May 20, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 95 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S2513-S2519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Anna M. 
Manasco, of Alabama, to be United States District Judge for the 
Northern District of Alabama.
  Mr. McCONNELL. 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. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                              Coronavirus

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, we are going to complete 3 weeks of 
Senate activity, called together by Senator McConnell at a time when 
the House of Representatives, under the guidance of Dr. Monahan, who 
was just praised--and I join in that praise--was not in session when 
the Senate came to session.
  I said at the time that it was our responsibility to be here. That is 
why we ran for office. Important things need to be decided, and we need 
to be part of it for the good of the Nation.
  We are about to complete 3 straight weeks without one measure on the 
floor of the Senate relating to the national public health emergency--
not one. There have been hearings in some committees, yes, but activity 
on the floor of the Senate, no. No bill was brought to the floor.
  In fact, there was an attempt yesterday to bring a resolution that 
said the United States should be involved in the global international 
effort to find a vaccine. It was objected to on the Republican side. 
The reason the Senator objected to it--the chairman of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee--is that he wants to take up the measure in 
his committee at some later date. I encourage that Senator to do it 
quickly.
  I think there is a sense of urgency across America in terms of this 
national health emergency that we face.

[[Page S2514]]

Yet there is not a sense of urgency on the Republican side of the 
aisle, despite the fact that for 3 weeks we have not considered one 
measure on the floor related to this COVID-19 virus, which is 
unexplainable and indefensible.
  Senator McConnell, of Kentucky, has told us that he doesn't sense the 
urgency for us to take up the measure passed last week by the House of 
Representatives. This was a bipartisan measure that was brought to the 
floor of the House of Representatives, which attempted to move us 
forward from the original CARES Act, the $3 trillion of cumulative 
spending that we have focused on the economy and the public health 
challenge facing our Nation.
  Is there any urgency to it? Well, I sense that urgency every time I 
pick up the phone or read the newspaper in my State of Illinois. I am 
on conference call after conference call with groups across our State 
that are concerned about economic issues, as well as public health 
issues. There is truly a sense of urgency where I live. I cannot 
believe that Senator McConnell doesn't sense it in his own State of 
Kentucky.
  Kentucky hospitals and healthcare providers have received $900 
million in CARES Act funding. I don't question whether they were 
deserving or needed it; we received funds, as well, in the State of 
Illinois. But the Kentucky Hospital Association tells us that the 
hospitals in Kentucky are expected to lose $1.3 billion in March and 
April alone.
  You know, we are next door to Kentucky, and my hospitals in downstate 
southern Illinois, right next to Kentucky, have told me the same thing. 
They are losing money right and left. Do they think this is an urgent 
problem in Illinois? You bet they do, and I will bet the hospitals in 
Kentucky do as well.
  This is what the vice president of the Kentucky Hospital Association, 
Carl Herde, said: ``Since there is no clear path to recoup these 
losses, the hospitals are left with no choice but to look at their own 
operations to cut as much cost as they possibly can.''
  The University of Kentucky is projecting a $160 million loss for its 
healthcare system. It has furloughed 1,500 employees. Jenny Stuart 
Health in Hopkinsville, KY, has furloughed 248 staff members. 
Appalachian Regional Health in Lexington will furlough 500 employees. 
St. Claire Health in Morehead is furloughing 300. Pikeville Medical 
Center has furloughed 200.
  Is there a sense of urgency in these communities, when many of these 
hospitals are the largest employers in town and hundreds of people are 
being furloughed because of the COVID virus, because of the fact that 
they cannot resume ordinary hospital operations with this shadow of 
infection hanging over them?
  The bill that passed the House of Representatives last week, which we 
did not consider or even discuss, to my knowledge, in the Senate this 
week, the HEROES Act, called for more than $100 billion more in relief 
to hospitals. How important is that?
  I know how important it is in Illinois; I can tell you flat-out. As a 
downstater, when you take a look at the rural and smalltown hospitals 
in my State, they are struggling.
  One hospital administrator told me that she had scheduled four 
elective surgeries last Monday, a week ago, and only one patient showed 
