Phones on silent. Everybody have their phones on silent . All right. Let me welcome all of you and thank you for being here this morning. This has been a group thats been in labor of intense effort. I know every one of us want to thank our staffs because theyve done yeomans work. And as you can see we have with us a Bipartisan Group of people working diligently for the last 30 days or more, trying to get to a conclusion and a template if you will, this is covid emergency release framework is what it is. Take your mask off. Cant hear me . Okay. Back off. Let me just say that this is intense amount of work that the staffs have been doing for quite some time and every senator, every Congress Person here has put in an enormous amount of time on this in person and on the phone. This is a covid emergency relief framework. We worked in the best interest of what we believe is great for our country, good for our states and we can all go home knowing we have worked to make sure that the unemployed, the Small Businesses, the state and local funding student loan forbear s forbearance, everything coming to a halt in december because of the timing is not going to happen. Were battling covid19 more fiercely now than we have before we recognize that. Its inexcusable for us to leaf town and not have an agreement and not show we can work the way the senate and congress was intended to work in a bipartisan way. Its not the time for political brinkmanship. Youll not see any of that here today on this stage. Were going to intend to move this forward after months of failing to act for one reason or another. Were not blaming anybody for why they havent come to an agreement, it wasnt enough, too much, whatever. We know whats necessary right now in a timely fashion. Our Bipartisan Group, as i said, has worked over the past month. Were pleased to present to you today a template or framework, if you will, thats put together by senators and representatives from their respective caucuses. Our action to provide emergency relief is needed now more than ever before. People need to know we are not going to leave until we get something accomplished for this group thats worked together so diligently. Im committed to seeing this through. I am. My state of West Virginia depends on it, as well as my colleagues every one of their states in the country depends on it. This is going to get us through the most difficult times. This runs us through the first quarter, april 1. We hope we can get the relief thats needed. Without further adieu, im going to call now, if my dear friend, Susan Collins would come forward for a few words. Susan. The charts are being printed and the charts will be here in just a few minutes. Well come back and make sure you all get a hand out before you leave, too. Susan. Thank you. Thank you. First i want to salute everyone who joined us today. We have worked together to put together a 908 billion framework for covid relief. We recognize that families all across america are struggling that businesses are closing, that hospitals are overwhelmed. As we deal with this second wave or third wave of this pandemic, it is absolutely essential that we pass emergency relief. Im particularly pleased that the package includes 228 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program that has helped keep our Small Businesses afloat and paying their employees. Thats the most important part. In maine it has helped sustain the jobs of 250,000 workers. This will be particularly helpful to those businesses that have received a first ppp loan that has kept them alive and paying their employees. But now find that they need additional assistance. In particular, that includes our restaurant and hospitality industry. So again, i want to thank all of my colleagues for their very hard work. And it gives me great pleasure to introduce another leader in this effort, senator mark warner. Thank you, susan. Let me just first echo what has already been said. This 908 billion framework, which will take us from december 1 through march 31st, not going to make everybody happy but theres been an enormous amount of work done, i want to thank my Senate Colleagues who have spent literally every day but thanksgiving over pizza or pasta, at peoples houses like lisas, theres been a lot of good give and take. I came with this with the information notion that im hearing from virginia, somebody used it and i borrowed the term, it would be stupidity on steroids if congress longevity for christmas without doing an interim package as a bridge. I think weve laid out that interim package, which shortly will appear. I want to touch on two items very briefly. One, for all of us who live in the metro area we saw in the Washington Post editorial today that short of some relief, metro will have to lay off close to 4,000 workers over the next coming months. It will end service after 9 00 every day and weekends. That will have a dramatic effect on the function of the federal government as well as constituents across the tristate area. So we made, i think, the right kind of investment in public transit. Secondly, susan has been the leader on this, on support for Small Businesses. We have literally hundreds of thousands of Small Businesses across virginia that are struggling. Weve seen those businesses that have been affected have been minority businesses. Weve lost 440,000 black owned businesses across america. Literally destroying generation of wealth creation. In this package we have allocated 11 billion for investments in cdfis, mdis, and other institutions that will lend to these underserved communities. That will have a good short term and long term effect. While this perhaps will offend some folks on both sides, we think its a good framework and were all committed to doing what it takes to get it done. With that, let me turn it over to somebody