Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240712 : vi

And National Security activities and bringing some of those. I think the Member States are able to engage in the discussion through the council. The chaplain, dr. Black, will open the senate with prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Great god and father, your anger lasts only for a moment, but your favor lasts a lifetime. Lord, open our eyes to see the wonders of your grace and the majesty of your love for people everywhere. Keep our lawmakers from being blind to the work you are doing in our world. Bring healing to the sick and liberation to the oppressed. Lord, you have watched over this land we love from generation to generation, in prosperity and adversity, in peace and war. Today, keep our senators so dedicated that they will do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. We pray in your holy name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in 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 . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley one minute for morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley a fellow iowan dan gable is one of the greatest athletes and coaches in american history. President trump has selected dan to receive the president ial medal of freedom. The highest civilian honor. I sent a letter to the white house after hearing about grassroots support in iowa for this award. Dan gable is a household name for every iowa sports fan. As a wrestler at iowa state university, dan won two collegiate championships, a World Championship and an olympic gold medal. His Overall High School and College Record is 181 victories, one defeat. That one defeat came in the finals of the ncaa tournament his senior year. His coaching career at the state of iowa led 15 national championships, Team Championships out of the 21 years that hes coaching. As a coach at the university of iowa, dan developed all Americans National champion, big ten champions and olympians. Dan is a paragon of the American Dream achieving success through community, courage, hard work and determination. I congratulate dan on when outstanding achievement. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell quote, it would have been really hard for us to get through without it. That was the coowner of apollo pees today which has a handful of locations throughout kentucky. Quote, it touches my heart just knowing that i can bring folks back and gainfully employ people who need to work. That was a restaurant restaurateur in fayettville, north carolina. Quote, its pennies from heaven as far as my business is conce concerned. That was one owner in colorado. Quote, it just made sense to us if were going to be able to get money from the government, spend it on our employees. Thats from a fourthgeneration owner of a bagel shop in ferndale, michigan. Those are just four of the millions and millions of hardworking americans who have had an economic lifeline to help them endure this crisis year. That lifeline is the Paycheck Protection Program. The p. P. P. Our nations top medical experts said we do something without precedent. Shutter whole sections of the economy to protect americans from the pandemic. Congress needed a historic plan to help workers. Our colleague senator rubio and senator collins stepped forward. They realized we could not simply let main street go under. We could not simply tell millions and millions more workers to forget about their jobs and join the unemployment lines. We couldnt just let every store front accept the biggest corporate retailers turn into permanent pandemic ghost towns. We had to give Small Businesses and their workers a fighting chance. The senior senators from maine and florida found a solution. They literally invented the p. P. P. It would Fund Emergency loans to employers and those loans would be forgivable so long as the money was used to keep paying their people. As far as emergency government rescues go, their idea was actually a bold Free Enterprise policy. Dont just sign everyone up for welfare. Fight to save jobs. Keep workers connected to their jobs and their paychecks. As we wrote the cares act, senator rubio and collins got together with senator cardin and put the finishing touches on the program. Soon the p. P. P. Had become law without a single dissenting vote in either chamber. The program proved so popular that it quickly committed all its funding. So in april when refilled it with more money. That was unanimous in the senate as well. Then in june we tweaked the program on the fly to help Small Businesses even more. Once again it was unanimous, no objection from any republican or any democrat here in the senate. This program has the most bipartisan pedigree possible. And those bipartisan beginnings have led to a major policy success story. For millions of americans from coast to coast, the p. P. P. Has made all the difference in the world. It has kept pay checks coming into their mailboxes and Bank Accounts where there otherwise would have been pink slips. Every state, every town, every city knows the difference it has made. So where are we today . That historic first draw of the p. P. P. Has wound down. The program is closed to new applications. Many firms have run through their funds. But clearly our economic recovery remains a work in progress. For many workers, business has not come roaring back to normal. And it wont until the Health Situation allows it. Fortunately senator rubio and senator collins have stepped up again. Our colleagues have legislation that will refund and reopen the p. P. P. It will establish a whole second round for the hardest hit Small Businesses that need help most and thanks to the efforts of several colleagues, the legislation will also streamline the program and strengthen oversight. I would submit, mr. President , that even for a congress this divided, even in the year 2020, reopening the p. P. P. Really ought to be a nobrainer. There is bipartisan agreement that American Workers still need help. Theres already bipartisan infrastructure in place to provide that help. But theres a problem. The p. P. P. Has been taken hostage just like the funding for safe schools, more funding for testing, more funding for vaccines, more funding for federal Unemployment Benefits, and commonsense Legal Protections that charities and University President s have been pleading for. The p. P. P. Has been taken hostage by Speaker Pelosi and leader schumer. The Democratic Leaders have spent months holding out for a long farleft wish list of noncovid related priorities and restricting additional aid until they get it. All or nothing. All or nothing. Thats been their position. Either democrats get every unrelated policy they want or American Families get nothing. So for months theyve blocked bipartisan aid at every single turn. The democratic leader even tried last night to adjourn the senate so we can do nothing at all for three weeks. Nothing at all for three weeks. Thats how urgent he thinks it is to help working people. He wanted to go home for three weeks. Because President Trump will not just cave to the entire Democratic Party platform because, for example, the president wont simply hand out endless sums of crash to chronically mismanaged state and city governments out of proportion to covid needs. Speaker pelosi has seen to it that working families have gotten nothing, nothing rather than something. So look, mr. President , every senator in this body knows this is not how people act if they actually want an outcome. American families, working families have waited months and months for Speaker Pelosi to end her Marie Antoinette act and let congress find common ground. Theres no reason the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program should wait another single day. So were going to vote on this legislation today. One clear vote on one Clear Program that everyone in this chamber says, says they want to pass. Ill let you know you in on a secret, mr. President. Theres something senators do when we want something to pass. Heres what we do when we want something to pass. We vote for it. Its no counterargument to complain that the p. P. P. Legislation does not contain a hundred other things. The entire point is to agree where we can and make law while we keep our agreement keep arguing over all the rest. If my democratic colleagues oppose the jobsaving pp, they jobsaving p. P. P. They should come to the floor and say why they oppose it. Otherwise this afternoon should bring another unanimous vote. 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 , covid19 has changed just about every aspect of american life. Every aspect. The bottom line is very simple. The way americans work, the way we send our kids to school, the way we run our businesses, has all changed. Covid has derailed the economy. Millions of americans have missed the rent, missed the mortgage, applied for unemployment, been forced to skip meals. American poverty is beginning to increase more dramatically. More than eight million have gotten sick. More than 220,000 have died. The response here in congress to a pandemic that affects our country in a way we havent seen in decades should be to comprehensively provide relief. Our mission is not to pick out one or two industries and say maybe later to the rest. We cant issue a we cant privilege a small issue here and there and ask everyone else to wait. Our mission is to deliver big for a country and a people who are suffering direly. Our mission is to meet the needs of the country and leave no one, leave no one behind. But leader mcconnell and the republican majority have failed to grasp the gravity of this situation from the beginning. They put the senate on pause for more than five months while cases went up and the death toll mounted. When the time came for them to pull together in august, they couldnt even get republican senators to agree on one. Eight months into this long and brutal crisis, the republican leader is filled with stunts and playing the smallest of small ball when so many are hurting. Today, the republican majority will try to force a stunt, not even a real vote on a bill, but it leaves almost the entire country out of the picture. They are holding the vote over a backdrop of a dire increase in cases. The majority of states are seeing spikes right now. Half of all states have had their highest single day ever in total cases in the last month. Experts say we have hard months ahead of us. Its possible the worst is yet to come, a second wave. We must act now to provide relief to the whole country and our republican leader and the Republican Senate is up to a stunt and not even negotiating or putting a bill on the floor. And the American People know it. They know who is to blame. They blame President Trump and the republican majority. We know that. We know when it comes to covid, that the blame correctly falls on the shoulders of leader mcconnell and all his republican senators who are afraid to do anything, who are divided. When any time mr. Mnuchin gets on the phone with them, they say dont do anything, were too divided. Everyone knows that. We must provide real relief. Thats what democrats want to do. But in the republican proposal today, there is no funding, zero funding for testing or tracing. The best way to stop this covid menace. And in the republican bill tomorrow, the funding for testing and the plan for testing is so completely inadequate, its laughable. Especially given the recent spike in cases. In the republican proposal today, there is nothing more American Families, schools, day care, or food assistance. They are left behind, all of them. Renters, homeowners, folks struggling to keep a roof over their heads, they are left behind. Americans who have lost their job through no fault of their own and need Unemployment Insurance, they are left behind in these republican proposals. State and local governments that are being forced to slash Critical Public Services in the middle of a recession, they, too, are all left behind. Even on the issue of small business, the issue on which this bill is focused, it lacks specific funding for restaurants, for independent theaters and venues, for local newspapers, tv, radio stations, critical need hospitals, minorityowned businesses, and for all of our nonprofits. In each of those areas in which the republican bill is deficient, so many are left behind. We have bipartisan support for programs that are not even being considered here today. And why is this . Why is mcconnell relating or doing stunts . The truth is because the leader cant pass anything on the floor, he is resorting to a series of political stunts. Thats all. Everyone knows it. The republican leader himself admitted that as many as 20 republican senators dont want to vote for, quote, a dime more, a dime more, his quote, of relief for the American People. So out of touch. So calloused. So