Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Source documents Congressional Record — Extensions of Remarks, E352 (April 7, 2020)

Congressional Record — Extensions of Remarks, E352 (April 7, 2020)

Summary

A page of the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, dated April 7, 2020, at page E352. Mr. Larsen of Washington honors grocery workers, nearly three million of whom punch the clock across the United States, and asks for paid family and medical leave. Mr. Biggs of Arizona gives additional comments about the CARES Act, calling the March 27, 2020, vote possibly the most monumental of their tenure because of the amount of money committed. Other remarks support the Improving Access to Services Act, describe discussions with European allies in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and offer a tribute to Sergeant Major Ralph Sargent.

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

“Congressional Record — Extensions of Remarks, E352 (April 7, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-04-07-crec-2020-04-07-pt1-pge352-4-069992669f/, SHA-256 ec8e1db044d232f4145cea76584dbf10e2ffb13dd4dc83f18ccd40d3cbcc3625.

Full text

                                              E352                                   CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks                                                          April 7, 2020
                                                Madam Speaker, we have the capacity to                     THANK YOU TO WASHINGTON                            Association of City Transportation Officials
                                              address the ongoing threats to our security                  STATE’S FIRST RESPONDERS                           (NACTO), Environmental Law and Policy Cen-
                                              even as we address this unprecedented public                                                                    ter (ELPC), Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
                                              health crisis amidst an economic downturn.                               HON. RICK LARSEN                          The Improving Access to Services Act will
                                              The bicameral group of legislators who serve                               OF WASHINGTON
                                                                                                                                                              reconnect our communities, enabling people to
                                                                                                                                                              take shorter, more convenient trips, reducing
                                              on the U.S. Helsinki Commission do so in a                   IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                                                                                                              congestion and emissions, and improving ac-
                                              bipartisan way, and when we participate in the                       Tuesday, April 7, 2020                     cess to services for all.
                                              OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, we do so with                                                                         I urge this body to swiftly pass this legisla-
                                                                                                         Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Madam Speak-
                                              our European friends and allies in this effort.         er, I rise to recognize the valuable service of         tion.
                                                I concluded from my discussions last week             grocery workers.                                                           f
                                              that more difficult times may lie ahead, but by            Nearly three million grocery workers punch
                                                                                                                                                                 ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ABOUT
                                              working together, we will persevere.                    the clock in communities across the United
                                                                                                                                                                        THE CARES ACT
                                                                                                      States. In Northwest Washington, these
                                                Madam Speaker, please join me today rec-
                                                                                                      women and men put themselves at risk to
                                              ognizing the importance of these discussions            make sure their neighbors are fed.                                    HON. ANDY BIGGS
                                              with our European allies and friends.                      Since the COVID–19 outbreak began, I                                    OF ARIZONA

