cases and 17 in 17 states across the country but no state has been more hard hit than the state of washington. We now have 39 confirmed cases of covid19 and more than 230 people under Public Health monitoring. We have lost ten of our citizens and our thoughts and prayers are with those families whove lost loved ones or still families who have those in a nursing home that they are trying to make sure get the appropriate care in this ongoing crisis. Id also like to thank the workers who are on the front lines of this Health Care Crisis who are doing everything they can to help keep our citizens safe. Whats clear in this supplemental is that we need more resources for testing. The testing capabilities will help our communities understand the community transfer of this virus and what else we need to do to help stop its spread. Some of the funding in this supplemental can be helpful for our smaller public labs to do more testing, to help our Public Health officials respond to this crisis. And as ive urged yesterday for the c. D. C. And others to make it clear through our Public Health sites exactly how the public can go about getting access to testing. This is so critical because i know there are people in the state of washington who feel ill, who feel like they might be subject to this coronavirus and arent getting tested. We want to make sure that the public clearly understands what their paths are for getting those tests, and we want to make sure that every lab, commercial and academic in the United States is getting prepared to help us in the advent of the spread of this virus. Why . Because helping to identify these early cases is what will help us be successful in understanding these patterns and further community separations that we need to do. Why is this so important . Well, today in the state of washington, they are taking major steps, major employers are encouraging if possible their employees to work from home. These are Companies Like microsoft and facebook and amazon, major employers. We have 23 schools who have closed and two School Districts who are entirely shut down. Why are they doing this . Because theyre taking the precautions of people that have been exposed to the coronavirus in those schools, and theyre doing everything they can to make sure that they respond correctly. In addition, king county has recommended that anyone over the age of 60 or anyone with a preexisting medical condition who is pregnant should avoid Public Places and gatherings as much as possible. Were taking all these steps now because we are at the epicenter of this crisis. But i want people to know that there are other things that other states can be doing to learn from what weve done in washington. The fact that we had a flu lab that actually was a collaboration between our academic and scientific and Health Communities to get people who thought they just simply had the flu to also be tested. We found cases of the coronavirus. That actually is something you have to set up and get permission for. So i hope that every state will follow suit and set up such a cohort of people working together to share that information so that we can help prevent the spread. Washington state will receive 11. 5 million in funding to help the department of health respond to this crisis. I know the Vice President is visiting our governor in olympia, washington today, and i hope these funds in this bill that were passing today will increase access for public lab testing, help pay for isolation and quarantine, help pay for sanitizing in public areas, better track the virus and those who might come into contact with it, help labs who are trying to identify hot spots, and to limit exposure. As part of this package, Washington State will also be helped by the reimbursements with reimbursements since the outbreak of this and i can tell you there are many and to help us push through the things that are protocols that will help establish better responses. Yesterday we had a hearing in the aviation subcommittee to talk about what is needed for an aviation protocol. I know that some airlines in our state are doing Everything Possible to clean planes on every turn of the trip and to do deep cleaning. Theyre communicating and weve encouraged them to communicate more to their passengers exactly what they are doing to help in mitigation of this virus. But that is not a substitute for the department of the transportation federally and the c. D. C. Collaboratively to work in giving guidance to airlines on what standards they should be meeting to help mitigate the spread of this virus. My colleagues and i are calling on them to do that and not simply to think of this as other agencies responsibilities but work collaboratively to get this done. So i want to thank the Appropriations Committee for getting this legislation to us today and all our colleagues who have worked so quickly on making it happen. But i can tell you we need these funds. We need them now. And we need other states to heed the early testing that would have been helpful in our state and now may be helpful in yours. Lets get us as aggressive as possible about testing. Lets get aggressive about sharing information about flu and tracking this virus. Lets get aggressive about trying to mitigate the impacts of this deadly disease. I thank the president and i yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley a new study showed the presiding officer we are in a quorum call. Mr. Grassley im sorry. I ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley a new study showed that from the years 2007 to 2018, prices of actually hundred also of drugs rose many times, many times faster than the rate of inflation. List prices on 602 medicines rose by 159 or that would average out 9 annually. After discounts and rebates, net prices increased by 60 or 4. 