Legacy energy source. Senator udall of new mexico and i have an amendment that will close a loophole in federal Energy Policy. I want my colleagues to know, and i think they do, of my long support for renewable and alternative sources of energy and so i agree with the aims of the murkowskimachin murkowskiy bill. The amendment that senator udall and i have introduced is the same as the bipartisan bill we introduced last week. The title of that bill is the fair return for public lands act. Mr. Grassley this bill was introduced 100 years to the date of the mineral leasing act of 1920. This amendment would increase the royalty rates on federal lands from 12. 5 to 18. 75 . Everybody here knows that a royalty is what the oil company will pay to a mineral owner. In this case the mineral owner is the american taxpayer, and that royalty is paid for the right to extract oil and natural gas from the lands of the United States. The legislation modernizes the public lands leasing system and it does this for the First Time Since royalty rates were set in 1920. The legislation increases both the share of royalties that taxpayers receive from public lands leasing as well as the rental rates. The new rental rate that we are offering in this amendment reflects the current fair market value while the bill also establishes minimum bidding standards to lease public lands that will stay in line with inflation. This bill is a simple fix by many by making federal leasing rates the same, whether youre on land or offshore. The royalty rate the bill offers is very comparable to of what current leases are for oilproducing states on their stateowned land. So we use state of texas as an example. Texas charges a 25 royalty on its state lands while states in the Rocky Mountain west charge royalties that are somewhere between 16 and twothirds percent and 18 and threefourths percent. The royalty rate on federal public lands is more than onethird lower at 12. 5 . Hence, our amendment, the same as our bill, updating this and bringing parity more parity between state and federal rates and of course absolute parity with offshore drilling. The current regulatory system allows companies to get a sweetheart deal on federal public lands. And so senator udall and i are asking our colleagues to fix this for the American People. According to studies done by the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability office, modernizing public land royalty rates for oil and gas could increase federal revenues by as much as 200 million over the next decade. And do it with little to no impact on production. It is time then, hence our amendment, for my colleagues in congress to end this oil company loophole and bring oil leasing into the 21st century. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Barrasso madam president. The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Barrasso i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Barrasso i come to the floor today as a senator as well as a physician. I want to do this to reassure the American People that we are doing Everything Possible to combat and contain the coronavirus. Madam president , according to Johns Hopkins university, a wellknown medical institution, we here in the United States are the most prepared nation on the face of the earth to protect ourselves in terms of preparation for something, an Infectious Disease like the coronavirus. Nevertheless, this virus is a global concern and is a pandemic potential and problem. The outbreak we know started in china. It goes without saying we are deeply saddened by the loss of life there as well as here and around the world. And were concerned about those currently suffering from the virus. Madam president , our focus continues to be on protecting the health and the wellbeing and the safety of the American People. Thats where we need to focus. Notably, President Trumps early travel restrictions on china have actually helped slow the spread of the virus. He has since expanded these restrictions. The president , i believe, has acted swiftly, boldly, decisively to contain the virus and to keep americans safe. Still, this country is not a hermetically sealed bubble, never will be, cant be, so were likely to see more cases here in the days and weax ahead. So we all must be prepared and we must stay vigilant. Be assured the Trump Administration is fully engaged in responding to this virus. The United States has the best Public Health system in the world, and we have a plan in place to combat the coronavirus. Our Public Health experts are working to identify and isolate the virus, as well as to produce a vaccine. The fastest you could ever produce a vaccine which is several years, we seem to be moving faster than that with respect to the coronavirus. The vaccine, even though its moving faster than ever, it will still take a number of months to actually have a vaccine that will help the population of the country. Its a new virus so a new vaccine needs to be developed. Now, the Vice President said over the weekend that we expect to have a vaccine available sometime next year, and i agree. Meanwhile, our strategy for testing, for isolation, for quarantine right now is helping to lower the risks. Years ago, we created an Infectious DiseaseRapid Response team. The goal would be to make sure we were ready if the time would come, and the time has now come. Test kits are becoming more widely available for states and communities. We heard it today over the noon hour that they are expecting to have enough test kits available around the country to over the next week test a million people. Were going to continue to use every available tool we can in this fight. The white house has created a Coronavirus Task force led by Vice President pence. The efforts headed by top officials at the center for Disease Control, the National Institutes of health had a chance to visit with a number of them today and specifically the Infectious Disease group through the n. I. H. Weve had a number of briefings through the centers for Disease Control. Recently by dr. Ann suchak who is the head of the center for Disease Control in the area, helping with our efforts on coronavirus. As she has said, our aggressive containment strategy here in the United States has been working, she said, and is responsible for the low level of cases that weve had so far. Officials at the c. D. C. And the National Institutes of health are coordinating with other federal officials, and they intend to be working around the clock. The administration is making sure that state and local officials have all of the resources they need to respond. Dr. Suchak has said that our health care system, our businesses, our communities, and our schools all have action plans. Senators have had a number of briefings from officials at both the center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of health. They are working on ways to identify the virus, to test for the virus, ways to treat people who are infected by the virus. Theyre working on quarantines and on a vaccine. Thats what they should be doing. This is a massive nationwide undertaking. Now, at every meeting and i have been going to meetings on this since it was first noted around the beginning of the year, this issue in china, where as people now know that the doctor who tried to get the word out to the world, who was the first to notice this specific new virus, the coronavirus, he was reprimanded by the chinese for trying to do just what he learned to do as a doctor, which was to share medical knowledge and information to try to get ahead of a disease that is