Congressional Record, Senate, September 8, 2020, Page S5434
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated September 8, 2020, at page S5434. A Texas Senator describes meeting Texans and holding virtual conversations and telephone townhalls, visiting Orange after Hurricane Laura and speaking with K-12 and college students and teachers about learning during the pandemic. He says he and Mr. Manchin introduced the ACCESS the Internet Act to fund the Department of Education and libraries for reliable broadband, noting that the CARES Act gave libraries $50 million in grants. Near the end, a Democratic speaker says Democrats will keep pushing for a bipartisan, bicameral agreement and criticizes a school choice program.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, September 8, 2020, Page S5434.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-09-08-crec-2020-09-08-pt1-pgs5434-2-e0041d1c10/
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S5434 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 8, 2020
and countless others about how the re- cess, and it is leaving our students on ers and producers hard, as well as
sources that we have been providing the wrong side of the digital divide. flooding out many, many homes and
them have helped them through this Internet access is no longer a luxury or displacing families. A couple of weeks
pandemic. From the Rio Grande Valley just a convenience; it has become a ne- ago, Hurricane Laura tore through the
to Amarillo—opposite ends of our cessity, and we need to do more to en- Gulf of Mexico.
State—from Tyler to Orange in the sure that students across Texas and Though the brunt of Laura hit other
eastern part of the State and all points across the Nation have access to reli- neighbors in Louisiana, for which we
in between, I masked up and met with able broadband. are very sorry, we are very glad that it
Texans who are working overtime to The CARES Act, which we passed in did little damage in Southeast Texas,
keep their communities safe and to March, provides some relief on this but it still did some significant dam-
provide for their families. All the front. It gave libraries $50 million in age. I was able to join the Governor,
while, I continue to hold virtual con- grants for digital connection. The de- Lieutenant Governor, and Senator
versations and telephone townhalls to mand for these funds was much higher CRUZ for a visit to Orange to survey
hear from my constituents and share than was available, and it became obvi- the damage and speak with local offi-
information about what we are doing ous we need to do more to help those cials about the impact of the storm. I
to be helpful to them. who are on the wrong side of the dig- am committed to providing my con-
These conversations, as I said a mo- ital divide. stituents in Texas with the resources
ment ago, always help me better under- The Senator from West Virginia, Mr. needed to recover from whatever this
stand the effectiveness of the legisla- MANCHIN, and I teamed up to include hurricane season may bring. I will be
tion we passed and provide valuable and introduce the ACCESS the Inter- keeping a close eye on the weather
feedback about what is needed in the net Act, which will provide funding to forecast as we move through what has
next coronavirus relief bill. both the Department of Education and already been an active hurricane sea-
With the school year now officially libraries to make reliable internet a re- son.
underway in most of Texas, additional ality. We have a lot of work to do in the
support for our students and teachers In addition to supporting virtual next few weeks. Though we weren’t
is one of my top priorities. I have had learning, this would also make access able to make progress on a coronavirus
the chance to speak with K–12 students to telehealth more available to fami- bill in July, I was on almost virtually
and teachers in Odessa, Lubbock, and lies. This has really been one of the daily conference calls with the White
Canyon, and college students and ad- most surprising positive developments House and Secretary Mnuchin talking
ministrators in Angelo State Univer- out of this pandemic, and that is actu- about the way forward. I am more opti-
sity in San Angelo, as well as Texas ally greater access to healthcare mistic today than I have been to this
Tech University and Texas Tech Health through telehealth, both physical and point that we will, ultimately, reach
Science Center in Amarillo. Some Mental Health Services on online. an agreement. I hope my colleagues
joined us socially distanced on campus Our bill includes funding for have also heard from their constituents
and others connected virtually. healthcare providers, including the De- about how important relief is and that
I was able to hear from both students partment of Veterans Affairs, to get we can come together at such a critical
and teachers about this unprecedented more patients connected so they can point in our fight against COVID–19.
school year and the challenges—the utilize these telehealth services. As we I yield the floor.
extra challenges—brought on by make a push for progress on the next I suggest the absence of a quorum.
COVID–19. Whether in person, online, relief bill, I will continue fighting for The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
or some combination of the two, edu- resources for our students and teach- clerk will call the roll.
cation looks a lot different this year, ers, and that includes reliable access to The bill clerk proceeded to call the
and we need to provide schools with the internet. roll.
the funding to keep kids in the class- Despite this August work period Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
rooms safe and those at home on track looking much different from years ask unanimous consent that the order
for a great education. prior, I was still able to connect with for the quorum call be rescinded.