                                                                                                      have heard from families of grocery employ-                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                               f                                      ees who worry every time their loved ones go                         Tuesday, April 7, 2020
                                                                                                      to work.                                                   Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, The vote we
                                                TRIBUTE TO SERGEANT MAJOR                                Congress must support grocery workers the
                                                      RALPH SARGENT                                                                                           took on March 27, 2020, may be the most
                                                                                                      same way they support their communities.                monumental vote during our tenure in Con-
                                                                                                      This means providing paid family and medical            gress. The amount of money we committed
                                                                                                      leave, guaranteeing workers’ rights are pro-            our nation to is, in itself, epic. The causes of
                                                         HON. SETH MOULTON                            tected and listening when they tell employers           this legislation—the coronavirus and govern-
                                                              OF MASSACHUSETTS                        and Congress what they need to stay safe on             ment reaction to the threat, which has placed
                                                                                                      the job.                                                our economy into a recession—are equally
                                                 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                                                         I would like to thank and recognize grocery          momentous.
                                                          Tuesday, April 7, 2020                      workers for their commitment to keeping                    The President has wisely acted to limit the
                                                                                                      Washington healthy and fed during this un-              spread of the outbreak, and he and Senate
                                                 Mr. MOULTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to                precedented crisis. I encourage my colleagues           Majority Leader MCCONNELL tried to negotiate
                                              commemorate the service of an American pa-              to support these essential workers in any fu-           in good faith with House Democrats. Unfortu-
                                              triot and decorated Marine, Sergeant Major              ture relief package.                                    nately, Speaker PELOSI and Minority Leader
                                              Ralph Sargent. Sargent took part in some of                                f                                    SCHUMER chose instead to derail the process.
                                              the most intense fighting of the Vietnam War,           INTRODUCTION OF THE IMPROV-                             As a result, we have a bill before us that is
                                              including the Battle of Khe Sanh, when the                ING ACCESS TO SERVICES ACT                            loaded down with more negative provisions
                                              hilltop outpost of 6,000 Marines was sur-                                                                       than positive ones.
                                              rounded by 34,000 North Vietnamese troops.                                                                         I have spent the past few days imagining
                                                                                                            HON. JESÚS G. ‘‘CHUY’’ GARCÍA                   what could have been, had the Democrats de-
                                              Despite heavy artillery bombardment and the                                  OF ILLINOIS                        cided to act as honest brokers.
                                              constant threat of being overrun, the Marines,               IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                       Could we have provided the liquidity and
                                              of course, held their ground. Later while on                                                                    necessary interim relief for the families and
                                              patrol, his company got into an extended fire-                       Tuesday, April 7, 2020
                                                                                                                                                              businesses of Main Street USA for less than
                                              fight that would claim the lives of 35 Marines,            Mr. GARCÍA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I            $2 trillion?
                                              but it would have been far worse if not for Ser-        rise to introduce the Improving Access to                  Most certainly. And we should have found
                                              geant Major Sargent’s actions that earned him           Services Act along with my colleagues Con-              ways to help them because these businesses
                                              the Bronze Star with a ‘‘Combat V’’ for ex-             gresswoman AYANNA PRESSLEY and Con-                     needed our support, because state and local
                                                                                                      gressman MARK TAKANO.                                   governments have shuttered them and placed
                                              traordinary heroism, in addition to his Navy
                                                                                                         Our transportation system is failing Ameri-          many Americans in economic peril.
                                              Commendation Medal.                                     cans who are stuck in congestion, traveling on             Could we have acted more swiftly?
                                                 But one of the greatest stories of his service       roads and transit systems in disrepair, and                Without a doubt.
                                              was when he saved the life of another Marine            forced to travel further and further to reach es-          Could we have taken the time to repair the
                                              decades after Vietnam. That Marine is his               sential services.                                       unemployment compensation portion of the bill
                                              grandson, whom I was privileged to serve with              The Improving Access to Services Act                 that Senators SCOTT, SASSE, and GRAHAM
                                              in Iraq. The salty Marine sergeant major rec-           would require that ‘safe and convenient ac-             noted will incentivize people not to work, be-
                                              ognized what was wrong with his grandson                cess to services’ is an added condition for             cause the compensation for unemployment
                                              when this great Marine returned from the war            States’ minimum standards for public roads—             will be superior to their wages?
                                                                                                      for both new construction and roadway im-                  Might we have produced a bill that didn’t
                                              and, like so many of us, had trouble finding
                                                                                                      provement projects. These services include              spend millions of dollars for non-essential,
                                              meaning in life back home. So one day the
                                                                                                      health care facilities, child care, education and       non-emergency-related funding to institutions
                                              sergeant major asked his grandson to drive              workforce training, affordable housing, food            such as the Kennedy Center, NPR, Smithso-
                                              him to the VA for an appointment, but when              sources, banking and financial institutions, and        nian, Institute of Museum and Library Serv-
                                              they arrived, he told his grandson that the ap-         other retail shopping establishments.                   ices, and the National Endowments for the
                                              pointment was actually for him. His grandson,              States and metropolitan planning organiza-           Arts and Humanities?
                                              my friend, followed the sergeant major’s or-            tions will assess how the transportation sys-              Could we have done this without strength-
                                              ders and started going regularly to the VA. I’m         tem connects people to services by auto, tran-          ening the hands of unions in the private sec-
                                              not sure he would be alive today if he hadn’t.          sit, bike, and pedestrian investments, and en-          tor?
                                              And months later, after Sergeant Major Sar-             sures new investments do not degrade transit,              These are all painful hypotheticals to think
                                              gent saw what a difference the VA had made              bike, and pedestrian access.                            about as we look at the enormous sums of un-
                                              in his grandson’s life, he decided, for the first          The Improving Access to Services Act will            necessary spending in this bill.
                                              time, to go himself.                                    also adjust the definition of access to incor-             To offer merely a few examples, we gave




dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with REMARKS
                                                                                                      porate a measurement of travel times, travel            $88 million to the Peace Corps, which fired
                                                 Madam Speaker, Sergeant Major Sargent                stress for active travel (bike and pedestrian),         over seven thousand volunteers in March. We
                                              lived a life of service. Many Marines made it           and cost for low-income travelers.                      spent millions more for refugee assistance,
                                              through Vietnam thanks to their sergeant                   I am glad that the Improving Access to               election security, and the Department of Edu-
                                              major, and one of my great Marine friends is            Services Act is endorsed by Transportation for          cation. Some of these efforts may be worth
                                              alive today because of his grandfather. What            America (T4A), Sierra Club, National Re-                funding, but they certainly have no place in an
                                              an American hero.                                       sources Defense Council (NRDC), National                economic relief package.



                                        VerDate Sep 11 2014   00:57 Apr 08, 2020   Jkt 099060   PO 00000   Frm 00002    Fmt 0626   Sfmt 9920   E:\CR\FM\A07AP8.004    E07APPT1
                                              April 7, 2020                          CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks                                                                  E353
                                                 We currently have a structural deficit of ap-        lion individuals received $14 billion from this        Prosperity Act’’ (H.R. 4947) or even more ag-
                                              proximately $1.2 trillion—which, coincidentally,        stimulus.                                              gressive measures.
                                                                                                                                                                Modification of the net operating loss
                                              is about equal to the discretionary spending of            The maximum tax rebate in 2008 was
                                                                                                                                                             (NOL) assessment: The TCJA eliminated
                                              Congress. This proposal dwarfs in spending,             $1,200 for joint filers, $600 for others, and an       ‘‘carrybacks’’ and permitted unlimited
                                              in one day, what we spend on discretionary              additional $300 per dependent. The 2009                ‘‘carryforwards’’ of NOLs instead. New policy
                                              projects in one year.                                   stimulus payments were $250 per recipient.             could once again allow businesses to
                                                 Some economists forecast tough times                    A 2010 National Bureau of Economic Re-              carryback to more profitable times, or, al-
                                              ahead for GDP growth. If our amazing econ-              search survey (Sahm, Shapiro, and Slemrod)             ternatively, it could allow firms to draw
                                              omy, structurally sound just a few weeks ago,           found that only 23 percent of individuals or           down NOLs by making them refundable.
                                                                                                                                                                Elimination of paid-leave mandates: Sen-
                                              has slower growth while we are more than                households receiving a 2008 stimulus check             ator Johnson tried unsuccessfully to amend
                                              doubling our structural deficit for the current         indicated they would ‘‘mostly spend’’ it. 24 per-      the second coronavirus relief bill to strip its
                                              fiscal year—not counting the input of the               cent of those surveyed indicated they would            paid-leave mandates. His argument was that
                                              Phase 1 and 2 relief packages, and excluding            ‘‘mostly save’’ the money, and 53 percent said         most small business owners are primarily
                                              the proposed Phase 4 and 5 packages—we                  they would ‘‘mostly pay off debt’’ with the            concerned with preserving liquidity and
                                              could move into an upside-down position in              funds.                                                 guaranteeing their future solvency. Paid-
                                                                                                         The study also found that about 26 percent          leave mandates could inadvertently force
                                              the ratio of national debt to GDP. Such a situ-                                                                some of these rattled small businesses to lay
                                              ation would likely precipitate a sovereign debt         of families with incomes above $75,000                 off workers permanently. Most senators who
                                              crisis.                                                 planned to spend the 2008 rebate, as com-              opposed the second coronavirus package did
                                                 The President is highly concerned about              pared to about 19 percent of lower-income              so on these grounds.
                                              whether our economic cure may be worse                  families.                                                 Protection of industries from regulatory
                                              than the sickness. I suggest that the tem-                 Congress did not even discuss the ramifica-         takings: Allow businesses forced to close or
                                                                                                      tions of the direct payment program, ‘‘Eco-            pare back operations (i.e. airline companies,
                                              porary gains this bill provides are outweighed                                                                 restaurants) due to government mandates a
                                              by the acceleration of our already unimagi-             nomic Impact Payments.’’ The advocates for             reprieve from regulatory takings via tem-
                                              nable national debt, which even before the              direct payments exhibited hope and ignored             porary, interest-free loans provided by the
                                              spending package exceeded $23 trillion.                 the economic reality revealed in past efforts.         Treasury.
                                                 Lastly, I am disappointed that the bill:                A number of my colleagues and I put for-               Expansion of tax deductions and/or credits
                                                 Grants checks to millions of Americans who           ward a number of alternatives to the bound-            for individuals who work from home: The
                                              do not immediately need them and likely will            less spending package that would have pro-             coronavirus may spur more permanent
                                                                                                                                                             changes in workforce behavior. In addition
                                              not spend them.                                         vided immediate and lasting relief without             to expanding existing tax deductions for in-
                                                 Does not expand Health Savings Accounts.             causing potentially long-term harm to our              dividuals who work from home, policy-
                                                 Does not go nearly far enough to deregulate          economy.                                               makers could make them more flexible to
                                              the healthcare industry or the rest of the econ-           Only a few of the following proposals were          account for any ‘‘gig’’ work that individuals
