Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., March 25, 2020)

Summary

Senate section of the Congressional Record for Wednesday, March 25, 2020, Volume 166, No. 59. The Senate met at 12 noon with Mr. Grassley presiding and the Chaplain's prayer is printed. A speaker who heads a tax task force highlights parts of the bipartisan economic relief bill to be voted on that day, including recovery checks of $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples. Another passage says more than 175 million Americans have been advised to stay home and that hospitals in major cities are under pressure. Mr. McConnell then suggests the absence of a quorum.

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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., March 25, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-03-25-crec-2020-03-25-pt1-pgs2021-6-c4a16f9e69/, SHA-256 df3f1c9c74f48b52957d60cff1fde634c30fe6ac448ea2344afc172916cb0e61.

Full text

Congressional Record
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE

Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020 No. 59

Senate
The Senate met at 12 noon and was mittee and the head of the Tax Task American tested positive with the new
called to order by the President pro Force, I want to highlight a few areas coronavirus on our soil. In barely 2
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). of the bipartisan economic relief bill months, this pandemic has upended our
f we will be voting on today. Nation. As of this morning, more than
Recovery checks to give Americans 175 million Americans have been ad-
PRAYER needed cash to provide for their fami- vised to remain in their homes. More
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- lies and get through our current health than half of our people are effectively
fered the following prayer: crisis look like this: $1,200 for individ- sheltering in place.
Let us pray. uals, $2,400 for married couples, and Hospitals in major cities are pushing
O God, our Father, we lift up our $500 for each child. There is no min- capacity. Doctors and nurses are ex-
hearts in prayer because we trust in imum, no phase-in. It starts out at the hausting crucial supplies.
You. Lord, we know well the weakness lowest level. And, if it were not enough for Ameri-
and the insecurity of our hold upon Anyone with a Social Security num- cans to fight to stay healthy, they are
this life. ber who is not a dependent of anyone also fighting to keep their paychecks,
Comfort those who have lost loved else should be eligible for a check to keep supporting their families. Com-
ones during this global health crisis. under the income caps. bating this disease has forced our coun-
When we wrestle with sad memories of We also have very strong unemploy- try to put huge parts of our national
mortal loss, give us the glorious hope ment compensation additions to the life on pause and triggered layoffs at a
of life eternal. present program in this bill. We also breathtaking pace.
Lord, provide our lawmakers with have incentives to help charities be- This strange new reality has forced
the confidence that Your all-sufficient cause they play a very important role our Nation onto something like a war-
grace and power will enable them to in this recovery. time footing. A fight has arrived at our
become more than conquerors during My colleagues across the aisle said shores. We did not seek it. We did not
this time of trouble. Remind them that last week that the business tax issues want it. But, now, we are going to win
no one who trusts in You will ulti- were corporate bailouts. That couldn’t it.
mately be disgraced. be further from the truth, and I think Ten days ago, I laid out four urgent
Mighty God, our forebears trusted in my Democratic colleagues now agree. priorities for new Senate legislation to
You, and You delivered them. Be not This is about helping our workers keep help our Nation through this crisis. We
far from us, for You are the source of their jobs. had to get direct—direct—financial as-
our hope. Our economic relief package to re- sistance to the American people. We
We pray in Your great Name. Amen. cover this economy has provisions to had to get historic aid to small busi-
f help businesses so that they have the nesses to keep paychecks flowing, sta-
cash to keep the doors open and keep bilize key industries to prevent mass
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE making payroll. We all worked hard, layoffs, and, of course, flood more re-
The President pro tempore led the along with the administration, to get sources into the frontline healthcare
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: this job done. battle itself.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Now it is time to vote on this bill and One week ago, Senate Republicans
United States of America, and to the Repub- deliver relief for the American people laid down an initial proposal that tack-
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, and to recover this economy—get the led each—each—of these emergency
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. strong economy back that we had. missions. Our Members put forward a
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. I yield the floor. bold plan to send cash to households,
LANKFORD). The Senator from Iowa. f stand up historic emergency loans for
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask Main Street, stabilize key sectors, and
unanimous consent to speak in morn- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY put the full might of Congress behind
ing business for 1 minute. LEADER our doctors, nurses, hospitals,
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- healthcare providers, and the race for
objection, it is so ordered. jority leader is recognized. treatments and vaccines.
f f I couldn’t be more proud of our col-
leagues. Our Nation needed us to go big
CORONAVIRUS CORONAVIRUS and go fast, and they did. The creative
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, as Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, it policies our chairmen crafted in just a
the chairman of the Finance Com- has only been 65 days since the first couple of days’ time remain the central

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∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

