Praised, the house of representatives is not in session, the seventeenth session, it is our responsibility, how we ran for office, important things need to be decided and we need to be part of it for the good of the nation. We will complete 3 straight weeks, relating to the National PublicHealth Emergency we face, not one, three weeks, not one, hearings and some committees, next. Activity on the floor of the senate, now. Noble brought to the floor. Yesterday a resolution said the United States should be involved in the Global International effort to fight a scene on objected to on the republican side. The reason the senator objected to it, Senate Foreign relations committee, he wants to take up the measure in his committee at some later date. I encourage that senator to do it quickly. A sense of urgency across america in terms of this national Health Emergency that we face. There is not a sense of urgency on the republican side of the aisle. Despite the fact for three weeks weve not considered one measure on the floor related to this covid19 circumstance is unexplainable and indefensible. Senator mcconnell of kentucky has told us he doesnt since the urgency for us to take up the measure passed last week by the house of representatives. This was a bipartisan measure brought to the floor of the house of representatives which attempted to move us forward from the original cares act, 3 trillion of cumulative spending we focused on the economy and the Health Challenge facing the nation. Is there any urgency to it . I since the urgency every time i pick up the phone and read the newspaper in the state of illinois. I am on Conference Call after Conference Call, groups across our state who are concerned about Economic Issues and Public Health issues. The sense of urgency where i live, i cannot believe senator mcconnell doesnt since it in his own state of kentucky. Kentucky hospitals and healthcare providers, receive 900 million in cares act funding. I dont question whether they were deserving or need it in the state of illinois, the hospitals are expected to lose 1. 3 billion in march and april alone. We are next door to kentucky and my hospital in downstate Southern Illinois next to kentucky told me the same thing. Losing money right and left. Do they think this is an urgent problem in illinois, the hospitals in kentucky do as well. This is what the Vice President said, there is no clear path to recoup these losses, hospitals are left with no choice but to look at their own operations to cut as much cost as they possibly can. The university of kentucky is projecting a 160 million loss for its Healthcare System and furloughed 1500 employees. Jenny Stewart Health and hopkins furloughed 248 staff members. Appalachian Regional Health headquartered in lexington furlough 500 employees. Pikephil Medical Center for 200. Is there a sense of urgency in these communities when many of these hospitals are the largest employers in town and hundreds of people are being furloughed because of the covid19 virus, they cannot resume ordinary hospital operations with a shadow of infection hanging over them. The bill that passed the house of representatives last week, that we never discussed to my knowledge in the senate this week. The heroes act called for more than 100 billion more in relief to hospitals. I know how important it is in illinois. As a down standard when you look at smalltown hospitals in my state they are struggling. One Hospital Administrator told me she had scheduled four elective surgeries last monday a week ago and only one patient showed up. The other three called in and said they were too frightened to go to the hospital and run the risk of being exposed to the covid19 virus. I cannot imagine that is not the same situation going on in kentucky. Is there a sense of urgency in kentucky as in illinois for us to move quickly to help these hospitals before they furlough more people and ultimately face closure . A disaster in any community we want to avoid. Urgently avoid. State and local governments are struggling to pay teachers. First responders and healthcare workers as they face record revenue losses and increased cost of fighting the virus. Looking at the measure in the house of representatives last week, almost 1 trillion to help state and local governments, not just in illinois but every state including the commonwealth of kentucky. States around the country, red and blue, the center for budget and policy priorities estimates states are losing 650 billion in revenue. By the end of the year kentucky is expected to lose 10 percent17 without help from the federal government kentuckys governor announced kentuckys recession will be longer, its unemployment will be greater. Congress appropriated 150 billion for state and local governments in the original cares act but that funding is not enough to make up for the enormous losses being faced by state and local governments across the United States. These governors, these mayors, the leaders have a sense of urgency in making of this revenue. They face the reality of cutbacks, police, firefighters, first responders, nurses, doctors, teachers, the heroes act that passed the house of representatives last week that was not considered this week in the senate included 875 billion in Fiscal Relief for state and localities to cover the shortfall and make sure