Organizations take the necessary and serious precautions to keep the American People safe from the spread of the coronavirus. School districts, colleges, universities are canceling in person classes. Churches are moving to services online. Professional sports teams are hitting pause on the regular season. Airlines are canceling flights and many mainstream businesses are closing their doors. I know that all of this is a little disorienting, and certainly alarming. But while these measures are not normal, it is a sign that we are heeding advice from the experts come people like dr. Fauci, organizations like the center for disease control. Its a sign were doing what we can to prevent or at least slow down community spread. Its a sign that we are standing together andin making progress, ultimately expecting that we will get through this together. The difficult decisions that need to be made by elected officials and Business Owners and Community Leaders when they decide to shut down normal part of our daily lives, these are not easy decisions for them to make. Despite the Public Health benefits, these closures will provide, we are also expecting other serious mainly economic consequences. Our economic engine is being brought to a halt as people are staying home rather than producing. And Small Businesses and their employees in particular are feeling the impact. Jason phillips is a manager at his oldies eats in fort worth, texas, that is been in the industry more than 20 years. Still, he said hes never been in a situation quite like this one. He said this last saturday, they had about half the number of customers they have come to expect. Stephen starts as expense a similar struggle last november he opened a new restaurant just north of san antonio. The first few years for a new restaurant is bound to be test. As luck would have it we kept the open an oven broke and it had to be replaced. Nothing has prepared stephen for the months of february and march what they would bring. He was hoping as you might imagine for an uptick in taurus which would mean more business. Instead of pandemic has kept everybody at home. Rather than a positive bump into business, revenue for his young restaurant is down 60 . As a result hes had to cut staff and he hasnt hired replacement for employees he has recently lost. All too familiar struggle for millions of americans who areto unable to go to work during this pandemic and are facing serious economicce uncertainty about the future. Those in the Service Entry especially those who rely on tips are among the hardest hit. Im glad to say that soon the senate will take action to provide additional relief, as the presiding officer knows we passed an 8. 3 billion emergency package to help fasttrack discovery of a vaccine and to make sure that our healthcare sector is prepared for what is coming at it, or at least better prepared. The house has to pass the Families FirstCoronavirus Response act whichche we are ine process of taking up and will hopefully finish this week, then i expect there will be a third installment, a stimulus package that treasury secretary mnuchin will beng up here on the hill talking about today to try to help employees and employers and entire industries survive this economic trauma. But the Families FirstCoronavirus Response act will help protect both the physical and Financial Health of her country by supporting workers in the families impacted by the virus. It will remove financial barriers for texans who need access to coronavirus testing regardless of income or insurance coverage. This is one of the things that i talked to her Governor Abbott about in particular. He said if there are two things that texas needs, he said its more testing and its more protective equipment, personal protective equipment, ppe they are called in order for this testing to take place. Andto while it is still true, according to the center for disease control, that you should not be tested unless youre expensing symptoms and referred by healthcare provider. Its clear that more testing is going to be needed and, indeed, weve heard from the president and the Vice President and the administration in general that we expect a huge ramping up of the capacity to test people so they can know whether they are positive and they need to stay in isolation or possibly need healthcare treatment, or whether, like the president and one of our culture, senator graham, a test negative and obvious it with the peace mind that comes with that. But this legislation removes all financial barriers for the testing, for those who have private insurance requires all plans cover the costs of testing includingt the cost of a providr and Urgent Care Center and emergency room visits in order to get tested. As i said, right now cdc protocol calls for healthal care provider to make a diagnosis based on symptoms that would then lead to a test. Those are the same zero cost measures that would apply to those covered by medicare, medicaid and tricare. It also requires a National Disaster medical system to reimburse the costs of testing for patients who are uninsured. In short, the bottom line is no one will have to pay to be tested for the coronavirus, period. This legislation also includes a range of provision to provide an Agile Security for those who are unable to work, and thats because they are protecting the Public Health. It will create a new federal Emergency Paid Sick leave program for those impacted by the coronavirus. That means that any tax income any american who is diagnosed, quarantining or kerry for defendant whose impacted by this virus will be able to take working days of paid sick leave. And many texas workers will be able to access 12 weeks of paid leave for virus related longterm absences. These protection include coulds who stay at home to care for the loved ones come including staying home with their kids due to school closures. This bill also makes some changes to Unemployment Insurance. It will temporarily waive requirements for workers to prove that are actively searching for work during the Public Health emergency response. And it will provide 1 billion in emergency grants to states to support processing and paying on a, plymouth insurance benefits. People are staying home because their employers have told them, the businesses have beenin shut down even though they are not sick. They are suffering financial loss. The purpose of this is to make sure that through the vehicle of Unemployment Insurance that they do getey some money so that they can take care of the necessities and keep putting food on the table. This bill also takes serious steps to strengthen Food Security for those struggling with reliable access to healthy meals. This is one of the things i heard from a a friend of mine out in west texas just today concerned about the food banks that provide a safety net for people without access to regular healthy food. This bill actually will send 400 million to local food banks which are supporting those lowincome families across the country, including in places like west texas. We know that Older Americans are the most vulnerable when itan comes to the coronavirus, and many are afraid to leave their homes at the risk of getting sick. Thiss legislation provides a quarter of a billion dollars for the Senior Nutrition Program to provide home delivered meals to low income seniors. It also provides half a half a billion dollars for federal food stamps and provides lexa building on work