Been filed in there under negotiations. Life coverage now to the floor of the u. S. Senate here on cspan2. Www. Iowaculture. Gov. I yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Mcconnell madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday evening the president , the Vice President , and their task force offered an extensive public briefing on ongoing efforts to combat this new virus, which has spread from china throughout the world. As the director of the c. D. C. Explained, officials are now tracking more than 500 cases across our country. Nationwide, the risk to any individual american remains low. But as the Vice President and the experts reminded us, the time is now for all americans to engage in basic commonsense measures and for americans at heightened risk to take additional precautions. Detailed recommendations for individuals, families, and employers are Available Online at coronavirus. Gov. President trump also announced that in parallel with the Public Health response, his administration is considering ways to mitigate the impact of the virus on our economy. Senate republicans look forward to discussing this with secretary mnuchin and the president s team so we can all consider the best ways to move forward for the American People. And as our government continues to prepare and protect our nation, i would urge all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle in both chambers to put reflexive partisanship aside. This virus does not care does not care about partisan divisions. This disease poses a challenge, no question. But our nation is wellaequipped and we have overcome far, far greater challenges before. As the Vice President put it yesterday, were all in this together. Now, on another matter, this week we had the opportunity to pass major legislation to strengthen our domestic energy. Chairman murkowski, senator march chin and the energy and Natural Resources committee have assembled a strong, bipartisan bill. I luke forward to passing t i was disappointed yesterday when the senate failed to advance and clear a path forward to completing the bill. The committees product includes about 50 different bills and contributions from nearly threefourths of the members of this body and contrary to the Democratic Leaders assertions on the floor, im certainly not blocking any bipartisan amendments. Ive stated right here on the floor that i hope and anticipate that we will vote on amendments this week. So dont be fooled by the fingerpointing. I am not standing in the way of bipartisan amendments. What is really helping is that the democratic leader is what is really happening is that the democratic leader is moving the goalpost. There had been a bipartisan understanding about how to finish this bill. But yesterday the democratic leader decided to change his tune and demand a vote on something outside the scope of the current debate. I hope we can get past the showmanship, finish this Bipartisan Legislation and send is it to the house so we can get it on the president s desk. Lets dont squander this real opportunity. Chairman murkowski and senator manchins compromise product will help our nation move toward Greater Energy efficiency and affordability for years to come. New support for Energy Efficiency efforts, new incentives for innovation, new tools to secure our electrical grid, new ways to strengthen our domestic supply chain for important minerals, and on and on and on. This chamber got it right last week when it proceeded to the bill by a vote of 904. It hadnt suddenly become controversial overnight. Everyone knows there are plenty of outside issues that senators do not agree on. We should let ourselves agree on what we do agree on. Let me say that again. We should let ourselves agree on what we do agree on and complete this legislation this week. Lets keep legislating. Lets get it done. The American People deserve it. Now, on a final matter, this afternoon all senators will have the opportunity to attend a briefing on Election Security from administration experts who tackle the issue every day. The f. B. I. Director, the acting secretary of homeland security, general nakasone of the n. S. A. , and entirety command, hand a number of other Senior Leaders will come here to the capitol to discuss this critical subject. I look forward to hearing about the significant and strong steps the Trump Administration has taken over the past three years to secure our democracy and punch back against the real and varied foreign efforts to interfere. I look forward to hearing more about the unprecedented level of coordination that has connected nonpartisan federal experts with all 50 states, u. S. Territories and thousands of local jurisdictions and privatesector leaders to make sure the unpreparedness and inaction that defined the Obama Administrations failures in 2016 was not repeated in 2018 and will not be repeated in 2020 or beyond. I look forward to hearing about how the record sums of money hundreds of millions of dollars that congress has put aside for direct grants so state and Election Officials can shore up their systems are making our democracy safer. I expect ill have more to say following the briefing. I expect many of our colleagues will, but beforehand, id like to say this. The American People have confidence in our democracy, as they should. Just last month a survey found that more than 70 of americans are confident their state or local government