communities can continue to pay frontline essential workers. What about the unemployment situation . Understand the deadline built into the cares act, the first deadline, june 30th, that is the date by which Small Businesses that borrow money under the payroll protection part of that act need to have spent the money in order to have the loan forgiven, june 30th. Who believes, who among us believes Small Businesses will be in a position to recover and back to business as usual by june 30th . I pray that is the case but i know better. In my home state and i that you in the state of kentucky as well. How about unemployment . We came through in the cares accented something dramatic and unprecedented. We said we were going to give an extra payment, a federal payment to those who were unemployed so that they could weather this storm as their families try to adjust to know breadwinner in the house. 600 a week on top of whatever the state benefit of unemployment might be. For some families it was just enough to get by. Understand that that benefit, that unemployment benefit of 600 from the federal government each week is going to end at the end of july. It is not that far away. We are talking about ten weeks at the most. Do we believe the Unemployment Crisis with 36 million unemployed americans will be behind us by the end of july . I wish that were the case but we know better. We hope to open in a safe and responsible and careful way and give Small Businesses a fighting chance to open their doors and survived but it will be a struggle and many of them wont make it. 69,000 people filed new unemployment claims in kentucky, a 4000 increase from last year. To those families who are now unemployed feel that this response, this federal assistance in Unemployment Benefits is urgent . You bet it is. How many of them in illinois or kentucky believe they wont need this help after the end of july in this year . July, the same month the 600 per week Unemployment Benefits expire, the Unemployment Rate in kentucky projected to be 16. 3 . The tenth highest in the nation. And yet republican leader says there is no sense of urgency, in this measure considered by the house of representatives and passed last week was the irs set up 2 million Economic Impact payments to the state of kentucky worth 3 billion helping families put food on the table and paying rent and mortgage. When you look at the Economic Impact payment can understand the measure that passed the house which we did not bring to the floor this week in the United States senate calls for 1,200 more for each child. Do families need it in illinois, you bet they do. Even though it was originally proposed by donald trump, politics had nothing to do with the support they receive from both Political Parties and the support this measure that passed the house should receive from both parties here in the senate as well. There is a sense of urgency when it comes to these Cash Payments to people who are struggling to make ends meet. The bill that passed the house includes the second round of critical payments and make sure we extend the Unemployment Benefits beyond the end of july. According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy tens of thousands of kentuckians have lost their Health Insurance as a result of this pandemic. What a moment in life to lose your Health Insurance. In the midst of a pandemic with people facing hospitalization, treatment in and out of the hospital and in some cases i see you, to think you are without Health Insurance, the measure that passed the house of representatives last week which was not brought to the floor by the republicans this week in the senate includes a provision to ensure that people who lost their Health Insurance as a result of becoming unemployed can remain on their Employer Healthcare plan without paying any premiums. We want to make sure people have Health Insurance rather than lose it. Go up for debate in the senate . Know. Is it a matter of urgency if you are facing loss of Health Insurance in the middle of this corona virus epidemic . Of course it is. The Paycheck Protection Program still has funding to provide loans where businesses have to spend the money within eight weeks of receiving the loan or it wont be forgiven. Many Small Business owners across the United States are facing a june 8th deadline, struggling to spend the money, havent been able to open their doors. The heroes act was passed they are not run for consideration in the senate this week which it could have been, would extend the deadline an additional 16 weeks providing Small Businesses to spend the money and would authorize the Paycheck Protection Program to ensure that we can continue to go through this difficult time. Is there a sense of emergency to extend this period that you can spend the money is a Small Business and have your loan forgiven . Of course theres a sense of urgency in illinois and georgia and kentucky across the United States. Why the Senate Republican leader does not feel a sense of emergency on this measure with ultimately ends on june 30th is beyond me. I have heard from farmers across the state struggling to survive, asking for help. I heard from the Census Bureau that needed to move its deadline to october 3, 01, measures also included, also included in the heroes act that passed the house of representatives, three weeks