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S2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 25, 2020
building blocks of the proposal we will ing creative ways to stand united, even The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
pass today. if they have to stand 6 feet apart. clerk will call the roll.
But Republicans knew the Nation We will win this fight because of peo- The senior assistant legislative clerk
had no time—no time—for conven- ple like Amy Jean Tyler, a stay-at- proceeded to call the roll.
tional political gamesmanship, so the home mom in Oldham County, KY, who Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask
instant we released our first draft, I is leading a drive to sew cotton masks unanimous consent that the order for
created a series of bipartisan working for a local children’s hospital. the quorum call be rescinded.
groups. I asked Republicans and Demo- We will win this fight because of peo- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
crats to work together around the ple like Pastor Grant Hasty in Stearns, objection, it is so ordered.
clock—literally, around the clock—to KY, who is gathering volunteers to dis- f
make the bill even better. tribute more than 550 home-cooked
By Sunday, we had an updated pro- meals. RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
posal that was even stronger and con- We will win this fight because of peo- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
tained even more ideas, literally, from ple like Peg Hays, who runs a distillery the previous order, the leadership time
both sides—both sides. Republicans and in Christian County, KY, and is tempo- is reserved.
Democrats have worked together to rarily converting her bourbon-making
f
dramatically strengthen and rework facilities to churn out hand sanitizer.
unemployment insurance during this We will win this fight because na- CONCLUSION OF MORNING
crisis. We have worked together to tional companies are switching produc- BUSINESS
make sure lower income families could tion lines to make medical supplies be- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning
receive the full cash assistance, and on cause our largest high-tech companies business is closed.
and on. are partnering with the government to
I will leave it to others to compare throw supercomputing power right into f
the bipartisan Sunday bill to the final the race for vaccines. LEGISLATIVE SESSION
version we will pass today and deter- We will win this fight because of fam-
mine whether the last few changes ilies, neighbors, and church commu-
really required or merited 3 days of nities that cannot even worship to- MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS
delay—3 days of delay—in the face of gether in person and because of small TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019—Motion
this worsening crisis. But that Wash- businesses, big businesses, public to Proceed—Resumed
ington drama does not matter any- health Ph.D.s, and local entrepreneurs.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
more. The Senate is going to stand to- It has been 18 years since every
the previous order, the Senate will re-
gether, act together, and pass this his- American was united in amazement
sume consideration of the motion to
toric relief package today. and prayer as firefighters and first re-
proceed to H.R. 748, which the clerk
Struggling Americans are going to go sponders rushed into burning buildings
will report.
to their mailboxes and find four-figure on September 11, 2001.
The senior assistant legislative clerk
checks to help with their bills. Why? In the coming days and weeks, our
read as follows:
Because the Senate stepped up. Nation is going to meet new heroes.
Many American families who have Many may be police, firefighters, and A bill (H.R. 748) to amend the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on
poured everything into a restaurant or EMTs once again. Many others will be high cost employer-sponsored health cov-
a shop or a small manufacturer are truckdrivers, grocery store clerks, and erage.
going to keep making payroll and keep pharmacists, who literally keep our
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
their businesses alive because this Sen- supply chains running; utility workers
ator from Illinois.
ate stepped up. and delivery drivers, who leave their
Hundreds of thousands of workers in CORONAVIRUS
homes so everyone else can remain in
key sectors who might well have been theirs; teachers, who somehow manage Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, America
laid off through no fault of their own to keep educating their students over has never seen anything like this be-
will, instead, get to keep their job and the internet while looking after their fore. To think that half of the people
continue their career because this Sen- own kids at the very same time. And, who live in the United States are under
ate stepped up. most of all, we are going to meet a some order to either stay home or at
And, for the healthcare heroes who whole lot of American heroes who wear least avoid contact with others is un-
leave their own sleeping children and scrubs and masks and gloves—heroes heard of. This is an enemy—this
drive to the hospital for an all-night who rush toward the sick and wash virus—the likes of which we have never
shift, who spend hour after hour heal- their hands until they bleed and work faced.
ing the sick, comforting strangers, and around the clock to heal our friends As strong and determined as our Na-
literally battling this disease, there and our families. tion is when it comes to these chal-
will be more masks in their supply When our Nation comes through this lenges, this is unique, and it calls for
closet, more funding for their hos- and takes flight again on the other unique leadership. There are a lot of
pitals, and, soon, more new treatments side, it will be because American he- critics of the U.S. Congress—for good
to administer to their patients because roes won this fight. All the Senate can reason—but I think what we have dem-
this Senate stepped up. do is to give them the resources to do onstrated in the last several weeks
So, today, the Senate will act to help it, and that is exactly what we are since we have addressed this
the people of this country weather this going to do today. coronavirus is that there is a capacity
storm. Nobody thinks legislation can f for common sense, bipartisan work,
end this. We cannot outlaw the virus. and a timeliness that is essential.
No economic policy could fully end ORDER OF BUSINESS The first two measures were passed
the hardship so long as the public Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I in record time—one for $8 billion,
health requires that we put so much of ask unanimous consent that notwith- which opened the door for more med-
our Nation’s commerce on ice. This is standing the provision of rule XXII, the ical resources; the second, for $100 bil-
not even a stimulus package. It is cloture motion with respect to the mo- lion, which tried to guarantee to people
emergency relief—emergency relief. tion to proceed to H.R. 748 occur at a they would never have to pay to be
That is what this is. time to be determined by the majority tested for coronavirus, that there
No, this fight is not going to be won leader in consultation with the Demo- would be adequate food supplies during

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or lost in Washington. It is the Amer- cratic leader during today’s session. this calamitous time, that we would
ican people who will beat this virus. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there have resources sent to the States for
Americans will keep making sacrifices objection? Medicaid reimbursement at new levels,
to slow down the spread. Americans Without objection, it is so ordered. that we would also engage people with
will keep pitching in and looking after Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- family leave, as necessary, so that they
each other. Americans will keep find- sence of a quorum. could stay out of the workplace if they

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