Congressional Record, Senate, May 12, 2020, Page S2360 — Coronavirus
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated May 12, 2020, at page S2360. Mr. Durbin urges the Court to rule that the President does not have the power to shield his tax returns, then criticizes the administration for boycotting a global vaccine conference, noting that Norway and the European Union each pledged $1 billion toward a goal of $8 billion. He says Mr. McConnell has a redline of liability immunity that would block aid for police, firefighters and teachers. Under Coronavirus, Mr. Cornyn says Texas received more loans than any other State, with nearly 135,000 small businesses benefiting from the Paycheck Protection Program.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, May 12, 2020, Page S2360 — Coronavirus.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-12-crec-2020-05-12-pt1-pgs2360-3606321957/
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S2360 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 12, 2020
right to see how he has dealt with his And if they did—and if they did—would sponders, the police, the firefighters,
taxes. President Trump has an obliga- we hesitate for a moment to turn to a the paramedics, the healthcare work-
tion to show them. Why has President country and say that the United States ers, and the teachers. What she says in
Trump fought so hard to deny the wants to be part of producing that vac- the bill is that they have been hit and
American people this information? cine and receiving that vaccine for the been hit hard at the State and local
If this Court wants to prove, at least people who live here? government levels by this COVID–19.
in one step, that they are not highly Why would the President of the She is proposing, as I understand it, a
political and don’t always side with United States decide we are going to substantial commitment to help those
President Trump, I hope they will step boycott that conference, stay away units of government that have truly
up to the plate and rule that the Presi- from it? Oh, I am sure he has a dozen been hurt by this coronavirus. What
dent does not have the unilateral reasons, but they don’t seem very con- she is asking for, really, is whether or
power to shield his tax returns from vincing to me. We should be at the not all of our speeches about
the American people. On this issue, table wherever there is a serious, cred- healthcare workers, police, first re-
like so many others, the American peo- ible effort to discover a vaccine. The sponders, firefighters, and teachers are
ple deserve the truth—not what the United States should be participating. really credible and whether, in fact, we
President wants us to believe but the They were trying to raise $8 billion. will come up with the resources that
truth. That is a lot of money, but remember, are needed.
I yield the floor. we are dealing with an effort to rescue Senator MCCONNELL has said that he
I suggest the absence of a quorum. our economy from coronavirus, which will not support that legislation un-
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. is now in the range of $2.8 trillion. less—as he calls it—his redline of li-
BLACKBURN). The clerk will call the They are asking the participants to put ability immunity is honored. What he
roll. in money. Norway said it would pledge is saying is that he refuses to fund our
The legislative clerk proceeded to $1 billion—Norway. The European police, firefighters, paramedics, and
call the roll. Union said it would pledge $1 billion to- teachers unless we provide guaranteed
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask ward this global vaccine effort. The business immunity for corporations.
unanimous consent that the order for United States should have been at that This is, sadly, an invitation for irre-
the quorum call be rescinded. table. We should be all in for any cred- sponsible corporations and businesses
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ible effort to find this vaccine as quick- to cut corners when it comes to pro-
objection, it is so ordered. ly as possible. I have introduced a reso- tecting workers and those customers
f lution calling on the administration to and such who would be threatened by
CORONAVIRUS reverse its position and to join in this coronavirus.
effort. The McConnell redline threat would
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I want to commend Bill and Melinda result in more people being infected by
there was a meeting last week—a tele- Gates, who participated in that tele- the coronavirus and more people get-
phone conference call—of the leaders of phone conference and pledged millions ting sick. That is not what we want.
a dozen major nations around the of dollars of their own funds on behalf There is a better way. We should be
world. It was a meeting to discuss of the United States. Thank you to the talking about how to do this properly.
something we are all thinking about, Gates family for caring. This afternoon there will be a hear-
the answer to the question everyone in Now, Mr. President, you should join ing before the Senate Judiciary Com-
America asks every day: How will this them. mittee. One of the witnesses being
end? When will this end? In this tele- This morning, the Republican leader called by the Republicans is a man
phone conference, leaders from other came to the floor to talk about the named Kevin Smartt. He is the chief
nations talked about the ending that problems and challenges that we face executive officer and president of Kwik
most of us envision—the discovery of a and the fact that there is another bill Chek food stores in Bonham, TX. He is
safe and effective vaccine that can pro- that is going to be offered publicly this testifying on behalf of the National As-
tect people around the world from the week by Speaker NANCY PELOSI—the sociation of Convenience Stores on this
scourge of this coronavirus. next in a succession of legislation that question of liability.
