[Pages S2232-S2239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.


                       Unanimous Consent Request

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, over the past few months, both parties 
have worked together to provide historic levels of funding to help 
small businesses retain employees, meet payroll, and stay afloat during 
the COVID-19 pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Program--the main 
instrument to help small businesses--received $349 billion under the 
CARES Act and another $310 billion in supplemental legislation.
  The public has a right to know how this money is being spent. 
Oversight, transparency, and accountability are crucial because from 
the moment the administration began implementing these funds, it became 
clear that much of it wasn't going to those who needed it most.
  Today, we are not taking any other action on the floor dealing with 
COVID. We thought we would take this opportunity to ask unanimous 
consent to get something real done that should have bipartisan support 
on both sides of the aisle. Who can be against transparency? Who can be 
against accountability? Who cannot want to know where close to $700 
billion of the taxpayers' money is going? Is it going to the right 
places?
  Unfortunately, today at least 200 publicly traded companies have 
managed to secure PPP loans, and most of those are not very small, 
including some companies whose owners are large contributors to 
President Trump. Truly small businesses, however--the

[[Page S2233]]

hundreds of thousands of mom-and-pop shops with less than 20 employees, 
the proverbial restaurant owner or the butcher, the baker, and the 
candlestick maker--have been mostly shut out because they didn't have a 
standing relationship with a big bank.
  There have been great disparities when it comes to minority-owned 
businesses. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, over 90 
percent of African-American-owned and Latino-owned businesses were 
likely shut out of PPP funding. Women-owned businesses have also been 
neglected. We have tried to fix some of these problems in COVID 3.5, 
working closely with the Senators from Maryland and New Hampshire and 
the Senator from Florida, but much more needs to be done. We need data 
to help further inform who is being left out so we can continue to make 
the necessary fixes to see that all small businesses are helped.
  My friends Senators Cardin and Shaheen have a bill they worked on to 
do just that. I want to thank them. They will talk more about this bill 
in a moment, but I want to make one point here. This is a very simple 
piece of legislation. It requires the kind of transparency expected 
from any Federal program of this size and importance: regular public 
reporting of how and where taxpayer dollars are spent.
  This is something my Republican colleagues have always believed in. I 
hope that my Republican colleagues will not object to this legislation 
when I ask unanimous consent in a few minutes, after Senators Cardin 
and Shaheen have spoken. I hope they will not object just because it 
comes from this side of the aisle. It is a good idea. There is no 
reason to object to this very unobjectionable idea and get this body 
focused on COVID, not on extraneous matters, which we seem to be doing 
now, when COVID is the most important issue we face.
  We are doing quite literally nothing else on the floor of the Senate 
today. There is no other business before us, no votes whatsoever. We 
are here to force some action, force some progress, and force some 
focus on COVID-related legislation. I prefer to do this in a completely 
bipartisan way. But from the get-go, Democrats have had to force the 
issue on many COVID response programs. The leader lays down a bill, it 
has no Democratic input, and then, of course, we have to work toward 
that goal, and we have. The fact that the first bill passed 96 to 0 is 
a tribute to this body that we can come together when there is real 
need.
  We should be doing it the same way today. We should be working 
together in support of our healthcare system, for testing so 
desperately needed, unemployment insurance, and crucial improvements to 
small business lending, all of which Democrats said we needed--our 
Republican friends first resisted and then came along, led by the 
Republican leader--and all of which passed with unanimous support.
  The same thing should happen today. We should pass this. We should UC 
it and get the oversight this program so desperately needs
  I yield the floor to Senator Cardin.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, let me thank Leader Schumer for 
initiating this discussion. I am very pleased Senator Shaheen is also 
on the floor. The two of us worked on the Democratic side, with Senator 
Rubio and Senator Collins on the Republican side. We are very proud of 
the tools we made available to small business. These are important 