                                              omy.                                                    incorporated into the CARES Act. All of them           may be forced to take on in the short-term.
                                                 Grants far too much discretion to the federal        have advantages and disadvantages, but they               Expansion of tax deductions and/or credits
                                                                                                                                                             for individuals who start a business: Some
                                              bureaucrats to pick-and-choose which compa-             all warranted far more consideration than they
                                                                                                                                                             entrepreneurial individuals may see the cur-
                                              nies outside of the airline industry warrant re-        received:                                              rent crisis as an opportunity to leave their
                                              lief, allowing for government to pick economic             Payroll tax holiday: This is the original           current jobs entirely and start their own
                                              winners and losers.                                     Trump administration plan. The advantage is            businesses.
                                                 Places so many strings on small business             that it helps individuals who are the biggest             Pausing of foreclosures/evictions/reposses-
                                              assistance that the resulting ‘‘loans’’ are better      aggregate contributors to the economy. On the          sions for homeowners, business owners, and
                                              categorized as mandates.                                other hand, it does less to (directly) help poor-      car owners: State governments are already
                                                                                                                                                             starting to take the lead on this issue in
                                                 President Trump asked us all to come to-             er workers, workers in tip-dependent indus-            many places, and the Trump administration
                                              gether during this national emergency to pass           tries, and retirees.                                   has started to act at the federal level
                                              relief that would truly help our country return            Temporary deregulation ‘‘Require every              through executive order.
                                              to prosperity. It’s a shame that Democrats              agency within one month to identify and sus-              Expansion and streamlining of the SBA
                                              chose to leverage the outbreak to include their         pend significant regulations that will reduce          disaster loan program: ‘‘The Small Business
                                              agenda instead of focusing on the need of the           cost in the American economy—both compli-              Administration (SBA) disaster loan program
                                                                                                                                                             for those impacted by the coronavirus should
                                              nation.                                                 ance costs and economic social costs. Upon             be immediately made available nationwide,
                                                 Congress failed to consider historical exam-         approval by the President, such regulations            eliminating the complex and time-con-
                                              ples of relief proffered to American citizens.          (except those needed to protect human health           suming local certification processes. The
                                              We can learn of the ineffectiveness of direct           and safety) shall be suspended until the Presi-        SBA also should be given the authority to
                                              payments by examining the record of direct              dent (or Congress) determines that the sus-            streamline its disaster-loan approval process
                                              stimulus payments on behavior.                          pension is no longer needed to provide relief          for amounts below $350,000 in order to pro-
                                                 The federal government has sent direct                                                                      vide emergency capital more quickly. This
                                                                                                      of the economic crisis. Notice and Comment
                                                                                                                                                             should include removing the requirement
                                              stimulus payments to individuals or house-              and other APA provisions shall not apply to            that small businesses demonstrate that they
                                              holds on three separate occasions, in 2001,             the suspension of the regulations, but shall           cannot access credit elsewhere before turn-
                                              2008, and 2009. The 2001 and 2008 direct                apply to the re-establishment of the regula-           ing to the SBA. These loans may be used to
                                              stimulus payments were tax rebates of varying           tions. (This will reestablish the President’s          pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable,
                                              sizes offered to the overwhelming majority of           goal of eliminating two regulations for every          and other bills that can’t be paid because of
                                              individuals or households filing an IRS tax re-         new regulation.)’’                                     the virus’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75
                                                                                                                                                             percent for small businesses and 2.75 percent
                                              turn in 2000 or 2007, respectively (which ac-             From Club for Growth’s Policy Options for            for non-profits.’’
                                              counts for approximately 86 percent of the              the Senate in Replacing the Pelosi/Mnuchin                From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
                                              population, both in 2008).                              Coronavirus Stimulus with Economic Free-                  Additionally, because the relief packages,
                                                 In 2008, the year for which we have the              dom that protects the American Economy:                Phases 1, 2, and 3, all were ostensibly passed
                                              best data, $96 billion was distributed to 83              Prepayment of tax refunds: Give every                to provide relief due to the impacts of the
                                                                                                      household a refund of $5,000—roughly equal             COVID–19 outbreak, I and my colleagues rec-
                                              percent of filers (individuals or households at
                                                                                                      to the average refund for the 2019 and 2020            ommended some of the following measures
                                              the highest income levels were not eligible for         tax years combined. This refund could gradu-           dealing with health policy. Be forewarned
                                              a rebate).                                              ally be recouped through the withholding of            that my Democrat colleagues will attempt
                                                 The 2009 direct stimulus payments, unlike            future refunds or by setting surcharges once           to reinstate Obamacare and its plethora of
                                              the 2001 and 2008 payments, were not meant              the economy improves (perhaps after 2022).             regulations. The policies set faith would be
                                              to be nearly universal; instead, they were di-            Idea from the American Enterprise Insti-             helpful in addressing the virus outbreak and




dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with REMARKS
                                              rected primarily to the predominantly poor or           tute:                                                  would make the entire medical system more
                                              elderly populations who may not have filed                Reduction of the pass-through tax rate:              favorable to consumers and providers:
                                                                                                      The businesses that are going to be hit hard-             Expansion of Health Savings Accounts: We
                                              taxes in 2007 (or 2008).                                est during the corona virus crisis are small           should make it even easier for consumers to
                                                 Stimulus checks in 2009 were paid directly           firms of fifty or fewer employees, which               use pre-tax dollars on a wide range of serv-
                                              out of various Social Security, Supplemental            make up a majority of businesses in the East           ices. Some new guidance has already been re-
                                              Security Income, Railroad Retirement, and VA            Valley and most other parts of the country.            leased by the IRS in the wake of the
                                              accounts, instead of from the Treasury. 55 mil-         We could advocate for your ‘‘Small Business            coronavirus outbreak.




                                        VerDate Sep 11 2014   00:57 Apr 08, 2020   Jkt 099060   PO 00000   Frm 00003   Fmt 0626   Sfmt 9920   E:\CR\FM\A07AP8.008   E07APPT1
                                              E354                                    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks                                                           April 7, 2020
                                                Reduction or elimination of FDA regula-                more than 500,000 people. The provision, al-              Finally, the Trump administration uses this
                                              tions on non-invasive medical devices: This              lows for a significantly broad definition of local     must-pass relief bill to advance their anti-re-
                                              reform should already be implemented for                 governments and specifies that ‘‘[t]he term            production rights agenda. The bill gives the
                                              smart devices (such as Fitbits), glucose kits,
                                                                                                       ‘unit of local government’ [includes] . . . other      Small Business Administration broad discre-
                                              and other comparable items. It could be ex-
                                              panded to include DIY COVID test kits.                   unit of general government below the State             tion to exclude Planned Parenthood affiliates
                                                Clarification and codification of Trump ad-            level with a population that exceeds 500,000.’’        and other non-profits serving people with low
                                              ministration efforts to ease telehealth re-              Section 5001 explicitly allows any government          incomes and deny them benefits under the
                                              strictions: President Trump has already                  that represents more than 500,000 and in-              new small business loan program. Addition-
                                              begun to lift restrictions for Medicare pa-              cludes regional councils of government which           ally, the bill attaches a harmful Hyde Amend-
                                              tients, but not for other populations.                   are chartered under state law.                         ment provision to a state stabilization fund for
                                                Waiving out-of-state medical licensing re-                In Ohio, Chapter 167 of the revised code            state, local, and tribal governments providing
                                              quirements: This reform is already hap-
                                              pening slowly on a state-by-state level, but
                                                                                                       provides broad authority for a regional council        coronavirus relief. Reproductive health care is
                                              could be more aggressively championed—or                 of government to act as a local unit of govern-        essential health care, and Planned Parent-
                                              mandated—at the federal level.                           ment, to plan, enter cooperative agreements            hood health centers are a critical component
                                                              f                                        related ‘‘to matters affecting health, safety,         of the health care system. Attempting to limit
                                                                                                       welfare, education, economic conditions, and           access to reproductive health care services
                                                  THANK YOU TO WASHINGTON                              regional development.’’ See Ohio Revised               during a pandemic will only worsen the public
                                                     STATE’S EDUCATORS                                 Code, Sec. 167.03.                                     health care crisis.
                                                                                                          In drafting and approving H.R. 748, the                                f
                                                              HON. RICK LARSEN                         House and Senate intended section 5001 to
                                                                                                                                                               MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS
                                                                OF WASHINGTON                          be administered liberally, and for Treasury and
                                                                                                       the Courts to construe the statute broadly so               TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019
                                                 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                                                       as to encompass all local government entities
                                                           Tuesday, April 7, 2020                      with more than 500,000 citizens to act directly,
                                                                                                                                                                                  SPEECH OF

