The speaker pro tempore the house will be in order. The chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. The clerk the speakers rooms, washington, d. C. April 23, 2020. I hereby appoint the honorable kathy castor to act as splote on this day. Signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. 7 the speaker pro tempore the a prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. Chaplain conroy let us pray. Merciful god, thank you for giving us another day. Send your spirit of peace and comity among the members of the peoples house. These are days of great political, social, and economic stress in our nation, and those whose work is to legislate through this pandemic are naturally under considerable pressure. Give us all patience, especially with one another. May all our citizens in the midst of great turmoil be filled with gratitude for those in our nation whose work must go on when it would be so easy not to assume their responsibility to do so. Continue to bless those whose lifes work is in service to Public Safety be it police, medical professionals, or those producing and delivering our daily necessities. May everything done this day be for your greater honor and glory. Amen. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to section 7a of House Resolution 891, the journal of the last days proceedings is approved. The chair will lead the house in the pledge of allegiance. 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. For what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition . Mr. Mcgovern madam speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title. The clerk House Resolution 938, resolution providing for the adoption of the resolution, House Resolution 935, establishing a select subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis as a collect investigative subcommittee of the committee on oversight and reform. The speaker pro tempore referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. For what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition . Mr. Mcgovern madam speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up House Resolution 938 and ask for its immediate consideration. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the resolution. The clerk house calendar number 79 f 77 House Resolution 938, resolved that House Resolution 935 is hereby adopted. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one hour. Mr. Mcgovern thank you, smars. For the purposes of debate only i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, the distinguished Ranking Member of the rules committee, mr. Cole, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. During consideration of this rule, all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Mcgovern madam speaker, before we get into this before we get into the resolution before us, i want to speak to my colleagues about an important issue. Over the last several weeks i have heard from democrats and republicans who have expressed concern that we, as a house, are not adequately prepared to do our business during a pandemic. They are right. Over a month ago i prepared a report that i sent to everyone in the house, democrats and republicans, about possible ways that we could operate remotely. I received constructive feedback from both sides of the aisle and this week i released text of a proposal that i hoped could have been voted on today. The republican leader had some objections to that proposal, and our speaker has agreed to continue the conversation for two more weeks. And i have always believed that whenever possible any changes to our rules should be bipartisan. I still believe that. However, the status quo, in my opinion, is unacceptable and dangerous. Im not talking about to members of congress. More importantly its dangerous to everyone we come in contact with. The year is 2020. Technology has advanced and improved considerably over the last 231 years. And yes, there are problems with some of the technology that exists out there. But there are lowtech approaches to dealing with remote participation by our members, and there are higher tech ways to deal with t we can work that out. With it. We can work that out. There are smart people in this congress that can can figure all this out. I believe both sides of the aisle need to have urgency in addressing this issue, especially in light of the statements by the head of the c. D. C. And other medical experts that things could be very problematic come the fall. I hope and i pray that that is not the case. But we need to be prepared so that we can do the peoples business. I also want to publicly acknowledge my Ranking Member, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Cole. We dont see eye to eye on this issue yet. But over our years long working relationship and friendship, we have found Common Ground many, many times. And a task force will be convened today that includes myself, mr. Cole, the chair and Ranking Members of the House Administration committee, ms. Lofgren and mr. Davis. As well as democratic leader hoyer and republican leader mccarthy to discuss these matters. And i have been saying this for months and ill say it here again today. If you are a member of congress and you care about this issue, call me. I want to hear from members what they think about this critically important matter. Now, back to the measure before us. Madam speaker, on wednesday the rules committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 938, providing that upon passage of the rule h. Res. 935, which