up. The other three called in and said they were too frightened to go 
to the hospital and run the risk of being exposed to the COVID virus. I 
cannot imagine there is not the same situation going on in Kentucky.
  Isn't there a sense of urgency in Kentucky, as in Illinois, for us to 
move and move quickly to help these hospitals before they furlough more 
people and ultimately face closure--a disaster in any community that we 
want to urgently avoid?
  State and local governments are struggling now to pay teachers, first 
responders, and healthcare workers as they face record revenue losses 
and increased costs of fighting the virus. The measure that passed the 
House of Representatives last week had almost $1 trillion to help these 
State and local governments--not just in Illinois but in every State, 
including the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  In States around the country, red and blue--the Center for Budget and 
Policy Priorities estimates that States will lose $650 billion in 
revenues by next summer. By the end of the year, Kentucky is expected 
to lose between 10 and 17 percent of its annual revenues. Without help 
from the Federal Government, Kentucky's Governor announced that 
Kentucky's ``recession will be longer or unemployment will be 
greater.''
  Congress appropriated $150 billion in funding for State and local 
governments in the original CARES Act, but that funding is not enough 
to make up for the enormous losses that are being faced by State and 
local governments across the United States. These Governors, these 
mayors, these leaders have a sense of urgency in making up this 
revenue. They face the reality of cutbacks in police, firefighters, 
first responders, paramedics, nurses, doctors, and teachers
  The HEROES Act which passed the House of Representatives last week 
and which has not been considered this week in the Senate included $875 
billion in fiscal relief for State and localities to help cover the 
shortfall to make sure communities can continue to pay frontline 
essential workers.
  Understand the deadlines that were built into the CARES Act. The 
first deadline is June 8. That is the date by which small businesses 
that borrowed money under the payroll protection part of that act need 
to have spent the money in order to have the loan forgiven--June 8.
  Who among us believes that small businesses will be in a position to 
recover and get back to business as usual by June? I pray that is the 
case, but I know better in my home State and I will bet you in the 
State of Kentucky as well.
  How about unemployment? We came through in the CARES Act and did 
something dramatic and unprecedented. We said that we were going to 
give an extra payment, a Federal payment, to those who were unemployed 
so that they could weather this storm as their families try to adjust 
to no breadwinner in the house--$600 a week on top of whatever the 
State benefit of unemployment might be. For some families, it was just 
enough to get by.
  Understand, though, that benefit--that unemployment benefit of $600 
from the Federal Government each week--is going to end at the end of 
July. That is not that far way. We are talking about 10 weeks at the 
most. Do we honestly believe the unemployment crisis, with 36 million 
unemployed Americans, will be behind us by the end of July? I wish that 
were the case, but we know better. In my State of Illinois, I know 
better.
  We are hoping to start reopening the economy in a safe, responsible, 
careful way and to give these small businesses a fighting chance to 
open their doors again and survive, but it is going to be a struggle, 
and many of them won't make it.
  Earlier this month, 69,000 people filed new unemployment claims in 
Kentucky--a 4,000-percent increase from last year. Do those families 
who are now unemployed feel that this response, this Federal assistance 
in unemployment benefits, is urgent? Well, you bet it is. How many of 
those in Illinois or Kentucky believe they won't need this help after 
the end of July this year? July--the same month the $600-per-week 
unemployment benefits expire--the unemployment rate in Kentucky has 
been projected to be 16.3 percent--the 10th highest in the Nation. Yet 
the Republican leader says there is no sense of urgency in moving on 
this measure that was considered by the House of Representatives and 
passed last week.
  The IRS has sent out almost 2 million economic impact payments to 
that State of Kentucky, worth more than $3 billion, helping families 
put food on the table and pay their rent and their mortgage.
  When you take a look at that economic impact payment, understand that 
the measure that passed the House, which we did not bring to the floor 
this week in the U.S. Senate, calls for $1,200 more for each adult and 
$1,200 for each child. Do families need it in Illinois? You bet they 
do.
  Even though it was originally proposed by President Trump, politics 
had nothing to do with the support that it received from both political 
parties--the support that this measure that just passed the House 
should receive from

[[Page S2515]]

both parties here in the Senate as well. There is a sense of urgency 
when it comes to these cash payments to people who are struggling to 
make ends meet. The bill that passed the House includes a second round 
of these critical payments and makes sure that we extend the 
unemployment benefits beyond the end of July.
  According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, tens of 
thousands of Kentuckians have lost their health insurance as a result 
of this pandemic. What a moment in life to lose your health insurance--
in the midst of a pandemic, with people facing hospitalizations, 
treatment in and out of the hospital and in some cases ICUs, to think 
that you would be without health insurance?
  The measure that passed the House of Representatives last week, which 
was not brought to the floor by the Republicans this week in the 
Senate, includes a provision to ensure that people who have lost their 
health insurance as a result of becoming unemployed can remain on their 
employer healthcare plan without paying any premiums. In other words, 
we want to make sure that people have health insurance rather than lose 
it. Was that brought up this week for debate and consideration in the 
Senate? No. No, it wasn't. Is it a matter of urgency if you are facing 
the loss of health insurance in the middle of this coronavirus 
epidemic? Of course it is.
  The Paycheck Protection Program still has funding left in it to 
provide some loans, but businesses have to spend the money within 8 
weeks of receiving the loan or it won't be forgiven. Many small 
business owners across the United States are facing a June 8 deadline, 
struggling to spend the money due to the fact that they still haven't 
been able to open their doors.
  The HEROES Act, which passed the House of Representatives and was not 
brought up for consideration in the Senate this week, which it could 
have been, would extend the deadline an additional 16 weeks, providing 
small businesses 24 weeks to spend the money they were loaned by the 
SBA, and it would authorize the Paycheck Protection Program through the 
end of the year to ensure that we can continue to help small businesses 
through this difficult time.
  Is there a sense of urgency in small businesses in my State to extend 
this period that you can spend the money as a small business and have 
your loan forgiven? Of course there is a sense of urgency in Illinois, 
in North Carolina, in Georgia, and in Kentucky--across the United 
States. Why the Senate Republican leader does not feel a sense of 
urgency on this measure, which ultimately ends on June 30, is beyond 
me.
  I have heard from farmers across my State who are struggling to 
survive, asking for help. I have heard from the Census Bureau about the 
need to push back its response deadline to October 31--measures also 
included in the HEROES Act that passed the House of Representatives.
  Three weeks have ended here on the floor of the Senate, and, but for 
a few speeches on this floor, if you read the record of legislative 
activity, you would wonder if the leaders in the Senate even realize we 
are facing a pandemic. We have spent our time on nomination after 
nomination. We have spent our time in hearings on friends and those who 
pass political muster who want lifetime appointments to the Federal 
court. But somehow we have managed to miss the biggest story in 
America--the pandemic.
  I would say to Senator McConnell and the Republican leadership: We 
have wasted an opportunity--a 3-week opportunity--to move forward, and 
we have particularly wasted this week when we could have taken up the 
measure that passed the House of Representatives last week.
  Are we prepared to negotiate a compromise? Of course we are. We have 
done that every time we have brought up a measure related to the 
pandemic. It should be bipartisan in the end. But to say it is ``dead 
on arrival'' and there is no sense of urgency among the Republicans in 
the Senate to take up this measure is to ignore the obvious. Whether it 
is $1,200 payments to American citizens who are struggling to get by, 
whether it is an increased period of time for qualification to receive 
unemployment insurance, whether it is loans to small businesses so they 
can survive, these are the urgent needs of America.

