Congressional Record — Senate, S2332 (May 11, 2020)

Summary

Page S2332 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for May 11, 2020, in interleaved columns. A tribute describes Miss Krause, who returned to work on the frontlines after doctors gave her the all-clear, and thanks colleagues for serving citizens. Mr. Schumer, as Democratic leader, says the United States has well over a million coronavirus cases, and another speaker says legislation will be taken up this week. A speaker warns that a litigation epidemic is shaping up, and another says more money is needed for schools to move to remote learning.

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“Congressional Record — Senate, S2332 (May 11, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-11-crec-2020-05-11-pt1-pgs2332-5-3a6f4890d9/, SHA-256 296f2869c81eb4502f9272d14abdc97d9e5e07376f8899156fcb1a23170b2612.

Full text

S2332 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 11, 2020
felt better and doctors gave her the all- We are also going to take up impor- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
clear, she checked right back into work tant legislation this week. While objection, it is so ordered.
right on the frontlines. COVID–19 rightly dominates headlines RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
I want to thank all of my Senate col- around the world, the United States of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
leagues as we continue to perform our America also faced many serious Democratic leader is recognized.
essential responsibilities to serve citi- threats before this virus began to CORONAVIRUS
zens like Miss Krause and so many spread, and they are still with us Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the
other American heroes all across our today. United States has well over a million
country. Of course, much of the work Later this week, we will turn back to confirmed cases of COVID–19. We are
before us relates to the pandemic itself. reauthorizing important authorities quickly, unfortunately, approaching
Our committees of jurisdiction are at- under the Foreign Intelligence Surveil- 80,000 fatalities.
tacking COVID–19 and its effects from lance Act. This is urgent because the Alongside this great crisis of public
every angle. House refused to take up the Senate’s health, this shocking and heart-
This week, Chairman ALEXANDER and short-term extension of important breaking loss of life, there is a looming
our colleagues on the HELP Committee counterterrorism and counterintel- economic catastrophe. There are now
will hold a major hearing on smart and ligence authorities before they left more than 30 million newly unem-
safe ways for Americans to get back to town. House Democrats let these tools ployed Americans, over one-tenth of
work and back to school. They will expire, so we must act quickly to clean the population in the United States
hear expert testimony from the very up their mess and renew these authori- and the highest number since the Great
top leaders: Dr. Fauci, Dr. Redfield, Dr. ties, which our government needs to Depression. Many believe this number
Hahn, and Admiral Giroir from HHS. fight terrorists and check the agents of underestimates the real total.
Chairman CRAPO and the Banking
China and Russia. Once this crisis is over, there is no
Committee will hear from representa-
The bipartisan bill we will take up guarantee that these millions of newly
tives from the Federal Reserve and the
was negotiated exhaustively by House unemployed Americans will be able to
FDIC on financial regulation. Obvi-
Republicans and the Attorney General resume their old jobs. How many peo-
ously, that is an essential topic as the
of the United States. Determined advo- ple will find new jobs? At what salary?
government continues to push out bil-
cates for reform after the shameful Even the most optimistic scenarios
lions and billions of dollars in emer-
abuses of 2016 sat down with deter- predict a period of extended high un-
gency liquidity following the CARES
mined defenders of the good parts of employment. Others suggest we are
Act.
With huge numbers of Americans these tools, and they hammered out a looking at the kernels of a second
working, teaching, and learning from strong compromise. The legislation Great Depression.
home and with telemedicine more im- will introduce more daylight and more Here on the Senate floor, for the sec-
portant than ever, the Commerce Com- accountability into the FISA process ond week in a row, we are living in the
mittee will hear from experts about ac- where appropriate, but it will ensure alternative reality of Republican Lead-
cess to broadband internet during the that the embarrassments of 2016 do not er MCCONNELL’s making. He has sched-
crisis. jeopardize these essential national se- uled no legislative business here on the
The Judiciary Committee will hold curity tools altogether. floor related to COVID–19—none—no
an important hearing on issues of legal I hope the Senate will be able to dis- measures for the unemployed, no relief
liability during this unprecedented patch the amendments that we will for renters or homeowners, no legisla-
time. It is crucial that as we continue consider and pass this important legis- tion to increase testing capacity, no
to fight the pandemic itself, we ensure lation on a bipartisan basis to keep the proposals to help State and local gov-
it is not followed up by a second job- American people safe. ernments retain teachers, firefighters,
killing epidemic of frivolous lawsuits. f busdrivers, and police officers.
This would be just about the worst Looking at the Senate calendar, you
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME would never know that we are working
time in living memory to let trial law-
yers line their pockets at the expense The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under in the midst of a national crisis. It
of the rest of our country. The Senate the previous order, the leadership time looks like any other session—a few ex-
is going to play a strong role in ensur- is reserved. ecutive nominations, hearings on
ing that does not happen. f rightwing judges, and legislation from
While our committees are working previous months that the leader should
away, here on the floor, we will start CONCLUSION OF MORNING not have delayed. It is just totally, to-
this week by confirming two more BUSINESS tally divorced from reality.
qualified nominees to important posts The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning Despite the obvious health risks,
that should not remain empty at this business is closed. Senators are ready to do our jobs. Why
time. We will begin with Brian Mont- f don’t we actually do our jobs and focus
gomery of Texas, named by President on COVID–19? For the sake of common
Trump to serve as Deputy Secretary of EXECUTIVE SESSION sense and the good of the Nation, the
Housing and Urban Development. Then Senate should be focused on COVID–19.
we will turn to Troy Edgar of Cali- We should be holding multiple serious
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
fornia to be Chief Financial Officer at oversight hearings every week. Several
the Department of Homeland Security. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under of my colleagues on the other side, in-
I understand some of my distin- the previous order, the Senate will pro- cluding the Republican leader, have
guished Democratic colleagues com- ceed to executive session to resume said they want to see how the legisla-
plain that the full Senate should not consideration of the following nomina- tion we have already passed is working
have to spend more time on these sorts tion, which the clerk will report. before doing anything else. At the
of uncontroversial executive branch The legislative clerk read the nomi- same time, the Republican majority is
nominees. I agree. But as long as their nation of Brian D. Montgomery, of slow-walking the hearing process.
own Democratic leadership continues Texas, to be Deputy Secretary of Hous- Finally, after a lot of Democratic
to hold important posts open for as ing and Urban Development. pressure from myself and many others,
long as possible in order to just spite Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I the leader is sort of eking out, week by
suggest the absence of a quorum.

