Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., March 10, 2020)
Summary
Page S1642 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for March 10, 2020. McConnell says the Democratic leader is moving the goalposts on finishing the bill, urges that the bipartisan legislation be sent to the House, and cites a survey that more than 70 percent of Americans are confident that State or local government will conduct a fair and accurate election this November. McConnell objects to further proceeding in order to place a bill on the calendar under rule XIV, and the Presiding Officer says the bill will be placed on the calendar. Under the heading Recognition of the Minority Leader, a speaker says South Korea has seen new reports go down because of extensive, thorough, and accurate testing.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., March 10, 2020).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-03-10-crec-2020-03-10-pt1-pgs1642-6-46bb4aa207/
, SHA-256 da64892df395f6edc18cd9b1901da666bfd0be0f6ae85ae98377770c69c4f57d.Full text
S1642 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 10, 2020
happening is that the Democratic lead- many of our colleagues will, but, be- Management, the Forest Service, and the
er is moving the goalposts. There had forehand, I would like to say this: The Bureau of Indian Education, and to provide
been a bipartisan understanding about American people have confidence in permanent, dedicated funding for the Land
and Water Conservation Fund, and for other
how to finish this bill, but yesterday our democracy, as they should. Just
purposes.
the Democratic leader decided to last month, a survey found that more
change his tune and demand a vote on than 70 percent of Americans are con- Mr. MCCONNELL. In order to place
something outside the scope of the cur- fident their State or local government the bill on the calendar under the pro-
rent debate. I hope we can get past this will conduct a fair and accurate elec- visions of rule XIV, I object to further
showmanship, finish this bipartisan tion this November. Let me say this proceeding.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
legislation, and send it to the House so again. Just last month, a survey found
tion having been heard, the bill will be
we can get it on the President’s desk. that more than 70 percent of Ameri-
placed on the calendar.
Let’s don’t squander this real oppor- cans are confident their State or local Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab-
tunity. government will conduct a fair and ac- sence of a quorum.
Chairman MURKOWSKI’s and Senator curate election this November, and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
MANCHIN’s compromise product will they should be confident about the re- clerk will call the roll.
help our Nation move toward greater silience of our institutions. The senior assistant legislative clerk
energy security, energy efficiency, and Our Nation is strong. The Trump ad- proceeded to call the roll.
energy affordability for years to ministration has made huge strides. Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
come—new support for energy effi- After 8 years of weakness, this admin- ask unanimous consent that the order
ciency efforts, new incentives for inno- istration’s foreign policy has made it for the quorum call be rescinded.
vation, new tools to secure our elec- clear to our adversaries that the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
trical grid, and new ways to strengthen United States of America is not going objection, it is so ordered.
our domestic supply chain for impor- to be pushed around, but the American f
tant minerals, and on and on and on. people also know we must remain vigi-
This Chamber got it right last week lant. As long as Russia and other na- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY
when it proceeded to the bill by a vote tions seek to meddle, we need to be LEADER
of 90 to 4. It hasn’t suddenly become ready. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
controversial overnight. Everyone Election security is critically impor- Democratic leader is recognized.
knows there are plenty of outside tant to our Nation, and it can only be f
issues that Senators do not agree on. handled right if it is handled with good
We should let ourselves agree on what S. 2657
faith and bipartisanship.
we do agree on. Let me say that again: When Washington Democrats use this Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President,
We should let ourselves agree on what particular topic as a platform for de- before I get into the remarks, sub-
we do agree on and complete this legis- monizing the other side or for pushing stance, of coronavirus and H.R. 1, I
lation this week. tangential policy proposals, which the would like to mention that Leader
Let’s keep legislating. Let’s get this left had sought many years—many MCCONNELL did not give the right story
done. The American people deserve it. years—before 2016, everyone can see when he talked about the Energy bill.
