Keep americans working, and this is something that i in particular was working on with my republican colleagues and with democrats on this working group. The Airline Business in this country is about to shut down. Passenger rates are single digits. They cant stay afloat with this. And so it pains me to hear our solution to this problem, to keep Airline Workers working, it pains me to hear this described by my democratic friends as a bailout. Thats what would happen if we were just going to hand over cash to the airlines to keep them afloat, but thats not what were doing. What were doing is offering to pay loans, quick loans to the Airline Companies so that they can continue to pay their employees and keep them on the job and not put them on the unemployment rolls. These loans would be made at market rates. There would be no loan forgiveness. And they must be paid back. Not a grant, not a bailout. Its just offensive to me to hear some of my friends that perhaps have not read the bill and are not as thoroughly versed on its provisions as as we are that actually wrote the bill to describe this as a bailout for corporate america. Nothing could be further from the truth. There were some people asking us to make grants to the big Airline Companies. We rejected that on a bipartisan basis, mr. President. We said no, these must be loans. Once the airlines get back on their feet and once this coronavirus outbreak has subsided, they will be in good shape again. And they will be able to pay it back, with market interest rates, just like any other business that has to take out a loan. But weve got to get this money to them in a hurry. And so i just object and have to come down here and say that perhaps they are confused, perhaps they havent read the bill as i have, but it makes available loans to the airline industry, and to other related industries that are critical to national security. And if i might, mr. President , let me just read a sentence or two from the bill itself. This is bill language that im quoting. The secretary may enter into agreements to make loans or Loan Guarantees. To one or more eligible businesses. The applicant must be a business which is for which credit is not reasonably available. Then you go out and borrow money from banks. This doesnt apply to them. Our airlines are going to need more money than that, and so this says that they must be paid back. The loan or Loan Guarantee must be sufficiently secured. Again, im reading from bill language, the duration of the loan or Loan Guarantee is as short as practicable. Now, my friend from illinois, i appreciate the tone that he and my friend from ohio used in their Exchange Just a few moments ago, and i do think there is a real possibility that minds of goodwill can come to an agreement tonight. The realities on the ground in our Country Demand that and cry out for it, but again, i must take issue with with my friend from illinois saying that there were no restrictions on the loans that were giving to the Airline Industries that were going to allow the secretary of the treasury to give. And he mentioned specifically we need to prohibit stock buybacks. These Airline Companies are going to get these loans. We need to have a provision in the law that prohibits stock buybacks. As a matter of fact, mr. President , that is in the bill that we wanted to take up and we were unable to get a vote on unable to get the requisite number of votes just an hour or so og. We prohibit in the bill an hour or so ago. We prohibit in the bill loans being used by the company to buy back their stock. Here is bill language. Subparagraph e, except to the extent required under contractual obligation in effect as of date of the enactment of this act, the agreement prohibits the eligible business from repurchasing any outstanding equity interest while the loan or Loan Guarantee is outstanding. So no corporate buybacks. We have answered one of the concerns that the democratic whip mentions in his remarks. None of this money can go to increased executive salaries. It must be repaid and it must be repaid with interest. Our bill has explicit prohibitions against any loan forgiveness for any of the loans in this entire section. This is hardly a bailout, mr. President. We are offering a lifeline again, this is bipartisan language hammered out by republicans and democrats, offers a lifeline to critical companies who would probably not survive, and we do it by providing carefully crafted and restricted loans to protect the taxpayers. Without these loans being available in the very next few days, some of these companies will file bankruptcy. Many thousands of these employees will lose their jobs. And we are trying to pass this bill to keep that from happening. 128,000 workers in one company. 92,000 workers in another company. 79,000 workers in in yet another. And so i i would just say to my friends lets negotiate these last few details and get this done, but dont misrepresent this as a big giveaway to corporate america. This is designed to help average americans who are suffering and threatening the loss of their jobs. Now, the majority whip mentioned the appropriations portion of this, and again, this is money thats needed. Americans need to know what is in the discretionary appropriated part of this bill, and so let me just tell you. More than 75 of it, 186 billion in the total will go to state and local governments to help them get over this over the hump in this terrible crisis. I was i have been contacted by by officials from state and local government, and i had told them that this bill has 186 billion to help them get through this crisis. I thought i was going to be able to tell them that that they that this would be enacted in the next day or two. Unfortunately, i was a little overoptimistic on that. But 186 billion for state and local government, 75 billion for hospitals. Clearly they need it. 20 billion for the veterans administration. 