5 annually. Thats three and one half times the rate of inflation. These are drugs for multiple sclerosis, sches cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, chemotherapy, diabetes and many other debilitating and lifethreatening conditions. Put into real terms, these price increases mean that if one of these drugs cost 100 a month in 2007, that same drug would cost 259 in 2018. Now, meanwhile, youve got to consider the working american, wages for the average american over the same time period increased about 30 in the private sector. That means wage growth is about half the rate of the growth of Prescription Drug prices. Even after the rebates and even after the discounts. For many increased drug costs are wiping out progress that these workers are making in their wages. Some families are even going backward financially after paying for their prescriptions. This doesnt take into account at all the many other increases in the cost of living, from college to housing to insurance. Now americans are surely fortunate, arent we, to see the significant wage growth that weve had in this country for our workers under President Trump. Great progress. The president and republicans in congress can rightly take credit for the countrys booming economy. But all that wage growth doesnt mean much or at least as much if its spent on the same Prescription Drug refills every month. Thats something that ought to concern every member of this congress. And for most im sure it does because we hear about it constantly from our constituents. In fact, polls show during this election season, that is one of the top three or four issues that are most on peoples minds. So let me be clear. These price hikes arent because the medicines got better or there was a significant increase in research and development. No, this was because the pharmaceutical companies could do it and doing it they can get away with it. Because in many cases, consumers dont have choice. Consumers dont have options or alternatives. And thats because we dont have a healthy marketplace that drives costs down for pharmaceuticals. Right now pharmaceutical companies can essentially charge medicare whatever they want and tax pairs dont taxpayers dont have much recourse. Right now, every single working american who pays federal taxes is subsidizing big pharmas record profits through the drugs that the federal government pays for through various programs like medicare and medicaid. Now, theres got to be a solution for this situation, and Ranking Member wyden and i are working to put some common sense back into this whole system of buying pills. In the finance committee, we have passed Bipartisan Legislation to put an end to unlimited corporate welfare for big pharma. The vote of that bill out of committee was 199. A bipartisan effort. And were closer than ever to lowering drug prices for tens of millions of americans, and these americans have been crying for this help from congress for quite a few years. But here we are. Big pharma and its paid allies are out in force trying to kill any reforms that might endanger their profit margins. Theyre using scare tactics, deploying terms like socialism and price controls, just as if these subsidies to the big pharma is not social a form of socialism. But i have been around long enough to recognize the political games that are being played now. You see it quite regularly on the televisions television advertisements. So lets set the record straight. The last thing big pharma wants is a free market. After all, these were the same folks who loved obamacare so much because they knew it mandated another revenue stream for their products. Now, we all know how obamacare has turned out. And yet, they made a deal with the white house to back that bill. Now, big pharma is also warning that any reforms would hurt research and development. In fact, my Bipartisan Legislation with senator wyden would result in less socialism, a more competitive marketplace, and wouldnt put a damper on innovation. And thats according to something that i call god around here, the independent Congressional Budget Office. These are professional people making these judgments. They judge most all of our legislation, particularly if there is a monetary cost to it. For those who may not believe a politician, let me point out to the work then of the professionals at c. B. O. That they have done on grassleywyden. First, the updated grassleywyden bill will save more than 80 billion and result in no fewer cures. C. B. O. Number two says it will reduce patient outofpocket spending in part d of medicare by around 50 billion. C. B. O. Number three says it will reduce premiums by about 1 billion for tens of millions of seniors and americans with disabilities on medicare. And c. B. O. Says four, that all thats all on top of outofpocket expenses that we put a cap on and an end to the dreaded doughnut hole that has been part of part d since 2003. We have also, according to the Congressional Budget Office number four, we have also created a new way to spread out payments for those outofpocket expenses so that paying the bills every month become a bit easier for those on fixed income. And sixth and lastly, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the bipartisan Prescription Drug reduction act and thats the title of our bill would protect taxpayers from being put on the hook for unlimited price hikes that have no basis in a functioning free market. So without reforms, Big Pharmaceutical Companies will continue to receive tens of billions of dollars in excess taxpayer subsidies, and they will also have no incentive to keep prices rising many times faster than inflation. Currently, Prescription Drug manufacturers can charge medicare more and more every year, and they do, and when the governments paying and you have entitlement programs, taxpayers are forced to foot the bill. So grassleywyden enacts accountability and ends corporate welfare without harming medical innovations. Now, senator wyden and i are looking forward to reintroducing our bipartisan bill very soon. So far a dozen Senate Republicans have announced publicly that they support this bipartisan bill. Others will announce their support in coming days, and a dozen more republican senators have indicated to me that grassleywyden is going in the right direction and implying that they would vote for it on the senate floor. So im optimistic that well continue to gain support as senators learn more. I was really pleased with President Trump announcing his willingness to sign a bill in his state of the union message. The next morning, Vice President pence was on cable