Holy god, we love you. You are our strength, rock, and protection. Use our senators today to make our nation safer and better. May they often think of the positive legacy they can leave through faithful service to you and country. Lord, remind them that you have brought our nation through much greater difficulties than the ones we now face. As they strive to unite for the common good of this land we love, may they embrace your promise that you will never leave or forsake us. We pray in your merciful name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting 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. Mr. Grassley madam president. The presiding officer the senator from iowa is recognized. Mr. Grassley i ask permission to speak in morning business for one minute. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley the Trump Administration wants the u. S. Mexicocanadian agreement to enter into force by june 1. Im eager as well for that to happen, but we must first ensure that canada and mexico are complying with their commitments under that agreement. Im especially concerned that the june 1 date presents unique challenges for the u. S. Oil industry when its already facing significant supply chain disruptions due to covid19. As we learned in 2009, the health of the Auto Industry is critical to the health of the entire American Economy. I urge the administration to take very seriously the concerns expressed by the highest levels of the Auto Industry to ensure a reasonable timeline for entry into force of the u. S. Mexicocanadian agreement auto regulations. It would be prudent right now to let these companies focus instead on the health of their workforce and supply chains. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Mcconnell madam president. The presiding officer the majority leader is recognized. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell every day our country grows more affected by the continued spread of the coronavirus. Every american is feeling the anxiety and uncertainty of this national challenge. Older americans and young americans, healthy americans and those with underlying medical conditions. Parents and teachers, working americans and Small Business owners. Certainly our First Responders and Health Care Professionals. Everyone, everyone is impacted in different ways and to different degrees, but all americans are affected. All of us have seen our daily lives transformed in what feels like the blink of an eye. Thats the bad news. And its the good news too. That were all in this together, madam president. All in it together. Our nation faces a serious challenge, but working together we can take bold steps to combat it. Earlier this Month Congress passed billions in urgent funding for Public Health and Small Businesses, and this Senate Majority remains committed to taking further bold steps to preserve and protect the economic foundations of our country. Later today the senate will vote on a house proposal that seeks to address one small piece of the problem before us. It is a wellintentioned bipartisan product assembled by House Democrats and President Trumps team that tries to stand up and expand some new relief measures for American Workers. I will vote to pass their bill. This is a time for urgent bipartisan action, and in this case i do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that will help even a subset of workers. However, madam president , the houses bill has real shortcomings. It does not even begin to cover all of the americans who will need help in the days ahead. And more specifically, it achieves one of its signature policies by imposing a new untested mandate on Small Businesses without, without guaranteeing they will have sufficient funds in advance to finance this new employee benefit. Everyone agrees that workers need relief. Republicans are working on Bold Solutions to help individuals and families as we speak, but Small Businesses need relief as well. This is literally the worst time in living memory to pile even more burdens and costs on to small Small Businesses which are themselves fighting to stay alive unless, unless we back it up with major assistance. We all know what Small Businesses are up against. Just this week new york city joined the list of towns and cities across the country where local officials have shuttered every bar and every restaurant for the sake of Public Health. At 5 00 p. M. Today all public businesses in my home state of kentucky will do the same. These job creators are literally be taken off lines by their own governments for the public good. And its not only bars, restaurants, and entertainment businesses we need to worry about. Nobody expects main street Small Businesses of any sort to hold the kind of cash buffer they would need to remain in business and wait out a National Economic disruption that could last for weeks or months. The men and women who pour their entire lives into Small Businesses do not need even more obstacles. They need help. They need a lifeline. They need to know that congress understands the historic obstacles they are facing and that we have their back as well. There is no moral hazard here. This is not some rescue following Risky Business decisions. Nobody thinks any of this is the fault of Small Businesses. So while i will support the house bill in order to secure emergency relief for some American Workers, i will not adjourn the senate until we have passed a far bolder package that must include significant relief for Small Businesses all across our country. As we speak, chairman rubio, senator collins and others are assembling an historic level of assistance for Small Businesses across america. We want to help them survive this disruption, absorb the new mandate in the house bill, and continue to make payroll and avoid layoffs as much as they can and emerge from this storm in the best shape possible. That means an historic injection of liquidity and access to credit, and it means washington working directly with the lenders who already work with these Small Businesses to minimize the new bureaucracy so the assistance can flow as fast as possible. So were going to pass the houses bill, but its imperfections will just make our more comprehensive package even more urgent. So we arent leaving. Everybody understands we arent leaving until we deliver it. The senate is not going to leave Small Business behind. This will be just one component of our work. As we speak, chairman grassley and others are determining the best pathway to put money directly in the hands of the American People. Those who are employed, those who may be laid off, retirees, disabled americans, families, as quickly as possible. Of course chairman alexander and a number of our colleagues are working on further steps in our Public Health fight against the virus itself such as getting more tools in the hands of health care providers, removing barriers to treat them, and helping researchers develop therapeutics and vaccines. And chairman wicker and several senators are considering the possibility of targeted relief for Key Industries that are shouldering an outsized burden from the Public Health directives and which our nation will need to be operational on the other side of this. Were crafting bold and significant legislation to meet this crisis head on and to strengthen our nation. The congress has an enormous role to play in responding it to challenge, and we are determined to do that duty. But at the same time, never in our nations history have americans looked so into washington for answers. Thats not who we are and this shin different this is no different. Even amidst the uncertainty, the American People are stepping up and reminding everyone what solidarity and citizenship look like. In my home state, kentuckians are going out of their way to stand with their neighbors. Stay at home parents are volunteering it to cover child care. Grocery stores in the louisville hour are setting aside the first hour they are open each day right after their cleaning so older shoppers and those with underlying conditions can shop first and with less exposure. One restaurant is helping industry workers whose