who has been a constant effort at bridging the gap, maybe thats because hes a doctor as opposed to the lawyers in the crowd, thats our friend bill cassidy. Thank you, mark, and thank you all. Today is a victory for the American People. And it is a victory for common sense. It is a bipartisan effort which creates a pathway forward to bring relief to the unemployed, to the Small Businesswoman, the Small Businessman struggling to hang on until the vaccine is widely used, to the doctors and nurses who are on front line with a third wave of disease wondering if theyre going to get the relief they need to effectively address this third wave. On a louisiana note, its the hospitality workers from the casinos of sheave port to the hotels of new orleans for the recently laid off refineries workers, for the oil and gas workers. As a republican by the way, let me say, let me say, republicans and democrats neither of us got everything we wanted. Both of us got much of what we wanted. I think that combination reflects what congress is supposed to do, reconciling differentiate priorities but doing something good for the American People. As a republican, i will say builds upon President Trumps commitment to get something done. For my if tell low republicans, if you care about the effort that President Trump and his administration made, you should support this bill. As a senator, i want to give a shout out to the Problem Solvers Caucus on the house side, part of the larger, no labels effort. My staff and i have been meeting with their staff and them for months on some of the policies that are contained here on the strategy to get it through, they have been fantastic partners by cam ral, bipartisan. But ill conclude by saying once more. This is a victory for the American People. This is a victory for common sense. And now, it gives me great pleasure to introduce a leader of the Problem Solvers Caucus josh gotjeimer. Funny. Really funny. Today is a win for the American People for common sense and for problem solving. Im so proud of the hard work that made this happen across the aisle and across the kmam chambers and im grateful for the senators with us and the members of the house and the Problem Solvers Caucus. Id like to thank the kocochai tom reed. Im grateful to everyone. The Problem Solvers Caucus voted to endorse this package meaning it has support of 50 members of congress, 25 democrats and 25 republicans who represent millions of families and businesses who need immediate action. They want to get help and theyre sick and tired, like we all are, of waiting for covid relief. With cases spiking, winter around the corner and countless Small Businesses closing every day and far too many families hurting right now, we cant leave down and leave anyone in the cold without getting something done immediately. We cant allow some to prioritize politics ahead of the pandemic. This four month covid19 emergency relief package will help get us through the hardest months of winter and into a new administration. Its a down payment on what our communities need. Its consistent with the values and priorities of the Problem Solvers Caucus that weve been fighting for since summer. Itll help with supplemental unemployment, child care, rental assistance for all those families visiting food pantries for the first time. And it includes investments for state and local governments of all sizes, with revenue lost, food insecurity, mass transit and k through 12 education. Were getting a second round of ppp on our businesses, that theres simplified forgiveness for loans of 150,000 or less. And federal investment out to our hospitals and Health Care Systems and front line workers so we can keep our communities safe including more resources into the deployment of a vaccine and more testing and tracing. This is a heck of a down payment and what our country needs desperately. We can all agree america simply cant wait any longer. I know here in the greatest country in the world, working together as we are today we can find light through this darkness. Thanks and god bless. Now very proud to introduce senator mitt romney. Thank you, congressman. Covid has created a crisis. And in the crisis the people expect congress to act. And this group has come together to propose action that could respond to this crisis. We have people unemployed, businesses shutting down, we have states and localities getting ready for layoffs of large numbers of people. Its unacceptable for us not to respond in this circumstance. I happen to be a deficit hawk. I dont like borrowing money, spending money we dont have. But the time to borrow money, maybe the only time to borrow money, is when theres a crisis. This is a crisis. We want to help people at this particular time. So weve come together and weve been careful, this is not a p 1. 8 trillion stimulus bill. This is a relief measure, half that amount, 908 billion. I would note that of that fund, 560 billion is money repurposed from the first c. A. R. E. S. Act. So the amount of new money is 348 billion. Id also make this note. And that is Liability Protection is critical. And youll see in the chart, if it ever gets here, from the printer. We did negotiate a liability provision that provides a temporary moratorium a temporary suspension of any liability related lawsuits at the state of federal level associated with covid. Giving states enough time to put in place their own protections. Let me know any state that doesnt put in place protections hasnt been thinking this through carefully. If i were a ceo i would never think about putting a new business in a state that didnt have Liability Protection for covid. Some states have. My state of utah has. Were giving states times to put in their own provisions in ways to best protect their businesses, schools, offices, universities, hospitals. So im pleased to be