Business Before the Senate (Cong. Rec., May 21, 2020)

Summary

Page S2563 of the Congressional Record for Thursday, May 21, 2020, Volume 166, No. 96, headed Business Before the Senate. The House was not in session, with its next meeting set for May 22, 2020 at 11 a.m., and the Senate met at 10 a.m. with a prayer from the Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black. Mr. Grassley asks unanimous consent to speak for 1 minute in morning business, and says the Senate legislated, confirmed nominees and conducted oversight of the COVID-19 response, while contrasting this with absentee neighbors, which is his view. Other remarks honor American families and workers as heroes.

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“Business Before the Senate (Cong. Rec., May 21, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-05-21-crec-2020-05-21-pt1-pgs2563-8-af8a8216e9/, SHA-256 c1edd573ff8fa383aedcd2aff13142aa23c980488759b95a08a68fa6dc4d35f0.

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, THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 No. 96

House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, May 22, 2020, at 11 a.m.

Senate
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020

The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I lated, we confirmed nominees, we held
called to order by the President pro ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 major hearings, and conducted over-
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). minute in morning business. sight on the historic response to
f The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without COVID–19.
objection, it is so ordered. Yesterday, we learned that our Sen-
PRAYER ate action will continue to contrast
f
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- with our absentee neighbors across the
fered the following prayer: NIGERIA Rotunda. While essential workers
Let us pray. Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, across the country continue to clock
Lord of our lives, make these mo- we all ought to be very concerned, as I in, the Democratic House of Represent-
ments of prayer more than mere words, am, about the ongoing religious perse- atives has essentially put itself on paid
but may this reverent pause fill our cution happening in Nigeria. It may be leave for months. Since the early days
hearts with gratitude and love for You. happening in a lot of countries, but I of this crisis, the self-described ‘‘Peo-
May our lawmakers appreciate the fact just want to mention Nigeria today. ple’s House’’ has been suspiciously
that through prayer, they have the In the last 6 months, there have been empty of people. I understand they
privilege of talking to You, the super- multiple attacks. This includes the have convened for legislative session a
intendent of the universe. murder of 11 Christians by extremists grand total of 2 days in the last 8
Lord, inspire them to use this inter- identified as part of ISIS, and—can you weeks. At this point, I am wondering if
cessory opportunity to seek Your wis- believe it—the beheading of a pastor by we should send Senators over there to
dom and guidance, knowing that You Boko Haram militants. West Africa re- collect their newspaper and water the
are eager to help them. Give us all the leased a barbaric video of a child of plants.
wisdom to remember that You con- It is not just their physical absence;
about 10 years old executing a Chris-
tinue to be our refuge and strength, al- it is House Democrats absent from any
tian.
ways ready to help in times of trouble. serious discussions at all. About the
The Nigerian authorities need to stop
And Lord, as we approach Memorial only product to emerge from their
this persecution right now, and our
Day, thank You for the men and lengthy sabbatical has been a 1,800-
own government, the U.S. Government, page, $3 trillion messaging bill that
women who gave their lives for this
needs to do what it can to support that couldn’t even unite their own con-
Nation while serving in the U.S. mili-
effort. For sure, those responsible must ference.
tary. We are grateful also for the great
be held accountable for their actions. Yesterday, the Speaker announced
sacrifices made by their loved ones.
I yield the floor. this arrangement will continue for an-
We pray in Your merciful Name.
Amen. f other 45 days at least, but there is a
f new wrinkle. House Democrats jammed
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY
through a precedent-breaking remote
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LEADER
voting scheme that will let 1 Member
The President pro tempore led the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- cast 10 additional votes—1 Member cast
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: jority leader is recognized. 10 additional votes. Actually, 1 person,
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the f 11 votes. Remember, these are the peo-
United States of America, and to the Repub- ple who want to remake every State’s
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE election laws.
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. MCCONNELL. All month, the There are several problems with this.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Senate has been on the job attending One of them happens to be article I,
HYDE-SMITH). The Senator from Iowa. to the needs of our country. We legis- section 5 of the U.S. Constitution,