                                                  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Madam Speak-               and not through the intermediary of a state                         HON. NEAL P. DUNN
                                              er, I rise today to sincerely thank the teachers,        government. In fact, the State of Ohio has                                OF FLORIDA
                                              paraeducators, food service workers, bus driv-           specifically devolved local authority to the re-              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                              ers, custodial staff and others keeping the              gional council of governments to act in the
                                                                                                                                                                           Friday, March 27, 2020
                                              education of kids on track in Washington state           general welfare interests of their citizens as a
                                              during the COVID–19 pandemic.                            unit of general government.                               Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, oftentimes, when
                                                  Schools are always adapting to suit the                 As Treasury promulgates regulations to im-          both sides of the aisle acknowledge that a bill
                                              needs of their students. When Washington                 plement this statute, the law intends for these        is not perfect, it ultimately means it is actually
                                              state closed schools to prevent the spread of            regional councils of government to act as a            quite good. With that said, I do want to high-
                                              COVID–19, education professionals rapidly                general unit of local government, and envi-            light some specific concerns that I have with
                                              adjusted to on line education, ensuring stu-             sions them to be eligible to certify and receive       provisions in this bill, both in their direct ef-
                                              dents would not fall behind.                             the state stabilization dollars.                       fects, and also the future precedent that they
                                                  Distance learning has forced schools to                                f                                    may set.
                                              tackle serious student equity issues, including                                                                    Historically there is little evidence that direct
                                              access to technology and broadband, and                   MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS                          to consumers stimulus checks have a signifi-
                                              making sure thousands of students who rely                    TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019                            cant impact on the economy or that they lead
                                              on school meals do not go hungry. These                                                                         to the kind of spending necessary to counter-
                                                                                                                            SPEECH OF                         act an economic downturn. The Economic
                                              educators need Congress to step up to help
                                              address these issues.                                                HON. BRAD SHERMAN                          Stimulus Act of 2008 (signed February 13,
                                                  Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the sac-                             OF CALIFORNIA                       2008) provided $600 checks to individuals and
                                              rifices teachers and school employees of all                  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                                                                                                              cost $168 Billion. A study by the Bureau of
                                              kinds across Washington state are making to                                                                     Labor statistics later showed that, ultimately,
                                                                                                                   Friday, March 27, 2020                     nearly 70 percent of recipients either used the
                                              provide for their students amid this public
                                              health crisis. And I call on Congress to provide            Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, over 122,000              money to pay off existing debt, or simply put
                                              necessary tools for school districts to ensure           cases of coronavirus, otherwise referred to as         it into savings. Those are not activities that
                                              equitable online learning and sufficient re-             COVID–19, have been confirmed in the United            stimulate the economy, and unsurprisingly that
                                              sources for students during this pandemic and            States since the inception of the outbreak, in-        effort failed to stop a four percent contraction