will conduct a fair and accurate election this november. Just last month let me say this again a survey found that more than 70 of americans are confident their state or local government will conduct a fair and accurate election this november. And they should be confident about the resilience of our institutions. Our nation is strong. The Trump Administration has made huge strides, and after eight years of weakness, this administrations Foreign Policy has made it clear to our adversaries that the United States of america is not going to be pushed around. But the American People also know we must remain vigilant. As long as russia and other nations seek to meddle, we need to be ready. Election security is critically important for our nation, and it can only be handled right if it is handled with good faith and bipartisanship. But washington democrats used this particular topic as a platform for demonizing the other side or for pushing tangential policy proposals which the left has sought many years, many years before 2016, everyone can see right through it. It only signals unseriousness. So i encourage all my colleagues to attend the bipartisan briefing today, and then lets preserve that bipartisan spirit and that unity. Lets focus on fighting against foreign interference, not fighting each other. We should not just snap right back into tired old partisanship. We should not let putin or anyone else bait americans into talking down our own democracy or sewing more sowing more fear and discord among ourselves than our adversaries could ever hope to do themselves. I understand there is a bill at the desk due a second the presiding officer under the previous order the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. The clerk s. 3422, a bill to amend United States code, and so forth and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell i ask for a second reading. Mr. Mcconnell in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer are we in a quorum . The presiding officer we are. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the conform be dis the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer we are. Mr. Schumer before i get to remarks about the coronavirus, i want to mention leader mcconnell did not give the right story when he talked about the energy bill. 13 democrats voted for cloture. 15 republicans opposed cloture. It was a republican, senator kennedy, who led the charge to deny cloture, and that it was well known that democrats simply wanted an amendment on the kennedy bill. A republican amendment wanted the ability to vote, and once again leader mcconnell, because he do not allow amendments and debate and instead adds more items to his legislative graveyard, the bill went down. But 13 democrats voted for cloture. So if he had had his republican troops together, he might have been able to pass it anyway. So to blame democrats and say were moving the goalpost is just a total misstatement of what happened. Now on covid, as our country continues to experience the spread of coronavirus, covid19, the effects are beginning to be more acutely felt. First and foremost, our hearts go out to the families of those who have lost loved ones during this illness. Second, our Health Care Systems are under tremendous stress. Businesses have been forced to cut back. And the virus is already starting to take a toll on the economy. As the impact of the coronavirus spreads, the administration appears to have shifted its focus, holding a press conference yesterday to talk about measures the administration might pursue to calm the markets. I would remind the white house that by far the best way to ensure Economic Security for the American People is to deal directly with the coronavirus itself. Again, getting a handle on the crisis and addressing the virus itself is by far the best way to respond to any negative effects on our economy. The administration seems to believe that the answer to any problem is another tax cut. And no matter how no matter what they say about it when they put it together, it always seems to benefit the wealthy and the big and powerful corporations. But this is a health care crisis. It demands a health care solution. To borrow an expression, you must treat the disease, not the symptoms. Mr. President , do you hear that . You must treat the disease, the coronavirus. Not the symptoms, which is the result of the coronavirus, which is the economy. The president only wakes up to a problem after it has an effect on wall street, and his solutions are often aimed misguidedly, only at calming the nerves of those on wall street. The real answer in this case is to protect the American People, focus on their health and Economic Security and competently respond to the Public Health crisis at our doorstep. Speaker pelosi and i have mentioned several actions we could take. From paid sick leave for impacted workers, to unemployment insurance, food and housing security, and protections against price gouging. But one thing the Administration Must focus on right now above all is fixing the problems were having with testing. The most powerful tool in responding to a virus is to know precisely where it is and how it is spreading. Because the administration took weeks before they developed an accurate test, because the administration was slow to ramp up the number of americans tested and is now having trouble turning around the results of those tests at a fast enough