tools to keep small businesses alive during COVID-19.
  The Paycheck Protection Program got money out quickly and helped 
small businesses stay afloat. We have provided $660 billion under the 
Paycheck Protection Program. The economic disaster loan program, the 
loan and grant program--we have now provided $70 billion for that 
program. But here is the issue. We had to adjust both of those programs 
without even knowing all the specifics on how the first amount of money 
was distributed. We are hearing that we are going to be running out of 
money again soon and that Congress is going to be asked to make 
additional changes in these programs, and we still don't know the 
specifics on how this money was distributed.
  We are all frustrated here. I really appreciate the leadership. I 
know my chairman is on the floor. He has been demanding this 
information and has been unable to get it. We are going to be asked to 
act again without having the specific information.
  Senator Schumer is absolutely right. We know in the first round that 
those who had preferred relationships with banking institutions got 
priority. That we know. But we don't know how much. We don't know how 
many loans the big banks have issued and what size they have issued, 
what their compensation has been, and how those loan decisions were 
made. We need to know that because we are relying on the private 
banking institutions to make the 7(a) loans in all communities.
  We expanded this program to nonprofits. That was a good thing. But we 
don't know how many of the nonprofits have received help under this 
program--the specific dollar amounts, the specific loans, the specific 
locations.
  Here is the challenge. I got a call yesterday where they wanted to 
expand eligibility under this program. We know there are some 
difficulties in the programs themselves that need attention. There is 
now a desire to expand eligibility. They are also being asked what 
comes next.
  Restaurants are still ordered to be closed in my State. They are 
going to need additional help. How do we go about crafting what we need 
to do if we don't know what has been done already?
  We have been asking for this information over and over again. We 
haven't been able to get it. It is our responsibility to oversight 
these programs.
  Now I am quoting from my chairman. He said--and I agree with him--it 
is our responsibility to oversight. But if we don't have the 
information, how can we oversight? I am concerned about underbanked and 
underserved communities getting their fair share of this help, and yet 
we don't have the specifics on the number of minority small businesses, 
the number of women-owned small businesses, the number of veteran-owned 
small businesses. We don't know about rural small businesses and how 
well they have done.
  We need to have that information in order to make the next judgments 
in this Congress. And yes, we do need transparency because we have even 
heard from this administration that there may very well have been small 
businesses that didn't qualify for this loan that have gotten help or 
had their own ability to handle this crisis but yet still asked the 
government for these funds or may have violated the size standards that 
are in this legislation.
  We need to have that transparency for oversight. It is our 
responsibility. That is why we do need to act as a Senate. The 
legislation that we are going to bring forward is very common sense. It 
just tells the Small Business Administration to make available the 
information on the PPP loans, on the EIDL loans and grants, so that we 
can analyze this, know how these loans have been made and make the 
proper oversight and adjustment that we may need to make in these 
programs in order to make sure small businesses get through COVID-19.
  I urge my colleagues, let's get this done and continue to work in a 
bipartisan way to make sure small businesses in this country are 
protected.
  I see Senator Shaheen is on the floor. I will yield the floor so 
Senator Shaheen can be recognized
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I am pleased to be able to join my 
colleague Senator Cardin, who is the ranking member on the Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, as well as Minority Leader 
Schumer. I am pleased that the chairman of the Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship Committee, Senator Rubio, is also here because Senator 
Cardin, Senator Rubio, Senator Collins, and I all worked on the 
Paycheck Protection Program and the small business provisions that are 
in the CARES package that we passed over 5 weeks ago. I am proud of our 
efforts to negotiate in a bipartisan way to help small businesses get 
through this crisis.
  Not only did we pass, in that first CARES package, $350 billion to 
help small business, but just a couple of weeks ago, Congress also came 
together to pass an additional $370 billion

