Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages S2469-S2470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORONAVIRUS
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hold
our Nation on high alert.
More than 1.4 million Americans have been infected; more than 80,000
lives have been tragically lost; and the livelihoods of tens of
millions of working families have been turned upside down in what seems
like the blink of an eye. Our Nation's healthcare system has not been
stressed by contagion on this scale in over a century, and unemployment
has not been this high since the Second World War.
A new generation of American heroes--from medical professionals, to
lab researchers, to grocery store workers, to custodians and janitors,
to community volunteers--has been called up to the frontlines to serve
its neighbors and our country. So, for several weeks now, the Senate
has counted ourselves among those ranks of essential workers. They are
showing up for our country, so we are showing up for them. With respect
to the pandemic itself, we are conducting rigorous oversight of the
Senate's historic CARES Act rescue package and are helping to plan the
pivot toward reopening.
Last week, Chairman Alexander and the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions engaged with Dr. Fauci, Dr. Redfield, Admiral
Giroir, and other top experts to discuss paths for schools and
businesses to reopen, and numbers of our colleagues are joining me and
Senator Cornyn in thinking proactively about the issue of legal
liability that could crush the recovery on the runway. We need strong
legal protections to ensure that our historic recovery efforts are not
drained away from healthcare workers, schools, and universities or
small businesses in order to line the pockets of trial lawyers.
At the same time, we have kept our eye on the ball on other
significant global challenges. Last week, on a bipartisan basis, the
Senate reauthorized critical surveillance authorities for our national
security professionals. We also made sure to include important new
reforms to begin to address the abuses that marred the 2016 election,
[[Page S2470]]
the disturbing details of which are continuing to come to light every
day. Our action on that subject is not finished.
Thanks to leadership from Senator Rubio, we passed legislation to
continue ratcheting up the pressure on the Chinese Communist Party. In
this case, our bill will shed new light and impose new consequences for
the egregious abuses against the Uyghur people and other Muslim
minorities. We also confirmed well-qualified nominees to important
roles at the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and
the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In other words, we have done more for the American people in 2 weeks
on this side of the Capitol than the House of Representatives has done
in the last 2 months. In the two months that the House Democrats have
spent away from their duty stations, they have seemingly given
themselves just one assignment--to draft an enormous political
messaging bill and brand it as coronavirus relief.
Yet, even on this basis, they have failed. The 1,800-page doorstop
that Speaker Pelosi dropped last week was appropriately greeted as the
legislative equivalent of a standup comedy. There were tax hikes on
small businesses in the midst of a small business crisis, and there
were targeted tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the bluest States.
There were two separate taxpayer-funded studies on diversity and
inclusion in the market for marijuana. In sum, it was a $3 trillion
wish list slapped together in a clumsy effort to never let a good
crisis go to waste--serious work here in the Senate and partisanship
pointlessness over in the House.
The Senate will stay on course and continue our serious work at this
serious time. Tomorrow morning, our colleagues on the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hear from Secretary Mnuchin
and Fed Chairman Powell on the latest status of the CARES Act
implementation efforts. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee will meet this week to consider the nomination of Brian
Miller to serve as Special Inspector General for the pandemic recovery
programs. The Special Committee on Aging will be examining the
challenges facing American seniors during this pandemic as both the
virus itself and the social distancing measures take a heavy toll on
older Americans. Of course, we will continue to uphold our
responsibilities beyond the scope of COVID-19. We will consider more
nominations to the Federal Election Commission and to the Federal
bench.
Tomorrow, our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee will vote on
reporting the nomination of John Ratcliffe to serve as Director of
National Intelligence. This role is essential for monitoring and
countering evolving threats from Russia to China, to terrorist groups,
and for ensuring the intelligence community's important work is not
tainted by partisan bias or political weaponization.
We have a busy week ahead of us. This pandemic is not going to defeat
itself; a careful reopening will not plan itself; and our Nation's
other challenges are not about to politely step aside in the meantime.
All kinds of American heroes across the country are tackling the
coronavirus head on. We are going to do all we can to keep them safe
and supported while they do.
____________________