Congress has already passed $30 bil- tens of thousands of Texans virtually The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
lion in emergency relief for education, and over the phone and safely meet objection, it is so ordered.
including more than $2.6 billion for many of them in person. As I traveled, RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
Texas. This funding has helped our I was able to see how schools, our The Democratic leader is recognized.
school districts, colleges, and univer- healthcare facilities, our food banks, CORONAVIRUS
sities prepare for the fall, but, to be local governments, and more have been Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in
honest, more is needed. able to use the Federal coronavirus the 3 weeks since the Senate last met,
For those learning in person, addi- funding provided for in the CARES Act. America eclipsed 6 million confirmed
tional funding can cover cleaning serv- The feedback and insight I received cases of COVID–19. Nearly 190,000
ices and equipment to prevent children was invaluable to my work in the Sen- Americans have died, and those totals
from catching and spreading the virus. ate, and it is more important than ever climb by tragic amounts each day. Too
For those learning virtually, it could as we continue negotiations on the many businesses remain closed, schools
provide additional hardware and inter- next coronavirus relief bill. begin the year under a dark cloud of
net hotspots so they can do their stud- This is going to be a busy month in uncertainty, and our economy faces
ies online. the Senate. We need to pass legislation the greatest crisis since the Great De-
I visited one high school in Ector to bolster our response to this virus, pression.
County—that is Odessa, TX—where support our students and teachers, help The United States is 11.5 million jobs
they are using a blended or hybrid in- those in need of financial assistance, short of where we were at the start of
person and online instruction model. and ensure that our healthcare re- February, and the number of jobs that
Ector County ISD began this year with sponse remains robust. have been permanently lost is rising at
online instruction for students who We are just 3 weeks away from the an alarming rate. All of this reflects a
have internet access at home and in- end of the fiscal year, including a gov- tragic reality: President Trump has led
person instruction for those who did ernment shutdown unless we can reach the worst response to COVID–19 of any
not. Of the roughly 33,000 students in an agreement on a funding bill. Com- nation on Earth. It is what it is.
the district, about 4,200 were in the plicating matters even further, we are The economic pain of the pandemic
classroom on the first day. And I can at the peak of hurricane season, which was mitigated by our action in March
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with Senate
assure you, it is not the only school may not seem like as big a deal in DC, when Democrats insisted on a robust
district in Texas whose students have but I guarantee, we have our eyes on stimulus bill that became the CARES
difficulty accessing the technology these tropical storms in the Gulf of Act. One of our policies included in
needed to learn from home. Mexico that could well end up onshore. that bill, enhanced unemployment ben-
More than 2 million Texas house- Hurricane Hanna, for example, struck efits, has kept nearly 12 million Ameri-
holds don’t have reliable internet ac- South Texas in July and hit our farm- cans from poverty. Those benefits have
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September 8, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5435
now mostly expired, and the stimulus right conservatives and Secretary lican colleagues will join us in that ef-
provided by the CARES Act has been DeVos. It provides immunity to cor- fort.
exhausted. The pandemic and economic porations that put their workers in POSTMASTER GENERAL
hardship for millions of American harm’s way, which, sadly, seems to be Mr. President, on another matter,
workers and families, however, is ongo- the only thing that the Republicans tens of millions of Americans rely on
ing and painful. can consistently agree on. It even in- the post office every day for their
Speaker PELOSI and I have been try- cludes a provision that could fast-track medication, veterans’ benefits, food,
ing to negotiate with the White House coal mining operations because, God and paychecks. This year, tens of mil-
in another round of relief. It has been forbid, our Republican friends miss an lions of Americans will also rely on the
arduous. Democrats offered to meet opportunity to reward corporate pol- post office to vote in our national elec-
our Republican colleagues in the mid- luters in their coronavirus relief bill. tion. As President Trump deliberately
dle, but the White House has refused to The Republicans call their bill ‘‘tar- attempts to erode Americans’ con-
make any significant compromise. geted.’’ Maybe they mean it is targeted fidence in voting by mail, his hand-
Here in the Senate, the Republican to corporate donors. The presence of picked Postmaster General, Mr.
majority leader has kept the Senate on these poison pills should remove every DeJoy—a longtime Republican fund-
‘‘pause’’ while the Nation suffered. shred of doubt that the true intent of raiser and Trump donor—faces serious
When they tried to draft a relief pack- this bill is anything but political. If questions about politicizing the post
age in July, Senate Republicans flailed Leader MCCONNELL and the Republican office during an election year.
