September 10, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 156 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page S5525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CORONAVIRUS

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Today, the Senate will vote on moving forward with 
relief for Americans. That relief is necessary because of COVID-19.
  The bill contains new funds for testing and contact tracing, aid for 
schools and colleges to keep our kids safe, and it also includes 
childcare assistance. It has more money for developing the coronavirus 
vaccine and treatments, funding for the Postal Service, and help for 
farmers. It allows for small businesses to access more Paycheck 
Protection Program funds with more flexibility and provides for 
enhanced unemployment benefits.
  Now, surely these are items we can all agree on and ought to agree on 
right now. We know how to work together to produce results for 
Americans. We saw that in March when we successfully passed the CARES 
Act. That is a good model to follow now.
  Back in March, Republicans in the Senate proposed a framework, then 
worked across party lines through the relevant committees to produce a 
consensus product that received overwhelming support in the Senate. I 
was glad to lead the bipartisan negotiations on the part of the Senate 
Finance Committee for that CARES package and have been standing ready 
to repeat the process if Democratic leaders would just agree to agree. 
Why can't we repeat the same process now?
  Democrats seem to think that they can hold out until Republicans 
either agree to their partisan wishes or Republicans take the blame for 
the lack of relief. If the Democrats are right, it would be a partisan 
win for their party, but at the same time, it would be a tremendous 
loss for the American people.
  Let's agree to move forward like we did last March.
  I yield the floor.

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