hours have been cut. This is what makes the United States of america what it is and it is what we are today. Generosity, friendship, resolve, and strength. This is not a challenge anyone wanted for our nation but it is a challenge we will overcome. Some day, hopefully soon, our nation will have this virus on its heels. Main street Small Businesses will be thriving again. Families will be flying around the country again to reunite and catch up. Weve gotten through this. We will have gotten through this together. In part, it will be because the federal government and the congress did our part, but just as important, it will also be because every single american did theirs. Now, madam president , some observations about how well conduct the voting that will likely occur later today for the information of all of our colleagues. What well do is have a 30minute roll call vote. We want to avoid congregating here in the well. I would encourage our colleagues to come in and vote and depart the chamber so we dont have gaggles of conversations here on the floor. Thats particularly important for our staff here and the front of the chamber. So i would encourage everyone, take full advantage of a full 30minute roll call vote. Come in and vote and leave and be aware of the social distancing that dr. Moynihan and others have indicated as we come over to the chamber and as we depart. With that, i think well be able to get through the voting that will occur in all likelihood later today without violating any of the safety precautions that have been recommended to us by the capitol physician and others. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Durbin madam president. The presiding officer the assistant democratic leader is recognized. Mr. Durbin i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin madam president , i come to the floor this morning with sad news. Illinois has lost its first resident to the coronavirus. A pandemic which is threatening our country and the world. Her name was patricia freeson, 61 years old, a retired nurse. She was an exceptional person, and her brother said she cared for everyone but herself. She lived taking care of people. And she loved it. She started having breathing difficulties last week and was hospitalized at one of our better hospitals in the city of chicago and succumbed yesterday to the coronavirus and its complications. She had had a history of respiratory illness, but she was taking care of herself and staying home, as she was told to do. Her family remembers the last time she left the house was two weeks ago to attend the funeral of a friend. She did entertain visitors at her home from time to time. Her two sisters have asked for tests themselves because they were in contact with her, and im sorry to report they have been unable to obtain those tests, at least as of late last night. I have spoken to the governor of illinois almost every day, and we are having through the state laboratories about 350 tests each day, this state of almost 13 Million People. In addition to the state lab tests are the private labs and hospital tests account for a number of comparable but not much larger than 350. There just arent enough tests, madam president. Im sure our plight is not unusual. Weve heard a lot about the tests on the horizon coming soon. The sooner the better. And until we get into more complete testing, its going to be difficult for us to measure the extent of the infection and the impact. Its almost impossible to target areas of our state that need more attention than others because of a lack of testing. We had a nursing home over the weekend where there was a patient who tested positive for the coronavirus, and the department of Public Health in the state of illinois went to that nursing home in willowbrook , and as a consequence of the first test, tested all of the residents and staff and found 22 testing positive for the coronavirus infection. Naturally, that raised our numbers dramatically. We now have 160 known cases in our state in 15 different counties, but its an indication where there is a signal of infection that testing is absolutely essential so we can identify all of those who may test positive. Patricia freesons brother richard was asked what he thought about the news that she was the first fatality in our state. He said it was heart breaking. But then he said i tell everybody take this very seriously, as we should. I think across the United States, were coming to realize that this is an exceptional Public Health crisis and challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Sometime later this morning or early this afternoon, we will consider the package that was passed by the house of representatives in the Early Morning hours of saturday. Its a package which was designed to provide some help, some Financial Assistance to workers and families across the United States who are coping with either the illness or losing their jobs or being laid off because of the state of the economy. We feel on the democratic side and i believe that feeling will be shared on the republican side that one of the first things we need to do is to assure those employees who may not feel well that its best to stay home, and theres a way to do that without sacrificing the basics in life, your home, your food, and what your family counts on. We put together this package with the white house on a bipartisan basis that provides family leave and medical leave. It also provides an extension of Unemployment Benefits that are necessary for many workers across this country. In passing this bill this morning or this afternoon is an important step forward to let the people across america know were doing what we can here in the senate and in the house to be responsive. Senator mcconnell came to the floor this morning and announced the next bill, the coronavirus 3, if you wish, which is a much larger undertaking, and it will embark on trying to get the economy on its feet enough to sustain what we are facing with layoffs and business closures. It is a daunting task. The amount of money involved is anywhere from 700 billion to 1 trillion. Ive heard these estimates from time to time. And that is a massive amount of money by any measure. But when measured against the economy of the United States, may not be adequate to the challenge. Some have suggested Cash Payments to individual americans. I have no aversion to that idea, but i hope it is substantial and i hope it isnt a onetime helping hand that isnt followed up. Many of us on the democratic side are working on a program that we think will say to families were not just going to send you one check and wish you the best. Were going to stand by you through this very difficult, challenging time. Ive spent the last several days on the telephone with Business Leaders across our state. It started with calling one of my favorite restaurants that sent an online message about closing down for business and not quite sure of their future. And it is troubling to hear a person, the Family Member who has put their lives into a restaurant, put their life into a restaurant now facing closure and wondering if theyll ever open again. Some of us are buying Gift Certificates at our favorite restaurants to help them get through this and help their employees during this period of time. My wife is doing it in springfield. Ive done it in chicago. Well probably do it more. And i encourage others who want to make sure that restaurant is there when we weather the storm to extend a helping hand if we can. Some of these restaurants are teaming up with charitable organizations to produce the meals that are needed for schoolchildren and their families. Its a little different assignment, but these restaurants are the best in their profession, and its great to see them cooperating and working together. I might also add that the democrats have a proposal which senator schumer has spelled out and will undoubtedly speak to again when he comes to the floor this morning. So we have at this moment at least two tracks, two paths toward the third bill to try to help the economy. Senator mcconnell has suggested that he will do his exclusively among republicans a