tv saying that he supported grassleywyden and senator azar has endorsed the bill, and not only that, but senator azar and a gang of people in domestic policy at the white house have been working with us on this legislation even prior to its coming out of committee. So with all of this work and with all of this support and with its interest on the part of the voter as being one of the three or four most prominent issues thats going to determine how people vote, it seems to me it deserves a vote on the senate floor, and very soon. So im here today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, if they have any questions about this bill, to visit with me about it and how it would help all of our constituents. And the six points i made about the bill based upon what the Congressional Budget Office said about it isnt all that that bill does. There is a lot more to it. So we have all you know, i have read maybe i better back up. I have read enough comments of my colleagues that colleagues i havent even talked to that said what an important issue this is, so in one way or another, without even signing on to this bill, without even being on the finance committee, it seems like we have all pledged to lower Prescription Drug prices, so i think we should follow through on that pledge. I yield the floor. And i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from louisiana. Mr. Kennedy thank you, madam president. I ask unanimous consent that kyle wood the presiding officer we are in a quorum call. Mr. Kennedy im sorry. I did not know we are in a quorum call. I ask that we suspend the quorum call, madam president. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Kennedy i just want for the record for you to know that tony told me we were not in a quorum call. But thats okay. Hes allowed one mistake a year. Madam president , i ask unanimous consent that kyle wood, an intern in senator sullivans office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the month. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Kennedy thank you, madam president. Madam president , i have six requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Kennedy thank you, madam president. Madam president , i just want to spend a few minutes talking about a friend of mine from louisiana who is a fine american and a fine louisianian, and he is retiring. His name is ronnie anderson. I want to celebrate his 51 years of service that number is correct. I know some of our pages here cant imagine someone being in a single job for 51 years, but ronnie has has served 51 years. He has devoted those years in large part to service to our states farm bureau. He has led the Louisiana Farm bureau to greater influence, to growing membership, and thats not a small feat because america was born on a farm. In some respects, louisiana was born on a farm, and farming is, as you well know, madam president , a challenging, yet a very rewarding vocation and profession. For 31 of the last 31 elections, the Louisiana Farm Bureau Members have chosen ronnie as their president. So he has won 31 elections in a row by our farmers in louisiana, which is almost as good as the president s electoral record. Farmers from east carroll in my state to beauregard parishes and elsewhere in between have come to trust ronnie as someone who knows them, who cares about them, who cares about their farms, and who is willing to rack up 71,000 miles driving his truck across the state of louisiana in an effort to win their confidence, as ronnie did repeatedly. Ronnie spent most of his 71 years on this earth working alongside the farmers that he represents. He grew up caring for dairy cows in East Feliciana parish. In louisiana, we call our counties parishes. Along with ronnies wife vivian, ronnie still produces horses, hay, and beef cattle. All the while he was doing this, madam president , he helped widen the arms of the Louisiana Farm bureau, double its membership to nearly 150,000 women and men over the course of ronnies three decades as the organizations president. Louisiana is a very diverse agricultural state where each region is distinct, and ronnie has represented every nook and every cranny of our farming and ranching community. Im not alone in standing in awe of Ronnie Andersons service. I am in awe. And i wish ronnie and vivian and their in their next chapter the chance to enjoy life. I know they both have enjoyed the 51 years of service to the farm bureau, but to enjoy life in a different way. I just wanted to come here today, madam president , and celebrate ronnies service and that of vivian, his lifes partner, as well. In madam president , i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call mr. Shelby mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from alabama. Mr. Shelby i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Shelby mr. President , today we face a serious Global Crisis with the spread of the coronavirus. We all know that. The American People, i believe, expect us here in the u. S. Senate to set aside politics and to set into motion a set and sweeping response to this danger. Yesterday was a big step in that direction. Vice chamber leahy, who is on the floor here with me, and i are in conjunction with the leaders on both sides and our house counterparts introduced a comprehensive plan that provides our experts and agencies on the front lines the resources that they tell us they need to combat this crisis. The package that we introduced includes 7. 8 billion in discretionary appropriations for the centers for disease control, the National Institutes of health, the food and drug administration, the state department, usaid, and the Small Business administration. The package, mr. President , also authorizes an additional 500 million in the mandatory spending in telehealth through medicare. Combined this emergency supplemental provides 8. 