Congressional Record, Senate — October 20, 2020, S6303

Summary

This is the opening of the Congressional Record, Senate, Tuesday, October 20, 2020, Vol. 166, No. 178, Part II, starting at page S6303, with interleaved columns. After the prayer by the Chaplain and the Pledge of Allegiance, Mr. Grassley pays tribute to Dan Gable, whom he says President Trump selected for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Under Paycheck Protection Program, Mr. McConnell recounts the origin of the program in the CARES Act, quotes small business owners, and says that the program passed without a single dissenting vote in either Chamber, then urges a vote on a second round. Another speaker, whose name is not printed in the text read, says the Republican majority will force a vote on a bill that leaves almost the entire country out. The page also notes the Senate resumed consideration of a nomination for a judgeship in the Southern District of Ohio.

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 — October 20, 2020, S6303.” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-10-19-crec-2020-10-19-pt2-pgs6303-7-8c3cdd66fb/, SHA-256 073a2d9daf522ce94b523494f5be89d27b8a8592aaaf8859a61c9fc97b1f8109.

Full text

Congressional Record
E PL
UR M
IB NU
U U
S

116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE

Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020 No. 178—Part II

Senate
(Legislative day of Monday, October 19, 2020)

The Senate met at 12 noon, on the ex- TRIBUTE TO DAN GABLE one small business owner in Highlands
piration of the recess, and was called to Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, fel- Ranch, CO.
order by the President pro tempore low Iowan Dan Gable is one of the ‘‘It just made sense to us that if
(Mr. GRASSLEY). greatest athletes and coaches in Amer- we’re going to be able to get money
f ican history. President Trump has se- from the government . . . spend it on
lected Dan to receive the Presidential our employees.’’ That is from a fourth-
PRAYER Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian generation owner of a bagel shop in
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- honor. I sent a letter to the White Ferndale, MI.
fered the following prayer: House after hearing about grassroots Those are just four of the millions
Let us pray. support in Iowa for this award. and millions of hard-working Ameri-
Great God and Father, Your anger Dan Gable is a household name for cans who have had an economic lifeline
lasts only for a moment, but Your every Iowa sports fan. As a wrestler at to help them endure this crisis year.
favor lasts a lifetime. Lord, open our Iowa State University, Dan won two That lifeline is the Paycheck Protec-
eyes to see the wonders of Your grace collegiate championships—a world tion Program, the PPP.
and the majesty of Your love for people championship and an Olympic Gold About 7 months ago, our Nation’s top
everywhere. Keep our lawmakers from Medal. His overall high school and col- medical experts recommended we do
being blind to the work You are doing lege records are 181 victories, 1 defeat. something without precedent—shutter
in our world. Bring healing to the sick That one defeat came in the finals of whole sectors of the economy to pro-
and liberation to the oppressed. the NCAA tournament of his senior tect Americans from the pandemic.
Lord, You have watched over this Congress needed a historic plan to help
year. In his coaching career at the Uni-
land we love from generation to gen- workers, and our colleagues Senator
versity of Iowa, he led to 15 national
eration, in prosperity and adversity, in Rubio and Senator Collins stepped for-
team championships out of the 21 years
peace and war. Today, keep our Sen- ward. They realized we could not sim-
that he coached.
ators so dedicated that they will do ply let Main Street go under. We could
As a coach at the University of Iowa,
justly, love mercy, and walk humbly not simply tell millions and millions
Dan developed All Americans, national
with You. more workers to forget about their jobs
champions, Big Ten champions, and
We pray in Your Holy Name. Amen. and join the unemployment lines. We
Olympians. Dan is the paragon of the couldn’t just let every storefront ex-
f American dream in his achieving suc- cept the biggest corporate retailers
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE cess through community, courage, hard turn into permanent pandemic ghost
work, and determination. towns. We had to give small businesses
The President pro tempore led the I congratulate Dan on this out-
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: and their workers a fighting chance.
standing achievement. The senior Senators from Maine and
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the I yield the floor.
United States of America, and to the Repub- Florida found the solution. They lit-
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER erally invented the PPP. It would fund
lic for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- emergency loans to employers, and
jority leader is recognized. those loans would be forgivable so long
f
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM as the money would be used to keep
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR—Continued Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, ‘‘It paying their people. As far as emer-
The Senate resumed consideration of would have been really hard for us to gency government rescues go, their
the nomination of Michael Jay New- get through without it.’’ That was the idea was actually a bold, free-enter-
man, of Ohio, to be United States Dis- coowner of Apollo Pizza, which has a prise policy. Don’t just sign everyone
trict Judge for the Southern District of handful of locations throughout Ken- up for welfare; fight to save jobs. Keep
Ohio. tucky. workers connected to their jobs and
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ‘‘It touches my heart just knowing their paychecks.
CRUZ). The Senator from Iowa. that I can bring folks back and gain- As we wrote the CARES Act, Sen-
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask fully employ people who need to ators Rubio and Collins got together
unanimous consent to speak for 1 work.’’ That was a restaurateur in Fay- with Senator CARDIN and put the fin-
minute as in morning business. etteville, NC. ishing touches on the program. Soon,
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ‘‘It’s pennies from heaven as far as the PPP had become law without a sin-
objection, it is so ordered. our business is concerned.’’ That was gle dissenting vote in either Chamber.

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

S6303

VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:04 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19OC6.000 S19OCPT2
S6304 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 20, 2020
The program proved so popular that it ty’s platform—for example, the Presi- But Leader MCCONNELL and the Re-
quickly committed all its funding. So, dent won’t simply hand out endless publican majority have failed to grasp
in April, we refilled it with more sums of cash to chronically mis- the gravity of this situation from the
money. That was unanimous in the managed State and city governments beginning. They put the Senate on
Senate as well. Then, in June, we out of proportion to COVID needs— pause for more than 5 months, while
tweaked the program on the fly to help Speaker PELOSI has seen to it that cases went up and the death toll
small businesses even more. Once working families have gotten nothing mounted. When the time came for
again, it was unanimous—no objection rather than something. them to pull together in August, they
from any Republican or any Democrat So, look, every Senator in this body couldn’t even get Republican Senators
here in the Senate. This program has knows this is not how people act if to agree on one. Eight months into this
had the most bipartisan pedigree pos- they actually want an outcome. Amer- long and brutal crisis, the Republican
sible, and those bipartisan beginnings ican families, working families, have leader is filled with stunts and playing
have led to a major policy success waited months and months for Speaker the smallest of small ball, when so
story. PELOSI to end her ‘‘Marie Antoinette’’ many are hurting.
For millions of Americans from coast act and let Congress find common Today, the Republican majority will
to coast, the PPP has made all the dif- ground. There is no reason this second try to force a stunt—not even a real
ference in the world. It has kept pay- round of the Paycheck Protection Pro- vote on a bill—but it leaves almost the
checks coming into their mailboxes gram should wait another single day. entire country out of the picture. They
and bank accounts where there other- So we are going to vote on this legisla- are holding the vote over a backdrop of
wise would have been pink slips. Every tion today—one clear vote on one clear a dire increase in cases. The majority
State, every town, every city knows program that all in this Chamber say of States are seeing spikes right now.
the difference it has made. they want to pass. Half of all States have had their high-
So where are we today? Well, I will let you in on a secret. est single day ever in total cases in the
That historic first draw of the PPP There is something Senators do when last month.
has wound down; the program has we want something to pass. Here is Experts say we have hard months
closed to new applications; many firms what we do when we want something to ahead of us. It is possible the worst is
have run through their funds, but, pass: We vote for it. It is no counter- yet to come—a second wave. We must
clearly, our economic recovery remains argument to complain that the PPP act now to provide relief to the whole
a work in progress. For many workers, legislation does not also contain 100 country, and our Republican leader and
business has not come roaring back to other things. The entire point is to the Republican Senate are up to a
normal, and it won’t until the health agree where we can and make law stunt and not even negotiating or put-
situation allows it. while we keep arguing over all the rest.
Fortunately, Senator RUBIO and Sen- ting a bill on the floor, and the Amer-
If my Democratic colleagues oppose
ator COLLINS have stepped up again. ican people know it. They know who is
the job-saving PPP, they should come
Our colleagues have legislation that to blame. They blame President Trump
to the floor and say why they oppose it.
will refund and reopen the PPP. It will and the Republican majority. We know
Otherwise, this afternoon should bring
establish a whole second round for the that.
another unanimous vote.
hardest hit small businesses that need I suggest the absence of a quorum. We know, when it comes to COVID,
help the most, and thanks to the ef- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The that the blame correctly falls on the
forts of several colleagues, the legisla- clerk will call the roll. shoulders of Leader MCCONNELL and all
tion will also streamline the program The senior assistant legislative clerk his Republican Senators, who are
and strengthen oversight. proceeded to call the roll. afraid to do anything, who are divided.
I would submit that, even for a Con- Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask Anytime Mr. Mnuchin gets on the
gress this divided, even in the year unanimous consent that the order for phone with them, they say: Don’t do
2020, reopening the PPP really ought to the quorum call be rescinded. anything. We are too divided.
be a no-brainer. There is bipartisan The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Everyone knows that.
agreement that American workers still objection, it is so ordered. We must provide real relief. That is
need help, and there is already bipar- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER what Democrats want to do. But in the
tisan infrastructure in place to provide The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican proposal today, there is no
that help, but there is a problem. The Democratic leader is recognized. funding—zero funding—for testing or
PPP has been taken hostage. Just like CORONAVIRUS tracing, the best way to stop this
the funding for safe schools, more fund- Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, COVID menace.
ing for testing, more funding for vac- COVID–19 has changed just about every And in the Republican bill tomorrow,
cines, more funding for Federal unem- aspect of American life—every aspect. the funding for testing and the plan for
ployment benefits, and commonsense The bottom line is very simple: The testing is so completely inadequate
legal protections that charities and way Americans work, the way we send that it is laughable, especially given
university presidents have been plead- our kids to school, and the way we run the recent spike in cases.
ing for, the PPP has been taken hos- our businesses have all changed. In the Republican proposal today,
tage by Speaker PELOSI and Leader COVID has derailed the economy. there is nothing for American families,
SCHUMER. Millions of Americans have missed schools, daycare, or food assistance.
The Democratic leaders have spent the rent, missed the mortgage, applied They are left behind—all of them.
months holding out for a long, far-left for unemployment, been forced to skip Renters, homeowners, folks struggling
wish list of non-COVID-related prior- meals. American poverty is beginning to keep a roof over their heads—they
ities and obstructing any additional to increase more dramatically. More are left behind. Americans who have
aid until they get it. All or nothing— than 8 million have gotten sick. More lost their job through no fault of their
that has been their position. Either than 220,000 have died. own and need unemployment insur-
Democrats get every unrelated policy The response here in Congress to a ance—they are left behind in these Re-
they want or American families get pandemic that affects our country in a publican proposals.
nothing. So, for months, they have way we haven’t seen in decades should State and local governments that are
blocked bipartisan aid at every single be to comprehensively provide relief. being forced to slash critical public
turn. The Democratic leader even tried Our mission is not to pick out one or service in the middle of a recession—
last night to adjourn the Senate so we two industries and say ‘‘maybe later’’ they, too, are all left behind.
could do nothing at all for 3 weeks— to the rest. We can’t privilege a small Even on the issue of small business,

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
nothing at all for 3 weeks. That is how issue here or there and ask everyone the issue on which this bill is focused,
urgent he thinks it is to help working else to wait. Our mission is to deliver it lacks specific funding for res-
people. He wanted to go home for 3 big for a country and a people who are taurants, for independent theaters and
weeks. suffering direly. Our mission is to meet venues, for local newspapers, TV, radio
Because President Trump will not the needs of the country and leave no stations, critical-need hospitals, mi-
just cave to the entire Democratic Par- one—and leave no one—behind. nority-owned businesses, and all of our

VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:34 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G19OC6.027 S19OCPT2

File and source

File: CREC_crec-2020-10-19_crec-2020-10-19-pt2-pgs6303-7.pdf
Size: 320,535 bytes
SHA-256: 073a2d9daf522ce94b523494f5be89d27b8a8592aaaf8859a61c9fc97b1f8109
Our copy: CREC_crec-2020-10-19_crec-2020-10-19-pt2-pgs6303-7.pdf
Original: www.govinfo.gov