[[Page S2234]]

for the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster 
Loan Program.
  Our intent in passing that legislation was to deliver relief to small 
businesses that are truly hurting. Small businesses are the lifeblood 
of this economy nationally, really, and certainly in New Hampshire, 
where 99 percent of our businesses are considered small businesses. 
They employ over 50 percent of the New Hampshire workforce.
  In New Hampshire, 20,000 small businesses and nonprofits have 
received over $2.5 billion in low-interest, forgivable loans under the 
Paycheck Protection Program. There have been challenges. We have heard 
some of those stories from small businesses that weren't able to access 
this assistance because some larger businesses got into the queue ahead 
of them--some of those large, publicly traded companies that had a 
relationship with their lender, and so they were able to get in early. 
We need information if we are going to correct the things that haven't 
been working about this program. That is why the legislation that 
Senator Cardin, Senator Schumer, and I are introducing, I think, would 
be so helpful.
  The Trump administration and Congress need to be held accountable for 
implementation of these programs. In order to do that, we have to have 
oversight, as Senator Cardin said. Transparency is fundamental. We need 
to ensure that assistance is going to the small businesses and 
nonprofits that need it most.
  Senator Cardin listed off a number of those companies: the women-
owned companies, minority-owned companies. We also need to think about 
those businesses that have fewer than 10 employees--those mom-and-pop 
shops that really need help, that may not have as long a relationship 
with their lender or may not have any relationship with a lender.
  All we are asking for today is a measure that would provide the bare 
minimum that this administration should provide to ensure that these 
programs are functioning as Congress intended.
  This is commonsense legislation. All it would do is require the Small 
Business Administration to provide daily reporting on PPP and EIDL 
loans, to provide more detailed weekly reports on these programs, and 
to make this information publicly available, while at the same time 
protecting borrower and participant privacy.
  We have heard the horror stories about problems with this program. 
There have also been a lot of success stories. But the public isn't 
going to know both sides of that unless there is reporting and 
transparency so that people know what is working and what is not 
working.
  The bill would also ensure that PPP and EIDL funds are reaching 
underserved and underbanked borrowers. It would establish an early 
warning system for the SBA and for Congress so we can figure out how to 
respond to things that aren't working and when we are expecting an 
additional funding shortfall.
  These proposals shouldn't be controversial. These are all things that 
I have heard people on both sides of the aisle talking about 
supporting. What they will do is allow Congress to perform our basic 
oversight responsibilities and foster public confidence in the 
integrity of these programs. And perhaps, most important, these 
improvements will help make sure that the limited resources that are 
available are getting to the small businesses that need them the most.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I want to thank my colleagues not only for their 
eloquent remarks but their hard work. We know that Senator Rubio has a 
2:30 appointment so Senator Blumenthal has graciously agreed to speak 
after we ask our unanimous consent request.
  As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of a bill that is at the desk 
that would require the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration to report on COVID-19 recovery small business programs; 
I further ask that the bill be considered read three times and passed 
and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. RUBIO. Reserving the right to object, let me first begin by 
saying that this is the first time I had a chance to speak on the floor 
about the Paycheck Protection Program since it passed. I want to say 
this unequivocally. Despite everything you read out there, in my mind, 
I don't think there is any question that by far this has been the most 
successful part of the CARES Act.
  To put it in perspective, this was something we worked on in a 
bipartisan way. In less than a week, it was crafted, and then the 
agencies had less than 6 days to put together the rules.
  Until Friday, April 4, no bank in America had ever made a PPP loan; 
no one had ever applied for one; and the SBA had never approved one. It 
was a massive program. We looked at the results. They are stunning--the 
results that we have seen.
  Does the program have problems? Sure. I think any time that you 
create something that spends $500 billion, $600 billion that reaches 
over 50 percent of the U.S. economy and put it together so quickly, 
there are going to be unintended consequences. I will come back to that 
point in a moment. I think the biggest problem this program has had 
from the very beginning, which created some of these tensions that we 
read about in the press, is that it was underfunded from the very 
beginning. I mean, the demand was greater than the supply, even 
potentially right now after the second round.
  We have heard the reports about publicly traded companies. We all 
know how we feel about that, and I am glad that is being addressed now. 
I also want to put it in perspective. They have taken 0.35 percent of 
the funds that were approved--not 35 percent, not 3.5 percent, 0.35 
percent of the money that has been lent.
  It is not like they took half the money, which is what the perception 
is that has been created in the coverage. Meanwhile, that means the 
rest of it went to somebody who is not publicly traded. That is an 
extraordinary achievement, nonetheless, and I am glad that is being 
looked at.
  On transparency, they are all valid points. Myself--Friday, 
Saturday--I was really upset that we weren't getting those numbers. The 
reason why I want the numbers is, A, we want to make sure this program 
that we put our names on and worked hard on--all of us have--is 
reaching its intended audience and, B, the points that were made here 
as well, to the extent that changes have to be in any future funding, 
we want to make sure that future funding is targeted in the right way. 
The problem is--I was as upset as anybody.
  I hope that the agencies are watching these proceedings now and 
understanding why it is so important that our Members have accurate 
details and regular information about how this program is rolling out.
  What we do know, when they finally released numbers on Saturday, is 
that in round 2, the average loan went from $206,000 in round 1 to 
$76,000 or so in round 2. That is a stunning drop. It tells you it is 
reaching smaller business.
  We know that 72 percent of loans made in round 2 were under $50,000, 
and 85 percent were under $100,000. We do know that 4,400 of the 5,200 
lenders in the program--or 5,400 lenders in the program have less than 
$1 billion in assets. We know it is reaching the regional banks, the 
smaller banks, the credit unions.
  The reason why doing what is being proposed now will be problematic 
is twofold. The first is, some of the demographic data that is being 
asked is not on the application. It is not even clear that they would 
be able to produce that for us unless they stopped the process, created 
a new application, and then began the process as well.
  We will know the answer to that question in the forgiveness phase. I 
do believe in the forgiveness phase it is very valid to ask that 
information on demographics be included in the forgiveness application 
that people are going to have to file.
  I think the best path forward is, in my view, not to pass something 
like this today, although something like this may be necessary if we 
can't get these numbers. But let's find out, first and foremost, what 
data points do they

[[Page S2235]]