3 billion in resources to attack the crisis at the local, state, federal, and international levels. Mr. President , in situations like this, i believe no expense should be spared to protect the American People, and in crafting this package none was. Its an aggressive plan, a vigorous plan that has received an overwhelming positive reaction in the house and in the marketplace. Today its the senates responsibility to keep the momentum going. I urge my colleagues to vote yes and demonstrate to the American People that we here in the senate are unified and have their back on this crisis. Mr. Leahy mr. President. The presiding officer the senator for vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President , i agree with what chairman shelby has said. We have tried to set an example, the two of us from two different parties, two different parts of the country, i think its fair to say two different political philosophies, we have come together on this as we have on so many other issues on appropriations to give an example to our colleagues what we think is best on this bill. Now, i think you know, congress showed strong, decisive leadership in addressing the Novel Coronavirus. As appropriators in both parties often do and as members of congress have proven they are still capable of doing, even in the most partisan time, we put our label aside and came together for the American People. I was concerned that that was something the president was not doing. We saw misinformation on national television, the downplaying of potential risk to the American People by the president. I was concerned that he worried more about the Market Impact than human lives. His administrations proposal initial proposal for 1. 25 billion in new spending, but diverting 1. 2 billion from such things as ebola prevention and lowincome heating prevention, that was reckless. When i saw that first request to divert money from the ebola prevention and lowincome heating assistance, i talked with somebody in vermont who had been very concerned about ebola. And he said, by the way, its 1t today. There were the administration wanted vague transfer authorities to allow them to move other money around in unidentified ways. Well, it showed how little thought to what was needed and how much was needed and i thought it was the latest attempt to undermine congresss power of the purse, a power of the purse of republicans and democrats the laws protect. In fact, id like to submit the acting o. M. B. Director, we always seem to say acting o. M. B. Directors, request letter as what not to do in a time of emergency crisis. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that that letter be included at the end of my remarks. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy thank you. Fortunately there are those who remain in our government who were very forthcoming with me and the bipartisan staff, my staff, and senator shelbys staff about the real needs to confront the coronavirus. Needs were based on facts and science. I do want to thank the staffs at the centers for disease control, the National Institutes of health, the office of the secretary for prepareness and response and the office of the assistant secretary for financial resources. Their help was invaluable in producing in only nine days the package were going to be voting on today. Nine days meant a lot of evening work by our staffs and by the senator involved and weekend, but we did it in nine days because of the emergency. With their help, this was invaluable. The crisis is real. Worldwide there are now 92,000 confirmed cases. There are 3,200 confirmed deaths. Here in our country that number is rising with more than 150 confirmed cases and 11 deaths. The c. D. C. Has told us that the Public Health system will be able to test up to 75,000 people by the end of the week, but we should expect the number of cases here to rise. So i strongly support this 7. 8 billiondollar package 7. 8 billion package and the other money that is available. It will provide 1 billion to state, local, and Tribe Government to prepare, and there will be over 3 billion in research of development of vaccines and diagnostics and also for medical supplies and community health, 1. 25 billion to support our needed response overseas, 7 billion in lowinterest loans for Small Businesses, but it also includes nearly 500 million to enhance the availability of Telehealth Services across the country. Certainly very important to those who might have rural areas in their states and, frankly, we all do. The American People are looking for leadership. They want assurance their government is up to the task of protecting the health of safety. I think we have to provide this leadership. And im pleased that congress included language in the bill supported by both republicans and democrats specifying that the funds can only be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus coronavirus. If there is a cynical effort by the president to shift funds for the National Institutes of health, the centers for disease control, or the Public Health social Services Fund for any reason, the these are the agencies that at the epicenter of this crisis, divert it, it for example, to activities along the southwest border, it would violate the law. But i do want, as i said several times on this floor, i want to thank chairman shelby. I want to thank he and his staff and the majority and Democratic Leaders for their cooperation. Im going to submit a list of Committee Staffers who have worked through the weekend and late in the night to make the possible its a long to make this possible. Its a long list and it shows some of the most professional people we have working in the senate. And i know that senator shelby has a similar list from his office, but id ask consent that those lists of names be included. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy mr. President , i yield the floor. Ms. Collins mr. President. The presiding officer the senator for maine. Ms. Collins mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the vote that is scheduled to begin at 1 45 p. M. Begin immediately. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Ms. Collins mr. President , i ask for the yeas and nays. The presiding officer is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will read the title of the bill for the third time. The clerk h. R. 6074, an act making emergency supplementals for fiscal year ending 2020, and for other purposes. The presiding officer the question is on passage of the bill. The yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote