Might want to put your phones on silent. Phones on silent. Everybody have their phones on silent . We all ready . Let me welcome all of you, and thank you for being here. This has been a group thats been in labor of intense effort and i know every one of us want to thank our staffs because theyve done yeomans work. As you can see, we have with us a bipartisan, Bicameral Group of people that have been working diligently for the last 30 days or more trying to get to a conclusion and a template, if you will, or a framework. This is covid emergency relief framework, its exactly what it is. Take your mask off. You cant hear me . Okay. Back off. Let me just say that this is an intense amount of work that the staffs have been doing for quite some time and every senator, every congressperson here has put in an enormous amount of time on this in person and on the phone. This is a covid emergency relief framework. Weve worked in the best interest of what we believe is great for our country, is good for our states and we can all go home knowing that we have worked diligently to make sure that the unemployed, the Small Businesses, the state and local funding, student loan forbearance, everything thats coming to a halt in december because of the timing is not going to happen. Were battling covid19 more fiercely now than we ever have before. Were recognizing that. Its unexcusable for us to leave town and not have an agreement and come together and show that we can Work Together in a bipartisan way. Its not the time for political brinkmanship. Youll not see any of that here today on this stage. And were going to intend to move this forward after months of failing to act for one reason or another. Were not blaming anybody for why they havent come to an agreement. It wasnt enough, its too much, whatever. We know whats necessary. Right now in a timely fashion. Our bipartisan, Bicameral Group, as i said, has worked over the past month. Were pleased to present to you today a template or a framework, if you will, thats put together by senators and representatives from their respective caucuses. Our action to provide emergency relief is needed now more than ever before. The people need to know that we are not going to leave until we get something accomplished, or this group thats worked together so diligently. So im committed to seeing this through. I truly am. My state of West Virginia depends on it as long as all of my colleagues, every one of the representative states in the country depends on it and this is going to get us through the most difficult times. This will run up to the end of the First Quarter, april 1 and we hope that we can get the relief thats needed. So without other further ado, im going to call, now, if my dear friend susan collins, would come forward for a few words. Susan . When the carhart comes the charts are being printed and the charts will be here in just a few minutes. And well make sure you get a handout before you leave too. Susan . Thank you. Thank you. First, i want to salute everyone who has joined us today. We have worked very hard to put together a 908 billion framework for covid relief. Weve worked night and day throughout the thanksgiving recess because we recognize that families all across america are struggling, that businesses are closing, that hospitals are overwhelmed. As we deal with this second wave, or third wave of this pandemic, it is absolutely essential that we pass emergency relief. Im particularly pleased that the package includes 228 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program that has helped keep our Small Businesses afloat, and paying their employees. Thats the most important part. In maine it has helped sustain the jobs of 250,000 workers. This will be particularly helpful to those businesses that have received a first ppp loan that has kept them alive and paying their employees. But now find that they need additional assistance. In particular that includes our restaurant and hospitality industry. So, again, i want to thank all of my colleagues for their very hard work. And it gives me great pleasure to introduce another leader in this effort, senator mark warner. Well, thank you, susan, and let me just first echo what has already been said, this 908 billion framework which will take us from december 1 to march 31st. Not going to make everybody happy but theres been an enormous amount of work done. I want to thank particularly the Senate Colleagues who have spent i think literally every day but thanksgiving either over pizza or over pasta at peoples houses like lisas, and theres been a lot of enormously good give and take. I came to this with the notion that im hearing from virginiians, somebody used it and i borrowed their term and it would be stupidity on steroids if Congress Left for christmas without doing an interim package as a bridge. I think weve laid out that interim package, which shortly will appear. I just want to touch on two items very briefly. One, for all of us who live in the metro area we saw in the Washington Post, that short of some relief metro will have to lay off close to 4,000 workers over the next coming months. It will end service after 9 00. Every day. It will end service on weekends. That will have a dramatic effect on the functions of the federal government as well as constituents across the tristate area. So we made, i think, the right kind of investment in public transit. Secondly, and susan has been the leader on this, on support for Small Businesses. We have literally