establishes a select subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis as a select Investigative Committee of the committee on oversight and reform, is hereby adopted. Madam speaker, we are here today as Congress Continues responding to the biggest Public Health and economic emergency this nation has seen in 100 years. The coronavirus pandemic. What started just weeks ago half a world away is having a devastating impact across our country. No community has been spared. More than 855,000 cases have been confirmed. Nearly 48,000 lives lost as of the time we are meeting right now. And more than 22 million initial unemployment claims filed in the past month. Some regions of our country have lost as many jobs over the last month as they did during the worst year of the great recession. These statistics are not just numbers on a page, madam speaker. These are our neighbors. They are our family, they are our friends, their health is at risk and their economic reality has changed overnight. Since the start of this pandemic, congress has provided more than 2 trillion in emergency relief. To get Small Businesses the financial help they need to survive. To help hospitals and Health Care Workers on the frontlines. To expand testing. To provide every american access to an affordable vaccine when it is developed. I could go on and on and on. We need to make sure that these resources are going where congress intended. That they are helping struggling americans, Small Businesses without any rampant fraud or accuse and companies arent taking part in price gouging or profiteering. Thats what the select subcommittee on the coronavirus is all about. This proactive approach is what then senator harry truman spearheaded at the dawn of world war ii to ensure federal dollars spent then saved lives on the battlefield. Today the battle is much different. It is against a worldwide pandemic currently without a vaccine or preventive treatment. But our aggressive oversight should be the same. Democratic governors and republican governors all over the country are pleading for more tests despite the billions we have allocated to provide them. The republican governor of maryland has said the lack of available testing is, quote, the number one stumbling block in america. End quote. Hes absolutely right. The president talks about reopening america, but, madam speaker, how about first testing america . Without that we cant fully track and contain this virus. We need to make sure that the money we provided for testing is actually going to testing. We need to make sure that our hospitals have all the p. P. E. Equipment that they need. In my home city of worcester in massachusetts, we recently opened up a Field Hospital in our convention center. The day before we opened, there was considerable they had enough p. P. E. To last for a couple days. Working together with the governor and others we were able to remedy that situation, but for so many of our health care institutions, for our First Responders, trying to find p. P. E. Is like something out of the movie the hunger games. States competing with states, competing with the federal government. People receiving calls. I know somebody who knows somebody in china who might have lifesaving masks. Can you maybe follow up that lead . Thats not the way this is supposed to work. The United States of america the wealthiest nation on the facer face of the earth officials are making cold calls to get enough equipment to survive the next surge of patients. We are relying on the good will of people and business when is they should be able to count on federal agencies. Congress provided money for this equipment. We need to make sure it is going where it is badly needed. Madam speaker, as we talk today about what congress has done, i want to take a moment to talk about what it has not done. Thats provide enough for hungry families during this pandemic. The president and so many of his allies in the Senate Continue to block efforts to increase snap benefits for hungry people trying to put food on the table for their families. The demand for food banks food banks right now wraps around city blocks in someplaces. We have seen it on tv. The lines go for miles. This is a crisis of Food Insecurity that we havent seen in this country since the Great Depression. Whatever happened to taking care of the neediest among us, madam speaker . Maybe the president doesnt have twoirry about where his next meal comes from, but millions and millions and millions of americans do. They are terrified. We should be suspending this administrations snap cuts. We should be strengthening nutrition assistance for those impacted by this pandemic, and we should be showing the American People that ending hunger is not a partisan issue. But some on the other side of pennsylvania avenue have chosen to take meals away from families. Just yesterday the agriculture secretary tried to paper over this disgraceful record by taking credit for the bill that we passed in a bipartisan way here in congress. The usda didnt increase snap benefits for 40 , the House Democrats led that charge and thankfully many of my republican colleagues supported that. And the Families First bill. By the way, while we were at it, usda was in court trying to kick millions of people off of snap through the disastrous regulatory scheme. The only thing this administration has done is to try to push people off of nutrition assistance. I think it is coldhearted and i think it is cruel for the Senate Majority leader and others to turn their backs