                                              beyond.                                                  cluding more than 5,000 confirmed cases in             in GDP, the loss of over eight million jobs, and
                                                                f                                      my home state of California alone. More than           the worst overall economic disaster since the
                                                                                                       two thousand Americans have died as a result           great depression. Overall, I believe that this
                                              MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS                             of the virus, and many more stand to do so if          bill will help us to avoid the same fate, but that
                                                  TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019                               we do not act quickly to mitigate its spread           will be due to other more robust provisions
                                                                                                       and address the myriad of medical challenges.          that acknowledge the importance of our small
                                                                   SPEECH OF                              While Congress has passed several meas-             businesses and job creators in the private sec-
                                                         HON. MARCY KAPTUR                             ures to provide significant amounts of money           tor.
                                                                     OF OHIO                           for research activities at federal agencies, this         The incentive and ability for anyone, regard-
                                                 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                                                       is not enough. I am disappointed that H.R.             less of their circumstances, to work hard and
                                                                                                       748 does not adequately fund nor provide in-           improve their life is a fundamental tenet of the
                                                          Friday, March 27, 2020                       centives for, research and development into            American dream. It is essential that we do not
                                                 Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 748 con-                treatments and vaccines that leverage the ex-          allow this stimulus payment to serve as a pilot
                                              tains a critical provision that will be used to          pertise of the public and private sectors. Chief-      program for a Universal Basic Income, as
                                              assist state and local governments in their re-          ly, the CARES Act fails to adequately support          some have suggested. Furthermore, it is true
                                              sponse to the crisis engulfing our nation. In-           research on the National Institutes of Health          that this bill will at times create a situation
                                              deed, local governments are bearing the                  (NIH) campus and at clinical research institu-         where some people could actually earn more
                                              heavy burden of response with dwindling re-              tions across the country to pursue all reason-         money by filing for unemployment if fur-
                                              sources while helping terrified Americans man-           able avenues to develop treatments for the             loughed than they would by staying in the
                                              age as best they can. As the entities closest            coronavirus, including diagnostic tests, thera-        workforce. We must acknowledge the potential




dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with REMARKS
                                              to the ground, these local governments are on            pies and vaccines. The NIH should have sig-            for this to set a damaging precedent.
                                              the front line of the fight, and we must ensure          nificantly more than $945 million to carry out            This bill provides robust funding for our na-
                                              they have adequate funding.                              COVID–19 related research and should also              tion’s hospitals and some needed flexibility in
                                                 This provision, Section 5001 of the CARES             be directed to focus primarily on those pos-           the telehealth space to ensure Americans,
                                              Act, provides that Treasury will provide assist-         sible treatments that are not subject to a pat-        particularly seniors, are able to visit with their
                                              ance directly, and not through the State inter-          ent and thus are not the focus of U.S. phar-           doctors in the lowest risk setting possible. I
                                              mediary to units of local government with                maceutical companies.                                  was disappointed however in the lack of a



                                        VerDate Sep 11 2014    00:57 Apr 08, 2020   Jkt 099060   PO 00000   Frm 00004   Fmt 0626   Sfmt 9920   E:\CR\FM\A07AP8.009    E07APPT1


File and source

File
CREC_crec-2020-04-07_crec-2020-04-07-pt1-pge352-4.pdf
Size
271,432 bytes
SHA-256
ec8e1db044d232f4145cea76584dbf10e2ffb13dd4dc83f18ccd40d3cbcc3625
Our copy
CREC_crec-2020-04-07_crec-2020-04-07-pt1-pge352-4.pdf
Original
www.govinfo.gov
Back to top