Maintenance of National Parks and other federal land open to the public. Senators are now working on amendments to the bill. No votes are scheduled yet, but work is expect today continue to next week. Now to live coverage of the u. S. Senate here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. 1mighty god, thank you for your great and precious promises. You have promised to keep a record of our pain. You have promised that no weapon formed against us will prosper. You have promised to supply our needs and to surround us with the shield of your blessings. You have promised to keep us from stumbling or slipping. Lord, you have promised that nothing can separate us from your love. You have promised to do for us more than we can ask or imagine. Great and precious are your promises. Give our lawmakers confidence in your promises, as they face these tumultuous times. Sustain them with your unfailing love and keep them on the right path. We pray in your matchless 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 mr. President. One minute for open business, morning business business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley the miracles of the scientific innovation have cured illnesses that a generation ago delivered a death sentence to many americans. Dr. Jonas salks polio vaccine in 1953 eradicated the effects of the virus that killed thousands of children in the first half of the 20th century. I have every confidence our Scientific Community will unlock a vaccine to stop the coronavirus pandemic. Testing, developing, reviewing vaccines take time, but all of that is well under wait a minute however, there is no time to is underway. However there is no time for congress to lose to pass the bipartisan Prescription Drug act. We have the responsibility to ensure that pharmaceutical treatments, therapies and vaccines are affordable for all americans facing this pandemic or any of the future ones. I yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell over the last several weeks major challenges have dominated the headlines on a daily basis. Following the sacrifices americans made to fight the coronavirus, our nation is gradually beginning to reopen. Our economy has started adding back jobs. But some states are seeing their numbers increase, the fallout for American Workers remains historic, and schools, universities, and employers are still looking for smart and safe ways to step back toward normal. The senate is working to ensure our efforts to treat, contain, and recover from the pandemic. Weve confirmed a special Inspector General for pandemic recovery. Committees are overseeing the cares act. And senator cornyn is crafting measures to make sure a second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits does not blook block schools and colleges from reopening or employers from rehiring workers. At the same time the killing of black americans like george floyd and Breonna Taylor have accelerated important conversations. With the leadership of senator scott of south carolina, the senate is preparing to add to the conversations surrounding Law Enforcement with our own serious proposal. Policies that would take smart steps without attacking the vast majority of Police Officers who bravely do their jobs the right way. But of course, mr. President , theres also a long list of legislative priorities which the senate was going to tackle before these new issues materialized. This week chairman inhofe and the Armed Services committee have been marking up the 60th Consecutive NationalDefense Authorization act which i hope the full senate will be voting on later this month. And here on the floor, weve also been considering a landmark bill to protect and preserve our nations public lands for future generations. In my home state of kentucky, we know all about the Important Role that public lands play in our preservation of our physical heritage, providing access for Outdoor Recreation, and sustaining jobs and prosperity in the process. Across the commonwealth, Outdoor Recreation supports 120,000 jobs and drives nearly 13 billion in consumer spending. From natural wonders like red river gorge and Mammoth Cave National Park to the Historic Sites like mills springs battlefield and camp nelson, kentuckians have grown up enjoying our public lands, and we intend to protect them for future generations. So let me give you an example. As i mentioned yesterday when i came to the senate, kentucky was the only state in the union without its only National Wildlife refuge. We have plenty of history, plenty of heritage. We just need a little help to preserve it. With the support of hunters, boaters and outdoorsmen in the jackson purchase region i led the establishment of the clarks river National Wildlife refuge. It was a huge step to protect local species and our treasured kentucky past times. This refuge has continued to grow over the years. Thanks to the land and Water Conservation fund and many willing sellers, it now makes thousands of acres available for appreciation, recreation, and tourism. Like many public lands, these wildlife areas make great neighbors. In a single year more than 50 million visitors come to american wildlife refuges nationwide and spend billions, billions in nearby communities. Decades later another Kentucky Community looking to safeguard its own national treasure, the green river which flows through kentucky and meets the ohio river near henderson county, is one of the most biodiverse waterways on the entire continent. I was proud to take the lead once again alongside strong local supporters and a Broad Coalition of groups, we sent a bill to President Trump and he signed it into law. We welcomed the interior secretary to western kentucky last year to cut the ribbon on the green river National Wildlife refuge. But kentuckians know that ribbon cuttings are just the beginning. Our state has a newly designated public land that needs attention to get off the ground. We have wellestablished public lands that have opportunities to grow and improve. And we have places like the Daniel Boone National forest established more than 80 years ago that need our careful attention and upkeep. The legislation before the senate will help all of them. It will help us repair levees at the clarks river National Wildlife refuge. It will help our two wildlife refuge continue to grow. It will help mills springs battlefield and camp nelson keep teaching the history of emancipation and the civil war to new generations. It will help us make infrastructure upgrades at Mammoth Cave National Park with the safety of two million annual visitors. It will help enhance the land between the lakes and its 600 million economic impact. It will Fund Transportation and maintenance in the Daniel Boone National forest which supports more than 900 jobs. It will help us rehabilitate the Cumberland Gap and give future americans the opportunity to literally follow in the footsteps of our early explorers. So, mr. President , kentucky is proud of our public lands. Were proud of the role our natural inheritance plays in our vibrant present and in our promising future. And of course we are only just one state. Every one of my Senate Colleagues has parks, forests, refuge and Historic Sites theyre equally proud of, that are equally central in their communication f communities. Thats why we voted to advance this legislation earlier this week by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. President Teddy Roosevelt once said this about our Nations National treasures. We have fallen heirs to the most glorious gift people ever received and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune. So i want to thank senator daines and senator gardner for their leadership in making sure that we keep up our end of the bargain with the generations of americans who came before us and those who are yet to come. Im also grateful to senator alexander and senator portman and our democratic colleagues, senator manchin and senator warner, for helping assemble this bipartisan bill. Ill be proud to speak for kentucky and to vote for it. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, mr. President , the killing of george floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery catapulted the issues of Racial Justice, Police Violence, systemic racism to the forefront of this nations conscience. These issues are not new. Some are even older than the nation itself. And the anger felt by hundreds of thousands of protesters is about that historical and pervasive injustice. Its rooted in our decadelong failure to Reform Police departments and the yawning gap between our ideal of equal justice under law and the reality of equal justice for only some. Americas an experiment. Our Founding Fathers said that. We know it deep in our bones. An experiment means you can change, and some of the best observers of the difference i think de tocqueville was one of these of america and the difference between us and other countries, we are willing to change. I am touched and moved i was with the demonstrators on saturday in new york in brooklye there, great diversity, and how many were young and idealistic and doing things for just the right reasons. Not selfish reasons, but for the better of the country, to make us a more Perfect Union. We must seize this moment. We cannot let it pass. This isnt are simply renewing a national dialogue, although dialogue is always important. Its about action. Its about making real and meaningful progress. And the way to do that is with comprehensive Police Reform legislation in congress. So house and Senate Democrats have already drafted legislation that would ban the use of choke holds and other tactics that have taken the lives of black americans like george floyd, eric garner. That would also ban the use of noknock warrants in drug cases, which is one of the reasons for the death of Breonna Taylor. That would limit the transfer of military equipment to Police Departments and crucially, it would make it easier to hold Police Accountable for misconduct as well as institute several reforms to prevent that misconduct in the first place. The moment does not call for cherrypicking one or two things to do. It calls for bold, broad change, whole scale reform, not piecemeal reform. I know the inclination of some of my Senate Colleagues would be to cherrypick a few small improvements and say the jobs done. It will not be. We need to start, start with the justice and policing act, a strong comprehensive bill that people, particularly senators booker and harris, c. B. C. , spent a lot of time with experts who have studied this issue for many, many months and years. For too long when major issues wash over the country, the waves of change and progress crash against the rocks of a disinterested Republican Senate majority. When americans watched in horror as another spade of Mass Shootings rocked the nation, they rose up and demanded change. President trump and Senate Republicans initially tried to make the right noises. Leader mcconnell promised a debate on expanding background checks would be, quote, front and center after shootings in dayton but particularly after, that debate never came to pass. When theres a national crisis, major issue, people in the streets worried and concerned and want change, we hear words and then the strategy is delay and at the end do nothing. So we cannot go through these same motions again. This is about the original sin of america, that we must try to deal with headon. Americans in the streets shouting at the top of their lung, for change lungs for change, young people, idealistic people, the best of america. The senate must pursue comprehensive reform, not the lowest common denominator and certainly not more empty rhetorical resolutions. Of course theres another crisis in our country crying out for action and leadership. The covid19 pandemic didnt go away while the nation rightfully turned its eyes to issues of Racial Justice. Yesterday the United States eclipped two million cases of coronavirus, another 1. 5 million americans filed for unemployment this week. Federal reserve officials sober, nonpolitical are predicting that best case, well end the year around 10 unemployment. A staggering figure, one out of every ten. One out of every ten. The disease is spiking in a number of states around the country. Arizona officials have warned that its hospitals could be filled by next month. Texas has gone three Straight Days with record numbers of hospitalizations. North carolina and new mexico, california, oregon and several other states are experiencing a resurgence or peak levels of covid19. As the president continues to fixate on the stock market and Senate Republicans are prematurely ready to declare victory, we need to rest the focus back to these crucial issues. So today im requesting that dr. Fauci and dr. Birx and other members of the administrations Coronavirus Task force conduct a briefing for Democratic Senators on the recent spikes and do it next week. We understand why these spikes we need to understand why these spikes are happening and how to adapt our national response. The president always interested in himself, not in the good of the country, was too quick to sideline the Coronavirus Task force, too eager to pretend that everything was back to normal and better than ever. The country needs dr. Fauci on billboards but the president wants to put him on a milk carton. The Vice President yesterday was photographed with Campaign Staffers in a tight space, no social distancing, without anyone wearing a mask. The very least the administration could do is lead by example and often cannot even manage that much. At the same time we cannot forget that the issues of Racial Justice and covid19 are intricately related. The covid19 pandemic disproportionately kills black americans. Communities of color have less access to Quality Health care, greater food insecurity, greater percentages of poverty, and a disproportionate number of our frontline essential workers, 41. 2 are African American and latino. The majority of African Americans are renters and dedicate more than 50 of their income to rent. The truth is, an emergency bill on covid19 is a Racial Justice issue, too. Hazard pay for essential workers is a Racial Justice issue, too. Health care is a Racial Justice issue, too. Rent assistance and forbearance from eviction is a Racial Justice issue, too. There are these are all items that must be discussed in another covid relief bill. And its past time to get to work. African americans, latinos, other minorities are taking the economic hit from the coronavirus on the chin but Senate Republicans led by leader mcconnell are reportedly unwilling to consider another emergency relief bill until late july. How many more workers will lose their jobs between now and late july . How many renters will be kicked out of their homes between now and late july . How many state and local government workers who lose their jobs as state and local governments meet their budget deadlines on july 1 and dont have the dollars to deal with them. How many of them will lose their jobs . Wait until late july. Its callous. Its cold and its wrong for our economy. The republican majority seems to have a whole lot of time to push rightw