f right through it. It only signals I would remind people, 13 Democrats
unseriousness. voted for cloture; 15 Republicans op-
ELECTION SECURITY posed cloture. I would remind the lead-
So I encourage all my colleagues to
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, attend the bipartisan briefing today, er that it was a Republican, Senator
now, on a final matter, this afternoon and then let’s preserve that bipartisan KENNEDY, who led the charge to deny
all Senators will have the opportunity spirit and that unity. Let’s focus on cloture, and it was well known that
to attend a briefing on election secu- fighting against foreign interference, Democrats simply wanted an amend-
rity from administration experts who not fighting each other. ment on the Kennedy bill—a Repub-
tackle the issue every day. The FBI Di- We should not just snap right back lican amendment—wanted an ability to
rector; the Acting Secretary of Home- into tired, old partisanship. We should vote. Once again, because Leader
land Security; General Nakasone of the not let Putin or anyone else bait Amer- MCCONNELL does not allow amend-
NSA and Cyber Command; the Director icans into talking down our own de- ments and debate and, instead, just
of Counterintelligence at the DNI; and mocracy or sowing more fear and dis- adds more items to his legislative
a number of other senior leaders will cord among ourselves than other adver- graveyard, the bill went down. But 13
come here to the Capitol to discuss this saries could ever hope to do them- Democrats voted for cloture. If he had
critical subject. selves. his Republican troops together, he
I look forward to hearing more about might have been able to pass it any-
the significant and strong steps the f
way. To blame Democrats and say we
Trump administration has taken over RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME are moving the goalpost is just a total
the past 3 years to secure our democ- misstatement of what happened.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
racy and punch back against the real f
the previous order, the leadership time
and varied foreign efforts to interfere. I is reserved. CORONAVIRUS
look forward to hearing more about the
unprecedented level of coordination f Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on
that has connected nonpartisan Fed- MEASURE PLACED ON THE COVID, as our country continues to ex-
eral experts in all 50 States, U.S. terri- CALENDAR—S. 3422 perience the spread of coronavirus,
tories, thousands of local jurisdictions, COVID–19, the effects are beginning to
Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, be more acutely felt. First and fore-
and private sector leaders to make sure
I understand there is a bill at the desk most, our hearts go out to the families
the unpreparedness and inaction that
that is due for a second reading. of those who have lost loved ones dur-
defined the Obama administration’s
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ing this illness. Second, our healthcare
failures in 2016 was not repeated in 2018
clerk will read the title of the bill for systems are under tremendous stress,
and will not be repeated in 2020 or be-
the second time. businesses have been forced to cut
yond.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with SENATE
I look forward to hearing about how back, and the virus is already starting
read as follows: to take a toll on the economy. As the
the record sums of money, hundreds of
millions of dollars that Congress has A bill (S. 3422) to amend title 54, United impact of the coronavirus spreads, the
States Code, to establish, fund, and provide
put aside for direct grants so States administration appears to have shifted
for the use of amounts in a National Parks
and local election officials can shore up and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund to its focus, holding a press conference
their systems, are making our democ- address the maintenance backlog of the Na- yesterday to talk about measures the
racy safer. I expect I will have more to tional Park Service, the United States Fish administration might pursue to calm
say following the briefing. I expect and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land the markets.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:06 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G10MR6.002 S10MRPT1
March 10, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1643
I would remind the White House: By The result here—why we are not President Trump’s assault on the sepa-
far, the best way to ensure economic doing as well as other countries is a di- ration of powers through their silence
security for the American people is to rect result of the colossal failure of on the President’s many abuses of
deal directly with the coronavirus leadership and planning from this ad- power. Even today, the Republicans are
itself. Again, getting a handle on the ministration and this President. One putting forward a nominee for the Fed-
crisis and addressing the virus itself is word describes the Trump administra- eral Election Commission who ex-
by far the best way to respond to any tion’s response to the coronavirus so pressed doubts regarding the benefits
negative effects on our economy. far: ‘‘Incompetence.’’ of even the most reasonable restric-
The administration seems to believe I know there are hard-working CDC tions on campaign spending, including
that the answer to any problem is an- scientists and experts trying to help disclosure.
other tax cut. And no matter what the American people. The political ap- When H.R. 1 first passed the House,
they say about it when they put it to- pointees are the ones who don’t seem Leader MCCONNELL called this bill to
gether, it always seems to benefit the to get it and are putting politics over restore voting rights and get money
wealthy and the big and powerful cor- the safety and security of the Amer- out of politics a ‘‘terrible proposal’’
porations. This is a healthcare crisis; it ican people. And it goes right to the and a ‘‘power grab.’’ If Leader MCCON-
demands a healthcare solution. top. In the midst of a public health cri- NELL thinks that getting big money
To borrow an expression: You must sis—a serious and dangerous public out of politics is a terrible idea, if he
treat the disease, not the symptoms. health crisis—the President has repeat- truly believes making it easier for
Mr. President, do you hear that? You edly pushed unscientific claims about Americans to vote is a power grab by
must treat the disease—the the coronavirus, the availability of a Democrats, then God help the Repub-
coronavirus—not the symptom, which vaccine, and given bad advice—bad ad- lican Party and God help this country.
