CARES 2 (Cong. Rec., July 23, 2020)
Summary
Page S4454 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for July 23, 2020, headed CARES 2, in interleaved columns. Mr. Wyden describes people in line for unemployment assistance, including Sarah Miller, a nursing home aide told not to return to work after symptoms in March whose claim has been pending since April 12. He says suffering for millions starts in 2 days when benefits lapse, and asks unanimous consent, which is his view and request. Another speaker says funding for schools reopening is being finalized, and a unanimous consent agreement sets a confirmation vote at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 27.
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“CARES 2 (Cong. Rec., July 23, 2020).”
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S4454 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 23, 2020
degenerated into a free-for-all, the crowd sistance for the first time, such as Sarah What then?
growing restive, pushing and shoving to get Miller, 29, a single mother of three who was Mr. WYDEN. I close by way of saying
the limited supply of appointment tickets. told not to come back to her job as a nursing that I came to the floor some time ago
Jolley moved to the front of the line, trying home aide after she experienced symptoms
to protect his new friend, La, by reaching consistent with covid–19 in March. Her un-
to ask unanimous consent to make
down and plucking two tickets—No. 69 for employment claim has been pending since sure that this weekend, when millions
her and No. 64 for him. April 12. of people are hurting—remember, the
Others were not so lucky. The numbers ‘‘I need this. I need it,’’ she said. ‘‘I’ve suffering starts in 2 days. It starts on
quickly ran out, and people were told they never been one to do unemployment, but Saturday—2 days in Florida, in Oregon,
had to return the following day. Eventually, with all that’s going on, I don’t really have in Wyoming, and all over the country.
staffers referred people to the three new any other option. I have to be home with my MITCH MCCONNELL’s response was:
events added for the coming week because of kids; I can’t afford to pay a babysitter or do Let’s take a break; we can take off. He
the demand. day care. Got to do what I got to do.’’
Ashley Love, 31, a former customer advo- didn’t seem to see those hurting people
‘WE’RE ALL GLITCHES’
cate for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, had risen at in Kentucky. Maybe they will have
Jolley had time to go home before his 6:30 something to say to him this weekend.
4 a.m. to take her 2-year-old daughter to her
a.m. appointment, shower and change into I will tell you, I think it is a big mis-
mother’s home before heading to the conven-
cargo shorts and a shirt printed with tiny
tion center, only to be told she had to come
steaks and barbecues. He was among the
take for Senate Republicans to have
back the next day. She was laid off in March, frittered away weeks on end, when we
first into the cavernous Expo center, where
when the pandemic nearly obliterated the could have had a dialogue and we could
claims seekers sat down in folding chairs six
travel industry. Her benefits inexplicably
feet apart. have talked about ideas.
stopped four weeks ago, the agency website
Staffers handed out bottles of water, Kind The Presiding Officer has talked to
saying only she was on a ‘‘verification hold.’’
‘‘It’s appalling, I don’t understand how granola bars and a flier that advertised me a number of times since he has been
they can do this to people,’’ Love said. ‘‘One drive-up distribution at the local food pan- here about healthcare. I enjoy talking
day, I called 15 times in two hours, and they try, ‘‘Soup’s On at the Community Kitchen.’’ to my colleagues and working on ideas
Jolley tucked the flier along with other doc-
either don’t answer or take your calls and to try to find a way to address concerns
hang up on you.’’ uments in a blue folder he labeled ‘‘Unem-
ployment.’’ and solve problems. There wasn’t one
Love was getting down to the last she has, single effort—not one—to pick up on
having run through $4,000 in savings. Even As he waited for his name and number to
be called, Jolley looked around at the others any of the ideas that I have been dis-
before her benefits froze, she was getting
only about $137 a week, plus $600 a week from sitting in their socially distanced chairs and cussing here. In fact, I tried to reach
the federal government’s pandemic emer- was reminded of the animated Disney movie out to colleagues on the other side and
gency assistance program, due to expire ‘‘Wreck-It Ralph,’’ which he watches with told them that I heard them say re-
around the end of the month. Her regular his 7-year-old, Pearl. In it, Ralph is a lum- peatedly that benefits should taper
monthly bills—rent, car payment, insur- bering video game villain who hopes to re-
down as the unemployment rate goes
ance—are $2,091. start his life by helping a video game prin-
cess stuck in a computer glitch. down. Well, that is the heart of our bill
She has continued her search for a job, on this side.
even contemplating whether she should In a way, everyone in this room is a glitch,
he said, just like Princess Vanellope in the The hurt and pain that working fami-
‘‘Find Something New’’—as the White
House’s new ad campaign suggests—re- movie. lies are going to face this Saturday and
searching how she could get certification to ‘‘People that are here, we’re all glitches,’’ Sunday—2 days from now—did not
start a career in teaching. he said. ‘‘We fell through the cracks. The have to happen. It didn’t have to hap-
Shelley Zumwalt, the interim director of computer system didn’t work for us.’’ pen. Our side has a bill to work on. The
Oklahoma’s unemployment agency, said the Jolley has a degree in petroleum engineer- other side, I gather, has some ideas. We
state’s system uses a mainframe computer ing but started Big Guys Inc. advertising in
1995 as a hedge against the ups and downs of
have not seen a single piece of paper,
from 1978 that was quickly overwhelmed by but I know that all those people who
the volume of claims. ‘‘My first day, I sat the oil market. For a long time, the com-
down with one of the claims agents and said, pany provided a good living, even during the are hurting can’t eat retroactively.
‘Show me what you do,’ and a green screen 2008 recession. He sells ad space for mom- They can’t eat all the Republican theo-
popped up and she pushed F9,’’ Zumwalt said. and-pop businesses—tree trimmers, DUI law- ries about delay and haggling.
‘‘That was the clearest thing to me that I yers—posted in bathrooms in airports, res- I believe these working families de-
was dealing with a technology that was older taurants and concert venues. serve a whole lot better. They deserve
than I am.’’ ‘‘It’s a captive audience with disposable in- some predictability and certainty that
She launched the series of more than a come,’’ he quipped, that old joke. ‘‘Or it was
when they are hurting—through no
dozen mega-events July 1 after several days before this.’’
He had always thought he would do this fault of their own—their government
in June when desperate people began show-
until he retired, especially after life dealt isn’t going to turn its back on them
ing up to the OESC office in Oklahoma City
and waiting in line with coolers, camp chairs him the surprise of Pearl and he became a and say: We don’t care if your kids
and tents. single dad at 50. Now, he was just hoping his can’t eat and you don’t have a roof
‘‘I’m not okay with people having to camp misfortune would be temporary, that busi- over your head. Our country has al-
out to get their claims processed,’’ Zumwalt ness would revive as things normalized, with ways been better than that.
said. concerts and other events supposed to re- I yield the floor.
Some who showed up at the event had re- start in Oklahoma in August. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma-
ceived notes from the OESC that they had When his name was called, he went behind
jority leader.
been approved for unemployment benefits black curtains where claims agents were
CARES 2
when they hadn’t yet applied, convinced working on their ancient computer program.
they had been victims of fraud. Zumwalt said He gave a written summary of his many con- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, as I
that about 90,000 claims have been flagged as tacts with the agency to Ashley Testerman, said on Tuesday, our Nation stands at
fraudulent. an agent in a black cotton mask. a critical midway point in our fight
Last month, the U.S. Labor Department’s ‘‘I brought a cheat sheet,’’ he said. against the coronavirus. We made it
Office of Inspector General, working with the ‘‘You have no payments; let’s see if you are through the springtime lockdowns.
OESC, said it had stopped payment on 3,800 in the system,’’ she said. Americans’ sacrifices saved our med-
unemployment insurance claims, including In the end, after all that—the numerous
phone calls, the hours wasted on hold, the
ical system. The Senate’s historic
1,300 filed from IP addresses in London, sav-
ing the state nearly $16 million. evening spent sleeping in his car—all he CARES Act helped millions of families
Many real Oklahomans in need of assist- needed was a working PIN number, and make it through, but this terrible virus
ance are suffering through the complicated Jolley was able to file claims for all the is still with us. It kills more Americans
unemployment process, too. The state has weeks he had missed since April. every day. Some areas that have re-
rejected more than half of the unemploy- ‘‘I feel so relieved,’’ he said afterward, jok-
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
opened have seen cases spike. Our hos-
ment claims filed through June 21, some for ing that he might do a Jed Clampett-like jig pitals, healthcare providers, and espe-
gig or self-employed workers who must be in the parking lot on his way out the door.
cially our vulnerable citizens are no-
denied regular unemployment insurance be- But the joy would be temporary. His last so-
fore they can qualify for the federal govern- bering exchange with the claims agent stuck where near out of the woods.
ment’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, in his mind. Meanwhile, although the early days
Zumwalt said. ‘‘We don’t know what the future holds,’’ he of our economic recovery have beaten
Many who showed up at the Tulsa conven- had said. ‘‘What happens if everything shuts expectations and surprised the experts,
tion center were navigating government as- down again?’’ we have really only begun to repair the
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July 23, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4455
damage. More than 17 million Ameri- funding package for schools and uni- with better surge capacity to produce
cans are still jobless. Far too many versities north of $100 billion. That is medical countermeasures right here at
families are still hurting. This is not more money than the House Democrats home the next time a crisis strikes.
over. America’s fight continues, so proposed for a similar fund. There is one more essential element
Congress’s support for our people must There will be several important poli- that ties schools, jobs, and healthcare
continue as well. cies to help childcare providers, to all together—legal protections to pre-
The Senate majority has assembled a grant new flexibility to elementary and vent our historic recovery efforts from
framework for CARES 2. The adminis- secondary schools, and more. simply lining the pockets of trial law-
tration has requested additional time No. 2, jobs and the economy. Two yers.
to review the fine details, but we will provisions of the CARES Act worked We will preserve accountability in
be laying down this proposal early next especially well to help households stay cases of actual gross negligence or in-
week. We have an agreement in prin- afloat and help as many workers as tentional misconduct, but we are going
ciple on the shape of the package. It is possible stay employed. to make sure that nurses and doctors
the framework that will enable Con- As Chairman GRASSLEY will explain, who fought an unknown enemy are not
gress to make law and deliver more re- Republicans want to send a second swamped by a tidal wave of mal-
lief to the American people that is tai- round of direct payments to American practice suits. And we will make sure
lored precisely to this phase of the cri- households, and Senator COLLINS and that school districts, colleges, church-
sis. Senator RUBIO have crafted a sequel to es, nonprofits, and employers that obey
Chairmen GRASSLEY, ALEXANDER, their historic and incredibly successful official guidance do not have to delay
COLLINS, RUBIO, SHELBY, and BLUNT, Paycheck Protection Program. It reopening because they are afraid they
and Senators CORNYN and ROMNEY have would give the hardest hit small busi- will spend 10 years in court.
each spearheaded a part of CARES 2. nesses an opportunity to receive second So this is where Senate Republicans
On Monday, these committee chairmen loans if they continue to pay their are focused—more support for
and Republican Members will intro- workers. healthcare, more direct help for Amer-
duce each component. The sum of these We also intend to continue some tem- ican families, and strong policies to
efforts will be a strong, targeted piece porary Federal supplement to unem- help our country pivot into a safe re-
of legislation aimed directly at the ployment insurance while fixing the opening. We will propose to continue
challenges we face right now. obvious craziness of paying people and renew some of the most successful
Our country is in a middle ground be- more to remain out of the workforce. CARES Act policies, while adding bold
tween the strict lockdowns of a few Small business owners across the coun- new ideas to help get schools and jobs
months ago and the future day when a try have explained how this dynamic is open for the American people. This is
vaccine will put all of this, finally, be- slowing rehiring and recovery. So we the package our country needs. This is
hind us. Our project now is to build a are going to provide help but make what we will introduce.
We are repeating the successful strat-
middle ground that is smart and safe sure it is suited to reopening the econ-
egy that produced the historic, bipar-
but more sustainable. omy.
But temporary relief cannot be our tisan CARES Act back in March. First,
We are still waging a healthcare war
I asked a number of Republicans to
against the virus, and we cannot let up endgame. Americans do not just want
spearhead a serious first draft. Then we
on that. We need to continue to to scrape by; they want to thrive again.
put those elements together and in-
strengthen the defenses we have built— They want a road back to the incred-
vited our Democratic colleagues to the
encouraging mask-wearing, supporting ible job market we had just a few
table. And guided by our roadmap,
testing, and racing toward treatments months ago. So Chairman GRASSLEY
working with the administration, the
and vaccines. will also lay out bold policies to
Senate reached a bipartisan outcome.
At the same time, the greatest coun- incentivize retention, encourage the Earlier this week, even Speaker
try in world history also needs to get rehiring of laid-off Americans, and help PELOSI and Leader SCHUMER seemed to
back on offense. We need to carefully businesses obtain PPE, testing, and concede that things go better when Re-
but proactively step back toward nor- supplies to protect their employees and publicans lead. They themselves said
malcy. This disease has already stolen entice customers. the real work on this next bill would
the lives of more than 140,000 Ameri- Think of it this way: In the spring, only begin after Republicans laid out
cans. It has stolen a half a year of our our economy needed life support. the framework.
national life. We cannot let the robbery Today, while continuing to support Well, I am glad my Democratic
continue without a fight. We cannot let families, we must also get the economy friends see things the same way I do. I
this pandemic rob us indefinitely of our into physical therapy so it can actually just hope they meet our serious, fact-
children’s educations and the liveli- regain its strength. based proposal with the productive and
hoods of 17 million American workers. Finally, in looking to the long term, bipartisan spirit that got us the
We need to get Americans back to the COVID–19 crisis has weakened the CARES Act, rather than the cynical
work and school while continuing to critical Federal trust funds that Amer- partisanship that led them to block po-
fight for our Nation’s health. That is icans rely on. As Senator ROMNEY will lice reform just last month.
what CARES 2 is designed to do. Our explain, our proposal includes a bipar- Doctors and nurses will need Demo-
proposal will not waste the American tisan bill, cosponsored by Senate crats to come to the table. Unemployed
people’s time with go-nowhere socialist Democrats, to help a future Congress Americans will need Democrats to
fantasies. We aren’t choreographing po- evaluate bipartisan proposals for pro- come to the table. Working parents and
litical stunts or teeing up the same old tecting and strengthening the pro- school children will need Democrats to
partisan trench warfare. Our proposal grams that Americans count on. come to the table.
will focus on three things: kids, jobs, Now, our third pillar is the most im- We have known all along the Amer-
and healthcare. portant of all—healthcare. Our entire ican people would defeat this virus by
No. 1, kids. A functioning society reopening and recovery depend on understanding that we are all in this
needs to educate its children and young knocking this awful virus onto its together—every single one of us.
adults. Our kids need us to invest in heels. If we want to deliver more historic
their futures, and working parents So as Chairmen ALEXANDER, BLUNT, relief, the Senate will need to remem-
need some certainty. We need as many GRASSLEY, and SHELBY will explain, ber the very same thing.
K–12 schools, colleges, and universities CARES 2 will continue to treat the
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
ORDER OF BUSINESS
as possible to be safely welcoming stu- root causes of this medical crisis: more Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
dents this fall. resources for hospitals and healthcare sent that notwithstanding rule XXII,
Chairman ALEXANDER, Chairman workers; more help to keep sprinting the postcloture time on the Hardy
SHELBY, and Chairman BLUNT are final- toward diagnostics, treatments, and nomination be considered expired and
izing an ambitious package of funding vaccines; new policies to shield seniors the confirmation vote on that nomina-
and policy to help our schools reopen. from a spike in Medicare premiums; tion occur at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July
They will lay out a reopening-related and new legislation that will leave us 27.
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