  When we have hospitals furloughing employees in Illinois, in 
Kentucky, and around the Nation, we run the risk of losing these great 
hospitals that are needed for the future.
  Is it urgent that we take up this matter? Of course it is. Yet this 
week we have done nothing, zero, when it comes to this measure.
  We are going to leave now for the Memorial Day week, which means it 
will be about 2 weeks before we return. I can just about guarantee that 
the sense of urgency across America will be palpable at that time. The 
question is whether there will be a sense of urgency felt by the 
Republican leader from the State of Kentucky.
  The other day, my friend and colleague from Texas, Senator Cornyn, 
came to the floor, as he has before, to discuss the issue of liability 
and immunity as part of the conversation on the next measure of relief 
and rescue for our economy.
  For weeks, Senator McConnell and Senator Cornyn have said that unless 
Congress gives broad legal immunity to corporations, they would block 
emergency aid to help States and local governments avoid massive 
layoffs of policemen, firefighters, and teachers. The logic behind this 
position is hard to fathom.
  There has been no flood of COVID-19 lawsuits. There is a website 
maintained by the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth that tracks all the 
lawsuits filed in America based on COVID-19. Senator McConnell has 
cited this tracking. That tracker updated its numbers as of yesterday. 
It reported that out of 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 90,000 
deaths, there have been 2--2--COVID-19 medical malpractice cases filed 
in the United States in over 1,000 complaints that have been filed and 
26 cases alleging workplace exposure to COVID-19. The Senator from 
Kentucky has called this a tidal wave of lawsuits, a windfall for trial 
lawyers--2 cases of medical malpractice and 26 cases for workplace 
exposure?
  The other cases that mention COVID-19 relate to prisoners in prisons 
and jails, who are questioning whether their rights are being violated 
because of the health circumstances in the prisons. There are lawsuits 
against insurance companies as to whether the policy covers a business 
that has suffered losses because of the COVID virus. There have been 
lawsuits as well between businesses as to responsibility for it. But 
this notion of a tidal wave of lawsuits being filed--2 medical 
malpractice cases across the United States of America and 26 workplace 
exposure cases.
  Keep in mind that if you do get sick and you want to file a lawsuit, 
a good lawyer will advise you: Be careful. Proving where you were 
infected is not an easy thing. And they also look at the standard of 
conduct of the business or individual who could be the defendant. Did 
they act reasonably?
  We had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week on 
liability during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have quoted this before, but 
it is worth repeating. One of the witnesses called by the Republicans 
was a very good man, very thoughtful. His name is Kevin Smartt, and he 
is the chief executive officer and president of Kwik Chek Foods in 
Bonham, TX. He went through a litany of things that he had done in his 
workplace to make it safer, not just for his employees but also for the 
customers who came in. It was impressive. If the statements he made to 
us were accurate--and I believe they were--he is doing his part to try 
to make his workplace safer.
  Here is what he said:

       This was a challenge because the guidance provided by the 
     CDC, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as 
     well as state and local governments, often conflicted with 
     one another in addition to being vague and difficult to 
     follow. Yet, despite many uncertainties, including the 
     constantly fluctuating public health guidelines, we began to 
     adjust to the pandemic.

  The point I am making--and I see our Democratic leader on the floor; 
I am going to wrap it up quickly--the point I am making is this: We 
should establish reasonable standards through the Centers for Disease 
Control and OSHA so that conscientious businesses can in good faith 
know what needs to be done to protect their employees and their 
customers. When they follow those guidelines, I believe they have 
absolved

[[Page S2516]]

themselves of liability. They certainly have a valid defense to any 
claims of wrongdoing. But this notion that comes before us on the floor 
from the Republican side goes to an extreme--asking for government 
immunity from the conduct of businesses in the midst of this pandemic 
without holding them to any standards. We are still waiting for an 
explanation. Why would we allow the workplace to be more dangerous for 
employees? Why would we allow the business place to be more dangerous 
for customers?
  If the owner is willing to live up to reasonable standards 
established based on science and health, in my mind, that is a good 
defense, and that is the way it should be. To do otherwise is to give a 
green light to businesses that don't follow standards, endangering 
their workers, their employees. It means more people are going to get 
infected and sick in America--the last thing we need.
  I yield the floor.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.


                              Coronavirus

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, first I want to thank my friend and 
colleague, the senior Senator from the State of Illinois. He is always 
on the money, pushing this country to do what its better angels 
recommend, and I hope America listens to his floor speech today and 
every day because what he is doing would make America a better, 
stronger, more unified, more humane, and more compassionate place.
  As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to inflict our country, businesses 
are suffering, families are struggling to pay the rent, millions of 
Americans are filing for unemployment every single week, and tens of 
thousands of Americans are dying.
  Every aspect of American society has been changed by this crisis--
except, perhaps, the Republican Senate. Here it is business as usual.
  Leader McConnell has spent 3 weeks of the Senate's time largely on 
nominations, only one of whom is directly related to COVID-19. There is 
not one bill on the floor of the Senate having to do with COVID in the 
entire month of May. The leader has put none on the floor.