requirements so those who lose their job or are not able to work can receive assistance when they need it the most. I mentioned the food banks and the school lunch program. The u. S. Department of agriculture last week approved requestt for text with regard to school lunches. Millions of texas children are currently eligible for free lunch programs but obviously when the schools t close they dont get access to that nutrition. But thanks to the Us Department of agriculture is texas schools can continue to serve free meals to low income students, even when their schools are closed. This legislation also includes a range of measures to support healthcare workers, veterans, Small Businesses and countless texans were struggling financially as a result of this pandemic. Of course we know we are all racing againstd the clock to respond to this virus, and its important for congress to act the American People that we understand the problem and that were using every tool in our toolbox to respond to this crisis on their behalf. In any major event, whether its a Natural Disaster or pandemic, when youee and all of government response. All of us need to be cooperating and working on the same page moving as efficiently as we possibly can. The family first Coronavirus Response as i said bills on the 8. 3 billion emergency spending bill that was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month. Also complements the National Emergency declaration made by President Trump last week and governor abbots disaster declaration for the state of texas. Thats what i plan to support this bill when a vote is scheduled. I i know there are other senatos who have said they have good ideas, and many of them are intriguing and i think would make a positive addition to this legislation but i think in times like this the thing we need to do is to Work Together to function expeditiously to get this legislation passed, and because we know theres going to be another installment, a third installment to respond to the coronavirus, perhaps those other good ideas could be included in that additionaleg legislation, which we will pass before we recess. Re. T should focus as well is well justified, and i congratulate him for that, and i think we ought to t all pull together ina similar spirit of unity. I want to thank the trump administration, especially treasury secretary mnuchin, for working so quickly with Speaker Pelosi to build this package so we could provide relief to American Families and workers as soon as possible. This is not the first bill to strengthen our response to the coronavirus, and it will not be our last. As i said, theres a bipartisan commitment to passing a third phase to strengthen our economy and support the industries and businesses that have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. Leader mcconnell has made clear his commitment to finding a bold, bipartisan solution to theto economic challenges we are facing and will continue to face in the months ahead, and im proud to support this effort. Our conversations continue on regarding the next phase of our Coronavirus Response and what that may look like. I believeoo its time to pass te Families FirstCoronavirus Response act and that we provide this needed relief to the American People as soon ashe possible. Its easy to follow the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak at cspan. Org coronavirus. With interactive maps and charts, watch briefings and hearings with Public Health specialists anytime, unfiltered, at cspan. Org coronavirus. Weeknights this week were featuring booktv programs showcasing whats available every weekend on cspan2. Watch discussions on health care. We begin with sally pipes who made the argument against medicare for all in her book, quality false premise, false promise. Anden then author Timothy Faust on Health Justice now followed by diane rehm on her book, when my time comes. Booktv beginning tonight at 8 eastern on cspan2. The winners are in for this years student cam video documentary competition. We asked students what issue do you most want the candidates to address in the 2020 campaign. We received more than 2500 entries from 44 states with more than 5000 students participating with our winners telling us the most important issues are climate change, gun violence, college affordability, the opioid crisis, Mental Health and immigration. Now its time to announce all of our first prize winners. Our first Prize Middle School winners are eighth graders from Eastern Middle School in silver spring, maryland, where cspan is provided by comcast. Their winning documentary is titled blackout. It doesnt matter for whom you end up voting, if you have access to the internet, social media is going to influence your vote. We have to exercise Critical Thinking and keep an eye on the sources we choose to follow. Otherwise the United States will just be the next of social medias victims. Our first prize high school piece goes to Charles Mckenna in lubbockville, virginia, with cspan is provided by comcast. Its titled overreach from the oval office. Everybody wants action but nobody wants addiction. By reining in executive power, we can control the power remains balanced among the three branches. So i ask the 2020 candidates how will you put a halt to the runaway train the of executive overreach . 11th graders from Jenks High School in oklahoma where cspan is available. Their documentary is titled 200,000 about the opioid crisis. Johnson johnson, through misleading marketing, overprescribed opioids. And as a result, oklahomans created addicted, creating this opioid epidemic. The first prize High School West goes to tenth graders from Long Beach Polytechnic High School located in long beach, california, where cspans available through spectrum. Their winning documentary is titled vision 2020 restoring the integrity of american democracy. The more you get money from certain types it is of sources, the more youre beholden to those sources. And what you want to be is to be free enough to make decisions based on what you think is in the best interests of your district and the nation. And now its time to announce our 5,000 grand prize winners. They are 11th graders jason lind and sarah yen from san jose, california, where cspan is provided by comcast. They won the top prize for their documentary titled command delete technologys damaging effect on democracy in 2020, about technology and data privacy. From 87 million facebook users of which only 270,000 had been infected. This time were not faced with music piracy, were faced with personal information privacy. Congratulations to our grand prize winners. [laughter] none of us have taken formal Video Production classes, and we all just got together as friends. We didnt do this as part of a class. Were at one of the top s. T. E. M. Schools in the country. Everyone is thinking about working for tech companies, but we were thinking that sometimes, you know, there are issues with tech companies, data breaches, all of that stuff. And we thought bringing a voice to the concerns of many which is about data breaches and privacy breaches would be important. It definitely helps that were in Silicon Valley which is in the center. Our student cam video documentary competition has awarded more than a Million Dollars in total prizes since 2004. The top 21 winning entries will air on cspan starting april 1st. You can watch all student cam documentaries online at studentcam. Org. The u. S. Senate is in recess