cruel. So what we have here are a series of show stunt votes, designed to fail, because the republicans want them to fail. Its not going to get the job done for the American People. They cant even put a real bill on the floor. The only bill that they can pass are filled with poison pills that they know no democrat will support in the house or senate. That was the only way they could get them to vote even for this meager amount in tomorrows bill. By telling the big corporations no liability for you if you egregiously hurt a worker who has covid. By telling wealthy parents you can pay for private School Education with a complete tax break, free, free, but Public Schools get left out, middleclass people get left out, poor people get left out. Wealthy people who send their kids to private schools, thats it, while they refuse to give money to the Public Schools that need the money. If leader mcconnell were serious, you know what they be doing. He would be negotiating. He wouldnt be saying i cant negotiate, my caucus is divided. He would be leading instead of following the 20 hardright, cruel, callous, thoughts who dont want to spend any money because their wealthy paymasters dont want to raise to pay taxes. Let people suffer. I dont want to pay taxes. Let people suffer. I dont want government to do anything when we all know the only real hope here is for a strong, active, and bold governmentled program. The private sector cant fight covid alone. The private sector cant get us out of this deep recession alone. We know that. But not the hardright republicans. They are stuck in their narrow ideological prison. So instead of stunts, senators will actually have a chance today to vote on a real, comprehensive bill to address the current state of the country. For months, democrats have been pushing for the heroes act, a second installment of the kind of comprehensive covid relief we passed in the first bill that brought so much to people, helped them stay in their homes, brought pandemic Unemployment Insurance, helped our hospitals, helped our local governments, helped do some testing. Testing money, by the way, and tracing money, which the Trump Administration hasnt even distributed to the states. This bill passed the house over three months ago, and since then, democrats have modified the bill to move cloture to our republican counter closer to move to our republican counterparts, still senator mcconnell refuses to bring it up for a vote in the senate. Today democrats will move to have the senate take a vote and the heroes act, a comprehensive bill that does so much. That doesnt leave all the people behind that this proposal does. And we will see where every republican senator stands on real covid relief, not a stunt, a fake that leaves people out. Unlike the partisan republican relief bill, the heroes act will not leave large portions of the country behind. It will not include poison pills that leader mcconnell irn cysted on insisted on. It will deliver actual relief to American Workers, American Families, american states and localities and tribes. It provides assistance for food, rent, and housing, real funding for testing an tracing, Unemployment Insurance and aid to Small Businesses of all kinds, not just a few. This morning a poll conducted by the New York Times showed that 72 of americans, including a clear majority of independents and republicans support another 2 there trillion stimulus pack, even President Trump has told our Republican Senate colleagues to go big or go home. My republican colleagues were listening to the National Security<\/a> activities and bringing some of those. I think the Member States<\/a> are able to engage in the discussion through the council. The chaplain, dr. Black, will open the senate with prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Great god and father, your anger lasts only for a moment, but your favor lasts a lifetime. Lord, open our eyes to see the wonders of your grace and the majesty of your love for people everywhere. Keep our lawmakers from being blind to the work you are doing in our world. Bring healing to the sick and liberation to the oppressed. Lord, you have watched over this land we love from generation to generation, in prosperity and adversity, in peace and war. Today, keep our senators so dedicated that they will do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. We pray in your holy name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States<\/a> 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 . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley one minute for morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley a fellow iowan dan gable is one of the greatest athletes and coaches in american history. President trump has selected dan to receive the president ial medal of freedom. The highest civilian honor. I sent a letter to the white house after hearing about grassroots support in iowa for this award. Dan gable is a household name for every iowa sports fan. As a wrestler at iowa state university, dan won two collegiate championships, a World Championship<\/a> and an olympic gold medal. His Overall High School<\/a> and College Record<\/a> is 181 victories, one defeat. That one defeat came in the finals of the ncaa tournament his senior year. His coaching career at the state of iowa led 15 national championships, Team Championships<\/a> out of the 21 years that hes coaching. As a coach at the university of iowa, dan developed all Americans National<\/a> champion, big ten champions and olympians. Dan is a paragon of the American Dream<\/a> achieving success through community, courage, hard work and determination. I congratulate dan on when outstanding achievement. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell quote, it would have been really hard for us to get through without it. That was the coowner of apollo pees today which has a handful of locations throughout kentucky. Quote, it touches my heart just knowing that i can bring folks back and gainfully employ people who need to work. That was a restaurant restaurateur in fayettville, north carolina. Quote, its pennies from heaven as far as my business is conce concerned. That was one owner in colorado. Quote, it just made sense to us if were going to be able to get money from the government, spend it on our employees. Thats from a fourthgeneration owner of a bagel shop in ferndale, michigan. Those are just four of the millions and millions of hardworking americans who have had an economic lifeline to help them endure this crisis year. That lifeline is the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a>. The p. P. P. Our nations top medical experts said we do something without precedent. Shutter whole sections of the economy to protect americans from the pandemic. Congress needed a historic plan to help workers. Our colleague senator rubio and senator collins stepped forward. They realized we could not simply let main street go under. We could not simply tell millions and millions more workers to forget about their jobs and join the unemployment lines. We couldnt just let every store front accept the biggest corporate retailers turn into permanent pandemic ghost towns. We had to give Small Businesses<\/a> and their workers a fighting chance. The senior senators from maine and florida found a solution. They literally invented the p. P. P. It would Fund Emergency<\/a> loans to employers and those loans would be forgivable so long as the money was used to keep paying their people. As far as emergency government rescues go, their idea was actually a bold Free Enterprise<\/a> policy. Dont just sign everyone up for welfare. Fight to save jobs. Keep workers connected to their jobs and their paychecks. As we wrote the cares act, senator rubio and collins got together with senator cardin and put the finishing touches on the program. Soon the p. P. P. Had become law without a single dissenting vote in either chamber. The program proved so popular that it quickly committed all its funding. So in april when refilled it with more money. That was unanimous in the senate as well. Then in june we tweaked the program on the fly to help Small Businesses<\/a> even more. Once again it was unanimous, no objection from any republican or any democrat here in the senate. This program has the most bipartisan pedigree possible. And those bipartisan beginnings have led to a major policy success story. For millions of americans from coast to coast, the p. P. P. Has made all the difference in the world. It has kept pay checks coming into their mailboxes and Bank Accounts<\/a> where there otherwise would have been pink slips. Every state, every town, every city knows the difference it has made. So where are we today . That historic first draw of the p. P. P. Has wound down. The program is closed to new applications. Many firms have run through their funds. But clearly our economic recovery remains a work in progress. For many workers, business has not come roaring back to normal. And it wont until the Health Situation<\/a> allows it. Fortunately senator rubio and senator collins have stepped up again. Our colleagues have legislation that will refund and reopen the p. P. P. It will establish a whole second round for the hardest hit Small Businesses<\/a> that need help most and thanks to the efforts of several colleagues, the legislation will also streamline the program and strengthen oversight. I would submit, mr. President , that even for a congress this divided, even in the year 2020, reopening the p. P. P. Really ought to be a nobrainer. There is bipartisan agreement that American Workers<\/a> still need help. Theres already bipartisan infrastructure in place to provide that help. But theres a problem. The p. P. P. Has been taken hostage just like the funding for safe schools, more funding for testing, more funding for vaccines, more funding for federal Unemployment Benefits<\/a>, and commonsense Legal Protections<\/a> that charities and University President<\/a> s have been pleading for. The p. P. P. Has been taken hostage by Speaker Pelosi<\/a> and leader schumer. The Democratic Leaders<\/a> have spent months holding out for a long farleft wish list of noncovid related priorities and restricting additional aid until they get it. All or nothing. All or nothing. Thats been their position. Either democrats get every unrelated policy they want or American Families<\/a> get nothing. So for months theyve blocked bipartisan aid at every single turn. The democratic leader even tried last night to adjourn the senate so we can do nothing at all for three weeks. Nothing at all for three weeks. Thats how urgent he thinks it is to help working people. He wanted to go home for three weeks. Because President Trump<\/a> will not just cave to the entire Democratic Party<\/a> platform because, for example, the president wont simply hand out endless sums of crash to chronically mismanaged state and city governments out of proportion to covid needs. Speaker pelosi has seen to it that working families have gotten nothing, nothing rather than something. So look, mr. President , every senator in this body knows this is not how people act if they actually want an outcome. American families, working families have waited months and months for Speaker Pelosi<\/a> to end her Marie Antoinette<\/a> act and let congress find common ground. Theres no reason the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program<\/a> should wait another single day. So were going to vote on this legislation today. One clear vote on one Clear Program<\/a> that everyone in this chamber says, says they want to pass. Ill let you know you in on a secret, mr. President. Theres something senators do when we want something to pass. Heres what we do when we want something to pass. We vote for it. Its no counterargument to complain that the p. P. P. Legislation does not contain a hundred other things. The entire point is to agree where we can and make law while we keep our agreement keep arguing over all the rest. If my democratic colleagues oppose the jobsaving pp, they jobsaving p. P. P. They should come to the floor and say why they oppose it. Otherwise this afternoon should bring another unanimous vote. 