hundreds of thousands of Small Businesses across virginia that are struggling, disproportionately weve seen those businesses that have been affected have been minority businesses. Weve lost 440,000 blackowned businesses across america. Literally destroying generation of wealth creation. In this package we have allocated 11 billion for investments in cdfis, mdis, and other institutions that will lend to these underserved communities. That will have a good short term and long term effect. This perhaps will offend some folks on both sides we think it is a good framework, and we are all committed to doing what it takes to get it done. With that, let me turn it over to somebody whos been a constant effort at bridging the gap, maybe thats because hes a doctor, as opposed to the lawyers in the crowd, thats our friend bill cassidy. Thank you, mark, and thank you all. Today is a victory for the American People, and it is a victory for common sense. It is a bipartisan, bicameral effort which creates a pathway forward to bring relief to the unemployed, to the Small Businesswoman, the Small Businessman struggling to hang on until the vaccine is widely used to doctors and nurses wondering if theyre going to get the relief they need to effectively address this third wave. On a louisiana note its the hospitality workers from the casinos of shreveport to the hotels of new orleans, for the recently laid off refinery workers in convent, louisiana for the oil and gas workers in the bayou and lafayette parish. As a republican by the way, let me say, let me say, republicans and democrats, neither of us got everything we wanted. Both of us got much of what we wanted. And i think that combination reflects what congress is supposed to do, reconciling priority but ultimately doing something good for the American People. As a republican i will say it builds upon President Trumps commitment to get something done. And for my fellow republicans, if you care about the effort that President Trump and his administration made, you should support this bill. As a senator, i want to give a shoutout to the Problem Solvers Caucus on the house side, part of the larger no labels effort. My staff and i have been meeting with their staff and them for months on some of the policies that are contained here. On the strategy to get it through. They have been fantastic partners, bicameral, bipartisan. But ill conclude by saying once more, this is a victory for the American People. This is a victory for common sense. And now it gives me great pleasure to introduce one of those leaders of the Problem Solvers Caucus, josh goudhanger. Funny, really funny. Ill use it if you dont. Today is a win for the American People for common sense and for problem solving. Im so proud of the work thats happened across the aisle and the chambers and im grateful to the senators that worked with us and the house and Problem Solvers Caucus, i want to thank the cochair of the caucus tom reed, and co vvid team leaders o are all here. Im grateful to them. The Problem Solvers Caucus proudly voted to endorse this package. Meaning it now has the support of 50 members of congress. 25 democrats, and 25 republicans. Who combined represent millions of families and businesses who need immediate action. They want to get help, and theyre sick and tired, like we all are, of waiting for covid relief. With cases spiking, winter around the corner, and countless Small Businesses closing every single day, and far too many families hurting right now, we simply cant leave town, and leave anyone in the cold. Without getting something done immediately. We cant allow some to prioritize politics ahead of the pandemic. This fourmonth covid19 emergency relief package will help get us through the hardest months of winter and into a new administration. Its an sbeshl downpayment in what our families, Small Businesses and local communities need. This bicameral package is consistent with the values and priorities of the Problem Solvers Caucus, and that weve been fighting for since summer. It will help families across our country. With supplemental unemployment, child care, rental assistance and resources for all those families who may be visiting food pantries for the very first time. It includes significant investment for our state and local governments of all sizes, with revenue loss, covid19 expenditures, food insecurity, mass transit and k12 education. Were also getting a second round of ppe to our Small Businesses, ensuring they wont be taxed on the first round of ppe and simplified forgiveness for loans of 150,000 or less. Were getting federal investment to our hospitals and Health Systems and frontline workers so we can continue working to keep our communities safe, including more resources into the deployment of a vaccine, and more testing and tracing. As was said, this is a heck of a downpayment. And what our country needs desperately, and i think we all can agree, america simply cant wait any longer. I know that here in the greatest country in the world, working together as we are today we can find light through this darkness, thanks and god bless. And now introducing, very proud to introduce senator mitt romney. Thank you, congressman. Covid has created a crisis, and in the crisis the people expect congress to act, and this group has come together to propose action that could respond to this crisis. Weve got people unemployed. Weve got businesses shutting down. Weve got states and localities getting ready for layoffs of large numbers of people. Its simply unacceptable for us not to respond to help in this circumstance. Now, i happen to be a deficit hawk. I dont like borrowing money. I dont like spending money we dont have. But the time to borrow money, maybe the only time to borrow money is when theres a crisis, and this is a crisis. Wae want to help people at this particular time and so weve come together and weve been very careful. This is not a 1. 8 trillion stimulus bill, this is a relief measure, half that amount. 908 billion. I would note that of that fund 560 billion is money repurposed from the first cares act. So the amount of new money is actually 348 billion. Id also make this note, and that is Liability Protection is critical. And youll see in the chart if it ever gets here from the printer, that we did we did negotiate a liability provision that provides a temporary moratorium on a temporary suspension of any liabilityrelated lawsuits, the state or federal level, associated with covid, giving states enough time to put in place their own protections. And let me note that any state that doesnt put in place protections hasnt been thinking this through very carefully because if i were a ceo, i would never think about putting a new business in a state that didnt have Liability Protection for covid. Some states already have. My state of utah has. Were giving states the time to put in place their own provisions in the way they think best to protect their businesses, their schools, their hospitals, their universities, and to make sure that the people themselves are also protected. So im very pleased to be part of this effort. Its been a long and arduous process but one which i believe has great merit. With that im happy to introduce my fellow senator, great senator from state of New Hampshire, senator sha heen, jean sha heen. Thank you, im pleased to join all my colleagues in the senate and the problem solvers folks from the house who are here to endorse a framework that we believe makes it possible for us to move forward to provide emergency aid to the people who are hurting in this country. To date weve lost almost a quarter of a million americans to covid. Over 13 million americans have been affected in some way. As i traveled around New Hampshire over the last two months, what i heard everywhere i went was that people were hurting and they need help. So wheres the Small Business people, those who are unemployed. Cities and towns who are worried about laying off frontline workers, hospitals who are in financial distress, they need help from the federal government. And we are here to say we think there is a pathway to an agreement that can provide that help for a temporary period. Now, the challenge is, and a number of my colleagues have talked about this being a victory for the American People. If we pass it, it is a victory for the American People. This is step one. We have a lot of steps going forward. But to provide help for people who are in need, thats why were here, and thats what we intend to try and get done and im pleased to be part of this effort. Now, representative reed is here. I dont need the stool, thank you, josh. Well, thank you, and thank you to the senators for such great work. I just wanted to take a moment to thank the leadership of the Problem Solvers Caucus that worked tirelessly on this effort. I wanted to specifically recognize Abigail Spanberger from virginia, dean phillips from minnesota, dusty johnson from south dakota, my good friend Josh Gottheimer from new jersey. Anthony gonzales from ohio, and fred upton from michigan. We worked tirelessly with our Senate Partners to bring together, i think, a common sense proposal, based on the principles of the Problem Solvers Caucus. We are proud republicans, we are proud democrats, we are proud house of representative members and we are proud senators. But at the end of the day we are fundamentally first and foremost proud americans. And our job here, in this great capital, and in the dome, is to listen to the American People and the American People are suffering. It is time, as my colleagues have said, to deliver these results for them. It is time for this package of 908 billion of emergency relief, that just got delivered from the printer on cue. Should have had you speak earlier. To be delivered to the American People. I cant think of a better time than the Christmas Holiday to honor the call of the American People, listen to that voice, and just ask those in these chambers, and the 50 members of the Problem Solvers Caucus and our Senate Colleagues that did this work to pass this bill, and join us and get it to the finish line and signed into law for the people that are suffering day in and day out. And with that, id love to introduce a good friend who has become a very good friend during this process, angus king from maine, senator king. Well, as everyone else has, i want to thank the people who are standing here for the work that theyve done. Its a remarkable moment when you have members of both parties, both houses, an independent, all standing here talking about moving the country forward. This is an opportunity. Its first and foremost an opportunity for the American People to have some relief for this horrible pandemic that has struck our people so in such a devastating way. In every state in virtually every community in the country. Its an opportunity to deal with the principle issues. Not every issue, not every comprehensive thing that various people have proposed but what we have tried to do as you can see from the chart is to talk about people, talk about people who are unemployed, Small Businesses that are struggling, those lines that youve seen on television at food banks. Theres a substantial amount of nutritional support in this report. Frontline workers and communities across the country whose jobs are in danger because of the shortage of funds for state and local communities. So this is an opportunity for the American People to have relief. It is also a profound opportunity for this institution. To show the American People that we are able to rise to the occasion, that we are able to respond to a crisis, that were able to respond in a way that is not partisan, that is not political, but is simply aimed at dealing with this at a cast catastrophe that has struck the American People. Im delighted to be here, to join my colleagues. Modesty forces me to mention, however, that a disproportionate number of the senators here are from northern new england. Two from maine, two from New Hampshire. So, you know, for what its worth, i thought id mention it. Thats okay. But seriously and i particularly want to thank the members of the house, to have the 50 members of the Problem Solvers Caucus support this, gives it a huge head start. And a huge amount of credibility, both in both houses, and in the country. So i want to thank everyone for their work on this. For their willingness to come together. For their willingness to make concessions. For their willingness to try to solve problems. Thank you all, and we look forward to the next steps, over the next week, or so, in the congress, to turn this the beginning, the first step as Jeanne Shaheen said into the reality of relief for the American People. And i want to call on my good friend from alaska, the bookend of the other bookend of the united states, maine and alaska, lisa murkowski. Well, thank you for acknowledging the other side of the country. I am, indeed, very pleased and honored to have been working with an epgs Exceptional Group of senators and working with colleagues in the house to respond to the crisis at hand. I think its important, as we look to not only the men and women that are assembled here, but recognizing who we represent, where we come from, and what has happened in our parts of the country. In my home state this morning at 8 00 in anchorage we are going into our third round of hunker down. Basically were shutting down the businesses, the restaurants, the bars, the hair salons, the gyms, basically what happens in a daytoday life for the people of anchorage. And what that then means to them. As theyre going into a pretty dark and cold time of year, with job loss, with insecurity as it relates to food, with insecurity as it as it relates to not only their schools and their jobs, but whether or not theyre going to be able to stay in their home. Our response, our responsibility is to come together, not as republicans coming up with a plan, not as democrats coming up with a counterplan, but coming up with a proposal that will provide for targeted emergency relief. And its been said that this is not what everybody would wish. People are going to look at these buckets and theyre going to say, well, wait a minute, my bucket isnt there, or my bucket is only half full. Well, this is this is emergency relief. This is designed to get us through this next quarter. We know that we have more to do. But we cannot leave, we cannot abandon the American People, the families who are suffering at this time, and waiting and begging for congress to act. So today a solution, a proposal, to move us forward is what we have in front of us. What we need now is more than this tight group of friends that have spent thanksgiving holiday together by phone, we need more to come together to act, to provide the relief for the country that is needed. Im pleased to turn to my colleague, once again, from the other side of the country, senator hassan. Well, thank you, senator murkowski, and it is great to be here with my colleagues in the senate and the house, republicans, democrats and, yes, an independent too, you know, it is extraordinarily american to have strong opinions and vigorous disagreements. Thats what we all sometimes bring to this work. But it is equally american to come together after the arguments and find a way forward, to unite around the common purpose and to remember that when america unites there is nothing we cant do. And we are in a moment where we are hearing from our constituents from all walks of life about the importance of coming together to get people the relief they need, to get through this winter at a time when we are seeing cases spike, hospital beds full, our frontline workers especially in Health Care Facilities exhausted, frazzled, and worried that somebody will come in for care and there will not be room for them, and they will not be able to do the jobs that they are trained to do. We are at a time actually had t guts and determination this summer, as our case loads were going down and everybody was outside, to open up a new restaurant, who said to me at the same time, senator, please dont forget that its going to get cold in a couple of months and were not going to have all of this outside dining. And people arent going to come in and our businesses are going to suffer, and even successful restaurateurs like me are going to have difficulty. You need to do something. The weekend before thanksgiving i was up in a very small town in the mt. Washington valley to help distribute thanksgiving food boxes and packages in an outside Food Distribution center. None of the volunteers that identified as republican or democrat to me. They were just neighbors trying to make sure their neighbors had what they needed to get through the next couple of weeks. And one of the things that stuck with me was one of the organizers of the food drive said to me, senator, please dont judge the people who come here by the cars they were driving. They came up in cars, the food was handed. He said, we go out of our way to keep the clients confidentiality because people are proud and they have never been in a food line before. And he said, you cant judge them by the car theyre driving because this pandemic has hit everybody in unexpected ways. I think thats what we need to remember right now as we come together to do the will of the American People. This pandemic has hit everybody in unexpected ways and our job is to come together, in congress and as a people to make sure that we can get through some very dark days ahead with the understanding and hope that were going to get through this pandemic and be stronger on the other side. Thanks, all. Let me just say that the charts have arrived. Were happy about that. I want to reiterate everything thats been said here because i can tell you, we have an awful lot of our colleagues, not just in the senate and not just in our respective caucuses of democratic and republican, that have a deep, deep desire of getting something done and get something done before we leave. This is just a Representative Group that we have here. I know congress has many mores in congress both on the democrat and republican caucuses, that have a desire to get something accomplished. This is a framework, as you can see. We have tried to address every need of the neediest in our country. And all of our states have it. You can see the categories weve gone over. Well be working diligently now to put something together as quickly as possible. I remind you that basically within the next two to three weeks people start losing that life line. And no fault of their own. Were going through the most difficult time i believe weve ever, ever had in a covid in this covid pandemic, and thats the next quarter. The First Quarter of next year. With that well open it up for questions. You can ask yeah, real quick. Sometimes an image abetter than what people say. Im standing back here, and i saw a bunch of mardi gras beads. Mardi gras is canceled in new orleans. And im told theyre considering canceling in mobile. Think about how many people make their living off of that threemonth period of parades. Thats when our unemployment lists for. By the way, its not just the person who has the airbnb shes invested in new orleans, its the airline folks sending people into new orleans. Its the seafood folks, the lobster people shipping it down to louisiana in our wonderful restaurants. Did i mention k. Pauls closed its doors forever . If you will, this is almost a metaphor for what were talking about. Mardi gras is canceled. We must do something to support those folks whose livelihood has been at least temporarily destroyed. Go ahead. Senator, how quickly do you want to move here . When could we see a bill thats ready for a vote . Well, well weve worked diligently on that and we would have one ready very soon. I mean, we can put one together. We have to do something before the next two weeks. We have to. Have you gotten any assurances from Speaker Pelosi or leader mcconnell they will put this on the house and Senate Floors for a vote . We have not had assurances from them on that for a vote, but i think the American People will put the pressure, showing this needs to be done. This is the only group thats made an effort. This is the only group thats come together in such a large gathering, and many more people involved. So, we know the needs there. Were determined not to go home until we do something. Its up to them to work with us. We want to work with them. If they have other priorities, please let us know, but right now we think weve covered an awful lot of areas of concern. Ill go here and back here. [ inaudible question ] does somebody want to speak about the white house . I would not be the best person to speak on that. Mitt, do you want to speak on that, mitt . I wish i were there, but thats better than me. We have communicated with secretary mnuchin. He has offered advice in terms of figures. We have wondered for instance what was the right number for airlines, what did they need, what do Bus Companies need and so forth. He provided some of the information for some of the negotiations he had with Speaker Pelosi, but i do have any prediction on how the white house would react. We also communicated with the Majority Leaders Office with what were working on. Neither has described whether they would support or not support what weve put together. I would say let me just say one thing. Minority leader schumer is also being kept up to speed on this. And with that, hes encouraged for us to continue to work in a bipartisan way, bicameral way to come to an agreement. [ inaudible question ] im not going to speak to the omnibus bill. Weve been in touch with our leadership as well mask off, please. Sorry. Weve been in touch with our leadership as well in the house. I know tom has as well, on the republican side. And i think whats critically important, were hearing from members across the spectrum they want to get something done before we go home and i think that pressure