part of this effort. Its been a long process but one which i believe has great merit. Im happy to introduce my fellow senator from the state of New Hampshire, senator shaheen. Thank you, im pleased to join my colleagues in the senate and the Problem Solver folks from the white house who are here to endorse a framework that we believe makes it possible for us to move forward to provide emergency aid to the people who are hurting in this country. To date weve lost almost a quarter of a million americans to covid. Over 13 million americans have been affected in some way. As i travelled around New Hampshire over the last two months, what i heard everywhere i went was that people were hurting and they need help. So whether its the Small Business people, those who are unemployed, cities and towns who are worried about laying off front line workers, hospitals who are in financial distress, they need help from the federal government, and we are here to say, we think there is a pathway to an agreement that can provide that help for a temporary period. Now the challenges and a number of my colleagues have talked about this being a victory for the American People. If we pass it, it is a victory for the American People. This is step one. We have a lot of steps going forward. But to provide help for people who are in need, thats why were here and thats what we intend to try and get done. Im pleased to be part of this effort. Now representative reed is here. Do you need the stool . I dont need the stool, thank you josh. Thank you and thank you to the senators for such great work. I wanted to take a moment to thank the leadership of the Problem Solvers Caucus that worked tirelessly on this effort. I wanted to specifically recognize abigail spam berger, dean phillips, dusty johnson, josh got jeimer, Anthony Gonzalez and fred upton. We worked tirelessly with our Senate Partners to bring together, i think, a common sense proposal, based on the principles of the Problem Solvers Caucus. We are proud republicans, we are proud democrats, we are proud house of representatives members and proud senators. But at the end of the day we are fundamentally first and foremost proud americans and our job here in this great capital, and in the dome is to listen to the American People. And the American People are suffering. It is time, as my colleagues have said, to deliver these results for them. It is time for this package of 908 billion of emergency relief that just got delivered from the printer, on cue. Should have had you speak earli earlier. To be delivered to the American People. I cant think of a better time than the Christmas Holiday to honor the call of the American People, listen to that voice and just ask those in these chambers and the 50 members of the Problem Solvers Caucus and our Senate Colleagues that did this work to pass this bill and join us and get it to the finish line and signed into law for the people that are suffering day in and day out. With that, id love to introduce a good friend who has become a very good friend during this process, angus king from maine. Senator king . Well, as everyone else has i want to thank the people standing here for the work theyve done. Its a remarkable moment when you have members of both parties, both houses, an independent, all standing here talking about moving the country forward. This is an opportunity. Its first and foremost an opportunity for the American People to have some relief for this horrible pandemic that has struck our people in such a devastating way. In every state, in virtually every community in the country. Its an opportunity to deal with the principle issues, not every issue, not every comprehensive thing that various people have proposed, but what we have tried to do, as you can see from the chart, is to talk about people, talk about people who are unemployed, Small Businesses that are struggling, those lines that youve seen on television at food banks. Theres a substantial amount of nutritional support in this report. Front line workers in communities across the country whose jobs are in danger because of the shortage of funds for state and local communities. So, this is an opportunity for the American People to have relief. It is also a profound opportunity for this institution. To show the American People that we are able to rise to the occasion. That we are able to respond to a crisis, that we are able to respond in a way that is not partisan, that is not political, but is simply aimed at dealing with this catastrophe that has struck the American People. So im delighted to be here to join my colleagues. Modesty forces me to mention, however, that a disproportionate number of the senators here are from northern new england. Four two from maine, two from New Hampshire. For what its worth id mention. We like that. Thats okay. But seriously, i want to thank i particularly want to thank the members of the house. To have the 50 members of the Problem Solvers Caucus support this gives it a huge head start and credibility in both houses and in the country. So i want to thank everyone for their work on this. For their willingness to come together, for their willingness to make concessions for their willingness to try to solve problems. Thank you all and we look forward to the next steps over the next week or so in the congress to turn this the beginning, the first step into the reality of relief for the American People. And i want to call on my good friend from alaska, the bookend of the the other bookend of the united states, maine and alaska, lisa murkowski. Thank you for acknowledging the other pseudoof tside of the. I am pleased and honored to have been working with an Exceptional Group of senators and colleagues in the house to respond to the crisis at hand. I think its important, as we look to not only the men and women that are assembled