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 , covid19 has changed just about every aspect of american life. Every aspect. The bottom line is very simple. The way americans work, the way we send our kids to school, the way we run our businesses, has all changed. Covid has derailed the economy. Millions of americans have missed the rent, missed the mortgage, applied for unemployment, been forced to skip meals. American poverty is beginning to increase more dramatically. More than eight million have gotten sick. More than 220,000 have died. The response here in congress to a pandemic that affects our country in a way we havent seen in decades should be to comprehensively provide relief. Our mission is not to pick out one or two industries and say maybe later to the rest. We cant issue a we cant privilege a small issue here and there and ask everyone else to wait. Our mission is to deliver big for a country and a people who are suffering direly. Our mission is to meet the needs of the country and leave no one, leave no one behind. But leader mcconnell and the republican majority have failed to grasp the gravity of this situation from the beginning. They put the senate on pause for more than five months while cases went up and the death toll mounted. When the time came for them to pull together in august, they couldnt even get republican senators to agree on one. Eight months into this long and brutal crisis, the republican leader is filled with stunts and playing the smallest of small ball when so many are hurting. Today, the republican majority will try to force a stunt, not even a real vote on a bill, but it leaves almost the entire country out of the picture. They are holding the vote over a backdrop of a dire increase in cases. The majority of states are seeing spikes right now. Half of all states have had their highest single day ever in total cases in the last month. Experts say we have hard months ahead of us. Its possible the worst is yet to come, a second wave. We must act now to provide relief to the whole country and our republican leader and the Republican Senate<\/a> is up to a stunt and not even negotiating or putting a bill on the floor. And the American People<\/a> know it. They know who is to blame. They blame President Trump<\/a> and the republican majority. We know that. We know when it comes to covid, that the blame correctly falls on the shoulders of leader mcconnell and all his republican senators who are afraid to do anything, who are divided. When any time mr. Mnuchin gets on the phone with them, they say dont do anything, were too divided. Everyone knows that. We must provide real relief. Thats what democrats want to do. But in the republican proposal today, there is no funding, zero funding for testing or tracing. The best way to stop this covid menace. And in the republican bill tomorrow, the funding for testing and the plan for testing is so completely inadequate, its laughable. Especially given the recent spike in cases. In the republican proposal today, there is nothing more American Families<\/a>, schools, day care, or food assistance. They are left behind, all of them. Renters, homeowners, folks struggling to keep a roof over their heads, they are left behind. Americans who have lost their job through no fault of their own and need Unemployment Insurance<\/a>, they are left behind in these republican proposals. State and local governments that are being forced to slash Critical Public Services<\/a> in the middle of a recession, they, too, are all left behind. Even on the issue of small business, the issue on which this bill is focused, it lacks specific funding for restaurants, for independent theaters and venues, for local newspapers, tv, radio stations, critical need hospitals, minorityowned businesses, and for all of our nonprofits. In each of those areas in which the republican bill is deficient, so many are left behind. We have bipartisan support for programs that are not even being considered here today. And why is this . Why is mcconnell relating or doing stunts . The truth is because the leader cant pass anything on the floor, he is resorting to a series of political stunts. Thats all. Everyone knows it. The republican leader himself admitted that as many as 20 republican senators dont want to vote for, quote, a dime more, a dime more, his quote, of relief for the American People<\/a>. So out of touch. So calloused. So cruel. So what we have here are a series of show stunt votes, designed to fail, because the republicans want them to fail. Its not going to get the job done for the American People<\/a>. They cant even put a real bill on the floor. The only bill that they can pass are filled with poison pills that they know no democrat will support in the house or senate. That was the only way they could get them to vote even for this meager amount in tomorrows bill. By telling the big corporations no liability for you if you egregiously hurt a worker who has covid. By telling wealthy parents you can pay for private School Education<\/a> with a complete tax break, free, free, but Public Schools<\/a> get left out, middleclass people get left out, poor people get left out. Wealthy people who send their kids to private schools, thats it, while they refuse to give money to the Public Schools<\/a> that need the money. If leader mcconnell were serious, you know what they be doing. He would be negotiating. He wouldnt be saying i cant negotiate, my caucus is divided. He would be leading instead of following the 20 hardright, cruel, callous, thoughts who dont want to spend any money because their wealthy paymasters dont want to raise to pay taxes. Let people suffer. I dont want to pay taxes. Let people suffer. I dont want government to do anything when we all know the only real hope here is for a strong, active, and bold governmentled program. The private sector cant fight covid alone. The private sector cant get us out of this deep recession alone. We know that. But not the hardright republicans. They are stuck in their narrow ideological prison. So instead of stunts, senators will actually have a chance today to vote on a real, comprehensive bill to address the current state of the country. For months, democrats have been pushing for the heroes act, a second installment of the kind of comprehensive covid relief we passed in the first bill that brought so much to people, helped them stay in their homes, brought pandemic Unemployment Insurance<\/a>, helped our hospitals, helped our local governments, helped do some testing. Testing money, by the way, and tracing money, which the Trump Administration<\/a> hasnt even distributed to the states. This bill passed the house over three months ago, and since then, democrats have modified the bill to move cloture to our republican counter closer to move to our republican counterparts, still senator mcconnell refuses to bring it up for a vote in the senate. Today democrats will move to have the senate take a vote and the heroes act, a comprehensive bill that does so much. That doesnt leave all the people behind that this proposal does. And we will see where every republican senator stands on real covid relief, not a stunt, a fake that leaves people out. Unlike the partisan republican relief bill, the heroes act will not leave large portions of the country behind. It will not include poison pills that leader mcconnell irn cysted on insisted on. It will deliver actual relief to American Workers<\/a>, American Families<\/a>, american states and localities and tribes. It provides assistance for food, rent, and housing, real funding for testing an tracing, Unemployment Insurance<\/a> and aid to Small Businesses<\/a> of all kinds, not just a few. This morning a poll conducted by the New York Times<\/a> showed that 72 of americans, including a clear majority of independents and republicans support another 2 there trillion stimulus pack, even President Trump<\/a> has told our Republican Senate<\/a> colleagues to go big or go home. My republican colleagues were listening to the American People<\/a>, they would not be playing these partisan games around stuntdriven covid bills. They would be working with democrats on something that actually meets peoples needs. Instead the republican leader is wasting the American People<\/a>s time on a vote he knows will fail that he doesnt even seem to mind. Now, on scotus. Yesterday in a 44 split ruling, the Supreme Court<\/a> declined to hear a case that could have prevented the state of california from counting all of the votes in the election of it was an important decision for democracy, but also a reminder of what is at stake in a Supreme Court<\/a> vacancy left by justice ginsburg, one more vote provided by a trumpnominated justice could be the difference between Voting Rights<\/a> and voting suppression. Over the past several years closely divided decisions at the Supreme Court<\/a> have meant the difference between having the ability to marry the person you love or not, the abilityibility to have ability to have your right to vote protected or not, the ability to make personal choices about your own health care or not. The American People<\/a> should not exactly what is at stake in the nomination of judge barrett to the Supreme Court<\/a>. Nothing less than their fundamental rights as americans. So, frankly, it was be a insult to the intelligence of the American People<\/a> for judge barrett to spend the ten tire Judiciary Committee<\/a> hearings dodging every single question of substance, including questions as to whether voter intimidation is illegal or whether the president can unilaterally delay the election. Oto not be able to answer if the president can unilaterally delay the election. Whoa. Just think about what it means for a sitting judge to refuse to answer a question about voter intimidation, voting, the wellspring of our democracy, because she thinks its too controversial. Think about what it means for a sitting judge to refuse to answer a question about the peaceful transfer of power, the bedrock of our democracy because it might upset her patron, President Trump<\/a>. Its absurd. No ones buying it. Every election season republicans promise to nominate judges who will tear down our health care, roll back the clock on womens right. The far right promises to deliver judges that will dismantle the environmental regulations that keep our air and water clean. President trump has made the same promises outloud many times. But as soon as someone is nominated to be a justice, all of a sudden that person becomes a vacuum, totally devoid of ideas based on uncontroversial fact. The truth is judge barrett does have, unfortunately, hardright views on her positions. Her views are so far away from the American People<\/a>, none of them could pass in this senate even though its controlled by republicans and certainly not in the house. She has harshly criticized decisions to uphold the Affordable Care<\/a> act. She has been closely affiliated to organizations for to advocate for a womens right to choose. She drafted decisions on issues of gun safety that put her far to the right of judge scalia. Thats why the president for the Lawyers Committee<\/a> for civil rights under law said, quote, judge barretts views are far outside the mainstream. Thats why yesterday the plaintiffs in the decision that resulted in the Marriage Equality<\/a> said they opposed judge barrett for the Supreme Court<\/a> she will endanger those hardwon rights. So the idea that judge barrett is some sort of neutral arbiter who will only interpret the law as it is written is not believable. She will make hugely impactful decisions that could alter the fact of american society, starting with what will be one of her first case, a lawsuit pushed by President Trump<\/a> and republicans to devoid health care for millions of americans. God save us. Mr. Durbin mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Durbin idiots idiots. Thats what the president called dr. Anthony fauci and the Government Experts<\/a> in the federal government. The president said, people are tired of covid. I have the biggest rallies ive ever had and we have covid. People are saying, whatever, just leave us alone. They are tired of it. And then he added, people are tired of hearing fauci and shes idiots. All these idiots, all of these idiots. The words of the president of the United States<\/a>, donald trump, in the midst of the worst pandemic america has seen in over a century. 220,000 dead and counting. What lies ahead with this covid epidemic, which the president is so tired of hearing about, what have his socalled idiots told us about the future of covid19 . Heres what theyve told us. More than 70,450 new coronavirus cases were reported in the United States<\/a> on friday. The highest figure since july 24. According to the New York Times<\/a> database. More than 900 new deaths were recorded and over the past week theres been an average of 66,000 cases per day. Is this a political commentary, these facts . No. These are the numbers and statistics of reality, a reality which President Trump<\/a> refuses to acknowledge. How are we doing when it comes to covid19 pandemic compared to the world . Well, we have five times the infection rate of the nation of germany. Whats going on here . The great United States<\/a> of america has five times the infection rate of germany. Lets get across the ocean. Lets bring it to this side of the atlantic. How are we doing in comparison to nations here . Lets compare the United States<\/a> to canada. The death rate is two and a half time the death rate in canada. What did Justin Trudeau<\/a> know about this