progressing. He was reprimanded by the chinese government, and he has subsequently died of the disease. But there are a number of us and it was bipartisan would go as senators to briefings we have been going to briefings since the time of the impeachment. We would have impeachment in the afternoon and discussions about coronavirus in the morning. So there has been a focus on this for probably longer than most Members Around the country had been focused on it. And at every meeting, we would ask the members from the center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of health do you right now have the funds you need for the things you need to do right now . And at all of those meetings, they said yes, we have what we need. Well, now things have changed. Now they say they need additional funds, and they are right, and we agree. They need funds for more testing, for more treatment, for more vaccine development. Its appropriate that congress appropriate that money. And i believe Congress Must act quickly and decisively to protect the public by passing a bipartisan emergency funding bill. Both parties agree this effort has to be fully funded. We know that the initial numbers that were being discussed were only a starting point. We dont know what the total number is going to be, but if the team is going to continue to have all of the funds that they need to deal with this disease. So i find it very disturbing, madam president , to see democrats, especially those running for president , politicizing the issue. The headline in yesterdays New York Times, democrats hit trump on virus. Talking about the president ial candidates, running for president , attacking President Trump on the virus. Madam president , the coronavirus is a deadly disease. Its not a Political Tool to try to tar and feather President Trump. We need to be working on this together. This should not be about democrat candidates trying to defeat President Trump but about defeating the coronavirus. Thats what we ought to be focusing on, madam president. And madam president , as a doctor, my focus is on the health of the American People. So my advice for those who may be watching is this. Its the same commonsense advice you would take if you were saying i want to avoid getting the flu during flu season, and it is flu season as well. Cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands frequently, if youre sick, stay home. Those are the kind of commonsense things people can do at home, not just to prevent the flu but also to protect themselves against the coronavirus. There is no reason for lots of anxiety or for panic. As a nation, were in the right position to deal with the challenge that we face. And this administration will continue to do everything in its power to keep america and americans safe. But now its time for congress to do its part, to pass the emergency legislation and get it to the president s desk. Thankfully, we are the most prepared nation to face this challenge. We have harnessed all the American Energy and ingenuity and expertise that we need for this fight. The key is for all of us to remain engaged and remain vigilant. As a doctor, i am confident, madam president , that we will be able to succeed together. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from idaho. A senator thank you. Mr. President , colleagues are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are. A senator i ask that it be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Risch i could to the floor today to talk about the American Energy innovation act here before the senate which we are considering this week. Americas Energy Landscape has changed dramatically since the last major energy bill was enacted by congress more than a decade ago. Its time to update our outdated Energy Policy to reflect todays realities, goals, and challenges in the Energy Sector. The American Energy innovation act, the business before the senate today, is the accumulation of more than a year of hearings, business meetings, and negotiations in the energy and Natural Resources committee. I commend chairman murkowski and Ranking Member manchin for their leadership in bringing this strong bipartisan, all of the above Energy Package to the floor. Included in this legislation are a number of provisions that i have proposed that will benefit idaho and the nation. First, the bill appropriately recognizes the importance of having a strong Domestic Nuclear industry. I represent not just one of the department of energys National Laboratories but i represent the nations flagship Nuclear Energy laboratory, the Idaho National lab. Nuclear power is the nations largest source of reliable carbonfree energy. To date Nuclear Power plants have primarily served one purpose, to produce electricity. But were discovering through the work at the Idaho National lab that this is only the tip of the iceberg for the work that a Nuclear Reactor can do. The i. N. L. And department of energy are currently working to demonstrate that Nuclear Reactors can be adopted to produce other products like hydrogen, steam, and importantly heat. To accelerate this research, Ranking Member manchin and i introduced the integrated Energy Systems act to help improve the strong the longterm competitiveness of our Current Fleet of Nuclear Reactors. That bill is included in the larger bill we have before us. We must keep our existing fleet of reactors online and also must usher in the next generation of advanced Nuclear Reactor designs. This is particularly exciting at this point in time. The Bipartisan Nuclear leadership act will address key supply chain and other challenges associating with developing small, modular, micro, and other advanced designs. This act is also included in the larger bill before us today. Neila that is that bill will enable the federal government to partner with the private sector to demonstrate and commercialize these technologies and the i. N. L. s National ReactorInnovation Center will play a key role in making these designs a reality. When looking toward a clean, reliable and secure energy future, the importance of Rare Earth Minerals cannot be overstated. In idaho we have the nations only significant deposit, domestic deposit of cobalt, a mineral that is vital for electric vehicles, Wind Turbines and military hardware. Yet instead of mining and processing this mineral in the u. S. , we import our supply from china. Cobalt is just one of Many Minerals that u. S. Relies on for imports. We need to start prioritizing domestic supply and processing our Critical Minerals for our energy and domestic security future. And i appreciate that we have included this act also in the big bill that is in front of us. This is the american mineral security act and it prioritizes our energy independence. Im also pleased the key provisions of my bill, the enhancing geothermal production on federal lands act were also included. That act is included in the larger bill. Idaho has long been a world leader in the development of geothermal technologies. In fact, the idaho State Capitol building is the only State Capitol in the United States that is heated solely with geothermal energy. Theres significant potential to expand this Renewable Energy in idaho and indeed across the western United States. Most of this potential exists on federal managed lands. Unfortunately developers looking to harness this resource on federal lands must navigate a labyrinth of regulations. The provisions in this bill will unleash our nations vast geothermal resources by making the current permitting review process more efficient, cost effecti