  Democrats have had to relentlessly pressure our colleagues to hold 
even the most routine and needed oversight hearings on the coronavirus. 
Coronavirus is raging, and people are upset about how the 
administration is implementing it. We don't have hearings until we 
push, push, push for them, and then they happen few, far between, and 
too late.
  It would be one thing if the Republican majority were doing this 
other business while negotiating with Democrats on the next phase of 
emergency relief, but Republicans are not negotiating about the next 
phase of emergency relief. Many of my colleagues on the other side have 
said that more relief just isn't necessary.
  The Republican leader rejected legislation from the House of 
Representatives before the bill was even drafted--a knee-jerk partisan 
response at a time when we should be working together to help our 
suffering constituents. For the life of me, I don't know why it has 
been so difficult to get our friends on the other side to focus on the 
ongoing national crisis, and it appears that the lack of focus, the 
lack of urgency, and the lack of compassion from the Republican 
majority are about to get even worse.
  Today, in the Homeland Security Committee, the Republican chairman 
has convened a hearing that slanders the family of the President's 
political opponent. Believe it or not, this powerful Senate committee, 
with broad jurisdiction over so many aspects of the government's 
response to the ongoing pandemic, is prioritizing yet another attempt 
to smear Vice President Biden. The committee could be holding a hearing 
today with the FEMA Administrator to discuss disaster assistance. But, 
no, the highest priority of Senate Republicans lies in promoting 
conspiracy theories that have already been discredited on numerous 
occasions--conspiracy theories, which, by the way, are known to be part 
of Russian disinformation campaigns. Our Republican majority is using 
Russian propaganda to try to damage a political opponent. Is that a 
disgrace? Is that a disgrace?
  The Republican chairman is pressing forward, without Members even 
receiving a briefing from the intelligence community. Even more 
shameful, the company my colleague from Wisconsin wants to subpoena is 
cooperating with the committee in providing documents. It appears this 
subpoena is just for show--a way to create the false impression of 
wrongdoing. It is like in a Third World dictatorship, a show trial with 
no basis in fact, with no due process, and with no reality.
  Not to be outdone, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee 
has asked members of his committee to consider subpoenas related to yet 
another conspiracy theory pushed by President Trump--a theory that 
attempts to rewrite the history of Russian interference in the 2016 
election to match the fiction in President Trump's head. It seems 
Republicans want to dive into the deepest muck of rightwing conspiracy 
to invent scapegoats for the President to use in his reelection 
campaign.
  The conspiracy caucus is back. It reared its ugly head in December 
and has been on a simmer ever since. Now it is boiling over once again, 
shamefully, in the middle of a public health crisis and an economic 
disaster that require all of us to focus on the problems at hand.
  Senate Republicans aren't drafting legislation to help the 
unemployed. They are holding sham hearings about the family of the 
President's political rival. Senate Republicans aren't debating 
measures to increase testing. They are turning Senate committee rooms 
into the studio of ``FOX & Friends.'' Senate Republicans are not just 
ignoring the coronavirus. They are practically sprinting toward a 
partisan election, making this Chamber part of a reelection campaign--
not what it was ever intended to be by the Founding Fathers or anyone 
else, until this fever to bow down to President Trump's wild conspiracy 
theories that has overtaken just about every Senate Republican.
  Here is what Chairman Graham said about his ``investigation'' 
yesterday. Here is what he said:

       I want to get all the information out there. I want to do 
     it before the election.

  Well, there is a Republican intention right there--``do it before the 
election.''
  Leader McConnell says that Republicans have not felt the urgency yet 
to act on the coronavirus, but it sure sounds like there is some 
urgency to get these phony investigations going before November. A 
fever is raging in the conspiracy caucus. They are worried about the 
outcome of the election. They are worried that President Trump--they 
know--has done a very poor job in dealing with this crisis. So they 
turn to wild conspiracy theories and turn the Senate, which should be 
debating and discussing coronavirus relief, into sort of a partisan 
sham Chamber. It is disgraceful.
  Now, Leader McConnell gave a lengthy speech on the floor of the 
Senate yesterday giving cover to many of the President's crackpot 
theories about what transpired in 2016. I will just say this: Leader 
McConnell reportedly watered down a bipartisan warning about Russian 
interference in the fall of 2016. He stalled for years on election 
security funding, and still, to this day, is blocking election security 
funding. If Leader McConnell wants to look back at the history of 
Russian interference in the 2016 election, he should look in the 
mirror. He might not like the way his own role is viewed.
  The American people should be just furious with Washington 
Republicans, and so many are--more and more every day. Americans are 
waiting in modern-day breadlines, jammed into municipal buildings, and 
cars snaked around parking lots and city blocks. It is so sad to look 
at these pictures. Doctors and nurses and other caregivers have been 
working nonstop to save American lives, often without the proper 
equipment. Millions of American workers are sitting at home, having 
lost their jobs, through no fault of their own, dreading the day the 
next rent payment comes due. Here in Washington, Senate Republicans 
feel no urgency to help these Americans. They are too busy touting 
conspiracy theories and electioneering for the President.
  Speaking of the President, he was here yesterday on the Capitol to 
have