11 billion for vaccines, therapeutic, diagnostics and other preparedness needs. Now, if there are larger needs, come and tell us that and well work with people, but this is a generous bill. 4. 5 billion for the centers for disease control. 1. 7 billion for the Strategic National stockpile. 12 billion to assist the military in in addressing this coronavirus. 12 billion for k12 education. 6 billion for higher education. 5 billion for fema Disaster Relief funds. There is 10 billion in it for airports. My colleagues have heard from airports, and 20 billion for public transportation. This is an injection of appropriated money to keep this economy going until this virus subsides. It is an injection of long loan money to Large Businesses and also an opportunity for the Federal Reserve, within their discretion under a program thats been established for decades and decades, to loan money not only to Big Companies but Medium Sized Companies and Small Companies under a Federal Reserve program commonly known as section 13, subparagraph 3. So i would just say to my colleagues, mr. President , before we come down here and make inaccurate statements, read the bill. Understand what were doing. Understand that this is to get money to workers who need to stay on the job. This is a bill to get Unemployment Benefits to workers who are already off the job. And an injection of cash into our economy and a propup on a loan basis with interest that could be repaid to keep the airlines and related businesses afloat. I hope we pass it. I know americans are hoping and praying for this tonight, and perhaps by the early right of light of morning, well have good news on this. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. I would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Menendez mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Menendez mr. President , i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Menendez mr. President , i come to the floor, ive been listening for the better part of well over an hour to my colleagues talk about the vote that we had a little earlier and why it didnt pass and why, from their perspective, it should have. Let me start off that there is a sense of urgency, but theres also a sense of getting it right and getting our priorities right the wealth of the nation will only improve when the health of the nation improves, and this package as presently designed falls far short of what is necessary to make the health of the nation whole. We need a surge at the end of the day to ensure that in fact we can have the front lines, the hospitals, the medical workers, the nurses, all of those be able to achieve the most fundamental goal, which is to make the American People safe, safe from this virus. This in the first and foremost instance is a fight against covid19. First and foremost. Because if we do not get the health of the nation right, we will not get the wealth of the nation right, no matter how much money we spend. So theres a lot of talk here about markets. I heard for the last better half of the lastplus hour, about markets. And yes, the markets are important. I dont underestimate that. But whats really important is the health of the American People. Because when they are healthy, we will prosper. But when they are not, we will not prosper. When we meet the challenge of the pandemic, we will prosper. When we dont meet the challenge of the pandemic, we will not prosper. Very simple. Very simple. So first and foremost, this is about having a robust figure for the hospital and health frontline workers. This package as it presently is devised fails to do so. Secondly, this is about making sure that not just big corporations get the moneys that they need, but that average working families and individuals get the robust assistance that they need to get through this period of time. And you know, when you have a 425 billion billion fund that has total discretion of the secretary of the treasury, no guardrails, no guarantees for workers, no guarantees that despite how much money we spend and give to large corporate entities, that they will not guarantee the wellbeing of workers, then somethings wrong. I was here. Ive been through september 11, ive been through super storm sandy in new jersey, in the northeast, ive never seen anything like this. But i also remember after the great recession, the errors we made on the tarp and other related programs. In our desire to overwhelmingly respond, which we still have that desire today, there were great mistakes made. How many times are we going to get a shot at a 1 trillionplus program . How many times . So we need to not only have a sense of urgency, we need to get it right in order to effect the wellbeing of the American People in their health, in their economic wellbeing and in the future economic wellbeing of the nation. So this rush in a way that doesnt get it right is dangerous because i dont know how many trillionplus packages were going to have. And then when i look at the language in this present legislation, my god, its shameful, shameful that in the midst of a pandemic, the ideological views are seeking to be incorporated in a way that has nothing to do with dealing with covid19. Nothing. The denial of Certain Health groups of being able to access at a critical time in our country, nothing to do with covid19. A 425 billion slush fund that basically the secretary of the treasury can say, i like you, you get this. I dont like you, you get nothing. Theres no transparency, no way for the congress to know. Six months after you give the loan is when we might finally find out. Thats unacceptable. We have to know that when were making these investments that they protect workers, that were not going to have all this money