is really going to get this to the floor for a vote. Senator collins has to provide preside. We want to thank her. Do you think democratic leadership has been too rigid in their 2 trillion demand for legislation . And on the republican side, is Liability Insurance demand, is that were not putting blame anywhere. Basically, we know they all have theres a much need out there. The needs been identified by so many different organizations, from all economists, to every organization that has put something out there. Weve hit a spot to where we know can give us emergency relief. Thats all this is about. Emergency relief going through the First Quarter, which ends on april 1st. President elect biden will be coming in. Hell be able to determine if theres more that needs to be done. This is an emergency that gets us through from this holiday season. People that are losing in december. And we just cant leave without that being addressed. Thats do you have buyin from team biden and the president elect . I think team biden has been buying in, we need to do something. Youve seen that publicly. Something has to be done. To get a big package or whatever that may be, this is an emergency package which i think theyd be very pleased with. I dont know for sure. Yes . Mnuchin and pelosi are expected to speak this afternoon via phone. Do you know if theyll be talking about this proposal mark, do you know anything about that . Well, i have to rush back to a Banking Committee hearing where secretary mnuchin is appearing and intend to ask him that, and like senator romney, ive had a number of conversations with secretary mnuchin. Hes helped us drill down on some of these numbers. I think were yeah, yeah. Well wrap it up now. But as you can see, a lot of work has been put into this. Were working diligently to have a bill ready as quickly as possible. Unemployment 300 a woke . Oh, yeah, you saw the unemployment, right . Per week . Let me make sure you understand well go down the chart real quick. You have state, local and tribal governments, 160. You have additional unemployment insurance, thats 300 for 18 weeks, 10 billion a week, thats 180 billion. That includes gig workers. All the gig workers and everybody we covered under the first c. A. R. E. S. Act. Retro active december 1st if we dont get it done the first or second week of december. And Everything Else as far as the money we have for Paycheck Protection Program, and you see idle restaurant stages, deductibility, everything weve tried to make sure we didnt miss anyone. Transportation, airlines, airports, buses, amtrak, vaccine development, distribution, testing and tracing and thats going on now. If more is needed there, well make sure theres enough sufficient amount to take care of that. Health care provider relief fund, our hospitals, especially rural hospitals, we have said aside rules so they dont get left behind. Education, we have a tremendous need in education. Student loans, forbearance on student loan. Housing and rental assistance. We know what theyre going through there. And nutrition, feeding people that dont qualify for s. N. A. P. , the people you see in line now, not judging them by the cars they drive but the mouths they need to feed. Child care, broadband is a tremendous challenge for all of us, and opiate addiction is rampant in my state, and federal liability is something we need to make sure we do it and do it right. I want to thank all of you. You can ask whatever questions you want. Some of us will hang around. Thank you, all. I didnt know what they were doing. Thank you. Thank you so much. Good job, guys. Thank you. Dusty johnson, south dakota, maam. Nice to see you. Thank you. Mitt told me they sold out the entire season, saturday and sunday weeknights this month, were featuring American History tv programs as a preview of whats available every weekend on cspan3. Tonight we hear the experiences of three women who reflect on their time working on the apollo space program. They share how they overcame challenges and their roles with nasa. Watch beginning at 8 00 eastern and enjoy American History tv every weekend on cspan3. Every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3, go inside a Different College classroom and hear about the american revolution, civil rights and u. S. President s to 9 11. Thanks for your patience and for logging with most College Campuses closed due to the impact of the coronavirus, watch professors transfer teaching to a virtual setting to engage with their students. Gorbachev did most to change the soviet union but reagan met him halfway, reagan encouraged him, reagan supported him. Freedom of the press, well get to later. Madison originally called it freedom of the use of the press, and it is, indeed, freedom to print things and publish things. It is not a freedom to what we refer to institutionally as freedom of the press. American history on cspan3 every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Lectures in history is also available as a podcast. Find it where you listen to podcasts. Next, a discussion about Global Energy challenges and access to power. Well hear about whats being done to End Energy Poverty and how American Cities are transitioning to clean energy. Held by the Washington Post, this is an hour. Good morning and welcome to Washington Post live. Im francis salazar, Senior Writer at the Washington Post. Im very pleased to welcome two experts on energy policy. My first guest is dr. Vera, u. N. Under secretarygeneral, a expert on africa,