The Economy (Cong. Rec., June 4, 2020)
Summary
Page S2704 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for June 4, 2020, headed The Economy, in interleaved columns. A New York speaker says three officers were injured while assigned to prevent looting, and wishes New York State Trooper Ron Ensminger and Buffalo police officers a speedy recovery. The speaker then asks what the President is doing for the rule of law and why Republican Senate voices do not condemn him, which is that speaker's view. Another speaker describes a signed bill that modifies the paycheck program with more flexibility, and another cites gig apps such as Uber and Instacart.
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“The Economy (Cong. Rec., June 4, 2020).”
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S2704 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 4, 2020
Three of New York’s finest were in- What is President Trump doing to signature, previously passed by the
jured yesterday while assigned to pre- this democracy, to the rule of law, to House, that makes some modifications
vent looting. A New York State troop- the primacy of the Constitution? And to the PPP program—things that were
er in Buffalo was run over the other where are the Republican Senate sought by both sides, improvements, I
night. I wish New York State Trooper voices—Leader MCCONNELL and every- think, that enable that program to be
Ron Ensminger and the Buffalo police one else here—condemning what he used with greater flexibility, extending
officers injured in these disturbing in- did? the amount of time in which those dol-
cidents a speedy and full recovery and Again, democracy will be eroded if we lars that have been received can be
thank them for their service and com- don’t stand up for it, if we are afraid to used, and allowing some greater flexi-
mitment to public safety. speak out, afraid to tell President bility in how they are used.
Let me state, once again, unequivo- Trump he is overreaching and has done So I think that is evidence, again,
cally, that the cause of justice and bad, bad things when he does them. that this body, and both Democrats
change sought by protesters in and be- I am not the only one who feels this and Republicans working together, can
yond is undermined by lawlessness and way. We have had statement after get things done for the American peo-
violence. President Trump, however, statement from Americans of all polit- ple that address the very direct needs
seems to be incapable of acknowl- ical stripes. I read George Will, for in- and challenges they face right now as a
edging the fact that the overwhelming stance, the other day. He is a conserv- result of the coronavirus.
number of peace protesters are peace- ative, but he cares about America, and I credit the authors of that—Sen-
ful and are simply advocating change. he has got some principle. ators COLLINS and RUBIO on our side,
He seems incapable of turning the tem- Then, the most remarkable of all, along with their Democratic counter-
perature down to prevent more vio- issued by President Trump’s former parts—for working together to struc-
lence. Quite the opposite. The Presi- Secretary of Defense. I want to read ture a program that has not only
dent wants Americans to falsely be- some of what former Secretary Mattis helped many businesses stay in busi-
lieve that all the people who are pro- said: ness—millions of businesses stay in
testing for a good cause—equality and When I joined the military, some 50 years business—but has kept tens of millions
racial justice—are violent. Nothing ago, I swore an oath to support and defend of people in this country employed at a
could be further from the truth. The the Constitution. Never did I dream that time when we desperately need to keep
overwhelming majority are doing what troops taking that same oath would be or- those jobs.
our Founding Fathers did: protesting dered under any circumstance to violate the So, again, I think it is evidence of
to make this Nation a better nation. constitutional rights of their fellow citi-
zens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op
this body’s and our Senate majority’s
They should be praised, not vilified. focus on the coronavirus and things we
for the elected commander-in-chief, with
In a week marred by unacceptable vi- can do to help assist those who have
military leadership standing alongside. We
olence and rioting in some places, the know that we are better than the abuse of been most harmed economically by
President advocates chaos and dis- executive authority that we witnessed in La- that, as well as addressing the very
order, including appalling attacks on fayette Square. real health emergency that we need to
constitutional rights on his front Mattis continues: continue to focus on in terms of finding
porch. My goodness. My goodness. Donald Trump is the first president in my those therapeutics and vaccines that
Earlier this week, Americans lifetime who does not try to unite the Amer- will enable the American people to
watched Federal officers, under the di- ican people—does not even pretend to try. have confidence, once again, that they
rection of the President and the Attor- Instead he tries to divide us. We are wit- can go out.
ney General, use gas and rubber bullets nessing the consequences of three years of
THE ECONOMY
to disperse a crowd of peaceful pro- this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the
testers in the park. The Lincoln Memo- consequences of three years without mature Mr. President, what I want to speak
rial was blocked off by rows of camou- leadership. We can unite without him, draw- to today is the evidence that we are
flaged officers. ing on the strengths inherent in our civil so- seeing that the economy around the
There are reports right now that ciety. This will not be easy, as the past few country is starting to reopen. There is
days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow still a lot of work, obviously, that has
troops from Fort Drum and Fort Bragg
citizens; to past generations that bled to de- to be done to defeat the virus and help
are camped outside Washington, DC. I fend our promise; and to our children.
would ask the leaders of our military, our economy and the American people
That was President Trump’s former recover.
if these reports are true, what are they
Secretary of Defense, James Mattis. As I mentioned, we have spent the
doing there, and what are their orders?