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

S2563

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S2564 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 21, 2020
which says a majority of each House set up home offices and home schools UNANIMOUS CONSENT
shall constitute a quorum to do busi- overnight. Community volunteers have AGREEMENT—S.J. RES. 72
ness. For about 231 years, Congress has found new ways to pitch in and help Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
managed to fulfill this job require- the vulnerable from 6 feet apart. I ask unanimous consent that the ac-
ment. They worked through a Civil Tens of millions of workers have kept
tions of the Senate with respect to S.J.
War, two World Wars, terrorist threats, collecting paychecks instead of pink
Res. 72 be vitiated.
and a major pandemic without trying slips because of our Paycheck Protec-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
to shirk this duty. The 12th Congress tion Program, which sent hundreds of
objection, it is so ordered.
endured the War of 1812, including the billions of dollars to keep small busi-
nesses alive. f
occupation of Washington and the
burning of this very building that we COVID–19 has killed nearly 100,000 RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
are in right now without abandoning Americans. It has cost tens of millions
their jobs. This is a generational trag- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
in-person meetings. the previous order, the leadership time
The Constitution requires a physical edy. But in the midst of it, our country
is pulling together. is reserved.
quorum to do business. Normally, both
My home State of Kentucky is show- f
Chambers may presume one. But any
House Member has a right to demand ing us how it is done. A glass producer CONCLUSION OF MORNING
an in-person attendance check. The transformed its operation to make pro- BUSINESS
Democrats’ new rule says one person tective shields for businesses. A high
school principal, Evan Jackson, in- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning
may mark himself and 10 others business is closed.
present, even if they are nowhere in vented a virtual commencement so
graduates didn’t go uncelebrated. Dr. f
sight, which is a flatout lie.
There will be enormous constitu- Erin Frazier, a pediatrician, somehow EXECUTIVE SESSION
tional questions around anything the found the spare time to stand up
House does if they fail to demonstrate brandnew food pantries. Restaurants
a real quorum, but plow ahead anyhow. are spreading hope and hospitality by EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
They have had 2 normal workdays in 8 donating meals to first responders.
And one group of restaurants The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
weeks and one absurd, unserious pro- the previous order, the Senate will pro-
headquartered in Louisville called
posal. And now they are playing games ceed to executive session to resume
Texas Roadhouse has gone to great
with the Constitution so they can con- lengths to avoid layoffs. The founder consideration of the following nomina-
tinue their never-ending spring break gave up his salary and put his own tion which the clerk will report.
well into July. money into a worker assistance fund. The senior assistant legislative clerk
Let’s come over here to the Senate. read the nomination of JOHN L.
So far they have spent $17 million on
In the past 3 weeks, we have filled cru- their workers, covering everything RATCLIFFE, of Texas, to be Director of
cial posts at the National Counterintel- from healthcare premiums to bonuses. National Intelligence.
ligence and Security Center, the Nu- These past few months have been try- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
clear Regulatory Commission, and the ing indeed, but the American people I suggest the absence of a quorum.
Department of Homeland Security. have been truly inspiring. This spring, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
Today, we will confirm the next Di- the Senate wrote and passed the larg- clerk will call the roll.
rector of National Intelligence. JOHN est rescue package in American history The senior assistant legislative clerk
RATCLIFFE will lead the intelligence to try to help bridge this period. This proceeded to call the roll.
community in countering threats from Nation of nearly 330 million people put Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
great powers, rogue nations, and ter- their lives on pause to protect our med- ask unanimous consent that the order
rorists, and ensuring that work is un- ical system, and it worked. for the quorum call be rescinded.
tainted by political bias. The American people did what Amer- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
The Banking Committee heard from icans do: They got it done. We kept our objection, it is so ordered.
Chairman Powell and Secretary healthcare system intact; we did not RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
Mnuchin on the workings of the let this virus break us; and as far as we The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
CARES Act and the state of our econ- know, not one single American who Democratic leader is recognized.
omy. The Homeland Security and Gov- needed a ventilator could not get one.
CORONAVIRUS
ernment Affairs Committee has re- We have not yet won the war, but the
ported the nominee to be Special In- citizens of this Nation have won an im- Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President,
spector General for Pandemic Recovery portant battle. one unfortunate side effect of the
Programs. What comes next? Sustaining this COVID–19 pandemic is that we have be-
The Special Committee on Aging is flattened curve will take vigilance. come accustomed to the recitation of
examining all the ways this crisis has Safely reopening schools, universities, grim statistics.
hurt America’s seniors. and businesses will take care and lead- The United States now leads the
The HELP Committee has discussed ership. The race for even more testing, world in the number of confirmed cases
with top experts like Dr. Fauci and Ad- therapeutics, and of course a vaccine of the coronavirus with more than 1.5
miral Giroir how schools, universities, will be one great national project. million. Another 2.4 million workers
and businesses will begin to reopen. Rebuilding the prosperity we had just filed jobless claims this week, joining
Senator CORNYN and I are working on a few months ago will be another. Life the more than 38 million Americans
legal protections that our healthcare will not go right back to normal. Re- who have applied for unemployment as-
workers deserve and institutions will pairing the damage will take cre- sistance since the crisis began.
need if they want to return to anything ativity. But the greatest country in Very soon, our country will reach an-
reassembling normal. world history will find a more sustain- other grim milestone. We are fast ap-
On the floor, we have passed major able middle ground. proaching the day when more than
bills, renewing key national security Every one of my Senate colleagues 100,000 American lives will be lost to
tools and dialing up the consequences should be proud of how we helped our COVID–19—the size of a small city
for Communist China’s abuse of human Nation win this battle. Every day, our erased from the map.
rights. historic rescue package has continued Speaker PELOSI and I sent a letter to
In short, the Senate has just followed to push out money and aid. Every day, President Trump this morning, re-

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the lead of the American people. For we are working on ways to smooth the questing that the American flag be
months now, healthcare workers have road toward reopening that lies before flown at half-mast on all public build-
been clocking in to help and heal us. ings on the day the toll reaches 100,000.
strangers. Every minute on the job is The American people have already As families all across this great coun-
an act of selflessness and bravery. been heroes. It is our honor as Senators try mourn the loss of friends, col-
Families have forged new routines and to stand with them. leagues, and loved ones, flying the flag

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