have. What data points does the SBA have at their disposal and see if 
we can get them to do what they should be doing already, which is 
producing it on a regular--maybe not on a daily basis. What I don't 
want to see is an already overburdened agency that is small to begin 
with and struggling to get all these programs running having to pull 
people off getting people money to fill out this information.
  We have to understand that in the end, it is not the Administrator or 
the Treasury Secretary who will have to write these things up and 
collect it. It is going to be people who, in many cases, are working 
from home, living in this region under all the restrictions that are 
there.
  I think this agency is already struggling to manage this massive 
program, and to add an additional requirement without thinking it 
through would have an unintended consequence of potentially slowing the 
program down.
  It is my view that we are going to find out all of this information, 
and we are going to know it in a timely fashion so we can do something 
about it. I do not believe that passing this today is the right 
approach, given the fact that we first need to know what data they have 
at their disposal before we can ask them to produce it. Otherwise, I 
fear they are going to stop or they are going to slow down, and real 
businesses, small businesses, and not-for-profits will be delayed. I 
will object to this request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Democratic leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I want to thank my colleague from Florida. I believe he 
is sincere and has the best of intentions to want to make this program 
work.
  I want to make two quick points. The first point is, the more data we 
have and the sooner we have it, the better we can make the program. It 
will not slow it down. It will improve it and make it better--the 
sooner the better.
  Second, about demographic information, I understand the problem, but 
there are a lot of ways to skin that cat. If we looked at ZIP Codes, we 
might very easily be able to tell demographic information.
  I thank my colleague. I regret that we cannot move this legislation--
the only COVID legislation that will be talked about on the floor thus 
far, even though we were asked by the majority leader to come back 
during the crisis, and I hope we can move forward quickly in the future 
to get the kind of information we need.
  With that I yield the floor. I yield to the Senator from Connecticut.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, I thank my colleagues Senator 
Cardin, Senator Shaheen, and Senator Schumer for their leadership on 
this issue of seeking better transparency and oversight with regard to 
a program that involves now almost a trillion taxpayer dollars. I also 
join Senator Schumer in the sentiment that our colleague from Florida 
has been both sincere and bipartisan in his efforts on this program.
  The fact is that this program, the Paycheck Protection Program, cries 
out for stronger oversight as does the entire CARES package. We will 
now be spending an authorized $3 trillion--the Federal budget and then 
half again--with little or no oversight. Yet we know that this program 
meets a need among small businesses that is absolutely critical. I have 
traveled my State via video conference and have had telephone calls and 
communications of all kinds with small businesses around Connecticut, 
and I have seen and heard firsthand how they are hanging by a thread--
struggling to keep their doors open and stay alive. This program gives 
them a lifeline.
  It has, in fact, provided many powerful success stories, as my 
colleague Senator Shaheen said, but it has also produced some horror 
stories about big customers of big banks who have received favored 
treatment to the detriment of the smaller businesses that were supposed 
to have been the beneficiaries of this program. We need to make sure 
that these funds go to the small businesses, which really need it, and 
we should make sure that this program is adequately and effectively 
administered. We need to make sure there is transparency and disclosure 
about who is receiving these loans that can be converted and forgiven 
so that they can become grants and so that the real needs of those 
businesses can be met and their employees can continue to be employed. 
Those kinds of imperatives we must assure.
  We know that the ripple effect of the closures of these businesses is 
tragic and traumatic. That is why we need to continue this program, but 
we need to do so with the oversight that assures that its purposes are 
met. For the businesses that have told me, for example, that they need 
more flexibility, those needs need to be met. Numbers of them have 
indicated they would like to extend the time provided to them to hire 
back their employees past the time in which the State is likely to 
allow them to open. They also need more funding for fixed costs. 
Basically, they need some flexibility because every business is 
different, and the oversight in this bill will help to alert the SBA 
and Congress to those needs.
  Finally, the oversight needed here is simply one example of the 
accountability that should be imposed on the entire CARES Act. Real 
accountability demands a watchdog, not a lap dog, in order to stop the 
waste, fraud, and favoritism that seems all too common in this 
administration. That is why I have been working with my colleagues--
most prominently, Senator Warren--in the strengthening of the oversight 
of programs created by the CARES Act during this pandemic. We need to 
make sure there is effective enforcement and a hammer, which will be 
essential to deter wrongdoing, preserve resources, and conserve 
credibility.
  Strong scrutiny is required to make sure that aid reaches the right 
hands. I know that all of us believe, for example, that conflicts of 
interest should be barred; that retaliation against whistleblowers 
should be prevented; and that the firing of the inspector general 
without just cause should be stopped, which means keeping an eye on 
these programs--not just a wandering eye but one of focused, strict 
scrutiny that will assure transparency and make sure this program 
serves the needs it was intended to.
  The only people who feel threatened by that kind of oversight are the 
ones who are trying to game the system or hide something. The rest of 
us, which means the workers, their families, and small businesses, 
demand oversight. This bill is a good way to begin. It is a start, not 
a finish, to the task of the oversight ahead of us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa


                              Coronavirus

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, when it comes to the virus pandemic 
that faces the world, the World Health Organization is not serving its 
member nations the way it should. The World Health Organization's 
mission is to promote worldwide health, to reduce the burdens of 
disease and poverty, and to provide access to healthcare, especially 
for the world's most vulnerable populations. The World Health 
Organization states as its guiding principle that all people should 
enjoy the highest standard of health regardless of race, religion, 
economics, social condition, or political belief. It serves primarily 
as a coordinating body to share information and best practices by 
connecting experts in different countries.
  The virus that emerged in Wuhan, China, which has caused the disease 
now known as COVID-19, has had a devastating impact on the health of 
people worldwide as well as the global economy. Nations, including the 
United States, have been scrambling to deal with the impact of the 
virus since the beginning of the year. Without a doubt, worldwide 
efforts to combat COVID-19 would have been greatly benefited from 
independent, unbiased, and informative data from the world's leader in 
health, the World Health Organization. Unfortunately, information 
coming from this organization since the beginning of the year has left 
much to be desired in its often providing information that we know now 
to be inaccurate or at least incomplete. The American people and the 
citizens of every country--all of whom rely on direct and truthful 
information--deserve better from Dr. Tedros and his team who lead the 
World Health Organization.
  China, which is where the current crisis began, has not done its part 
either in its seeking of or in providing that very crucial information 
that, had

[[Page S2236]]

