U. S. Senate is about to gaveling to get the week started lawmakers considered a a judicl nomination with a limited vote set for 5 30 p. M. Eastern. And now live to the senate floor here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will open the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, our hope for the years to come, empower our lawmakers to live with integrity. Inspire them to permit their words to be matched by their deeds. As they strive for this ethical congruence, strengthen them to examine their hearts with the goal of seeking to glorify you. Living by your precepts, may they aspire to be faithful to the noble calling of serving you and country. We pray in your majestic 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. Mr. Grassley i ask to speak for one minute in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley in august, i held 49 county meetings as part of my annual 99county set of meetings in iowa. At every meeting, the format is the same. Iowans set the agenda. Challenges from the pandemic and storm recovery were among their top concerns. Id like to explain that maybe as far as the storm recovery, about once every ten years, there is a big wind storm called a derecho going across someplace in the country. That path was about 150 miles long in iowa, 34 miles wide, and it destroyed the crops for this year in that area. Other issues came up as well. Biofuels, unemployment insurance, the farm economy, access to child care, and School Reopenings were frequent points of discussion. I had the chance of visiting in 15 different locations with about that many School Superintendents, and they were very optimistic about the coming school year. This was my 40th year holding my 99 county meetings. I started this tradition when i was first elected to the senate so iowans in every corner of the state would know i care about their opinions. It is an honor to serve iowans in the United States senate and uphold my end of representative government. I look forward to more q and as across the state this year and starting my 41st year of 99 county meetings in 2021. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell madam president. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell our nation has spent the last six months fighting the medical, economic, and social effects of this pandemic. The senates historic rescue package from back in march, the cares act, has gone a long way to help American Workers and families endure these incredible challenges. It delivered the extra federal Unemployment Benefits that helped laidoff workers make ends meet. It created a Paycheck Protection Program which has helped millions of Small Businesses keep their lights on and keep employees on payroll. It sent resources to the front lines of the health care fight. And it invested billions in the race for treatments and for vaccines. But, madam president , this relief is never going to last forever. Today enhanced federal Unemployment Benefits are only Still Available because of action by President Trump. The Paycheck Protection Program has closed to new applications and the funds it has delivered are being exhausted. And this last month has brought a whole new challenge, how to get teachers and students safely into a new school year. These are the challenges the people i represent are facing every single day. Kentuckians and all americans know this unprecedented crisis is not through with us yet, and so they expect that congress isnt through helping yet either. Senate republicans have been fighting for months to deliver another round of covid19 relief. In july, we proposed the heels act, a sweeping package totaling more than 1 trillion that would have led right to bipartisan talks. But Speaker Pelosi and the democratic leader said no. They said they would block our trillion dollars for kids, jobs, and health care unless we doubled the cost to accommodate an endless wish list of noncovid19related list of priorities like tax cuts for blue state millionaires. So republicans tried another way to break the logjam. In august, we proposed narrowing discussions to some of the most urgent, most bipartisan subjects that seemed especially ripe for agreement. But Speaker Pelosi and the democratic leader blocked that as well. Now they claimed it was too piecemeal, to piece meal they said to get any help out the door until democrats and republicans had settled every disagreement on every front. The Democratic Leaders have spent months playing these goldilocks games. They have complained about every single thing we put forward, but they have produced nothing of their own with any chance whatsoever of becoming law. Meanwhile, after all their blustering that congress should never do anything piecemeal, Speaker Pelosi came rushing back to washington to pass the most piecemeal bill you could possibly imagine, legislation that solely helped out the u. S. Postal service and did nothing at all for american families. When republicans tried to help American Workers keep their jobs, Speaker Pelosi and leader schumer said it was piecemeal. But when House Democrats fears about mailin voting made them think maybe their own jobs could be in jeopardy, that argument suddenly disappeared. Thats the score, madam president. Democrats are all for piecemeal bills when they concern their own reelection, but when it comes to bipartisan aid for kids, jobs, and schools, democrats say its either their entire wish list, all of it, or nobody