Congressional Record, Senate, July 30, 2020, Page S4601
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated July 30, 2020, at page S4601. A Senator asks unanimous consent for a moment of silence to recognize the more than 150,000 American deaths from the coronavirus, naming losses including a professor, a civil rights pioneer and a Brooklyn doctor. The Senator then says Republicans are divided and delaying as the country approaches a cliff on unemployment, objects to efforts to cut the enhanced benefit from $600 a week to $200 a week, and says Speaker Pelosi and others are trying to negotiate while Senate Republicans are not. The page ends with remarks on emergency authorities used in Portland.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Congressional Record, Senate, July 30, 2020, Page S4601.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-07-30-crec-2020-07-30-pt1-pgs4601-43e386daa7/
, SHA-256 00d1984e3742ee1ea91ad48551a8fa9ca0862b6ab29f1bcbf1722d3726d869e2.Full text
July 30, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4601
virus continues to rage throughout our ideology that the Federal Government tiations with our Senate colleagues,
country. Yet now we spend a moment shouldn’t help people even in a time of but the reason negotiations are going
to acknowledge how much our country national emergency. nowhere right now is that the Repub-
has suffered already. As the country is about to careen licans are divided. Who is leading the
We have lost friends and neighbors, over several cliffs as a result of Repub- effort on the Republican side—Chief of
brothers and sisters, fathers and lican delay, dithering, and disunity, Staff Meadows and Secretary Mnuchin?
daughters, mothers and sons, a beloved our friends on the other side are now Is Senator JOHNSON and Senator
professor at Howard University, a civil scrambling. It is dawning on them BRAUN’s effort to pass reduced unem-
rights pioneer, and a renowned psy- now—not a week ago, not 3 weeks ago, ployment benefits a real offer from the
chiatrist. We have lost a Brooklyn doc- not 2 months ago—that we are facing a Republicans or just a stunt?
tor, at 62, on the verge of retirement, cliff with unemployment—although we Leader MCCONNELL has said that the
who in the early weeks of the crisis in face cliffs on other issues, as well, right Democrats will not engage. I would re-
New York, worked day shifts at the now. mind him that he refuses to go into the
ICU and night shifts at the Hospital I understand that, today, a few of my room when Speaker PELOSI, Secretary
Center across the street before finally colleagues on the other side will ask Mnuchin, Chief of Staff Meadows, and I
succumbing to the disease himself. We the Senate to pass a reduction of the sit in there. Once again, Senator
have lost so many in so short a time. enhanced employment benefit from MCCONNELL engages in ‘‘Alice in Won-
Unable to grieve them in the manner $600 a week to $200 a week or, even derland’’ tactics and speeches and
they deserve, we respect this moment worse, a smaller percentage of a work- words. What he says is exactly the op-
of silence, this moment of sorrow. er’s wages than the Republicans pro- posite of what is true. We are trying to
I ask unanimous consent that there posed in their bill earlier this week. An negotiate, and the Senate Republicans
be a moment of silence to recognize the already stingy Republican proposal has are not.
more than 150,000 American deaths gotten even stingier as the week has Next, it is clear that the Senate Re-
from the novel coronavirus. gone on. publicans don’t have a unified position
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without I have made it very clear why the on anything. The main thing we hear
objection, it is so ordered. proposal by the Senator of Wisconsin is from Leader MCCONNELL is that he
There will now be a moment of si- terrible policy for four main reasons. would torpedo all of the relief that the
lence to recognize the American deaths First and most obviously, it would
Americans are counting on unless
from the novel coronavirus. hurt the unemployed as 1.4 million
there is a giant corporate immunity
(Moment of silence.) Americans filed new claims for unem-
provision attached, and he says he will
ployment last week, and the number is
CORONAVIRUS not even negotiate on it. Who is hold-
Madam President, as COVID–19 con- going up again. Our economy is still
ing things up? Who is standing in the
tinues to spread through dozens of shedding jobs, and Americans are los-
ing their paychecks through no fault of way? Leader MCCONNELL and his Re-
States, our country is dealing with publican caucus are, certainly, at the
multiple crises at this time. their own. Yet the Republicans want to
take $1,600 out of their pockets every top of the list.
We learned today that the most re- And President Trump is all over the
cent quarter was the worst on record single month. They want to give people
lot. He himself called the Republican
for our economy. The problem is not who lost their jobs through no fault of
their own a 34-percent pay cut. It is Senate proposal ‘‘semi-irrelevant.’’
new or surprising. Millions of newly When your own President says your
unemployed Americans cannot go back shocking, inhumane, wrong.
