Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., May 4, 2020)

Summary

Pages S2195 and S2196 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for May 4, 2020, headed Coronavirus; the House was not in session and its next meeting is Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. Grassley thanks workers who are on the job away from home. McConnell says the Senate is back in session and that more than 5 weeks have passed since the full Senate last convened, and McConnell names nominations the Senate will act on. Schumer says more than 1 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 67,000 lives have been lost. The legislative clerk reads the nomination of Robert J. Feitel to be Inspector General, Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., May 4, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-04-crec-2020-05-04-pt1-pgs2195-8-5a7a030ee4/, SHA-256 8a557accb814dd3d74c72f26fea043bed4429029b00a24a6589021b86bffc518.

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, MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020 No. 83

House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 10:30 a.m.

Senate
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was CORONAVIRUS March 25, right before we passed the
called to order by the President pro Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, CARES Act 96 to 0, the Senate has kept
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). Americans from coast to coast right on working this whole time.
f hunkered down to stop the spread of We have monitored the implementa-
the virus. Office workers, including my tion of that bill—the largest rescue
PRAYER
staff in Washington, adapted to work package in American history—and
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- strengthened it where necessary. We
from home. But not all Americans can
fered the following prayer: passed further legislation to provide
Let us pray. do their jobs from home. Many must
work away from home to provide essen- even more economic assistance, even
O God of our salvation, deliver us more support of testing, and more re-
from fear. Your might and majesty tial services for our communities. I am
talking about workers who harvest, lief for hospitals and healthcare work-
continue to bring us peace in spite of ers.
the challenges we face. Lord, we can process, and deliver our food; the crews
who provide sanitation services and This deadly coronavirus does not
meet these challenges with Your power take days off, and so the U.S. Senate
that transcends human understanding. keep our communications, transpor-
tation, and energy grids running has not either. For more than a month,
When You whisper, dangers flee into we were among the many Americans
the darkness. The sound of Your foot- around the clock; America’s postal
workers and truckdrivers who deliver who have found creative ways to
steps causes tribulations to hide. telework and continue doing our jobs
Almighty God, permit our lawmakers mail and transport goods across the
country; the grocery store clerks and remotely. But now the time has come
to be aware of Your providential guid-
factory workers who make toilet paper, for us to continue conducting our Na-
ance. May they depend on You to lead
diapers, and consumer products we tion’s business in ways that are only
them according to Your will. Give
can’t live without. possible with Senators here in the Cap-
them the wisdom to trust You when
On behalf of Iowans and the rest of itol.
they can’t see the road before them, be-
America, I thank the frontline workers For this work period, the Senate will
lieving that You will be their light in
who are on the job, working away from shift out of the ranks of those Ameri-
the darkness.
home, in the line of duty. Thank you cans who are working remotely and
We pray in Your great Name. Amen.
all for your service and sacrifice. into the ranks of the Americans work-
f
I yield the floor. ing in essential sectors who are listen-
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE f ing to expert guidance and modifying
The President pro tempore led the their routines and ultimately con-
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY tinuing to man their posts to keep the
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows:
LEADER country running.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the
United States of America, and to the Repub- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- If it is essential that brave
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, jority leader is recognized. healthcare workers, grocery store
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. f workers, truckdrivers, and many other
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Americans continue to carefully show
HAWLEY). The Senator from Iowa. CORONAVIRUS up for work, then it is essential that
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, the their U.S. Senators carefully show up
permission to address the Senate for 1 Senate is back in session. In this un- ourselves and support them.
minute in morning business. usual period for our Nation, it has been I want to thank the dedicated men
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without more than 5 weeks since the full Sen- and women who worked hard to de-
objection, it is so ordered. ate last convened. As I explained on velop solutions so the Senate can take