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the White House, as long as the minor- week, hearings. We have just heard
ity continues to break from long- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The that we will hear from Powell and
standing Senate precedent to obstruct clerk will call the roll. Mnuchin on the 19th. That will be al-
even the least controversial nominees, The legislative clerk proceeded to most 2 months after a bill that let $4
then, frankly, they will have to con- call the roll. trillion of lending authority be re-
tinue to show up and vote on them. The Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask leased before there is a hearing.
floor votes they say they dislike are unanimous consent that the order for Why didn’t we hold a hearing 3 weeks
the direct result of their own tactics. the quorum call be rescinded. ago, 5 weeks ago, or last week? It is

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May 11, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2333
just outrageous. How can the Repub- economy that is hurtling downward, I It has come to our attention that
lican Senators say we want to see how fear the Nation could suffer a similar Secretary DeVos has been using a por-
this is working and not have a whole fate—a second depression. We must tion of the existing funding not to help
bunch of hearings to exam how it is avoid that at all costs. Now is not the States or localities cope with the crisis
working, instead of squeezing them out time for timidity. Now is not the time but to augment her push for voucher-
under direct pressure from us Demo- for small thinking. Now is the time for like programs, a prior initiative that
crats? action—big, bold, continued action. had nothing to do with COVID–19.
Now, tomorrow, in the Health, Edu- There are so many issues that de- We have also learned that Secretary
cation, Labor, and Pensions Committee serve our attention. On a daily basis, DeVos has added restrictions to the
there will be a hearing conducted re- President Trump talks about the need fund that weren’t included in the law,
motely with Dr. Fauci. This is the kind to reopen our country. Well, President including guidance that DACA recipi-
of hearing we need, not once a week Trump, the only way we can safely re- ents cannot receive aid. Shameful—
but several a day. The American people open the country is if we have testing. there is no other word for it. Secretary
need to hear from experts in a fair, To finally beat this disease, we need DeVos is exploiting emergency relief
open, and truthful setting. testing. To reopen businesses safely, we funding to further her own rigid ideo-
Until now, we have mostly heard need testing. To reopen schools and logical agenda and deprive students of
from the members of the Coronavirus sporting events, we need testing. To desperately needed Federal assistance.
Task Force through the distorted lens contain a resurgence in the fall or The Secretary of Education should re-
of the White House press conference, early next year, we need testing. Test- verse course immediately.
where the President often prevents ing is, by far, the No. 1 priority from a Subsequently, DeVos should testify
them from answering fully, interrupts public health standpoint and, maybe, in Congress as soon as possible. As
their responses, or even contradicts from an economic standpoint as well. someone who has habitually skipped
their fact-based advice. For many countries, mastering the congressional hearings, Secretary
This will be one of the first opportu- challenge of testing and contact trac- DeVos has a lot to answer for. If our
nities for Dr. Fauci to tell the Amer- ing their population was their first pri- students had the same attendance
ican people the unvarnished truth ority. Here in the United States, unfor- record as Secretary DeVos, they would
without the President lurking over his tunately, the Trump administration is have flunked out of school. Secretary
shoulder. still trying to catch up. Three months DeVos needs to come clean about how
Dr. Fauci, let it rip. ago—3 months ago—President Trump her Department is exploiting congres-
But it shouldn’t be this one com- said: ‘‘Anybody that wants a test can sional relief efforts intended to help
mittee hearing tomorrow, and it get a test.’’ That is still not even close schools recover and reopen.
shouldn’t be Dr. Fauci alone testifying, to being true. I yield the floor.
or even with the two he is testifying Americans have gotten sick, and be- I suggest the absence of a quorum.
with. This is the routine oversight cause they could not get tested, they The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
business of Congress, and we are now in never knew if they contracted COVID clerk will call the roll.
a crisis. It should occur in every com- and never knew if they passed it on to The legislative clerk proceeded to
mittee every week. There should be loved ones, colleagues, workers, or call the roll.
testimony from administration offi- friends. For many who could get test- Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I
cials, ranging from Dr. Birx to Sec- ed, they had to wait weeks for an an- ask unanimous consent that the order
retary Mnuchin, to Secretary DeVos swer, long after the disease had run its for the quorum call be rescinded.
and others. course and potentially spread to oth- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms.
We should also be debating another ers. ERNST). Without objection, it is so or-
major emergency relief bill. As we We may never know the full extent of dered.
speak, more and more businesses are the human consequences that resulted CORONAVIRUS
going under, more and more people are from President Trump’s administra- Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, as
losing their jobs, and more and more tion’s failure to rapidly develop a test- our Nation’s war against the
families don’t have enough food to feed ing plan in the early days of coronavirus has waged on, the Senate
their children or are sitting for hours coronavirus, but we do know that coun- has taken decisive action to provide
in car lines to get to food banks. tries that did it successfully—such as the resources we need to win the fight.
Speaker PELOSI and I completely South Korea, Germany, Australia, and We sent critical equipment to our
agree. The new bill should be big, and New Zealand—were able to deal with frontline healthcare workers, and we
it should be bold, and that is what the the virus much better than we have. have expanded testing resources na-
House is working on right now, while And to think the United States, which tionwide. We provided loans to small
the Senate, under Leader MCCONNELL’s has always been the leader in public businesses in order to protect jobs, and
leadership, dithers. health, is lagging behind these other we sent direct financial assistance to
Already, however, we have heard that countries because of the President’s de- the Americans who are struggling the
congressional Republicans are telling nial and ineptitude should bother every hardest to make ends meet. These four
everyone they want to slow down. single American, no matter what your bills—now law—passed by Congress
Leader MCCONNELL says he wants to politics. have addressed both the public health
hit the pause button. President Trump Congress provided $25 billion in the crisis at the heart of the pandemic and
and administration officials are saying most recent relief legislation to in- the ensuing economic fallout.
we might not need to do anything more crease testing capacity and contact Now, with the States beginning to
to help the country. This would be a tracing, and we are going to need to do gradually reopen their economies, we
catastrophic mistake. more. If President Trump is so keen on are staring down the barrel of a second
At the outset of the Great Depres- speeding up the process of reopening epidemic, one generated by opportun-
sion, President Hoover was also reluc- the country, we should endorse what istic lawsuits, crushing legal fees, and
tant to use national resources to at- Democrats have urged him to do: Cre- drawn-out court battles.
tack the problem. He, too, was ideo- ate a national testing regime imme- According to a database compiled by
logically opposed to a vigorous and diately. law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth, more
strong response from the Federal Gov- On one final matter, education, in than 950 such lawsuits have already
ernment. President Hoover’s failure the CARES Act, Congress provided a been filed in the United States. We

SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
was likely responsible for extending little over $30 billion to help States, have seen suits against healthcare
the length and deepening the severity school districts, and higher education workers, nursing homes, colleges, gov-
of the Great Depression. systems respond to the coronavirus ernments, retailers—you name it. As
If President Trump and our Repub- after many schools were forced to close our economy begins to reopen, unfortu-
lican colleagues go the way of Herbert or to move to remote learning. We need nately, so will the legal floodgates. The
Hoover, if they oppose or slow-walk more money than that, of course, and I litigation epidemic is shaping up to be
government intervention to save the think Democrats in both Houses agree. a big one.

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