Second, it would exacerbate poverty. proposal is semi-irrelevant, as Trump
to work, cannot afford the rent, cannot has said to the Senate Republicans,
Our enhanced unemployment benefits
put food on the table. Small businesses you know that they are tied in a knot
have prevented nearly 12 million Amer-
are waiting to see if the Federal loan and can’t get anything done.
icans from slipping into poverty. The
program that kept them alive will be Republicans want to slash and burn The President seems to endorse a dif-
renewed. Parents are worried sick that poverty-preventing policy. Let’s ferent policy every time he finds a
about their kids returning to school in have more people go into poverty. That microphone. The one thing we are sure
the fall. The State and local govern- is what this amendment would do. he supports is spending taxpayer dol-
ments that fought this disease on the Third, it would devastate our econ- lars on a new FBI building to boost the
frontline when the Trump administra- omy. One of the few bright spots over value of his hotel.
tion refused to give them help are deep the past few months has been consumer Yesterday, we learned the President
in the red and are slashing public serv- spending, in no small part because asked for nearly $400 million in renova-
ices, teachers, firefighters, and more. these unemployment benefits go to tions to the White House in the Repub-
Throughout America, people wait those Americans who need to spend lican COVID proposal. Seriously? The
days and days—even weeks—for the re- them as soon as they get them. No President proposes no help for Ameri-
sults of their tests, which renders the wonder respected economic forecasters cans to stay in their houses but wants
tests almost useless because we don’t project that the Republican policy on the taxpayers to fork over nearly $400
have an adequate testing program at unemployment insurance would cost us million to help him renovate the White
the national level. This is the greatest over a million jobs this year and 3 mil- House?
public health challenge and crisis and lion more next year. Simply put, negotiations with the
the greatest economic challenge in at Finally, we know that this policy is White House and Senate Republicans
least 75 years. We need to confront all impossible to implement. When our of- right now are like trying to nail Jell-O
of these crises. fice called State unemployment offices to the wall. We are trying to work with
Senate Republicans hardly want to to ask them about the Republican pro- our counterparts, but it is immensely
address any of them. They dithered for posal, they said its implementation frustrating to deal with a negotiating
months and then produced a half- would be a catastrophe. One office sim- partner who can’t say what they sup-
baked, halfhearted proposal of half ply said: ‘‘This would cause chaos.’’ port on nearly any issue.
measures—a proposal that their own This is not a serious proposal. We all Now, we are hearing the President
caucus and their own President didn’t know it will never pass the House and and his representatives have floated
fully support. Just last night, the Re- that it doesn’t have enough votes to the idea of a skinny bill to address one
publican leader confirmed that 20 Re- come close to passing in the Senate. program, to extend unemployment in-
publican Senators want to do nothing Large numbers of Republicans will vote surance at much lower rates, which
in the face of the historic problems we against it. This effort appears to be an hurts the unemployed. But while the
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
face, and because the Senate Repub- effort to provide the Republicans some Nation waits, desperate for comprehen-
licans haven’t gotten their act to- political cover because they can’t get sive relief, they leave everything else
gether, 2 weeks have now gone down their act together and force the coun- out.
the drain and 3 months went down the try over these cliffs. What about improving testing, where
drain before that because the Repub- We are trying to negotiate with the people have to wait in line—wait for
licans have been wedded to a twisted White House and would welcome nego- hours, days, and weeks to get their
VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:35 Jul 31, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G30JY6.003 S30JYPT1
S4602 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 30, 2020
tests back? What about helping State The senior assistant legislative clerk I have cosponsored legislation that
and local governments, who have to lay proceeded to call the roll. would place important limits and over-
off firefighters and busdrivers? What Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask sight on the use of Federal officers for
about dealing with people who might unanimous consent that the order for enforcement operations and arrests re-
be evicted? What about dealing with the quorum call be rescinded. lating to protests, including making
people who can’t feed their kids? The The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without sure that law enforcement officers are
list of issues goes on and on and on, objection, it is so ordered. clearly identified.
and they are all immediate and urgent. REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS I recently voted in the Senate to
So to have this bill, which is inad- Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, place further limits on the transfer of
equate on employment benefits alone— today our colleague John Lewis will be excess military equipment to State and
cuts them to the bone—and not include laid to rest. What an incredible legacy local law enforcement agencies, and I
any of the other issues, in a hope to es- he leaves behind. will continue to demand that America
cape and then do nothing more? Forget I was blessed to serve with him in the reform its Federal, State, and local law
it. It will not pass the Senate. It will House of Representatives. The two of enforcement agencies.
not pass the House. It is a stunt. us were elected in the same class to After the shocking death of George
Even if the White House would agree start serving in the House of Rep- Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis,
to another extension of enhanced un- resentatives in 1987. We became friends, Congress must address systemic racism
employment at its current level, which and he was certainly an inspiration to and police brutality through passage of
many, if not most, Senate Republicans all of us. the Justice in Policing Act. While this
will refuse to support, there are just I particularly mention his name legislation has passed the House, Sen-
too many things left out—opening up today because of the challenges we are ator MCCONNELL has still refused to
our schools safely, healthcare testing finding to our First Amendment right bring it up in the Senate, condemning
and reducing the wait to get test re- to peacefully protest. John Lewis fre- it to his legislative graveyard.