gets a dime. Well, republicans see this quite differently. We dont think this crisis cares about partisan politics. We think people are hurting, and congress should do its job. We want to agree, where bipartisan agreement is possible, get more help out the door, and then keep arguing over the rest later. Thats how you legislate. Thats how you make law. You find agreement where agreement is possible and keep arguing over the rest later. So republicans are making yet another overture. Today were releasing a targeted proposal that focuses on several of the most urgent aspects of this crisis. The issues where bipartisanship should be especially possible. Im talking about policies like extending the additional federal unemployment benefit for jobless workers, providing a second round of jobsaving Paycheck Protection Program for the hardest hit Small Businesses to prevent layoffs. Sending more than 100 billion to help k12 schools and universities reopen safely and educate our kids. Dedicating billions more for testing, Contact Tracing, treatments, and vaccines. Onshoring manufacturing capacity for critical medical supplies and rebuilding our national stockpile. Giving all kinds of families more choice and flexibility to navigate education and child care during the crisis. Providing Legal Protections for schools, churches, charities, nonprofits, and employers so they can reopen. Providing more help for the Postal Service. Our proposal would do all this and more. Now, heres what our bill is not. Its not a sweeping, multitrilliondollar plan to rebuild the entire country in republicans image. It does not contain every single relief policy that republicans ourselves think would help in the short term. Im confident the democrats would feel the same way, but the American People dont need us to keep arguing over what might be perfect. They need us to actually make a law. So Democratic Leaders are perfectly free to come out here and keep up their playbook from these past months, just blast away, blast away in bad faith, call names, and complain about the infinite number of things this proposal does not do. Maybe they will bring back their goldilocks act and say our multihundred billiondollar proposal is too small or too skinny, even though democrats just passed a piecemeal bill for the Postal Service that ignored everything else. A peace he will bill for the Postal Service that ignored everything else. Democrats can do all that if they want to, madam president. I understand they have already been criticizing this bill today before they had even read it, before it had even been put out. More of this would just reinforce that only one side of the aisle seems to want any bipartisan outcome at all. Its easy to tell in washington whether somebodys end goal is political posturing or getting an outcome. One way or another, what democrats do will be revealing. The senates going to vote on this targeted proposal. Were going to get the stonewalling of Democratic Leaders out from behind closed doors and put this to a vote out here on the floor. And its going to happen this week. Senators will not be voting on whether this targeted package satisfies every one of their legislative hopes and dreams. Thats not what we will do in this chamber. We vote on whether to make laws, whether to forge a compromise, whether to do a lot of good for the country and keep arguing over the remaining differences later. A few weeks ago, madam president , more than 100 House Democrats spoke out publicly. They asked Speaker Pelosi to stop stonewalling and let the house vote on targeted covid relief short of, short of her entire wish list. The speaker ignored them, ignored her rank and file just like her piecemeal postal bill ignored american families. Over here, ill make sure our democratic colleagues get a chance to walk the walk. Every senator who has said they want a bipartisan outcome for the country will have a chance to vote for everyone to see. Senators will vote this week, and the American People will be watching. Now, madam president , i understand there are three bills at the desk due for a second reading en bloc. The presiding officer the clerk will read the titles of the bill for the second time. The clerk h. R. 3, an act to establish a fair price negotiation program, and so forth and for other purposes. H. R. 51, an act to provide for the admission of the state of washington, d. C. , into the union. H. R. 1425, an act to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act, and so forth. Mr. Mcconnell in order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceeding en bloc. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bills will be placed on the calendar en bloc. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Leahy madam president . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy madam president , i ask consent the call of the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. The leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, brett h. Ludwig of wisconsin to be United States district judge for the Eastern District of wisconsin. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy i thank the chair. Madam president , we are, as we all know, in the middle of a Public Health crisis. The American People are hurting from every state in our country. Nearly 190,000 people, our fellow citizens, have died. Millions have lost their jobs. And theyre struggling to make ends meet. People are being evicted from their homes. Theyre struggling to feed their families. And the virus is still not under control. We know theres a need for another emergency funding bill, the need to address the covid crisis is clear. This is something actually we could have done in july if wed been willing to actually do our job and vote on the Appropriations Bills after the house of representatives had already shown the way. But four weeks ago the Trump Administration and the Senate Republican leadership walked away from the negotiating table. The democrats had offered compromise. Republicans said my way or the highway and left down. And left town. Just walked away from the capitol when we add all these things we had all these things that needed to be done. Here we are back four weeks later. Is the situation better . Of course not. Across the country families are sending their children back to School Without the necessary resources to ensure theyre safe. Still more students are learning from home but often without reliable access to the internet. Evictions are rising. Families are struggling to find child care. Unemployment is at the highest level i can remember and certainly unacceptable levels. States are preparing for novembers elections without the resources they need to make sure people can safely vote. The Postal Service needs a serious injection of funding to deliver mail in a timely manner. Inaction has consequences. Now, to negotiate. I was four weeks ago. Ive been throughout the time the senate has been out of session ive been prepared to come back and negotiate. But now we find no, the Republican Leadership woants negotiate. Wont negotiate. Senator mcconnell says hes prepared a socalled skinny covid bill to put before the senate. But he put it before us on a take it or leave it. No amendment, no debate. This proposal isnt skinny. Its anemic. Why are they afraid to vote . Lets have amendments. Vote them up or down. Can you is there any question why the American People is wondering whats going on when the Republican Leadership will not even allow a vote . What are they so afraid of . Its democracy. Vote up or down. Republicans have the majority. If they dont like the amendments that come up, vote them down. But at least vote them. Dont hide behind platitudes, tweet, campaign ads, which you can do because you never actually have to take responsibility. You have to vote. Now, the bill hasnt been made public but details are beginning to emerge. And the details that have emerged show its woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the country. If fact, it provides even less relief than the smaller trillion dollar package the Trump Administration put forward before the senate adjourned a month ago. Now, i dont know where republicans spent the last month but i know where i was. I was all over the state of vermont. Talking to the republicans and democrats and independents, hearing whats on peoples min minds, not lobbyists, not special interests, but the people have to pay the bills will have to face the consequences. And i became even more convinced, not less, we have dire needs this this country because of the coronavirus pandemic and we have to address them and soon. Now, how any senator went back to his or her home state and returned convinced even less assistance is needed than we left last month is baffling to me. Thats why im saying every senator can say where they stand, but the way they prove where they stand is to vote. Lets have the courage to stand up and vote yes or no. Not a take it or leave it package that will be decided by one person and nobody else will be able to vote anything differently. What are we . What are we . A bunch of ducks in a row . Or are we u. S. Senators . And adding insult to injury we now find the bill also provides sweeping liability shields for corporate bad actors who fail to do their part to keep consumers, employees, and patients safe. It tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this republican package. Big corporations, struggling american families. Instead of the person who it trying to pay the bills, send their children back to school, whos making out in this bill . Why, the lobbyists for multibilliondollar insurance companies. Theyre already making billions of dollars. They dont have to worry about paying the bills. They dont have to worry about their children going back to school. They dont have to worry about jobs. And this bill gives them one more gift. How can we possibly say we support that and then go back home and say were on the side of our people. The majority leader wants to put the socalled skinny bill including with a giveaway to the multibilliondollar insurance companies, well do it the right way. Bring it here. Set up a real debate of the bill. Debate what the country deserves and i think the majority of republicans and democrats would want. Open it to amendment. No limits. Let the process work. Not a process that only rewarpeds high rewards highpaid lobbyists for multibilliondollar corporations, that a but allow senators on both sides of the aisle to say heres where i stand with the people in my state, the people in my state have to pay the bills, have to send their kids back to school, who are trying to keep their jobs or keep their farms going or whatever it might be. Let members raise issues important to their constituents from any of the 50 states and then vote on those issues. Funding for state and local governments who are facing the brunt of the covid response.