September 16, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 160 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page H4432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONSERVATISM DURING COVID

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Budd) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to set the record straight.
  The American people are wondering what Congress is doing to help 
folks who are still struggling from the effects of COVID-19 on their 
health and on all of our economy. They see no movement in negotiations, 
and I have had folks back home ask me, What are you all doing up there? 
Well, sadly, the answer is, Not much, really.
  Some in this Chamber claim that it is us, the Republicans, who have 
no solutions on COVID. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me 
just speak for myself. I have introduced more than a dozen bills with 
my colleagues. Some of these bills are bipartisan, and they apply time-
tested conservative principles to help people impacted and hurt by 
COVID-19.
  These are bills that expand healthcare access. They support workers. 
They incentivize telework. They assure safe public housing. They 
simplify PPP loans. Mr. Speaker, they stop stimulus payments to dead 
people, of all things. They explore temperature checks at airports. 
They establish flexible funding for States and localities; a bill that 
holds China accountable, and helps incentivize a safe reopening of our 
country, and much, much more. Each and every one of these bills has 
been denied a vote in this House.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand the politics of being less than 50 days 
away from an election. And I get the political calculation that has 
been made. The Speaker started this year--right there--by ripping up 
the President's State of the Union. And she seems intent on ending it 
by smearing Republicans as enemies of the State and blocking any 
meaningful bills to help hardworking Americans.
  But the American people deserve to know that my Republican colleagues 
and I, we stand ready to govern and ready to pass commonsense 
conservative policies that will help them make it through this 
pandemic.

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