it come out sooner, would have saved many lives. As an example of 
China's not cooperating, a doctor in Wuhan, China, by the name of Dr. 
Li Wenliang, raised concerns about the growing pandemic in early 
January. Dr. Li tried to blow the whistle on the spread of one of the 
world's deadliest diseases. Do you know what he got for doing that? He 
was punished by the Communist Chinese Government for ``spreading 
rumors.''
  Tragically, Dr. Li passed away in early February due to this virus, 
COVID-19. After the death of Dr. Li, he actually became a rallying 
point for Chinese citizens who were very upset about their government's 
coverup of this virus. Only then, after he died and after the public 
outroar, did the Chinese Government apologize to his family and 
posthumously drop Dr. Li's reprimand. Throughout this time, the World 
Health Organization demonstrated no interest in the accurate and 
verifiable information on the true dangers of this virus.
  We now know that, in late December 2019, Taiwanese officials sounded 
the alarm directly to the World Health Organization about the human-to-
human transmission of the virus. Prior to that, it was only thought 
there was an animal-to-human transmission, but Taiwanese officials blew 
the whistle. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control sent an email to 
the World Health Organization--an email that has now been forwarded to 
my office and has been widely reported. It warned of ``at least seven 
atypical pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China.'' Additionally, this email 
communication noted that those individuals had been isolated for 
treatment, which we now know is said to be the standard operating 
procedure for preventing human-to-human transmission, but still, at 
that time, it was considered to be animal to human.
  Taken together, this information should have been very much a red 
flag to the World Health Organization's leadership that the virus was 
capable of having human-to-human transmission. Unfortunately, the World 
Health Organization chose to ignore these warnings and, thus, failed to 
pass on this critical information to other countries. Instead, what did 
the World Health Organization do? It was complicit in the Chinese 
Government's coverup. It stated the opposite--that there was not human-
to-human transmission. In fact, the World Health Organization even 
retweeted Chinese propaganda on January 14--that there was ``no clear 
evidence of human-to-human transmission,'' which is contrary to the 
information that the World Health Organization got from the Taiwanese.
  It ought to be very clear that misleading the public like this is 
simply egregious. By sidelining Taiwan's participation, which has one 
of the lowest known COVID-19 infection rates per capita, despite its 
proximity to Mainland China, the World Health Organization stymied 
information about a more effective response to the pandemic. It was 
during these critical days back in January when the spread of the virus 
could have been greatly slowed or even contained and could have saved a 
lot of lives.
  The World Health Organization's mandate is to coordinate responses 
and facilitate information sharing to all of its members on a health 
emergency--members which include probably almost every country on this 
globe. This gross mishandling of the organization's most important 
mandate has cost countless lives around the world.
  While China covered up the extent of the virus's spread, the World 
Health Organization continued to praise China for its so-called 
proactive response and transparency. General Secretary Xi waited a 
crucial 6 days, until January 20, before announcing the findings by 
China's National Health Commission about the danger of the widespread 
human-to-human coronavirus contagion. Now, just think for a while of 
the time lost between Taiwan's warning to the World Health Organization 
in late December 2019 and General Secretary Xi's admitting on January 
20 of its human-to-human transmission. That time lost could have saved 
the whole world thousands of lives because they could have been on top 
of the situation as to how bad it was, which was much more than anybody 
knew at that particular time
  General Secretary Xi's government also delayed an access request for 
the World Health Organization's experts to visit affected regions at 
the end of January by almost 2 weeks--another 2 weeks lost. He has also 
continually fed disinformation to foreign citizens via several 
misleading tweets by his foreign ministry and multiple unfounded claims 
that have been posted on state-run media websites.
  Despite this and also other evidence that China actively silenced 
whistleblowers and doctors domestically and that the Communist Party's 
officials were aware of the spread well before reporting it, the World 
Health Organization's officials continued to praise China's response 
and transparency. The World Health Organization lauded China for 
releasing the virus's genome in mid-January while it neglected to 
mention that it took China at least 14 days to do this even as the 
virus continued to spread across Europe and reach America.
  Dr. Tedros said in early February that there was no need for measures 
that unnecessarily interfered with international travel and trade in 
trying to halt the spread of that coronavirus. Now, early February was 
a few days after President Trump stopped travel from China except for 
American citizens who were coming home. Yet, during that period of 
time, Dr. Tedros thought it was unnecessary to interfere with 
international travel.
  Time and again, the World Health Organization endorsed and also 
repeated Chinese Government talking points, and it did it all to the 
rest of the world's detriment. We now know that there was a continued 
flow of misinformation that came from the Chinese Government since the 
onset of the pandemic with there being little to no pushback from the 
World Health Organization as to whether that information was accurate.
  In mid-February, officials from the World Health Organization--yet 
again, uncritically--parroted Chinese Government propaganda by stating 
that there were signs that confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 
had declined in China. The U.S. intelligence community has, in fact, 
asserted that China misrepresented both the number of cases and its 
death toll from the virus, concealing the real extent of the outbreak 
in its country, and that China intentionally hid or even destroyed 
evidence of the virus' outbreak.
  In a dossier that was leaked to the Australian Daily Telegraph, it is 
alleged that China began censoring information as early as December 31, 
2019--precisely when Taiwan, in its caring about the whole world as it 
knew what might be going on, was sounding that alarm to the World 
Health Organization.
  Previously, Chinese leaders came under incredible scrutiny by the 
World Health Organization back in 2003 for the SARS outbreak. China was 
not transparent with SARS, just like they weren't transparent until too 
late in regard to this virus pandemic that we are fighting today. Back 
then, the Chinese Government made sure that information regarding the 
outbreak was not made public. At that point, the World Health 
Organization did what they are responsible for doing: They publicly 
reprimanded China back in 2003 on the SARS outbreak. Chinese leaders 
then quickly fell in line with the rest of the world in sharing its 
data with the World Health Organization member countries. If the World 
Health Organization had been doing its job on this pandemic, then maybe 
China would have been quicker admitting that its spread was human-to-
human and how bad it was even in their own country.
  However, we are seeing a very different approach now to the 
organization's handling of China's information suppression campaign, 
with the World Health Organization often praising China for its 
information sharing, but make no mistake, China has been nothing but 
deceptive in its handling of COVID-19.
  We must remember that China has a long history of not being 
transparent with respect to the outbreaks of viruses, and there is 
little to no evidence suggesting we should start believing China now--
meaning, of course, the Chinese Communist leaders. Nobody in this world 
is going to hold the Chinese people responsible for this.
  Global leaders are now coming to realize that China is responsible 
for this pandemic, with global sentiment