The leader, a few minutes ago, men- Like all former members of the mili- past few weeks focused on monitoring
tioned Tiananmen Square. Of course, tary, I know that Secretary Mattis the implementation of the $2.4 trillion
no one believes that we are China or strives to avoid political statements. in aid that Congress has provided. Our
like China—of course not. We are a de- He has assiduously avoided them so committees are hard at work con-
mocracy, and we are proud of it. Most far. But it was a searing indictment of ducting coronavirus oversight and
of us love and praise the right for President Trump’s failures that impor- looking ahead to what else Congress
peaceful protests. But I would remind tuned Secretary Mattis to speak out so may need to do to combat the virus
the Republican leader, when any Presi- strongly about the President’s divisive- and to get our economy going again.
dent, particularly an overreaching one ness, immaturity, and abuse of power. We are looking at what more funding
like this, steps over the line, if good Make no mistake about it, General Congress may need to provide and what
people don’t raise their voices, that is Mattis’s comments were a shot across Congress can do that doesn’t involve a
the way to erode democracy, which the bow to our military leaders: Don’t lot of new spending.
China does not have. let the President push you into doing As I said, Congress has already pro-
Where is Leader MCCONNELL’s voice? things you know that are wrong, that vided $2.5 trillion to fight the
Instead of spinning these crazy theo- should not be done, and that could very coronavirus, and we will absolutely
ries, why doesn’t he just speak out well violate the Constitution. provide more if needed, but we need to
against what the President did Monday I yield the floor. remember that every dollar we have
night? Why did he block our resolution, The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. provided is borrowed money that our
our simple resolution, which called for SCOTT of Florida). The Senator from children and grandchildren will have to
only three things: one, praise the pro- South Dakota. repay.
testers; two, condemn violence; and, CORONAVIRUS Our debt was already very large com-
three, condemn the President for what Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, respond- pared to the size of our economy, even
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he did? ing to the coronavirus continues to be before—before this year’s coronavirus-
Our Nation’s Capital is being pa- one of our top priorities here in Con- related borrowing, and that is a very
trolled by Federal officers commanded gress, I think, as evidenced that yester- concerning reality. The truth is, we
by President Trump and Attorney Gen- day the Senate moved a bill across the can’t just keep borrowing and bor-
eral Barr, who refuse to identify who floor of the Senate that will be on its rowing ever greater sums without suf-
they are and where they come from. way now to the President’s desk for his fering real economic consequences.
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June 4, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2705
So, while we may need to borrow ers. A lot of us have relied on these tiple other measures to help Americans
more money to meet our needs before workers during the pandemic to pro- in the wake of the coronavirus. For ex-
this crisis is over, it is crucial that we vide food and grocery delivery. But ample, the CARES Act, our largest
keep that borrowing as low as possible these gig economy arrangements coronavirus response bill to date, in-
and only spend that which is abso- stretch the boundaries of current tax cluded a temporary version of legisla-
lutely necessary. law. tion I introduced with Senator WARNER
That is why the Senate is so focused During the pandemic, companies who that allows employers to contribute up
on conducting oversight of the money have wanted to provide additional ben- to $5,250 tax-free to help pay down
we have already provided. Seeing how efits to workers—from personal protec- their employees’ student loans.
and where those funds are used will tive equipment to financial assist- This is a win for employees, who can
give us a better sense of where we ance—have hesitated to do so for fear receive help with burdensome loan pay-
spent sufficiently and where more that their actions would accidentally ments during a time when multiple
money may be needed. reclassify their workers from inde- Americans’ finances are stretched thin.
We are also, as I said, looking at pendent contractors to employees. And it is a win for employers, who have
what we can do to help families and That would mean the end of this kind a new benefit to offer to help attract
businesses that does not involve spend- of work for a lot of people who rely on talented employees as they seek to
ing a lot of taxpayer dollars. While my it for the income and flexibility it pro- build their businesses back up after the
friends across the aisle generally seem vides. past few months of COVID-related
to regard money or a new government My NEW GIG Act updates our tax challenges.
program as the solution to every prob- law to provide clear guidance on the I am hoping that we can make this
lem, the truth is, there are a lot of classification of this new generation of legislation permanent before the end of
things Congress can do without spend- workers. It will ensure Lyft drivers, the year. As I said earlier, if we need to
ing trillions of taxpayer dollars or set- Postmates, Taskers, and others are provide additional coronavirus funding,
ting up new government bureaucracies, treated as independent contractors for we will. But we need to make sure we
everything from making permanent re- purposes of tax law if they meet a set are only providing what is genuinely
forms to make telehealth more acces- of objective criteria. necessary because today’s young work-
sible to shielding responsible busi- My bill will allow companies to pro- ers, and our children and grand-
nesses from frivolous litigation. vide support to workers to help them children, will be paying the price for
I have three tax bills that I have in- stay safe during the pandemic without the debt we are amassing.
troduced this Congress that would help jeopardizing these individuals’ status I am committed to supporting legis-
Americans during and after the pan- as independent contractors. And it will lation that will help Americans get
demic. One of these bills is my Mobile ensure that the valuable services these through this crisis while minimizing
Workforce State Income Tax Sim- individual provide will remain avail- the burden on future generations. My
plification Act, which I introduced last able to the Americans who are increas- tax bills are one example of this kind
year along with Senator SHERROD of legislation. I look forward to work-
ingly reliant on them.
In addition to the NEW GIG Act, I ing with my colleagues to advance
BROWN.
In our economy, substantial numbers also introduced the Digital Goods and them in the U.S. Senate.
I yield the floor.
of workers travel to different States Services Tax Fairness Act last month. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
for temporary work assignments on a This legislation, which I introduced ator from Washington.
regular basis, and they end up subject with Senator WYDEN, is designed to REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD
to a bewildering variety of State laws prevent consumers from being faced Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I
governing State income tax. with multiple taxes for downloading come to the floor today after my col-
Our legislation would simplify things digital products. leagues have held a moment of silence
for both workers and employers by cre- Over the past few months, I imagine
for the passing of George Floyd. His
ating an across-the-board tax standard a lot of Americans have purchased new
family should not be preparing for his
for mobile employees who spend a books to read on their Kindle or a new funeral today. All Americans, regard-
short period of time working across television series to watch. But what less of race, ethnicity, religion, gender,
State lines. It would ensure that States many Americans don’t know is that, or sexual orientation, deserve to have
receive fair tax payments while mak- right now, a digital purchase of a book equal protection under the law.
ing life a lot easier for workers who or television series could hypo- It is time that we not just speak out
travel to different States for work. thetically be taxed in up to three about injustice; it is time that we pass
While this legislation is good tax pol- States, depending on the circumstances new Federal laws to protect the civil
icy, generally—we have needed clear of the purchase. liberties of U.S. citizens and protect
rules of the road for out-of-State work- With States likely looking to find them from these injustices. What is our
ers for a while—it has particular rel- new revenue in the wake of declining role here in the U.S. Senate? I believe
evance in the age of coronavirus. receipts during the pandemic, there is it comes to passing new laws for those
The Governor of New York has made a real danger that Americans could see Federal protections.
it clear that he is looking to cash in on multiple States’ worth of taxes on The U.S. Attorney General is the top
the pandemic by subjecting doctors and their digital purchases. The Digital law enforcement of our country. He di-
nurses who cross State lines to volun- Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act rects and supervises U.S. attorneys
tarily work in New York to New York’s would provide ‘‘rules of the road’’ for that prosecute Federal crimes.
income tax. taxing digital goods and services and The Attorney General is supposed to
We need to make sure that medical ensure that digital purchases could be make sure that citizens in our country
professionals who traveled to other taxed in only one State—the State in have equal protection of the law. He is
States to help fight the coronavirus which the consumer resides. supposed to uphold the Fourth Amend-
aren’t rewarded with big tax bills. An- It would also prohibit States and ment protections against unreasonable
other tax bill I introduced last year local governments from taxing digital seizure and the Civil Rights Act, that
that has particular relevance in the goods at higher rates than tangible protects against excessive use of force
age of coronavirus is my New Economy goods. In other words, under our bill, by police.
Works to Guarantee Independence and that season of ‘‘The Office’’ you want It is not about calling out the mili-
Growth Act. We always have an acro- to buy digitally couldn’t be taxed at a tary. It is about protecting the civil
nym around here. It is called the NEW higher rate than if you were pur- liberties of our U.S. citizens. He is sup-
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GIG Act. chasing the season on DVD. posed to enforce 18 U.S. Code Sec 242,
The last decade or so has seen the These tax bills are just some of the which prohibits the deprivation of
rise of the gig economy—services pro- ideas Republicans are putting forward rights under the color of law. It crim-
vided by individuals through apps and that would help Americans without inalizes abuse by police.
websites like Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, spending trillions of additional tax- The U.S. Department of Justice Civil
Instacart, Postmates, and many oth- payer dollars. I am working on mul- Rights Division is supposed to step in
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