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

S2195

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S2196 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 4, 2020
these careful steps back toward in-per- to change their tactics. But as long as families unable to comfort or even say
son operations: Dr. Brian Monahan and floor time and rollcall votes remain goodbye to a loved one have been ex-
the entire Office of the Attending Phy- the only way for the Senate to fill im- tremely painful, enough to break your
sician, well done; everyone in the Of- portant posts, that is what we will do. heart.
fices of the Architect of the Capitol, We cannot let nuclear watchdogs or At the same time, while we are griev-
the Sergeant at Arms, the Secretary of counterintelligence leaders stay on the ing, we are also inspired by the bravery
the Senate, and our colleagues on the sidelines. of our doctors and nurses, healthcare
Rules Committee and their staff. Of The Senate is going to be as smart workers, first responders, and other
course, the teams who support our net- and safe as we possibly can, and we are daily heroes—many of them immi-
works and telecommunications were going to show up for work like the es- grants—on the frontlines of this crisis.
working hard day and night during sential workers we are. Our bosses are To them we owe an extraordinary debt
these weeks of remote work. the American people, and they are of gratitude, an enormous thank-you
Even more broadly, I want to recog- counting on us to keep on serving. that I hear out the windows of my
nize and thank all—all—the essential It is good to see the Chair and all of apartment and many in New York at 7
Senate staff who are here with us our colleagues again. I am grateful p.m. when we applaud them as they
today in person so the Senate can func- that all 100 of us have come through change shifts every night—an act that
tion. Whether they be staff members in the last several weeks safely and in brings isolated New Yorkers together.
our own offices and committee offices, More than that, this Congress, this
good health. Let’s work together,
all the nonpartisan professionals who Senate, must deliver the people of our
across the aisle, and get some more
serve the institution itself, and, par- country relief. We have come together
work done for the American people.
ticularly, our facilities employees, on several occasions to pass historic
f legislation in this time of crisis. They
custodians, food service staff, and, of
course, the men and women of the Cap- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME passed 96 to 0, which shows that this
body can come together in a time of
itol Police, we are grateful for your The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under crisis, which should give Americans
service, and, more importantly, your the previous order, the leadership time some hope and some solace. Let me be
country is grateful for your service. is reserved. very clear. Our work is far from over.
You are literally helping our govern- f The Republican leader has called the
ment function in the midst of this cri- Senate back into session despite the
sis. CONCLUSION OF MORNING
fact that the District of Columbia ap-
The Senate is back in session because BUSINESS
pears to be reaching the peak phase of
we have important work to do for the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning this public health emergency, despite
Nation. Critical posts throughout the business is closed. the risks we face by gathering here in
Federal Government—from public the Capitol, despite the risks faced by
f
health to national security and be- security guards, cafeteria workers,
yond—remain vacant. Qualified nomi- EXECUTIVE SESSION janitors, and the staff who operate the
nees who have been held up for too long floor of the Senate. I want to take a
already have become even more nec- moment to thank each and every one
essary in these uncertain times. EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
of them—and all of those Capitol Hill
On the floor and in committee, the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under workers—for being here today, for
Senate will be acting on key nomina- the previous order, the Senate will pro- doing their jobs so that we may do
tions that relate directly to the safety ceed to executive session to consider ours.
of the American people, oversight of the following nomination, which the If we are going to be here, if we are
our coronavirus legislation, and more. clerk will report. going to make these fine people come
We need to continue to maintain and The legislative clerk read the nomi- into work in these conditions, let the
safeguard our domestic nuclear re- nation of Robert J. Feitel, of Mary- Senate at least conduct the Nation’s
sources. That is our first nominee, Mr. land, to be Inspector General, Nuclear business and focus like a laser on
Feitel. Regulatory Commission. COVID–19. At the moment, the Repub-
We need to keep protecting our Na- Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- lican leader has scheduled no signifi-
tion against foreign intelligence serv- sence of a quorum. cant COVID-related business for the
ices. That is another nominee we will The PRESIDING OFFICER. The floor of the Senate. Tonight, we will
be moving soon, Mr. Evanina. Those clerk will call the roll. vote on a nomination to the Nuclear
around the world who wish harm on The legislative clerk proceeded to Regulatory Commission. Later this
Americans are not going to give us a call the roll. week, the Republican majority on the
free pass until the pandemic is over, so Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask Judiciary Committee will hold a hear-
the Senate needs to overcome obstruc- unanimous consent that the order for ing for a manifestly unqualified, to-
tion and continue to act. the quorum call be rescinded. tally divisive, rightwing judicial nomi-
I don’t think anybody could seriously nee.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
argue that filling critical national se- When the topic of COVID-related leg-
objection, it is so ordered.
curity posts is not essential Senate islation has come up, Leader MCCON-
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
business. But to any of my colleagues NELL has simply drawn partisan lines
who may wish that we did not have to The Democratic leader is recognized.
in the sand. First, he has suggested
devote floor time and rollcall votes to CORONAVIRUS
that States and localities should go
these kinds of nominations, I would Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the bankrupt—let them go bankrupt. He
simply say: I agree with you. I agree Senate convenes a session this evening has since realized his mistake and
with you. during a trying time for our Nation. As walked that back. But then, only a few
Unfortunately, for more than 3 years we speak, millions of our citizens are days later, the leader vowed to block
now, my colleagues in Democratic respecting stay-at-home orders and any bill that does not include legal im-
leadership have used across-the-board doing their part to stop the spread of munity for big corporations that oper-
obstruction to force floor time and this pernicious disease. Millions upon ate unsafely and put workers in harm’s
even cloture votes for the kinds of sub- millions are now newly unemployed, way.
Cabinet level nominations that used to dependent on the actions we take in The Republican leader said that his
travel easily by voice vote. If any of Congress to stave off financial disaster. redline in a future relief package is not
my colleagues on either side wish that More than 1 million Americans have a national testing program; it is not
we could recover the Senate’s tradition tested positive for COVID–19. More more help for small businesses or hous-
and spend less floor time on these sorts than 67,000 lives have been lost. ing assistance for families; it is not
of nominations, I would invite them to My home State of New York has been rescuing our healthcare system. Leader
share their view with the distinguished hit the hardest. The loss of so many MCCONNELL will not support new legis-
Democratic leadership and invite them precious lives, the suffering of so many lation to fight this evil disease unless

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