[[Page S2517]]

lunch with Senate Republicans. They had a giant pep rally. They got all 
fired up to do nothing. That was the conclusion. On the way out of the 
Capitol, the President was asked about the fact that the United States 
leads the world in confirmed cases of coronavirus, and here is what 
President Trump said--amazingly. Listen to this. Asked about leading 
the world in confirmed cases of coronavirus, the President said:

       I don't look at that as a bad thing. I look at that in a 
     certain respect as being a good thing because it means our 
     testing is much better. . . . So I view it as a badge of 
     honor.

  Really? First of all, our testing is not much better. States are 
struggling to get people tested due to confusion and a lack of national 
leadership. Many experts believe we are far short on what we need on 
testing. None of these experts, who actually understands the testing 
and this virus, would say the President deserves a badge of honor for 
his work. But even more galling is the idea that lots of cases of 
coronavirus is ``a good thing.'' That is what the President said: 
Having lots of cases of coronavirus is ``a good thing.''
  A lot of cases is not ``a good thing,'' Mr. President. It means 
people are sick and people are dying. A lot of cases means more 
Americans are in the hospital, more Americans in ICU struggling to 
breathe on ventilators. A lot of cases means Americans will die as a 
result of the virus that has already claimed the lives of nearly 
100,000. A lot of cases means a lot more Americans are seriously ill. 
Mr. President, that is not ``a good thing.'' Even your mind, which 
seems so warped at times, cannot really believe that.
  There is no ``honor'' in leading the world in the number of people 
infected with coronavirus. For the United States to have 1.5 million 
cases is nothing to celebrate. It is something to be ashamed of. 
Calling it a ``badge of honor'' isn't just wrong, it is sick, and it is 
an insult to every American family who loses a loved one to this evil 
disease
  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. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded, and I ask unanimous consent that I be 
able to conclude my remarks before the 11 o'clock vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                                   5G