here but recognizing who we represent, where we come from and what has happened in our parts of the country. In my home state this morning at 8 00 in anchor raj we are going into our third round of hunker down. Basically were shutting down the businesses, restaurants, bars, hair salons, gyms, basically what happens in a daytoday life for the people of anchor rage and what that th means to them as they go into a pretty dark and cold time of year with job loss, with insecurity as it relates to food. With insecurity as it relates to not only their schools and their jobs, but whether or not theyre going to be able to stay in their home. Our response, our responsibility is to come together, not as republicans coming up with a plan not as democrats coming up with a counter plan, but coming up with a proposal that will provide for targeted emergency relief. And its been said this is not what everybody would wish. People are going to look at these buckets and theyre going to say wait a minute, my bucket isnt there or its only half full. This is emergency relief. This is designed to get us through the next quarter. We know that we have more to do. But we cannot leave. We cannot abandon the American People, the families who are suffering at this time and waiting and begging for congress to act. So today, a solution, a proposal to move us forward is what we have in front of us, what we need now is more than this tight group of friends that have spent thanksgiving holiday together by phone, we need more to come together to act to provide the relief for the country that is needed. Im pleased to turn to my colleague once again from the other side of the country, senator hassen. Thank you senator murkowski. It is great to be here with my colleagues in the senate and the house. Republicans, democrats, and yes, an independent, too. You know, it is extraordinarily american to have strong opinions and vigorous disagreements. Thats what we all sometimes bring to this work, but it is equally american to come together after the arguments and find a way forward. To unite around a common purpose to remember when america unites there is nothing we cant do. And we are in a moment where we are hearing from our constituents from all walks of life about the importance of coming together to get people the relief they need to get through this winter at a time when we are seeing cases spike, hospital beds full, our front line workers especially in Health Care Facilities exhausted, frazzled, and worried that somebody will come in for care and there will not be room for them, and they will not be able to do the jobs that they are trained to do. We are at a time period when a Restaurant Owner in New Hampshire who actually had the guts and determination this summer, as our caseloads were going down and everybody was outside, to open up a new restaurant, who said to me at the same time, senator, please dont forget that its going to get cold in a couple of months and were not going to have all this outside dining. And people arent going to come in and our businesses are going to suffer, and even successful restauranters like me are going to have difficulty. You need to do something. The weekend before thanksgiving i was in a small town in the Mount Washington valley to help distribute thanksgiving food boxes and packages in an outside Food Distribution center. None of the volunteers there identified as republican or democrat to me. They were just neighbors trying to make sure that their neighbors had what they needed to get through this next couple of weeks. And one of the things that stuck with me was, one of the organizers of the food drive said to me, senator, please dont judge the people who come here by the cars theyre driving. They were coming up in cars, the food was being handed in, he said, we go out of our way to keep the clients confidently because people are proud and theyve never been in a food line before. He said you cant judge them by the car theyre driving because this pandemic has hit everybody in unexpected ways. I think thats what we need to remember right now as we come together to do the will of the American People. This pandemic has hit everybody in unexpected ways and our job is to come together, in congress and as a people, to make sure that we can get through some very dark days ahead. With the understanding and hope that were going to get through the pandemic and be stronger on the other side. Thanks, all. Weeknights this month were featuring American History tv programs as a preview of whats available every weekend on c span three. Tonight we hear the experiences of three women who reflect on their time working on the apollo space program. They share how they overcame challenges in their roles with nasa. Watch beginning at 8 00 eastern and enjoy American History tv every weekend on cspan3. Every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3 go inside a Different College classroom and hear about topics ranging from the revolution, to civil rights to 9 11. Thanks for your patience. With most colleague campuses closed due to the impact of the coronavirus watch professors transfer teaching to a viral setting. Gorbachev did most of the work to change the soviet union but reagan met him halfway, secured him and supported him. Freedom of the press, madison called it freedom of the use of the press and it is the freedom to print things and publish thing not a freedom for what we refer to institutionally as the press. Lectures in history on American History tv on cspan3 every saturday at 8 00 p. M. History. Lectures in history is available as a podcast. Find it where you listen to podcast. State Department Policy planning director peter burk koe wits talked about policy related to china at an event hosted by the hudson institute
vimarsana.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.