pace, we are now far behind where we ought to be in understanding how far the virus has already spread. The United States has the best hospitals, doctors, and scientists in the world. Yet, currently we are lagging far behind other countries when it comes to testing our citizens. Were behind the united kingdom, behind france, behind china, behind switzerland, the netherlands, israel, japan, and italy. Every day we read a new story in the press about americans having difficulty getting a test for a coronavirus, even though they are displaying symptoms. Our own secretary of health and Human Services was unable to say how Many Americans have been tested. It is shocking, it is infuriating. If other countries can do this, why cant we . If other countries do it right, why cant we . South korea, which has far more prevalent amounts of coronavirus, is already seeing the number of new reports go down because theyve done extensive, thorough, and accurate testing. The results here, why we are not doing as well as other countries, is a direct result of the colossal failure of leadership and planning from this administration and this president. One word describes the Trump Administrations response to the coronavirus so far incompetence. I know there are hardworking c. D. C. Scientists and experts trying to help the American People. The political appointees are the ones who seem not to get it and are putting politics over the safety and security of the American People, and it goes right to the top. In the midst of a Public Health crisis, a serious and dangerous Public Health crisis, the president has repeatedly pushed unscientific claims about the coronavirus and the availability of a vaccine and given bad advice bad advice to americans who might have symptoms. If the president would just keep quiet, it would be better than what hes doing now which is negative. But what we really need is leadership. More than ever we need the president to drop the conspiracy theories, end the optimism and unscientific speculation. Now more than ever we need President Trump to lead our governments response with competence and to be truthful with the American People. As i said yesterday, were all rooting for that, but the president and his Administration Must take a hard look in the mirror, focus on the problem at hand, not the side effects, and get to work on fixing it. Now, h. R. 1. This past sunday marked one year since the house passed h. R. 1, the for the people act. This bill takes urgent and long overdue steps to renew our democracy. It will reverse the corrupting effects of citizens united. It will restore protections for voting and will take aim at washingtons culture of corruption which has run rampant under this administration. It could not come at a better time. Every election we see the sweeping power of big money. State legislatures have found new ways to deny americans, often minorities, access to the ballot. Our adversaries, including the russians, work day and night to influence our elections and sow confusion in the public sphere. H. R. 1 would forcefully and directly address each of these issues. But like every other bill passed by the house over the past two years, it has been buried in leader mcconnells legislative graveyard. We must move it. This bill is about making our democracy work and giving american citizens some faith in the future. Republicans rather than working with democrats to strengthen our democracy, have stood in the way. They have blocked Election Security legislation and sanctions to deter foreign adversaries from trying to interfere in our democracy. They have enabled President Trumps assault on the separation of powers through their silence on the president s many abuses of power. Even today the republicans are putting forward a nominee for the federal Election Commission who expressed doubts regarding the benefits of even the most reasonable restrictions on Campaign Spending including disclosure. When h. R. 1 first passed the house, leader mcconnell called this bill to restore Voting Rights and get money out of politics a terrible proposal and a power grab. Well, if leader mcconnell thinks that getting big money out of politics is a terrible idea, if he truly believes making it easier for americans to vote is a power grab by democrats, then god help the Republican Party and god help this country. Madam president , democrats will not stom fighting for this not stop l fighting for this bill, nor will we ever stop fighting to restore the Democratic Values that have guided our nation for two and a half centuries. In the United States, each persons vote should have the same weight as everyone elses. Thats a hallmark of our democracy. A fair and free election is the wellspring of our democracy. Its what americans have died for in the battlefields around the world, what civil rights activists have marched for across the bridges and the generations. And though the republican leader has been adamant in his opposition to this legislation, the American People, thank god, will have a chance this november to elect a new senate that will move this country in a dramatically different direction. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call thune madam president . The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Thune madam president , is the senate 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. Under the previous order, the leader is reserved. Morning busin