on struggling families. That needs to be fixed and it has to be fixed in our next bill. And i hope in this chamber we can come together, democrats and republicans, and deal with it. I know that it is unrelated to the underlying measure here, but hungry families are being ignored in this country. Sadly even in the best of times poor peoplep oftentimes get ignored by poor people oftentimes get ignored by this chamber. I worry in the worst of times we are going through right now, these families become invisible. We cannot let that happen. I want them to know this house is listening to them and we will continue to fight the strength of the programs they rely on. I dont know what is radical about that. Just as i dont understand why some on the other side are against a subcommittee that is designed to make sure that federal dollars are spent well. Thats what this is about. Thats it. This is an extraordinary time. We have sent trillions of dollars into our communities. They should be going to Small Businesses and not to big corporations. Our workers, not the wealthy, and those already well off. Our workers are the ones who should be a priority. We need to make sure that thats what it happening here. If you believe this administration has done things perfectly, then you have nothing to fear. But the American People have a lot of questions. And they deserve answers. And they expect us to live up to our Constitutional Responsibilities with regard to oversight. And they deserve to know that their tax dollars are being well spent. With that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Mr. Cole thank you, madam speaker. I want to thank my good friend, the distinguished chairman of the house rules committee, mr. Mcgovern, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cole thank you, madam speaker. Let me quickly respond to my about the group that will work on reopening congress. Look forward to working with my friend and our colleagues on that particular issue. Point out, its important to note, last night we actually did function as a under your leadership, mr. Chairman, and we got our work done. Ere on the floor right now getting our work done. The executive branch is in now ngton, d. C. Right getting its work done. The president and Vice President cheyennenkered down in mountain. Theyre in the west wing working every day. The joint chiefs of staff are in pentagon working every day. Every cabinet member is working day. I just say that to note other people are able to get their with appropriate changes and appropriate precaution. I rule nothing in or out. I look forward to listening to our colleagues. Think were capable of working the house of representatives, and i will be cautious about giving up procedures and that are 230plus years old. Madam speaker, were here today creates er a rule that Speaker Pelosis proposed select ommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this month, Speaker Pelosi announced she would reate this select committee conveniently ignoring that any such select committee must be established through the rules and ultimately through a vote on the house floor. Yesterday, the rules committee on extremely short notice to essentially rubber stamp the action. S this was particularly egregious considering that up until right we had absolutely no details on the proposal. N the last month, the speaker gave the minority no notice of er plans, no indication of a rationale or vision, and was radio silence since her for the ent except occasional media mention. In fact, we did not even know we meeting on this item until the afternoon of the hearing. To operately the way on something the speaker purportedly wants to do in a fashion. N perhaps even more problematic, not speaker, is that im sure that what the end goal of such committee will be. Pelosi claims that the proposed select committee will examine all aspects of the response to the coronavirus pandemic and will provide oversight for federal being spent in response. Significanteady has oversight tools at our disposal. Establishedt itself a fivemember Oversight Commission specifically for that problem. Is in addition oversight other tools, which includes the versight and reform and the Oversight Committees that are in other permanent house committees. Have a separate Oversight Commission, specifically for the cares act, and we already have and reform rsight committee, and each committee already has separate oversight what then is the actual purpose of the proposed select committee . Entirely plausible for one to conclude this new select committee will simply turn into partisan witchhunt aimed at damaging the president. Time in the a future when it makes sense to stablish a Commission Like the 9 11 commission to review the covid19 pandemic and the government response. Actually support doing that at an appropriate time. To such a commission needs be truly bipartisan and devoted we can happened and what learn from it to improve overnment responses for the future. The select committee doesnt meet that test. Later i reserve my time, today, the house will be voting on the paycheck Protection Health care enhancement act. This bipartisan bill is the next to the cares wup act, which Congress Passed a few weeks ago. Bill includes 310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, a critical protecting small employees. And their also includes 75 billion for frontline of he the coronavirus pandemic and a further 25 billion for coronavirus testing. The Paycheck Protection Program account will Small Businesses and em