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, the internet has been a part of our daily 
lives for quite a while now: Netflix, Twitter, and Amazon. The internet 
has taken on new importance during the coronavirus pandemic. It has 
become the main source of connection with friends and family. It has 
enabled many people to work from home to help reduce the spread of the 
virus. It is the main reason that schools and colleges have been able 
to continue teaching students.
  It has drastically expanded nascent services, like telehealth, which 
has allowed doctors and other medical professionals to provide patient 
care remotely.
  With all of this new internet traffic, of course, has come a much 
greater load on networks. Not all countries' networks have held up to 
the strain. In Europe, networks have had to slow streaming and ask 
providers like Netflix to diminish the quality of their videos.
  Here in the United States, our networks have faced very few problems, 
and there is a reason for that. Europe and the United States have very 
different regulatory regimes for the internet. In Europe, the internet 
has been regulated using outdated communications rules designed for 
telephone monopolies. This has resulted in heavyhanded regulation, 
which has discouraged companies from investing in communications 
infrastructure and broadband expansion.
  The resulting lack of reliable infrastructure is the primary reason 
internet performance in Europe has suffered during the pandemic. The 
regulatory situation in the United States, on the other hand, has been 
much different. With a few exceptions, like the brief imposition of so-
called net neutrality regulations in 2015, our country has taken a 
light-touch approach to internet regulation.
  This has encouraged companies to invest in the latest communications 
infrastructure and new technologies to make more efficient use of 
spectrum. Thanks to that investment, when coronavirus hit and internet 
usage soared, American networks were ready. Despite the additional 
burden on networks during the pandemic, Americans have been able to 
enjoy the same high speeds and streaming quality that they typically 
enjoy. Right now, most Americans are using 4G networks.
  The next generation of internet, 5G, is here. 5G networks are 
starting to be deployed, including in my home State of South Dakota. If 
we want the United States to handle 5G the way that we handled 4G and 
if we want our 5G networks to be as successful as our 4G networks, we 
still have some work to do.
  One thing that is absolutely essential is maintaining the light-touch 
regulatory approach that has produced so much U.S. investment and 
innovation. Despite the success of light-touch regulation, there is 
always a segment of the Democratic Party pushing for greater government 
regulation of the internet, and that would chill American broadband 
investment.
  When Democrats briefly succeeded in forcing through heavier 
government regulations in the latter part of the Obama Presidency, 
broadband infrastructure investment by U.S. companies dropped 
significantly, and it only rebounded when the Federal Communications 
Commission, under Chairman Pai, rolled back these heavyhanded 
regulations.
  Second, the United States still has more work to do to deploy the 
infrastructure necessary for 5G. While 4G relies on traditional cell 
phone towers, 5G technology will also require small antennas called 
``small cells'' that can often be attached to existing infrastructure, 
like utility poles or buildings.
  Last year, I introduced legislation, the STREAMLINE Act, to make it 
easier for companies to deploy these small cells so that we can get the 
infrastructure in place for 5G technology. We also need to update 
Federal regulations to ensure that it doesn't take months or years to 
get permits for wireless infrastructure.
  Infrastructure is a key part of the 5G equation. The other key part 
is spectrum. Like all internet technology, 5G relies on radio 
spectrum--what we commonly call the airwaves. Radio spectrum is divided 
into bands--low band, mid band, and high band. 5G will rely upon all 
three.
  The United States has done a good job freeing up high-band spectrum 
for 5G, but we still need to free up more mid-band spectrum to see 
full-scale 55 deployment.
  In 2018, Congress passed my MOBILE NOW Act, which helped lay the 
groundwork for freeing up more mid-band spectrum.
  This past November, Senator Wicker and I introduced the 5G Spectrum 
Act to require the Federal Communications Commission to free up a 
critical portion of mid-band spectrum, commonly referred to as the C-
band for 5G use.
  While Congress did not enact our legislation at the end of February, 
the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would adopt a 
framework similar to that outlined in our bill to make 280 megahertz of 
C-band spectrum available for 5G.
  Finally, we need to ensure that we have the workforce in place to 
handle the demands of installing and maintaining 5G technology. It is 
estimated that deploying the necessary infrastructure for 5G will 
create approximately 50,000 new construction jobs each year over the 
build-out period, and that is just for construction.
  Right now, there simply aren't enough workers with the necessary 
training to meet the needs of nationwide 5G. Earlier this year, I 
introduced the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act. My bill would 
help to increase the number of workers enrolled in 5G training programs 
and identify ways to grow the telecommunications workforce to meet the 
demands of 5G.
  The coronavirus has shown us the result of robust investment in 4G 
infrastructure and spectrum--strong networks that can handle steep 
surge in internet traffic. We need to make sure that we are putting in 
the necessary work and investment to ensure that our 5G networks are 
just as strong.

[[Page S2518]]

  The 5G future is here. Let's make sure that the United States is 
ready


                              Coronavirus

  Madam President, before we vote here in just a few minutes, I want to 
just make a couple of remarks with respect to coronavirus legislation. 
We have heard some of our colleagues on the Democrat side come down 
here and attack Republicans for not wanting to do more legislation and 
more spending, which is, as they know, completely not accurate. 
Republicans are prepared to do whatever it takes to help America 
recover from the coronavirus effects and to deal with the health 
emergency, which is why we have invested tens of billions of dollars in 
vaccines and antiviral therapeutics and testing--all the things that 
are necessary to get this healthcare crisis dealt with in a way that 
would allow Americans the confidence to get back out in the economy.
  Secondly, dealing with the economic impacts, which have been many, 
the bills that we passed so far--we passed four--and the combined 
amount of the spending in those four bills are almost $3 trillion. It 
is focused on families, getting direct assistance into the hands of 
American families. It is focused on workers, keeping workers employed. 
This Paycheck Protection Program has clearly been one that has allowed 
a lot of small businesses to continue to operate and to continue to 
keep their workers employed. It is focused on those who, through no 
fault of their own, have lost jobs, with a significant plus-up in 
unemployment insurance accounts, supported at the State level but 
significantly increased in terms of funding from the Federal 
Government.
  Of course, as I said earlier, it is focused very directly on those 
healthcare professionals or healthcare workers on the frontlines, to 
make sure that they have PPE and ventilators, all the things not only 
to protect themselves but to care for the patients whom they are 
entrusted to care for. As I said before, investing heavily in those 
things will help us fight and win and beat the coronavirus--the 
vaccines, the antiviral therapeutics, and the testing. Those are all 
things that we have done already.
  Now, what you saw last week was the House of Representatives blow 
into town for a 24-hour period to pass a massive $3 trillion bill 
filled up with all kinds of goodies in a gift bag for special interest 
groups that they care about but that have little to do with addressing 
the fundamental challenges facing this country with respect to the 
coronavirus.
  I would argue that not only do they not know what the need is but 
that many of the dollars we have already pushed out are still in the 
pipeline and haven't been used. We don't know what our State and local 
governments need in terms of revenue replacement, and we have lots of 
dollars that are still going out to hospitals, healthcare providers, 
and nursing homes, much of which hasn't been spent yet. Of course we 
have the Paycheck Protection Program, which we are burning through 
fairly quickly but hasn't run out of funding yet either. As I said, 
those are all the things--the almost $3 trillion--that have been 
disbursed and distributed already to address this crisis.

