Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Aug. 13, 2020)
Summary
Congressional Record for Thursday, August 13, 2020 (Vol. 166, No. 145). The House of Representatives was not in session, and its next meeting is on Friday, August 14, 2020, at 2 p.m. The Senate met at 11 a.m. and was called to order by Boozman, who then took the Chair as Acting President pro tempore under a letter from Grassley. Under the heading Coronavirus, McConnell says it has been more than 2 weeks since Senate Republicans put out a trillion-dollar plan, and that Republicans want to send $105 billion to help schools and universities reopen safely, along with another round of direct cash payments. McConnell argues that the Democratic proposal continues expanded unemployment benefits for the duration of the pandemic, and Kaine speaks later under the same heading.
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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Aug. 13, 2020).”
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Congressional Record
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020 No. 145
House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, August 14, 2020, at 2 p.m.
Senate
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020
The Senate met at 11 a.m. and was The legislative clerk read the fol- first week of our August State work
called to order by the Honorable JOHN lowing letter: period in the hope that the Speaker of
BOOZMAN, a Senator from the State of U.S. SENATE, the House and the Democratic leader
Arkansas. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, would put aside their ideological de-
Washington, DC, August 13, 2020. mands with no relation to this pan-
f
To the Senate: demic and finally let Congress legis-
PRAYER Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, late.
of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby Unfortunately, the Democrats have
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- appoint the Honorable JOHN BOOZMAN, a Sen-
fered the following prayer: ator from the State of Arkansas, to perform
continued to let working families
Let us pray. the duties of the Chair. down. They are still rejecting any more
Our Father, we wait in reverence be- CHUCK GRASSLEY, relief for anyone unless they get a
fore Your throne. Turn and answer us. President pro tempore. flood of demands with no relationship
Cleanse us from sins, creating in us Mr. BOOZMAN thereupon assumed to COVID–19.
clean hearts, while renewing a right It has been more than 2 weeks since
the Chair as Acting President pro tem-
Senate Republicans put out a trillion-
spirit within us. pore.
dollar plan to help America reopen, re-
Lord, help our lawmakers to discern f cover, and stay on offense against this
Your voice and do Your will. Give them
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY virus. Republicans did the same thing
the ability to accomplish Your pur-
LEADER that worked back in March. We set up
poses on Earth. Speak to them Your
the same process that built the unani-
wisdom, guide them with Your spirit, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- mous CARES Act in a matter of days.
and sustain them with Your might. pore. The majority leader is recog- We laid out a strong marker built by
Lord, restore joy to our hearts, for nized. our chairmen and our committees,
we trust Your unfailing love. f fitted to real, fact-based needs of our
We pray in Your merciful Name. Nation and then invited the Democrats
Amen. CORONAVIRUS
to negotiate.
f Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, the We want another round of direct cash
Senate was supposed to spend this payments for American families. We
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE week finalizing another bipartisan res- want to send $105 billion to help
The Presiding Officer led the Pledge cue package for the American people. schools and universities safely reopen
of Allegiance, as follows: Millions of laid-off workers needed and billions more to help working par-
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the more Federal assistance to weather the ents with childcare. We want to create
United States of America, and to the Repub- storm. Small businesses needed more new incentives for retaining and rehir-
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, support to make payroll. Schools and ing America’s workers and for busi-
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. families need more funding, tools, and nesses to improve workplace safety. We
f certainty with reopening dates fast ap- want to create the smart legal protec-
proaching. Doctors, nurses, and tions that small businesses and univer-
APPOINTMENT OF ACTING healthcare workers need more backup sity presidents are pleading for, so they
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE as they hold the line against this dis- can reopen safely for students and
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ease. We all need more gas for the race workers without paying a ransom to
clerk will please read a communication toward more testing, better treat- the trial lawyers.
to the Senate from the President pro ments, and the vaccine that will finish These are the strong policies we pro-
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). this fight. So last week I canceled the posed because these are the policies our
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
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S5404 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 13, 2020
Nation actually needs. We want to take money for testing, and rehiring incen- lies’ livelihoods are at stake. American
second runs at the best and most suc- tives until Malibu, CA, gets Federal lives are at stake. Democrats must
cessful parts of the bipartisan CARES money to keep buying more electric rerun their political calculations and
Act while adding in bold new steps for cars, which they wrote to the Congress finally—finally—let Congress act.
this new phase of our Nation’s battle. demanding. f
But as I said right from the outset, Families aren’t saying this. Outside
Republicans had no illusion that our RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
of Speaker PELOSI and Leader SCHU-
initial marker would become law. That MER, even Washington Democrats The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
isn’t how divided government operates. aren’t saying this. pore. Under the previous order, the
There was never any question that bi- While the press tries its hardest to leadership time is reserved.
partisan compromise would be needed praise Speaker PELOSI for ‘‘playing f
to get an outcome. So I expected that, hardball,’’ her own House Democrats MORNING BUSINESS
just like in March, the Democratic are rebelling. They say they are ‘‘frus-
ranking members would sit down with trated’’ and ‘‘angry’’ that relief is The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
our chairmen, bring some of their own being held up over what they them- pore. Under the previous order, the
selves acknowledge is a ‘‘political wish Senate will be in a period of morning
serious ideas to the table, and work to-
business, with Senators permitted to
gether to build a bipartisan bill. That list.’’
‘‘[T]he HEROES Act went too far,’’ is speak therein for up to 10 minutes
is what happened back then. But, in-
another quote. each.
stead, the country got something else The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
entirely. These are Democrats talking about
pore. The Senator from Virginia.
Instead of working with our serious the Heroes Act.
framework, the Speaker of the House Even the Speaker’s own members are f
and the Senate Democratic leader not buying their political spin. They CORONAVIRUS
spent weeks insisting on a com- want what Republicans want, what the Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, here we
pletely—completely—unrealistic, far- administration wants, what America’s go again. Another day has passed.
left proposal that even their own families everywhere want. We need to Nothing has happened—no incremental
Democratic Members mocked as a go- get an outcome. progress, no compromise. To some it
nowhere messaging stunt the instant it The Secretary of the Treasury and might just be one day, but for too
was first released. the White House chief of staff have many Americans, another day fighting
Instead of letting their committees given ground. They have put new issues for your health or how you will pay
and their Members discuss substantive on the table that Democrats wanted. your rent or how you will feed your
issues across the aisle, they said no- They have worked to find com- kids is a brutal and terrifying thing.
body could negotiate but them. And in- monality. But the Democrats are bare- What is one more day to an average
stead of staying focused on the real ly even pretending to negotiate—barely American? It might be a day closer to
needs of our Nation, these two Demo- even pretending. The Speaker’s latest the rent being due without having
cratic leaders have held the talks hos- spin is that it is some heroic sacrifice money to pay it. It might be another
tage for weeks now—weeks—over to lower her demands from a made-up day with insufficient unemployment
nonCOVID-related ideological items, $3.5 trillion marker that was never benefits while bills pile up. It might be
which the political left has wanted going to become law to an equally another day closer to possibly needing
since well before this virus hit our made-up $2.5 trillion marker. She calls SNAP assistance or help from a food
shores. this meeting in the middle. bank.
You know what I am talking about. That is not negotiating; that is One more day could mean con-
By now, the whole country knows what throwing spaghetti at the wall to see strained testing supplies don’t pick up
I am talking about: the absurd issues what sticks. People who have serious as many cases of COVID–19, so the car-
the Democrats have turned into stick- policy proposals that are fitted to ac- riers can isolate and protect others.
ing points; the bizarre, parochial left- tual needs cannot breezily knock off a One day today means for one of my
wing favors that Democrats have put trillion here and add a trillion there. staffers—it was move-in day for his
ahead of the help that working families Heck, by the Speaker’s logic, they oldest daughter at college, but because
need right now, like the massive tax should have just opened with their en- she couldn’t get her test result back
cuts for the highest earners in the blu- tire $93 trillion Green New Deal. Then quickly enough, that experience, which
est States—an idea that even sup- they could have blamed the President is an exciting one for a young person,
posedly progressive economists have for not meeting them halfway at the could not happen.
said is ‘‘not a good idea’’; the trillion- cut-rate bargain sum of $45 trillion. These are not simple legislative days
dollar slush fund for State and local Come on. In point of fact, the Speak- while we follow a negotiation strategy.
governments that have only spent 25 er and the leader have not conceded These are days when Americans are
percent—25 percent—of the billions anything at all. They haven’t budged struggling and suffering, and we are
that we sent them back in March, to- on their absurd demands. They just not responding.
tally out of proportion to any estimate moved the expiration date a few weeks Democrats are here. We are ready to
of urgent pandemic shortfalls; the so- on the exact same crazy wish list, so compromise any day. In fact, we have
cialist insistence on the Federal Gov- the pricetag comes down without mov- already offered to meet the White
ernment paying people more not to ing an inch on the merits. House halfway on the size of the relief
work—not to work—than essential They have refused Republicans’ offer effort. Our meet-in-the-middle offer
workers earn when they are on the job. to pass everything that we can agree was rebuffed Friday, and it was re-
Go to any kitchen table in America, on. The administration has said: Let’s jected by the White House again yes-
outside of a few skyscraper penthouses, pass things we can agree on right now. terday.
and put these bizarre demands up The Republicans don’t think that a I have heard the majority leader
against the trillion dollars of real, disputed issue should hold up the most today and on other days characterize
practical relief that Republicans want- urgent aid for working families, but the Heroes Act in his remarks as a
ed to get out the door weeks ago. No the answer so far from the Democratic Democratic wish list. So what I would
family in Middle America is saying: leadership is no. The partisan games like to do is walk through the Demo-
Thank goodness. Thank goodness the continue, so the Nation’s pain con- cratic and Republican proposals side by
Democrats are blocking cash payments tinues as well. side. At every step I hope listeners will
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
to me, money for my kids’ schools, and Laid-off workers and kids and par- ask themselves: Which of these agendas
money for vaccines until Manhattan ents and doctors and nurses are waiting is oriented to helping Americans
millionaires get a tax cut. for help. Our people are waiting for through hard times?
No working people are saying: Thank help. Republicans have been at the The Democratic proposal includes
goodness the Democrats are blocking table for weeks. We just need serious- this: continuing expanded unemploy-
the next small business rescue plan, ness on the other side. American fami- ment benefits for the duration of this
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