sults, State and local governments, so quently talked about ‘‘good trouble’’ Now more than ever, we urgently
much more. and that all of us have a responsibility need to rebuild trust with our commu-
And even if the White House finally to speak out when we see something nities and change the Trump adminis-
comes around to the position that we that is wrong and to do it in a peaceful tration’s mentality from a warrior to a
should extend the moratorium on evic- way. guardian approach for law enforce-
tions, that wouldn’t be enough. It It is interesting that his last public ment.
makes no sense to extend the morato- appearance was with the protesters of News reports indicate that Federal
rium on evictions without helping Black Lives Matter here in DC, as he law enforcement officers have been
Americans actually afford the rent. We wanted to be there and was proud to using unmarked vehicles to drive
can prevent landlords or banks from see the diversity of the group who was around downtown Portland and detain
kicking Americans out of their homes there to protest the brutalities that we protesters since at least mid-July. In
for another few months, but then what? have seen in America and the systemic some cases, citizens could not tell the
The same Americans would be 6 racism we see in our country. difference between law enforcement
months behind on the rent and have no We not only have the right but the and far-right extremists in the region
hope of making up the difference. responsibility to speak out when we see who wore similar military gear.
So let’s look. Here is where we are. these injustices. The First Amendment This reminds us of the most radical
Americans are worried as this awful to our Nation’s Constitution is key to images that we have seen in authori-
pandemic rages on. The lifelines we the foundation of our country’s democ- tative, repressive regimes on how they
passed here in Congress to protect fam- racy, including the right of people to violate the rights of their citizens.
ilies, small businesses, renters, school peacefully assemble and petition for re- Federal officials have been reported
kids, and so many more are expired, dress of grievances. as grabbing Americans in the dark, not
and our Republican colleagues dither. The President of the United States providing any form of identification,
We have a comprehensive, bold pro- ordering unidentified agents of the De- and arresting, searching, and detaining
posal. They have virtually nothing. partment of Homeland Security to ar- individuals in cells before properly
Let’s remember recent history. That rest and detain protesters is a flagrant reading their Miranda rights. There are
may give us some hope that we can get breach of trust and potentially a viola- widespread reports of Federal agents
something done. Back in March and tion of the law. Congress must speak not having any probable cause before
April, Republicans were late to the up in a unified, bipartisan voice and making these arrests.
game, just as they are now, and pro- tell the President that such an esca- Not only are these actions irrespon-
posed stingy, insufficient legislation in lation and militarization of our city sible and dangerous, it is a violation of
response to COVID–19, just like they streets without provocation or invita- our constitutional rights. America’s
are doing now. Each time, Democrats tion from local officials must stop and strength is in the ideals that we believe
were not bullied by Republicans into must stop now. in. We are the global leader in demo-
passing something that wouldn’t work I am gravely concerned that when cratic values and the rule of law. These
and be insufficient, but we demanded Federal law enforcement agents are de- actions weaken our Nation, and these
that our colleagues sit down with us ployed in this manner, their presence actions weaken America’s credibility
and negotiate a bill that meets the has increased tensions and caused more and global leadership on behalf of
needs of the American people—and that confrontation between demonstrators democratic values.
is what we did. and police. Indeed, local, State, and I am pleased that last week the in-
In the second, third, and fourth even Federal officials—including the spectors general of the Department of
phases of COVID relief, our negotia- U.S. Attorney—have criticized the Fed- Homeland Security and Justice agreed
tions produced much better legisla- eral agents’ intervention and tactics in to investigate how their agents used
tion—legislation that passed both Portland. force, detained people, and conducted
Houses with near unanimity. It is I share the concerns of many of my themselves in confrontations with pro-
never easy, and it is never painless, but colleagues regarding the misuse of re- testers both in Portland, OR, and
it can be done. We just need our Repub- sources and personnel, particularly Washington, DC.
lican colleagues to get their act to- when Federal law enforcement officers Recall in Washington, DC, that At-
gether, roll up their sleeves, under- are used for political purposes by the torney General Barr used force to clear
stand the gravity and breadth and President to violate the civil rights of a peaceful protest at Lafayette Park
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
depth of this problem and negotiate our constituents. We all should be con- just outside the White House. Attorney
with us in a serious way. cerned that both the Justice and General Barr took this action so that
I yield the floor. Homeland Security Departments are the President could hold up a Bible for
I suggest the absence of a quorum. misusing their emergency authorities a photo-op outside of a church. This
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The and are actually aggravating the situa- was an unacceptable breach of faith in
clerk will call the roll. tion in Portland and elsewhere. the Constitution. It breaks the trust
VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:35 Jul 31, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G30JY6.005 S30JYPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2020-07-30_crec-2020-07-30-pt1-pgs4601.pdf
- Size
- 211,471 bytes
- SHA-256
- 00d1984e3742ee1ea91ad48551a8fa9ca0862b6ab29f1bcbf1722d3726d869e2
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov