March 24, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 58 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S1975-S1976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, for weeks now, the American people 
have been contending with the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading 
across our country and the massive, massive disruptions to daily life 
it is creating for all of us. They are grappling with small business 
closures, mass layoffs, and uncertainty for their families. But that 
isn't all. For the last several days now, in the midst of all that--in 
the midst of all that--they have also had to watch the Senate spin its 
wheels.
  As we convene this morning, roughly 40 percent of our population is 
under stay-at-home orders from State leaders. Employers across America 
are wondering how they will keep the lights on. Doctors, nurses, and 
healthcare professionals are literally crying out for support. We 
literally have Army field hospitals on the way to being set up in our 
major American cities.
  In the space of just a few weeks, this has become, unfortunately, our 
new normal. This is a national crisis. It is the most serious threat to 
Americans' health in over a century and quite likely the greatest risk 
to Americans' jobs and prosperity that we have seen since the Great 
Depression.
  Hundreds of thousands of Americans have already lost their jobs 
because so much of our commerce has been put on pause. Families are 
wondering how they are going to pay their rent or mortgage in 8 days. 
Rent is due on April 1. People don't know how they are going to pay 
bills or make their car payment.
  Many other hard-working Americans are still employed for now but fall 
asleep every night wondering if it will be there when they wake up to 
that email or phone call tomorrow.
  American seniors have seen decades of savings cut down in the space 
of days as the markets literally tumble.
  Our national life has literally been transformed in less than a 
month. The urgency and the gravity of this moment cannot be lost on 
anyone. Every day, every hour the Congress delays in passing a 
significant relief package, we risk more American livelihoods and the 
safety of more healthcare professionals. That is why, right after I 
fast-tracked the Democratic House relief bill through the Senate, I 
immediately turned the Senate toward developing an even bigger and 
bolder relief package for the American people.
  Nine days ago, I laid out the key objectives of our work. We had to 
send direct financial assistance to Americans--direct assistance to 
Americans. We had to help Main Street small businesses. We had to act 
to stabilize the foundations of our economy for workers. And, of 
course, we had to send more resources to medical professionals and our 
healthcare system.

[[Page S1976]]

  Five days ago, Senate Republicans released our initial framework for 
the CARES Act. We put forward bold policies like sending cash directly 
to Americans, pouring money into small businesses, lending to national 
industries to prevent mass layoffs, and surge resources for doctors, 
nurses, and patients. We knew we needed a proposal to address our 
Nation's pain at literally every level.
  Now, in the past few days, some voices have tried to pit some 
Americans against other Americans and argue that directly helping 
workers and strengthening businesses are somehow conflicting 
priorities. That is utter nonsense. American workers need paychecks. 
They need jobs.
  The working men and women of this country do need direct relief from 
government in this crisis, but for goodness' sake, they also need their 
paychecks. They need to be able to resume their lives and their jobs 
once this is over. The two things can't be separated. There is a term 
for when you separate employees from employers. There is a term for 
that. It is called unemployment. Let me say that again. There is a term 
for when you separate employees from employers. It is called 
unemployment. That is what we are trying to avoid.
  This is no time to point fingers or stoke these culture wars. This is 
the time to unify. Perhaps now more than at any moment in living 
memory, all of us Americans are in this together. This pandemic is not 
the fault of the American workers who make this country run. It is not 
the fault of small business owners. It is not the fault of major 
national employers. Everyone needs help. We are all in this together. 
We need an ``all of the above'' approach, and that is what our 
framework put forward: help for workers and families and employers and 
healthcare providers.
  As soon as Republicans put out a draft proposal to treat every aspect 
of this crisis, I immediately called for bipartisan talks. That is not 
something you see often in Washington. As soon as I released our first 
draft, I immediately invited the other side, these folks over here, to 
make their suggestions. That is what you call urgency.
  We set up bipartisan working groups. I asked negotiators to work 
together to turn our rough draft into something that could pass the 
Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Republicans and Democrats 
traded ideas. Democrats asked for many changes to the initial draft and 
received many. The updated text, released a few days ago, included 
proposals from the other side. And, of course, as our colleagues have 
dragged out the last several days, even further changes have been made 
at their request.
  This majority has gone out of its way to make this process as 
bipartisan and as open as possible. The administration has bent over 
backward to work with Democrats and address their concerns. Now, at 
last, I believe we are on the 5-yard line. It has taken a lot of noise 
and a lot of rhetoric to get us here. That, of course, sometimes 
happens in this town.
  At different times, we received Democratic counteroffers that 
demanded things like new emission standards or tax credits for solar 
panels. We saw the Speaker of the House release an encyclopedia of 
unrelated demands as though it were a coronavirus proposal somehow. In 
spite of all that, we are very close. We are close to a bill that takes 
our bold Republican framework, integrates further ideas from both 
parties, and delivers huge progress on each of the four core priorities 
I laid out a week ago.
  Today the Senate has a chance to get back on track. Today we can make 
all of the Washington drama fade away. If we act today, what Americans 
will remember and what history will record is that the Senate did the 
right thing, that we came together, that we took a lesson from the way 
Americans are uniting all across the country and working together, that 
we combined ideas from both sides and took a bold step to protect 
Americans and help our Nation through this crisis.
  I am not sure how many ways to say it, but the clock has run out. The 
buzzer is sounding. The hour for bargaining as though this were 
business as usual has expired.
  The American people need our Democratic friends to take yes for an 
answer. I hope that will happen today. Doctors and nurses need masks. 
Families need help. Small businesses need cash. Hospitals need funding. 
Their Senate majority is ready to deliver those things. We have been 
ready to deliver those things for a while. I hope today is the day this 
body will get it done.

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