that donald trump did not . He knew that it took leadership to deal with it. He knew we had to step up as a nation and gather together in common purpose to beat back this virus, and he failed to do it. President trump failed to do that. He said to the governors, youre on your own. Go out an find protective equipment. Find ventilators, see what you can do on the open market. Instead of using the power of the president andy the leadership of the and the leadership of the presidency to help make sure every american had access for what they needed to stay safe. How did he do in setting standards in dealing with this deadly virus . First he denied it was deadly. He argued it was going to go away. When it gets warm outside, it will go away. Its a hoax. You remember those statements. And do you remember that incredible press conference where the president went off on some tangent about disinfectant and lysol . It was sickening to think that the leader of the free world would do that. And how about the example set by the president. To this day to get this president to wear a mask is a rare occurrence, and there he was, just days after being helicoptered out to walter reed hospital, returning to the white house making his triumphant balcony scene before the american and ripping off his mask to tell them how tough he was and how lucky he was and to tell the American People<\/a> dont take this mask business seriously. He can say the word, but he just mouths them. The fact that you can see his mouth is an indication he doesnt believe them. Here we are. Well, fortunately in the early stages of this pandemic, this congress rose to the occasion. It was march 26. We called it the cares act. It was, indeed, a comprehensive effort to deal with the coronavirus, a comprehensive approach. We imagined all the possibilities. We saw the American Economy<\/a> sinking under our feet and we came up with a vote of 960, a bipartisan vote, for a bill that we wrote together, democrats and republicans sitting together. It was an amazing day, and im glad we did it, but there was one clear shortcoming. We assumed when we passed the cares act that come the end of july and the first part of august, this crisis would be behind us. It isnt. And at the end of july, for example, the federal summit of supplement of federal insurance ran out and at the first of august, the loans to Small Businesses<\/a> dried up as well. Whats happened since . Well, on the other side of the rotunda in the house of representatives, Speaker Pelosi<\/a>, five months ago five months ago, mr. President , passed her heroes act. It was 3 trillion, comparable to the first effort. She sent it to the republican leader of the senate, senator Mitchell Mcconnell<\/a> of kentucky, for him to do his part. It is a bicameral legislature. And his part would require coming up with an alternative and taking that to conference. Did he do that . No. He refused to acknowledge it and mocked day after day after day the efforts of Speaker Pelosi<\/a>, questioning whether or not they were enough to sincere and on and on. Did he pass his own measure . No. Then the negotiations started between the president , his white house representatives, Speaker Pelosi<\/a>, leader schumer, and they invited senator mcconnell, head of the plubs in the Senate Republicans<\/a> in the senate to join in this bipartisan negotiation. Mcconnell and mccarthy declined. They would not even sit in the chairs during the negotiations. In senator mcconnells case, he came to the floor on a daily basis to mock every effort to respond to this covid19. Well, this is not a news bulletin, but we are two weeks away from election, and guess what were going to do on the floor of the senate today. Were going to entertain a new idea by senator mcconnell of how to cope with the covid19 pandemic. It turns out it is a scant list of his priorities. Not surprisingly, the First Priority<\/a> is an issue he called his red line on the floor over and over again to give immunity from liability to businesses who failed to take the necessary steps to protect their employees and their customers from the spread of this deadly virus. Thats his First Priority<\/a>. He said that even before the first issue was raced as to what raised as to what would be included in this, the first thing that senator mcconnell insisted on was protecting these businesses. How do the American People<\/a> feel about that . Well, they are pretty clear. They believe if you put that immunity in place, many businesses wont do what they need to do to protect protect their loiees and customers employees and customers. They think that gets them off the hook. The overwhelming majority of business thats i know are really trying to do the right thing. The bad news they are not sure what that is. They hear about c. D. C. Guidelines that are ignored and mocked by the president and they hear about the possibility of other standards that will be used. Weve had hearings before the senate Judiciary Committee<\/a> when a texas businessman with a string of Convenient Stores<\/a> i think came to us and in good faith said, i dont know where to turn for a standard of care. Would am i supposed to do if i want to protect everyone coming in my store, employees and customers alike . I thought his statement was genuine. I really believed him and i still do. But its no excuse for what we fail to do here. We failed to come up with a National Standard<\/a> to protect people from the spread of this virus. Instead senator mcconnell comes to the floor and says if you can find any standard by any level of government good enough, youre off the hook. That is no way to lead in the midst of a deadly pandemic. Its not the only issue. There are many others. You take a look at whats missing in senator mcconnells proposal. No new funding when it comes to state and local governments. Remember the phrase defund the police . You heard it from the right wing about the left wing of american politics wanting to defund the police. Well, senator mcconnells action will Defund Police<\/a> at state and local levels because these units of government wont have the resources to hire the policemen they need, the Law Enforcement<\/a> officials they need, nor the firefighters nor the teachers nor the health care workers. But thats priority one for senator mcconnell. No help, no help for state and local governments for fear that you might actually send money to a democratic mayor or a democratic governor. Spare me. That