I am not sure when that vaccine will we have considered over the last sev- I read his statement this morning in
be discovered—the sooner the better— eral weeks. preparation for the hearing, and I com-
but the big question we need to ask We have seen dramatic investments mend it to my colleagues because I
ourselves at this point is, Where will it in unemployment insurance for a want them to listen carefully to what
be discovered, and what benefit will it record number of unemployed people in Mr. Smartt says he believes businesses
provide for the United States? this country. We have seen dramatic need. Here is what he says. He talks
You see, there was one major nation investments in the small businesses of about his own company Kwik Chek.
that boycotted this international tele- America, to give them a fighting Kwik Chek’s first priority is the safety of
phone conference about discovering a chance to reopen and to prosper in the our employees and customers. Beginning in
vaccine. It was the United States. future. I have joined in all of these on early March, we adjusted our daily protocols
President Trump decided not to par- a bipartisan basis, and I will continue to mitigate the spread of the virus. This was
ticipate with the leaders of nations a challenge—
to.
from around the world in this global I don’t know the specifics of Speaker Listen to what Mr. Smartt says—
conversation about finding a safe and PELOSI’s proposal. Senator MCCONNELL because the guidance provided by the CDC,
effective vaccine to fight coronavirus. I came to the floor and warned us not to the Occupational Safety and Health Admin-
istration, as well as State and local govern-
am not sure what his motive was. But think big and not to think about trans- ments, often conflicted with one another in
we know that at least 94 other vaccines formational things. Then, of course, he addition to being vague and difficult to fol-
are being explored and worked on in went back to his time-honored course low. Yet despite many uncertainties, includ-
nations around the world—in England, about the question of liability. ing the constantly fluctuating public health
for example, and in Germany and so Senator MCCONNELL has come to the guidelines, we began to adjust to the pan-
many other countries. They are look- floor repeatedly—repeatedly—and said demic.
ing for the same safe and effective vac- that before he would consider another Mr. Smartt is not saying that busi-
cine as we in the United States are COVID–19 rescue bill, he would need to nesses don’t have a responsibility here.
looking for. see what he calls a redline honored
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
He is accepting that responsibility to
I have great faith and confidence in when it comes to immunity from law- create a safe environment for workers
the men and women in medical re- suits. and customers, but he is saying to us:
search in the United States and the What is being proposed by Speaker When are you going to establish the
production facilities in our country, PELOSI when it comes to State and standards? Why do you keep changing
but I am not so proud or so vain as to local governments is really an affirma- the standards?
believe that no other country could tion of what has been said by every one Here we are with Senator MCCONNELL
find that safe and effective vaccine. of us when it comes to our first re- threatening to derail the next rescue
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May 12, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2361
bill for police, firefighters, and teach- live by and that they can meet reason- PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
ers across America, unless there is able standards that have been thought Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, my
guaranteed immunity from lawsuits, through from a public health view- home State of Texas is a great place to
and here is one of the leading compa- point. do business. We keep taxes, govern-
nies, the No. 1 primary witness of the It is no wonder that there is uncer- ment spending, and regulations at a ra-
Republicans in the Senate Judiciary tainty when you look at the situation tional minimum in order to give people
Committee hearing, saying to the Fed- today. The Centers for Disease Control and businesses the freedom to pursue
eral and governments: Establish stand- suggests voluntary standards, sugges- their dreams and prosper. Texas is con-
ards, reasonable standards, for us to tions. The White House accepts some, sistently ranked on the list of the
live up to when it comes to conducting publishes some, scoffs at others, and ig- ‘‘Best States for Business,’’ the ‘‘Best
business, and we will do it. nores others. There is just no clear States to Start a Business,’’ and the
I think that is a reasonable request message to businesses and people ‘‘Best States for Female Entre-
by his business. Why aren’t we doing across America on what the standards preneurs.’’
it? Why hasn’t OSHA established of safety will be. According to the Small Business Ad-
standards for the safety of workers? So I would say that this hearing this ministration, there are more than 2.6
One of our other witnesses here is afternoon is important to hear from million small businesses throughout
this gentleman who is the head of the Mr. Smartt and his willingness to look the State, accounting for 99.8 percent
United Food and Commercial Workers, for standards that he can live by, and of all Texas businesses. Those busi-
Marc Perrone. I have a special fondness to hear from Marc Perrone about the nesses employ nearly half of our
for this union because when I was a dangers to his workers across the State’s workforce and account for the
college kid, I spent 12 months working workplace. And don’t believe for a massive portion of our Texas economy.
in a slaughterhouse in East St. Louis, minute that this caravan of lawsuits To say that the small businesses are
IL, and it was this union that I be- threat that we hear over and over tells an economic force in Texas would only
longed to back in those days. the whole story. paint half the picture. In big cities and
It was tough, dirty, and dangerous When you take a look at the lawsuits in small towns alike, these businesses
work. I look to it as an important that have been filed, it is not just the play a critical role in our commu-
chapter in my life, when I saw how real so-called caravan of trial lawyers that nities—the locally owned restaurants
people go to work every day and many are coming in and jumping on this. and bars we visit, the gyms that are
times risk their safety and their health There are businesses suing businesses. part of our regular routine, the dry
in doing it. There are lots of lawsuits that have lit- cleaners, the pharmacies and the hard-
Marc Perrone tells us there are lit- tle or nothing to do with personal in- ware stores we stop at when we run er-
erally thousands of his meat processing jury. There are also lawsuits involving rands. But our small businesses aren’t
workers who have been affected by this workers’ compensation. just employers or generators of sales
virus and 95 of his members who have tax. They are owned by our friends and
Senator MCCONNELL’s suggestion is
died as a result of it. What he is look- our neighbors and are part of the very
that we overturn the State laws that
ing for—what we are looking for—is for fabric of our community.
give workers the right to recover in the
those companies to establish standards Right now, they are under severe
workplace if their injuries and or their
of safety for their workers so that they stress and in real jeopardy. The
health is impaired because of the
can go back to work in this important coronavirus has kept Texans at home
COVID–19 virus. What a terrible out-
business. and put our small businesses into seri-
come that would be to walk away from
Some are doing just that. I commend ous financial trouble. When stay-at-
decades of established protection for
them. Some are working with the home orders were put in place, many
workers in every State in the Union,
union to find safe ways to test their were forced to close their doors out-
for Senator MCCONNELL’s so-called red-
workers and to bring them back to a right. Over the last several weeks, like
line threat when it comes to the
job site that is safe for them to work many of my colleagues, I have held in-
COVID virus No. 4 bill that Speaker
in. But they don’t have a national numerable video conferences with
PELOSI is proposing.
standard to live up to. We haven’t es- chambers of commerce, small business
tablished a national standard, as we There is a reasonable answer here.
owners, and others who have told me
should. Whether through OSHA or We can say to these businesses across
about the difficult decisions they have
through CDC, we ought to establish America: Join us in the fight. Let’s
been forced to make in the wake of this
standards for businesses across this stand together. You protect your work-
virus.
country to live up to. I believe many— ers, you protect your customers, and
Without any demand, without an op-
Mr. Smartt with Kwik Chek and Marc we will stand by you. We will establish
portunity to sell their services or the
Perrone with the United Food and a reasonable standard of conduct for
food or other material they provide,
Commercial Workers—would applaud you, which will protect you from frivo-
they had to lay off employees or reduce
that. They would say: At least we know lous lawsuits. But to take the approach
their pay, and some were more con-
what social distancing standards are to by Senator MCCONNELL, saying that we
cerned that they couldn’t survive more
be used in the workplace. At least we just are going to guarantee immunity
than a few weeks because they still had
know what protective equipment is re- from lawsuits, is exactly the wrong
to pay the rent and their overhead.
quired in the workplace to protect our thing to do. We need a standard of safe- Those struggles are familiar for busi-
employees. At least we know going ty that businesses can be proud of, that nesses across the country, and that is
into this exactly what the standards workers can respect, and that cus- why we, together—literally, unani-
are that we need to live up to. tomers can count on so that they can mously, in the Senate—created the
Senator MCCONNELL’s approach is im- go into places, do their business, buy Paycheck Protection Program. This
munity from lawsuits; don’t establish the products, and know that there is a new loan program was designed to help
any standards and don’t hold anybody standard of good health that is being America’s small businesses and their
to any standards at all. That is wrong. established for everyone. employees manage these uncharted
The net result of that is that more peo- I yield the floor. waters by providing 8 weeks of cash
ple would be in danger, more people I suggest the absence of a quorum. flow assistance to cover payroll and
would be infected, and more people The PRESIDING OFFICER. The other business-related expenses.
would die. That is not the right ap- clerk will call the roll. As we now know, it was so popular
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
proach. The legislative clerk proceeded to and so needed that the initial $350 bil-
What we need to do is to make cer- call the roll. lion we funded ran out in less than 2
tain that when this is all said and Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I weeks. From that batch of funding bill,
done, we have a smart approach to ask unanimous consent that the order Texas received more loans than any
this; that a business that is conscien- for the quorum call be rescinded. other State. Nearly 135,000 small busi-
tious, cares for its customers, and The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without nesses benefited from the Paycheck
cares for its workers has standards to objection, it is so ordered. Protection Program—a sum total of
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