that ended on the floor of the United States senate. With legislative activity you wonder if the leaders in the United States senate even realize we are facing a pandemic. We spent time on nomination after nomination, spend our time in hearings on friends and those who pass political muster who want lifetime appointment in federal court but somehow managed to miss the biggest story in america, the pandemic. I say to senator mcconnell and Republican Leadership we waste an opportunity, 3week opportunity to move forward and particularly wasted this week when we could have taken up the measure the past the house of representatives, are we prepared to negotiate a compromise . Of course, weve done that every time we brought a measure related to the pandemic. It should be bipartisan in the end but to say it is, quote, dead on arrival and there is no sense of urgency among the republicans in the senate to take of this measure is to ignore the obvious whether it is 1,200 payments, struggling to get by whether it is an increased period of time to receive Unemployment Insurance whether it is loans to Small Businesses, furloughing employees in illinois, in kentucky and around the nation we run the risk of losing these hospitals that are needed in the future. It is urgent we take of this measure . Of course it is and yet this week we have done nothing, 0, when it comes to this measure. We will leave for the memorial day week which means two weeks before we return. I guarantee the sense across america will be palpable at the time. The question is whether there is a sense of urgency felt by republican leader from the state of kentucky. Yesterday on a similar issue, senator cornyn came to the floor to discuss the issue of liability and immunity as part of the conversation of the next measure of relief and rescue for the economy. For weeks senator mcconnell and senator cornyn said unless Congress Gives broad legal immunity to corporations they will block emergency aid, with massive layoffs of policeman, the logic behind this is hard to fathom, it tracks all the lawsuits, and look for cases based on courtney kube. Covid19. Senator mcconnell updated the numbers as of yesterday. Out of 1. 5 million confirmed cases, 90,000 if there have been two, two covid19 medical malpractice cases filed in the United States, over 1000 complaints that have been filed come in 26 cases alleging workplace exposure to covid19, the senator from kentucky called this a tidal wave of lawsuits. A windfall, two cases of medical malpractice, 26 cases for workplace exposure and other cases that mentioned covid19, questioning whether their rights are being violated because in the circumstances the Health Circumstances in the prisons lawsuits against Insurance Companies as to whether or not the policy recovers a business that suffered losses because of covid19, lawsuits between businesses as to responsibility for it but this notion of tidal wave of lawsuits being filed, two medical malpractice cases across the United States of america 26 workplace exposure cases and keep in mind if you do get sick and want to file a lawsuit a good lawyer will advise you be careful, proving where you were infected is not an easy thing and also looked at the standard of conduct of the business or individual who could be the defendant. Did they act reasonably, we had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary committee on liability during the pandemic. I quoted this before but it is worth repeating, one of the witnesses called by republicans was a good man, very thoughtful, chief executive officer and president going through the litany of what he did in the workplace, not just for employees but for customers that came in. It is impressive, the statements he made were accurate and i believe they were, to make is workplace safer. This is the challenge because the guidance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is one of the arguments conflicted with one another, it is vague and difficult to follow and yet despite many uncertainties including the constantly fluctuating Public Health guidelines we begin to adjust for the pandemic, the point i am making, we will wrap it up quickly. The point i am making is this. We should establish reasonable standards for the center of Disease Control so that conscientious businesses can in good faith do what needs to be done to protect their employees and their customers and when they follow those guidelines i believe they themselves, they have a valid defense to any claims of wrongdoing but this notion the comes before us on the floor from the republican side goes to an extreme. Asking for government immunity from the conduct of businesses in the midst of this pandemic without holding them to any standards we are still waiting for an explanation. Why would we allow the workplace to be more dangerous for employees . Why wouldnt we allow the business place to be more dangerous for customers . Of the owner is willing to live up to reasonable standards established based on science and health, in my mind that is a good defense. That is the way it should be. To do otherwise is to give a green light to businesses that dont follow standards, endangering their workers and their employees, means more people are going to get infected and sick in america, the last thing we need. I yield the floor. Madam president. De