is not looking for party registration. Its looking for kindling to light the fire of infection. Housing . Well, what does the mcconnell proposal deal with housing . No funding. No funding for housing or rental assistance. The stimulus checks, 1,200 stimulus checks. I listened to talk radio back in chicago. People are wondering is it possible were going to see a 1,200 check . Well, you wont see it in senator mcconnells proposal. No direct stimulus payments. How about an employment how about Unemployment Benefits<\/a> . The federal Unemployment Benefits<\/a> that expired on july 31 were 600 a week over the state amount, whatever it might be. Some people may have made more in the process than they did at work but most were struggling to get by. If members of the senate have not been in touch with they may think that folks with these checks were doing binging on netflix and eating chocolate covered cherries night and day. Thats not the case that i see back in illinois. People who have lost their jobs even at the time they receive these unemployment checks were still struggling to pay for the mortgage, pay for the rent, pay for the car, keep up with the credit card bills, and put food on the table. So what does senator mcconnell propose that we do . He proposes that we cut in half that amount to 300 a week. I guess back in kentucky its a little different world, at least as he sees it. But where i live that means a pretty dramatic cut in survival pay, survival pay for people who have lost their jobs. On health care side, this is the one that troubles me the most. Couldnt we all agree that we dont test enough for the covid19 virus in america . There are about a Million People<\/a> tested a day. Public Health Officials<\/a> sigh you need at least four million. Others say but if you truly want to reopen the economy and reopen the schools, you need 14 million a day. So you would guess that anything we pass would really zero in on testing. To find out those who are positive to do the contact tracing, to warn those who may have been exposed, and to try to contain the virus. So lets take a look at what senator mcconnell thinks of priority of testing. 16 billion for testing. How much did the democrats propose . Nancy pelosi propose . 75 billion. And let me add the mcconnell bill provides no funding for hospitals or health care clinics. No dedicated funding for Nursing Homes<\/a> where we know the populations are so vulnerable. When it comes to the reality of what were facing in this covid19 pandemic, the mcconnell bill which is coming before us this afternoon is deficient in testing at a time when we are facing so many infections. On nutrition the mcconnell bill, no snap benefit increases for funding for food ban banks. Education provides 105 billion for education stabilization funds. Twothirds of the k12 funds will be held until schools provide a reopening plan. And of course the voucher program. Postal assistance, the mcconnell proposal alters language in the original legislation to change the borrowing authority. The Postal Service<\/a> is doing its best and i thank the men and women who are engaged in it. We should do more than thank them. We ought to fund them and give them a helping hand. So what it boils down to is this. If this is a real pandemic, if we want to believe the Public Health<\/a> experts whom the president has called idiots like dr. Anthony fauci who has been my friend for twoan years, if we for 20 years, if we want to believe the hubl Health Experts<\/a> we Public Health<\/a> experts we need to address this in a serious manner as we did last march in passing the cares act. This is not the time for people to cover their back sides politically. Its a time where the American People<\/a> need our help more than ever. A halfhearted, half inspired effort to do this will not answer the call. We need to stand as a nation on a bipartisan basis. How does it start . It starts when democrats and republicans sit at the same table which has not happened. It starts when we agree, both parties agree on what the priorities must be and it starts when we stop the speeches and start with real action to pass legislation like the cares act which passed with 960 on this floor. It is time to take this deadly virus and epidemic seriously. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the Senate Recess<\/a> until 2 15 today. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. The senate is in recess until the senate is in recess until centers are holding their weekly party lunch meetings although a member could still come to the floor to speak. Lawmakers today are considering a judicial nomination for the Southern District<\/a> of ohio. Also been a republican plan for Coronavirus Response<\/a> you first editors address on the senate floor this afternoon. Whence it returns will have live coverage here on cspan2. With the Senate Confirmation<\/a> hearings for judge Amy Coney Barrett<\/a> concluded watch the next steps in the confirmation process. Starting thursday live at 9 a. M. Eastern the senate Judiciary Committee<\/a> votes on the nomination and then friday live on cspan2 the full Senate Begins<\/a> debate on Amy Coney Barrett<\/a>s confirmation. Watch live on cspan and cspan2 come stream at cspan. Org or listen live on the free cspan radio app. The scent had a choice to make. Do i have the if i run it badly they were probably blame him but they will blame the more poorly i want to help people. He in fact, over you has cost 10 Million People<\/a> their health care that they had from employers because of his recession. With less than two weeks before the 2020 election watch the second president ial debate between President Donald Trump<\/a> and former Vice President<\/a> joe biden. Thursday from Belmont University<\/a> in nashville, tennessee. Live coverage begins at 8 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Listen live on the cspan radio app and go to cspan. Org debate for live or ondemand streaming of cspans debate coverage. Joining us the president of judicial watch, he serves as the president judicial watch. Org, the website. Her to talk but issues of the Russian Investigation<\/a> and other topics","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601703.us.archive.org\/5\/items\/CSPAN2_20201020_155900_U.S._Senate_U.S._Senate\/CSPAN2_20201020_155900_U.S._Senate_U.S._Senate.thumbs\/CSPAN2_20201020_155900_U.S._Senate_U.S._Senate_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}