in part be used for stock buybacks, that were not going to see Corporate Executives have big increases in their salaries and benefits. Thats not what the American Peoples taxpayer money is for. Thats why there were votes against proceeding, because we have to get it right. We have to get it right. How is it that there are no provisions in the present bill in foreclosures and evictions . People are going to face unprecedented consequences not because of their own making, not of moral hazard. Theyre fired. Theyre left without any money. Are we going to evict them from their homes . Does that serve the Public Health in the midst of a pandemic . No. There are no consequences for that. How is it that we have no parameters of how the treasury would structure loans . How is it that we have no Worker Protections to ensure that the very essence of why we Want Companies to be able to sustain themselves and we do, both small, medium, and big. We want them to sustain themselves but we want them to sustain themselves for what . To be able to keep workers employed, to be able to keep the economy going. Not to improve simply the bottom line. Why is it that we cant have solid stock buyback language which could be waived under the present legislation by treasury . Why when we do talk in this limited way in the bill that is existing that were debating, that we voted not to proceed, Worker Protections to the extent to be or practicable, i should say. To the extent practicable. That means anything. Thats not a protection. Why do we have no loan transparency . Were talking about giving average americans a morsel when we are spending billions of dollars with no transparency whatsoever, with no guardrails, with no conditions. Thats simply wrong. Without warrants to be able to ensure, warrants that can ensure that the government will recover. The government meaning the United States taxpayer will recover its money. These are simply just not ways that we can how come there is no student loan forgiveness . Not a delay. Not a delay. Forgiveness. Why is there no direct grant assistance to Small Businesses . You know, its great to get a loan if youre making money. But if youre not making money, a loan doesnt do anything for you because you cant pay it back because theres no revenue coming. So the Small Businesses, which are really the backbone of the nation, the backbone of who ultimately employs americans, oh, were going to give you a loan. Thats great but i have no income coming, im shut down. How is it that a loan is going to ultimately be able to have me survive so that i can have americans return back to a job . I need some direct grant assistance. Whos on the front line . I learned on september 11, when i was in the other body, in the house of representatives, it wasnt the federal government who responded on that fateful day. It was the states, it was the local municipalities. We lost 700 citizens in new jersey on september 11. We triaged people from Downtown Manhattan into new jersey hospitals. It wasnt the federal government that responded. It was the states and local municipalities. How is it that you cannot be forceful in giving a significant amount of money to states and local municipalities who are at the front line of covid19 . Is the federal government there . No. Its the states burning up enormous amounts of money of their state treasury to do what is right by their citizens. But were not giving them any money. Theres nothing virtually in this bill for that. The National Governors association, republican and democratic governors, said we need at least about 150 billion to 200 billion. We got a pittance in this bill. How are they, the frontline defense, going to continue to meet this challenge . Theyll go bankrupt. Theyll go bankrupt. How is it that theres no snap increase, the most vulnerable in our society . We have never seen a downturn in our economy in which we have not considered snap as a critical element of being able to feed people, to feed people. So, mr. President , thats why i voted no. Thats why i voted no. Im all for helping businesses be ultimately capable of surviving but i want them to survive because i want their workers to be able to survive as well. Above all, i want the American People to get healthy, and i cant get them healthy unless we have a marshal plan for our hospital and first providers at front line. I cant solve a problem if i dont have the states and municipalities to be able to achieve what they critically need as the federal government waits. Cant have the health of the nation unless we have a surge on testing protective equipment for our first line of defense and then ultimately for those who face the greatest risk under this virus be able to have a shot at surviving life or death with ventilators. This bill falls short in all those regards. None of us want to vote no to proceed but we cant proceed to something that is a false a false hope to the American People. We have to do what is right. What is right is to protect the health care of the American People, be able to beat covid19, be able to stand up individuals, families, workers, and companies that will honor their obligation to workers as part of the federal response to them and that will help the states and municipalities in their front line challenges. That is why we could not vote to proceed. Thats why exists a precious moment. You know, we had an opportunity every other bill started off with both houses and the leadership of those houses negotiating a bill. The first two iterations had bipartisan support because they were done that way. This one was done where the republican majority in the senate decided, well, were going to decide what were going to see and well offer it to you and maybe well change some things or not. Thats the way in the midst of a pandemic to ultimately work the we lost nea