for 2 weeks before announcing a series majority were trying to achieve a re- During his short tenure, Mr. DeJoy
of separate, incoherent proposals that sult, they wouldn’t draft such a lame, instituted drastic service changes to
lacked the support of—surprise—Sen- partisan bill, loaded with poison pills, the Postal Service that caused enor-
ate Republicans. It was so unpopular and rush it to the floor. mous backlogs and delays in mail de-
within the Republican conference that May we have order, please? livery. Only a massive public outcry
Leader MCCONNELL never even brought The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. CAS- from both sides of the aisle caused him
it up for a vote. SIDY). Yes, sir. to reverse his course, and now reports
Now, after more than 4 months of Mr. Leader, be careful not to impugn came out over the weekend that al-
long inaction—after sitting on the side- the motives of another. The leader sug- leged that Mr. DeJoy, while he was the
lines while we tried to negotiate with a gested corporate donors. I issue that CEO of New Breed Logistics, may have
recalcitrant White House—Senate Re- warning. been involved in an illegal straw donor
publicans are finally realizing the dam- Mr. SCHUMER. The truth is, if you scheme in which he pressured employ-
age their pause—the McConnell pause— wanted to draft a bill that was certain ees into financially supporting Repub-
has done to the American economy and to fail, this is it. This is one of the lican candidates, using company bo-
our Nation’s health. As they scramble most cynical moves I have ever seen. nuses as reimbursement.
to make up for this historic mistake, We all know what is going on here. If these reports are true, they con-
Senate Republicans appear dead set on Leader MCCONNELL had to create the stitute a serious violation of campaign
another bill that doesn’t come close to most paltry, partisan, cynical bill be- finance law. The House has already an-
addressing the problems in our coun- cause he has 20 Members of his caucus nounced it will investigate these
try. who don’t want to support anything. claims. So it is time to state the obvi-
The Republicans are going to cut By his own admission, they want zero ous: The postal Board of Governors
their original, inadequate $1 trillion dollars, so Leader MCCONNELL keeps should suspend Mr. DeJoy as Post-
‘‘skinny’’ bill in half—maybe more— whittling down the Republican pro- master General while these serious al-
and put it up for a vote this week. Of posal until he can find something— legations are under investigation.
course, it had no input—zero input— anything—that he can claim his party In the middle of a pandemic, America
from the Democrats—completely par- supports. He had to throw in the right must have faith and confidence in the
tisan. In this Chamber, you need bipar- wing’s favorite goodies to sweeten the post office and those who lead it.
tisanship to get anything done. The pot to even approach the number of I yield the floor.
Republicans call this a ‘‘skinny’’—or votes in his caucus to make it look like I suggest the absence of a quorum.
‘‘targeted’’—proposal, but it would be a Republican bill that had broad sup- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
more appropriate to call it ‘‘emaci- port. clerk will call the roll.
ated.’’ Shockingly, as the pain from Leader MCCONNELL knows this bill The senior assistant legislative clerk
this pandemic gets bigger and bigger, won’t pass, and he knows that most of proceeded to call the roll.
the Republicans think smaller and his Members don’t want it to pass. Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I ask
smaller. They are moving backward. Amazingly, he seems happy with that unanimous consent that the order for
Their proposal is completely inad- situation. This is one of the most cyn- the quorum call be rescinded.
equate and, by every measure, fails to ical moves I have ever seen in the mid- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
meet the needs of the American peo- dle of a pandemic—when Americans are objection, it is so ordered.
ple—with no money for rental assist- crying out for relief. NOMINATION OF BRETT H. LUDWIG
ance, nutrition assistance, the census, This political exercise on the Repub- Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, it is
safe elections, and so many other lican side bears no relationship to the my privilege to recommend the Honor-
things. needs of our country. It has nothing to able Brett H. Ludwig to be the U.S. dis-
The bill, amazingly, will do almost do with our States, our workers, our trict judge for the Eastern District of
nothing to help State and local govern- families, with opening up schools safe- Wisconsin. Judge Ludwig passed the
ments that have already been forced to ly, or with what healthcare workers Senate Judiciary Committee with bi-
cut a million jobs since the pandemic really need. It has everything to do partisan support. I look forward to the
began. This bill actually goes backward with finding the bare minimum that full Senate voting to confirm him
from the last Republican proposal. It Senate Republicans can support. While today.
does not even allow States to use exist- facing the greatest economic crisis in Since 2017, Judge Ludwig has served
ing relief funds to cover lost revenues. 75 years and the greatest health crisis the people of Wisconsin on the U.S.
Even worse, this latest and sorriest in a century, Leader MCCONNELL isn’t Bankruptcy Courts for both the East-
Republican proposal is laden with poi- searching for bipartisan progress; he is ern and Western Districts of Wisconsin.
son pills that our colleagues know the looking for political cover. Judge Ludwig was born in rural
Democrats would never support. The As we begin the final work period be- north central Wisconsin and spent his
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with Senate
bill doesn’t provide enough funding to fore the November elections, the childhood in the city of Colby, the
help our schools reopen safely—not Democrats will keep pushing for a bi- birthplace of the cheese that bears its
close to what school superintendents partisan, bicameral agreement that ac- name. His grandparents and great-
say they need—but it includes funding tually meets the urgent needs of the grandparents were dairy farmers, in-
for a partisan school choice program American people. For the good of the stilling in their children and grand-
that has been long pushed by hard- country, I hope—I pray—my Repub- children the values of hard work and
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