[[Page S2237]]

against the Chinese Communist Party at its highest since the 1999 
Tiananmen Square crackdown.
  It is important that world leaders, including President Trump, keep 
pressure on China to finally be transparent with its data so we can 
join together in combating this deadly disease. We have a report from 
the Department of Homeland Security that says that China 
``intentionally concealed the severity'' of the pandemic from the 
world. To make matters worse, the report further states that while 
China continues to downplay the pandemic, it began to increase imports 
and decrease exports of medical supplies. This report from the 
Department of Homeland Security suggests that China was beginning to 
hoard these medical supplies from the rest of the world. So they knew 
how bad this was in their own country. Secretary Pompeo recently stated 
that there is a significant amount of evidence that this virus came 
from the laboratory in Wuhan, China, contrary to what Chinese Communist 
Party propagandists have been pushing throughout the world.
  On April 9, I wrote to the World Health Organization seeking answers 
to several questions regarding the organization's handling of COVID-19. 
I wanted to know what the World Health Organization knew and when they 
knew it. I asked that my questions be answered no later than May 1. 
Much to my dismay, the World Health Organization has refused to answer 
my questions about its handling of the virus. It would seem that the 
organization is much more focused on covering for China than it is in 
answering questions that every single American has a right to know.
  Not only does the United States have the right to know this 
information for the benefit of the world, because transparency brings 
accountability, but because we give about $400 million a year to 
support the World Health Organization. I believe we are the largest 
contributor to it, and I believe China gives about 10 percent of what 
the U.S. taxpayers put in. I want to state that I will continue to push 
the World Health Organization for answers. There are probably a lot 
more questions that ought to be asked in addition to the questions in 
my letter.
  Ultimately, the primary responsibility for this pandemic lies with 
the Chinese Communist Government authorities who actively concealed the 
outbreak since the fall of 2019 and suppressed the spread of accurate 
information about the virus, but the World Health Organization also 
bears responsibility for aiding and abetting the Chinese Communist 
Party's coverup. That is why I support a full congressional 
investigation into how the World Health Organization has bowed to 
Chinese pressure with the COVID-19 outbreak. The leaders of the World 
Health Organization need to be held accountable for their role in 
promoting misinformation and helping China cover up this global 
pandemic. Americans deserve to know what the World Health Organization 
leaders knew and when they knew it.
  I yield the floor
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Blackburn). The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today as the 
Senate returns to help the country recover from coronavirus. This 
global pandemic is hopefully a once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-century 
shock, but it has been an earthquake that continues to shake the world 
to its core. Tragically, we have lost tens of thousands of Americans to 
the disease, and our hearts and prayers go out to each of those 
impacted and all of their loved ones.
  More than 30 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last 6 
weeks due to the virus and the State lockdowns that have been put in 
place as a result of the virus. People want and need to get back to 
work as soon as possible. It is vital we reopen America smartly and 
safely and we do it as soon as we can.
  Many States are starting to open. Wyoming did this past Friday. We 
must all be prepared and alert for any likely aftershocks that will 
occur from the virus.
  The economy could not reopen had it not been for the major medical 
progress we have been experiencing. Our heroic nurses, doctors, and 
others on the frontlines have saved many lives. Testing in the United 
States has been dramatically expanded, and we are producing promising 
treatments. The American people deserve a lot of credit for their 
tremendous sacrifices to contain the spread of the virus. Everyone in 
my home State of Wyoming is suffering from the economic fallout, as are 
Americans all across the country. The best way to help these people is 
to push the start button on the economy.
  The Senate is in session and will consider taking targeted temporary 
and bipartisan relief measures. We are now assessing the relief money 
that has already been spent. We know what has worked--the Paycheck 
Protection Program funds that go to mom-and-pop organizations that are 
part of the CARES Act has saved 30 million jobs. Small business is the 
backbone of our economy, the engine of job creation. In Wyoming, the 
program has been very successful and very popular. Before the pandemic, 
the United States had record job growth and record low unemployment. 
Our economy will bounce back, there is no question in my mind.
  As we look to the future, in terms of recovery legislation, what we 
need to do is to prevent a second epidemic. I am very concerned that 
the second epidemic will be that of frivolous coronavirus lawsuits. Any 
future legislation must focus on the virus and must include reasonable 
liability protections for the hard-hit healthcare workers and for 
American employers.
  Opportunistic lawyers are already advertising, and they are targeting 
the healthcare workers and small businesses that we have assisted 
during the crisis. Ironically, the relief money could end up lining the 
pockets of greedy trial lawyers.
  As businesses bravely begin to reopen, class action lawsuits are 
being planned nationwide. Ambulance chasers are running recruitment ads 
right now that read ``receive a free coronavirus lawsuit review.'' They 
go on to say: Call if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with COVID-
19 and you believe another party's negligence caused the exposure.
  Nursing homes appear to be the prime target. One lawyer who described 
himself as a ``coronavirus exposure lawyer'' encouraged action for 
nursing home negligence. That is why nurses, doctors, and hospitals are 
counting on Congress to pass commonsense liability reform.
  Yet Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer say they oppose this critical 
liability protection. Instead, Democrats are demanding more aid for 
States and local governments. They want American taxpayers to bail out 
States with long histories of financial mismanagement. That is already 
on top of the $150 billion that the States have just received within 
the last 2 weeks. Nancy Pelosi now wants a lot, lot more.
  We put the full force of the American Government in this fight 
against the coronavirus. We cannot afford to allow an avalanche of 
abusive lawsuits to crush our awakening economy. Republicans will 
insist on a legal shield for essential workers and for businesses 
before spending another dime. It is our job to do everything that we 
can to get people back to work and back to work safely.
  The physical and economic health of our country is at stake today. We 
are continuing to deliver financial support plus medical help to all 
people across the country. One thing is clear: trial lawyers should not 
profit from our Nation's pain. Together, America will come back and 
Americans will come back and it will be stronger and better than ever.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, we are here in the U.S. Senate on 
this Tuesday. We had a vote yesterday evening, the first that we have 
had in some 6 weeks here. As I walked over to the Chamber just now from 
the Hart Building, at 4 o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon, the only 
individuals whom I saw were the extraordinary men and

[[Page S2238]]

women of the Capitol Police here in the building.
  Suffice it to say, these are strange, unusual, challenging, and 
difficult times as we face the COVID-19 pandemic and as we address the 
challenges that our constituents, our friends, and our families are 
dealing with at home, whether it be the impact of the virus itself on 
our health and our health facilities or whether it be the impact--
truly, the economic devastation--that we are seeing in all corners of 
the Nation.
  So the opportunity to be together as a body to address these 
challenges is important. It is challenging for us as we adapt to this 
time and this situation of wearing protective masks, of being separated 
from one another, of teleworking as we are. We are adapting. We are 
facing that challenge. We rightly must be doing this because, as the 
Nation deals with these matters related to the COVID-19, there are 
other matters that are taking place every day--issues that need to be 
addressed, problems that must be tackled, and matters of governance 
that we must be engaged in.


National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and 
                                 Girls

  Madam President, I woke up this morning and looked at my little news 
caps with which to focus on the day, this Tuesday, and they noted that 
today is Teacher Appreciation Day. We thank all of our teachers. Our 
teachers are certainly in an unusual situation now, as all of our 
students are. It is also Cinco de Mayo. It is also Giving Tuesday. For 
many, it feels like Groundhog Day every day because of, again, this 
strange time in which we are living. For so many, it just seems that 
every day is more and more of the same.
  Today, May 5, is also a day that we have recognized for several years 
now as being the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered 
Indigenous Women and Girls. It is a matter that I would like to speak 
briefly to this afternoon. I recognize the devastation that so many 
families have seen when it comes to those they love who have gone 
missing or who have been found murdered, and I recognize the dark 
reality that many, we know, are still missing.
  Unfortunately, for far too long, there has been silence on this 
issue. There has been a failure to act in the face of what we know and 
sometimes in the not knowing of what we are dealing with because we 
haven't asked the questions, which is equally problematic. It tears at 
my heart to hear the stories of those whom I have come in contact with 
in Alaska--a woman's story, a family's story--in that their words have 
been discounted. They have been dismissed because the woman who went 
missing or the woman who was murdered was a Native American woman.
  We have to change that. We cannot accept that. We cannot let the 
statistics that have really just been allowed to accumulate for too 
long to remain as statistics. Every single one of these women was her 
own person, each story her own life story, each a member of her 
community. In addition to their being someone's lost daughters, wives, 
mothers, sisters, we should mourn the promise that these missing and 
murdered women meant to our communities--their being the next 
generations of mentors, role models, and changemakers.
  When women are murdered or abducted, when women are trafficked--when 
individuals are left missing, discarded, or discounted--there is an 
injustice that is being done, and we cannot let that continue. By 
raising awareness of the epidemic, by giving these women their faces, 
their names, and by telling their stories, we are shining a light on a 
problem, and we are giving hope.
  I acknowledge the work of a former colleague of mine here in the 
Senate, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who came to this floor often as a 
strong, strong advocate for those Native women who have been dismissed 
and discounted. She shared pictures, gave names, and went beyond the 
statistics. She reminded me--encouraged me--that this is an effort 
that, together, we must address.
  Unfortunately, we all have the stories--the stories that sicken you 
and just literally break your heart. The one that, perhaps, touches me 
most immediately and directly is the life of Ashley Johnson Barr. She 
was a beautiful 10-year-old girl who was taken from the children's 
playground in her hometown of Kotzebue, AK, which is a Native village 
on the northwest coast. She was brutally raped and murdered. Again, she 
was taken from the kids' playground to just outside her town. Her death 
and the tragedy around the circumstances of how she left the world are 
still open. It is still raw and has left a permanent scar on Alaskan 
communities.
  What happened to Ashley is a reminder that, in my State, 
unfortunately, there is a darkness that is still, to this day, very, 
very hard to talk about, but we must. We have to talk about it. We have 
to act on it. We cannot turn a blind eye simply because it is difficult 
to talk about. We have to because we are seeing the stories that 
represent these statistics in unprecedented proportions. Let me give 
you some numbers to just put that into perspective.
  Alaska Native women are 2\1/2\ times more likely to be victims of 
domestic violence. In Tribal villages and Native communities, domestic 
violence rates are up to 10 times higher than in the rest of the 
Nation. In 2015, it was estimated that 40 percent of sex-trafficking 
victims were Native Americans. Almost 40 percent of those who have been 
trafficked have been Native Americans. The rate of sexual violence 
victimization among Alaska's Native women is at least seven times 
greater than of non-Native females.
  Again, I will just say these are unprecedented proportions. So, when 
we designate a day as a day of awareness--an awareness of those who 
have gone missing and who have been murdered as being indigenous women 
and girls--it has to be about more than awareness. It has to be about 
action. This is where Senator Cortez Masto and I have picked up on this 
work. She and I have worked together on several pieces of legislation 
that have helped to pave the way for greater collaboration and data 
collection between Federal agencies--our law enforcement and elected 
Tribal officials--to not only understand the extent of the issues but 
to develop methods with which to end these horrible crimes.
  There are two bills. The first one is Savanna's Act. It combats the 
epidemic of murdered and missing Native women and girls by improving 
the Federal Government's response in addressing the crisis. We do this 
through the coordination among all levels of law enforcement by 
increasing data collection and information sharing and by empowering 
Tribal governments with the resources they need in the cases involving 
missing or murdered indigenous women and girls wherever they may occur.
  The second piece of legislation is called the Not Invisible Act. It 
is aimed at addressing the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked 
Native women by engaging law enforcement, Tribal leaders, Federal 
partners, and service providers and by improving the coordination 
across the Federal agencies. The more we have reviewed this, we have 
learned that so much of the data is lacking. We have gaps. We just 
haven't been able to get the data that we need in order to do a better 
job of coordinating with our agencies.
  The good news from all of this is that both of these bills have 
passed this body, and I thank my colleagues here in the Senate for 
their support of the measures. We advanced them unanimously on March 
11, which was just a little while before we left to deal with the COVID 
pandemic. I truly want to thank the Senate for helping to prioritize 
these measures to protect indigenous women.
  In addition to these measures that we have passed in the Senate, we 
have done more on the appropriations side. We have worked through the 
committees, and for the first time in the appropriations bill that 
President Trump signed in December, there was funding specifically 
directed to address the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked 
indigenous women--$6.5 million included for the BIA to take a really 
comprehensive look at the issue across BIA and IHS, the Indian Health 
Service.
  It covers everything for the funding of cold casework, background 
checks, equipment needs, training, and a directive to the IHS with 
regard to forensic

[[Page S2239]]

training. It also includes language that does more for the coordination 
and data collection amongst Tribal, local, State, and Federal law 
enforcement. So that is significant. The Executive order that was 
issued by the Trump administration late last year was very important in 
this effort.
  I personally acknowledge the good work that Tara Sweeney has done, 
the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. She has pulled together the 
agency coordination to respond to these cases. She has shown 
extraordinary heart--real heart--in responding to the calls from Tribes 
and advocates to address the crisis of missing and murdered Native 
women. So there has been so much at play that has come together.

  What we need now is for the House to act on these legislative 
measures that we have moved through the Senate so that the President 
can sign them into law.
  I think we recognize that as we are dealing with these matters that 
are directly related to the day-to-day response to COVID, as we have 
seen our economies slowed, as we have moved indoors to telework, the 
work that is required for us to help protect the most vulnerable among 
us continues. We know that work continues.
  As we have worked aggressively across the country and in Alaskan 
communities to flatten the curve out there as it relates to the 
coronavirus, we know, unfortunately, that we have seen an uptick in 
domestic violence. Unfortunately, and truly sadly for so many, the 
order to shelter in place--``safer at home'' is the terminology used in 
some communities, and safer at home doesn't necessarily mean safe at 
home for far too many. Shelter in place is not a safe shelter. We are 
seeing increased calls to police departments during this time, but, 
interestingly enough, we are not seeing an increase in those who are 
seeking help or shelter in our women's shelters.
  It was just a couple of weeks ago that I had a phone call with 
representatives from the various women's shelters around my State, with 
probably a dozen or so women on the line, and I asked specifically: How 
are we doing in the shelters? What are we seeing? Their numbers are 
down, and if you look at it from just a numbers perspective, you would 
say ``Good.'' But we know that domestic violence doesn't disappear or 
go away at times like the ones we are facing now; it just goes 
underground. I think what we are seeing is that concern and fear. As 
difficult as the situation may be at home, it might be more frightening 
to go to a shelter where one may be exposed to this invisible threat of 
the virus.
  I wish I could say that, as a consequence of what we are seeing, our 
shelters are better off, but I fear that those who would seek shelter 
are not better off. So to make sure we are prepared to address these 
needs is yet another challenge for us in this body: to come together to 
address these issues that we know are with us--not only the levels of 
domestic violence but the impact that we know is present when it comes 
to mental and behavioral health, when people are fragile and yet are 
afraid to seek help because of the exposure to something else. We have 
work to do in this area, and that is something I intend to focus on in 
the days and weeks ahead.
  I was encouraged to hear my friend, the Senator from Texas, Mr. 
Cornyn, speaking to just these issues yesterday on the floor. We have 
much to do. These are challenging times on many different levels.
  As we recognize this day of awareness for those who have gone 
missing--for those women and girls who have been murdered--know that 
this is more than just raising awareness. It is up to us. We owe it to 
them, their families, and their loved ones to act as well.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cassidy). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________