  What Democrats did last week in the House of Representatives is that 
they came in with a philosophical, ideological wish list--a fantasy, if 
you will--of all of the things they would like to get done, very few of 
which actually deal with the crisis at hand, so much so that their 
bill--1,800 pages long, $3 trillion in new spending, again, without 
knowing what the effect is of dollars already spent or what the need is 
out there for additional spending--included things like funding for 
studies on diversity and inclusion in the marketing of cannabis. Is 
that really something that is relevant to fighting and battling the 
coronavirus? They included in there tax increases for small businesses. 
The one tax cut they included in their bill dramatically cuts taxes for 
millionaires and billionaires. In fact, 56 percent of that tax cut 
would go to the top 1 percent of wage earners in this country. Those 
are the types of things that were included in that bill. It really was 
an ideological wish list--nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.
  So for Democratic leaders to come down here and suggest for a minute 
that what the House did somehow ought to be something that the Senate 
contemplates or considers doing here is just completely missing the 
point of what the American people need in this crisis, and that is 
certainty. They need to know that we are dealing with the health 
emergency. They need to know that there is going to be support there 
for our small businesses, for our workers, for people who are 
unemployed, and for our families. They need to know that we are 
committed to seeing that we have the vaccines in place, the 
therapeutics in place that will enable us to fight and win this battle 
against the coronavirus. That is what we ought to be focused on, not 
this crazy wish list of things that the House, in a short amount of 
time--24 hours--came in here to vote on and, as I said earlier, much of 
which was focused on an agenda--a more permanent agenda--rather than 
the task at hand, which is addressing the crisis in front of us.
  I hope my Democratic colleagues will work with us in a constructive 
way and in a bipartisan way to deal with the very real challenges that 
are being faced by the American people and not continue to come down 
here and advocate for an ideological wish list that, one, can't become 
law, and two, doesn't deal with the task at hand.
  I yield the floor.


                             Cloture Motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The legislative clerk read as follows

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination 
     of Anna M. Manasco, of Alabama, to be United States District 
     Judge for the Northern District of Alabama.
         Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, John 
           Barrasso, Deb Fischer, John Cornyn, Roger F. Wicker, 
           Roy Blunt, John Thune, Rob Portman, Shelley Moore 
           Capito, Steve Daines, Lindsey Graham, Pat Roberts, 
           Cindy Hyde-Smith, Richard Burr, Mike Crapo.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
nomination of Anna M. Manasco, of Alabama, to be United States District 
Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, shall be brought to a 
close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Burr), the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), and the Senator from 
South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the 
Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. 
Sanders), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sasse). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 72, nays 20, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 97 Ex.]

                                YEAS--72

     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Loeffler
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murphy
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rosen
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Smith
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Warner
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--20

     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Cantwell
     Coons
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Klobuchar
     Menendez
     Merkley

[[Page S2519]]


     Murray
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warren
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--8

     Alexander
     Brown
     Burr
     Markey
     Murkowski
     Rounds
     Sanders
     Whitehouse
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 72, the nays 20.
  The motion is agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.

                          ____________________