is the result of the coronavirus, which vice—to Americans who might have Democrats will not stop fighting for
is the economy. symptoms. this bill, nor will we ever stop fighting
The President wakes up to a problem If the President would just keep to restore the democratic values that
only after it has an effect on Wall quiet, it would be better than what he have guided our Nation for 21⁄2 cen-
Street, and his solutions are often is doing, which is negative. What we turies. In the United States, each per-
aimed, misguidedly, only at calming really need is leadership. More than son’s vote should have the same weight
the nerves on Wall Street. The real an- ever, we need the President to drop the as everyone else’s. That is a hallmark
swer in this case is to protect the conspiracy theories, end the of our democracy. A fair and free elec-
American people, focus on their health Panglossian optimism, and the unsci- tion is the wellspring of our democ-
and economic security, and com- entific speculation. Now more than racy. It is what Americans have died
petently respond to the public health ever, we need President Trump to lead for in the battlefields around the
crisis at our doorstep. our government’s response with com- world, what civil rights activists have
Speaker PELOSI and I have mentioned petence and to be truthful with the marched for across the bridges and the
several actions we could take, from American people. As I said yesterday, generations. And though the Repub-
paid sick leave for impacted workers to we are all rooting for that, but the lican leader has been adamant in his
unemployment insurance, food and President and his administration must opposition to this legislation, the
housing security, and protections take a hard look in the mirror, focus American people, thank God, will have
against price gouging. But one thing on the problem at hand, not the side ef- a chance this November to elect a new
the administration must focus on right fects, and get to work on fixing them. Senate that will move this country in
now, above all, is fixing the problems f a dramatically different direction.
we are having with testing. I yield the floor.
The most powerful tool in responding FOR THE PEOPLE ACT
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
to a virus is to know precisely where it Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
is and how it is spreading. Because the H.R. 1—this past Sunday marked one clerk will call the roll.
administration took weeks before they year since the House passed H.R. 1, the The senior assistant legislative clerk
developed an accurate test and because For the People Act. This bill takes ur- proceeded to call the roll.
the administration was slow to ramp gent and long overdue steps to renew Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask
up the number of Americans tested and our democracy. It will reverse the cor- unanimous consent that the order for
is now having trouble turning around rupting effects of Citizens United. It the quorum call be rescinded.
the results of those tests at a fast will restore protections for voting. And The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
enough pace, we are now far behind it will take aim at Washington’s cul- objection, it is so ordered.
where we ought to be in understanding ture of corruption, which has run
f
how far the virus has already spread. rampant under this administration.
The United States has the best hos- It could not come at a better time. RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
pitals, doctors, and scientists in the Every election, we see the sweeping The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
world. Yet, currently, we are lagging power of big money. State legislatures the previous order, the leadership time
far behind other countries when it have found new ways to deny Ameri- is reserved.
comes to testing our citizens. We are cans, often minorities, access to the
f
behind the United Kingdom, behind ballot. Our adversaries—including the
France, behind China, behind Switzer- Russians—work day and night to influ- CONCLUSION OF MORNING
land, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, ence our elections and sow confusion in BUSINESS
and Italy. Every day we read a new the public sphere. H.R. 1 would force- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning
story in the press about Americans fully and directly address each of these business is closed.
having difficulty getting a test for issues. But, like every other bill passed f
coronavirus even though they are dis- by the House over the past 2 years, it
playing symptoms. Our own Health and has been buried in Leader MCCONNELL’s LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Human Services was unable to say how legislative graveyard. We must move
many Americans have been tested. it. This bill is about making our de-
It is shocking; it is infuriating. If mocracy work and giving American ADVANCED GEOTHERMAL INNOVA-
TION LEADERSHIP ACT OF 2019—
SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with SENATE
other countries can do this, why can’t citizens some faith in the future.
we? If other countries do it right, why Republicans, rather than working Resumed
can’t we? South Korea, which has far with Democrats to strengthen our de- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
more prevalent amounts of mocracy, have stood in the way. They the previous order, the Senate will re-
coronavirus, is already seeing the num- have blocked election security legisla- sume consideration of S. 2657, which
ber of new reports go down because tion and sanctions to deter foreign ad- the clerk will report.
they have done extensive, thorough, versaries from trying to interfere in The senior assistant legislative clerk
and accurate testing. our democracy. They have enabled read as follows:
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:06 Mar 11, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G10MR6.004 S10MRPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2020-03-10_crec-2020-03-10-pt1-pgs1642-6.pdf
- Size
- 221,869 bytes
- SHA-256
- da64892df395f6edc18cd9b1901da666bfd0be0f6ae85ae98377770c69c4f57d
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov