HEALS Act (Cong. Rec., July 27, 2020)
Summary
This is the opening pages S4491 and S4492 of the Congressional Record for Monday, July 27, 2020, Vol. 166, No. 132, with interleaved columns. After the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, Mr. MCCONNELL remembers John Lewis, who was lying in state in the Rotunda, and criticizes Democrats for using the cloture rule to block Senator SCOTT's police reform legislation. Under the heading HEALS ACT he says COVID-19 has killed nearly 150,000 Americans and left 17 million people out of work. He previews Republican bills including a sequel to their historic PPP from Chairmen COLLINS and RUBIO and a continued Federal supplement to State unemployment insurance. Mr. GRASSLEY separately speaks on the filibuster.
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“HEALS Act (Cong. Rec., July 27, 2020).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-07-27-crec-2020-07-27-pt1-pgs4491-7-19b8218687/
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Congressional Record
E PL
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020 No. 132
Senate
The Senate met at 4 p.m. and was Meanwhile, Democrats used the same RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY
called to order by the President pro rule to prevent even taking up Senator LEADER
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). SCOTT’s very thoughtful police reform The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma-
f legislation. The rule in question is the jority leader is recognized.
cloture rule, which brings debate and
PRAYER f
amendments to a close so we can get to
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- the finality of a bill. What Democrats REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS
fered the following prayer: blocked was ending debate on pro- Mr. MCCONNELL. Today, as we
Let us pray. ceeding to police reform and starting speak, the U.S. Congress confers a rare
Eternal Lord God, we again thank to consider any amendments that and high honor on a national hero who
You for the life and legacy of Rep- wanted to be offered, but it would have richly deserves it. Our distinguished
resentative John Robert Lewis. taken yet another cloture vote to get late colleague, Congressman John
Lord, accept our gratitude for his to final passage. Lewis, is lying in state in the Rotunda.
ethical congruence that motivated him
The cloture rule ensures that no po- I had the honor to speak at this
to find a moral way to get in the way.
lice reform bill could be passed by the afternoon’s ceremony—how amazing to
We are grateful that his passion for
U.S. Senate unless at least 60 Senators reflect on John’s incredible American
freedom summoned our Nation to em-
were satisfied with the outcome of the life. It began deep in the segregated
brace our best hopes and not our worst
amendment process. In other words, it South, ran through lunch counters in
fears. Inspired by his exemplary pil-
guarantees that the concerns of the mi- Nashville, jail cells in Mississippi,
grimage, may our lawmakers strive to
nority party—whether that be Repub- across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, up
live with such integrity that they will
lican or Democrat—would have to be the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and
stand on the right side of history.
addressed. There was no excuse for pre- brought him to the halls of Congress.
Lord, help our Senators to strive to
venting the Senate from even begin- He made heroic contributions to our
see You more clearly, to love You more
ning the legislative process on this ex- Nation’s march toward racial justice.
dearly, and to follow You more nearly
tremely important and timely issue of He also brought an unforgettable ex-
day by day.
police reform. ample of moral urgency, respect, and
We pray in Your sovereign Name.
Amen. There is also no excuse for Demo- love to Washington that left an impact
crats who claimed to oppose the 60-vote on everyone he met. His example will
f
requirement to cut off debate on prin- be missed here in the Capitol. He will
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ciple when they were last in the major- be remembered forever by a grateful
The President pro tempore led the ity, who then immediately began using Nation because, as far as I am con-
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: cloture to block bills that had majority cerned, it is not really the rest of us in
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the support when they lost their majority, Congress who are conveying an honor
United States of America, and to the Repub- and who still continue to use cloture to upon John Lewis today, not this time.
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, block progress on important issues Rather, it is John who is bringing
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. today, but who now fully admit that greater honor to us, to this Capitol,
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. they will change the Senate institu- with his presence, one final time.
ERNST). The Senator from Iowa. tion—the protection for the minority— f
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I if it suits their partisan purpose in the HEALS ACT
ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 future.
minute in morning business. I yield the floor. Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without COVID–19 has killed nearly 150,000
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
objection, it is so ordered. Americans. It has caused massive lay-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The offs on a historic scale and left 17 mil-
f clerk will call the roll. lion people out of work. It has thrown
FILIBUSTER The senior assistant legislative clerk the lives and the trajectories of our Na-
Mr. GRASSLEY. Former Vice Presi- proceeded to call the roll. tion’s children and young adults into
dent Biden and Minority Leader SCHU- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, uncertainty.
MER have indicated a willingness to end I ask unanimous consent that the order Our Nation stands now at an impor-
the so-called filibuster if Democrats for the quorum call be rescinded. tant crossroads in this battle. Amer-
gain a majority in the U.S. Senate The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ican families’ historic sacrifices
after this year’s election. objection, it is so ordered. brought our medical system through
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∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
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S4492 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 27, 2020
the springtime intact. The very early fore, with even more support for fami- To make a law, bipartisan talks need
stages of our economic recovery have lies who care for vulnerable adult de- to come next. So there is one big ques-
been promising and our Nation needs pendents. tion facing the country right now:
to continue to proceed with a smart Chairmen COLLINS and RUBIO have Which version of our distinguished
and safe reopening. designed a sequel to their historic PPP Democratic colleagues are the Amer-
At the same time, the virus is still to help prevent more layoffs of Amer- ican people about to get? Are we going
with us. It is still spreading, and it ican workers. to get the Democratic Party we got in
does not care about our fragile eco- Republicans want to continue a Fed- March, when our colleagues met us in
nomic progress or our frustration with eral supplement to State unemploy- good-faith negotiations and worked
restrictions, or anything else, besides ment insurance. In fact, we will pro- with us to turn our framework into a
infecting as many people as possible. pose a weekly dollar amount that is bipartisan product—the Democrats
So we have one foot in the pandemic eight times what Democrats put in who helped us pass the largest rescue
and one foot in the recovery. The place when they controlled the White package in American history without
American people need more help. They House and Congress during the great one dissenting vote—or will the coun-
need it to be comprehensive, and they recession. But we have to do it in a try get the Democratic Party we saw
need it to be carefully tailored to these way that does not slow down reopen- in June, when our colleagues refused to
crossroads. ing. suggest amendments or improvements
That is what this Senate majority We are also going to help this coun- to Senator TIM SCOTT’s police reform
has assembled, and that is what Chair- try pivot into recovery. The American bill and chose to block the issue alto-
men ALEXANDER, BLUNT, COLLINS, GRA- people don’t just want relief; they want
gether?
HAM, GRASSLEY, RUBIO, and SHELBY, opportunity so long as the reopenings
Their actions last month left some
and Senators CORNYN and ROMNEY are can be safe. So Chairman GRASSLEY
observers wondering whether the
introducing today. They will be coming will walk through strong economic in-
Democrats had made this cynical
to the floor shortly to introduce their centives to boost worker retention, get
choice to give up on bipartisan legisla-
components. Americans rehired, and help small
tion altogether right through Novem-
Together, their bills make up the businesses buy the PPE, testing, and
ber, whether the Democrats had deter-
HEALS Act—health, economic assist- supplies that will protect employees
mined that strengthening our Nation
ance, liability protection, and and customers alike.
Senator ROMNEY has legislation to with bipartisan action might hurt their
schools—health, economic assistance, political odds and, therefore, it might
liability protection, and schools. help a future Congress ensure our crit-
ical national trust funds remain suit their fortunes better if pain and
Just like in March, with the CARES chaos simply continued. I hope that is
Act, Senate Republicans have authored strong.
In looking to our long-term jobs fu- completely off base. I know our Demo-
another bold framework to help our cratic colleagues know this crisis is
ture, there is no question this pan-
Nation. Now we need our Democratic still urgent. I know they know Amer-
demic has America and our allies reex-
colleagues to reprise their part as well. ican families need more help.
amining our degree of dependence on
They need to put aside the partisan I hope this strong proposal will occa-
China. Chairman GRAHAM is intro-
stonewalling we saw on police reform sion a real response, not partisan cheap
ducing a package of legislation that
and rediscover the spirit of urgency shots, not the predictable, tired, old
will incentivize PPE manufacturing
that got the CARES Act across the fin- right here at home. It will ensure that rhetoric as though these were ordinary
ish line, and quickly join us around the our efforts to rebuild our national times and the Nation could afford ordi-
negotiating table. stockpile of protective gear actually nary politics. We cannot have a Senate
It will take bipartisan cooperation to minority decide in June it is done leg-
benefit American workers instead of
make the HEALS Act into law for the just stimulating China, and it will islating until November. The pandemic
American people. The Senate will not bring a heightened focus to other key is not finished. The economic pain is
waste time with pointless partisanship. concerns, such as high-tech semicon- not finished, so Congress cannot be fin-
There is a reason why even Speaker ductor manufacturing, critical min- ished either.
PELOSI and Leader SCHUMER them- erals, and intellectual property theft so f
selves have publicly downplayed the that the lessons of this pandemic do
multitrillion-dollar socialist manifesto RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
not go unlearned.
they published a few weeks back and Finally, healthcare. Chairmen ALEX- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
have suggested the real, serious discus- ANDER, GRASSLEY, and others I have al- the previous order, the leadership time
sion would begin when Republicans re- ready named have legislation to keep is reserved.
leased our outline. America on offense against this virus f
We have produced a tailored and tar- for diagnostics, treatments, vaccines,
geted draft that will cut right to the hospitals and healthcare workers, and CONCLUSION OF MORNING
heart of three distinct crises facing our protecting seniors who rely on Medi- BUSINESS
country—getting kids back in school, care from premium spikes. Our legisla- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning
getting workers back to work, and win- tion supports all of it at continued his- business is closed.
ning the healthcare fight against the toric levels. f
virus—kids, jobs, and healthcare. In tying kids, jobs, and healthcare all
First, our Nation’s kids. Chairmen together, Senator CORNYN has authored EXECUTIVE SESSION
ALEXANDER, BLUNT, and SHELBY will be strong legal liability protections so ---
introducing a sweeping package to help that nurses, doctors, charities, school
schools and universities reopen safely. EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
districts, colleges, and employers can
We are talking about more than $100 spend their next months actually re- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
billion—more for an education fund opening rather than fighting for their the previous order, the Senate will pro-
than House Democrats put aside in a lives against frivolous lawsuits. We ceed to executive session and resume
bill that spent multiple trillions. There will preserve accountability in the consideration of the following nomina-
are policies to help childcare providers event of gross negligence or intentional tion, which the clerk will report.
and schools have the flexibility they misconduct, but we are not going to let The senior assistant legislative clerk
need to function. trial lawyers throw a party on the read the nomination of William Scott
Second, jobs. Since our Nation has backs of the frontline workers and in- Hardy, of Pennsylvania, to be United
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one foot in the pandemic and one foot stitutions that have fought this new States District Judge for the Western
in the recovery, our economic policies enemy on the frontlines. District of Pennsylvania.
have to acknowledge both sides of that Health, economic assistance, liabil- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
coin. Chairman GRASSLEY will intro- ity, and schools—another historic I suggest the absence of a quorum.
duce another round of direct checks for package for the next phase of this his- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
households at the same amount as be- toric national fight. clerk will call the roll.
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