Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Nov. 12, 2020)
Summary
The Congressional Record, Volume 166, No. 193, for Thursday, November 12, 2020, with Senate proceedings. Mr. Grassley marks the 31st anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and mentions the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Under the heading Coronavirus, Mr. McConnell welcomes a drug company's announcement that its candidate for a COVID-19 vaccine appears to be at least 90 percent effective, says Kentucky logged its highest daily total of 2,700 new cases, and urges Americans to keep wearing masks and distancing. Mr. Van Hollen speaks near the end, and other remarks warn against disrupting national security leadership during the transition.
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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Nov. 12, 2020).”
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Congressional Record
E PL
UR M
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020 No. 193
Senate
The Senate met at 11 a.m. and was coming up pretty soon, and it marks there are appropriate and necessary
called to order by the President pro the 31st anniversary of the Velvet Rev- measures to ensure the safety and effi-
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). olution in Czechoslovakia. cacy of any vaccine before it is rolled
f In 1989, the Czech people stood up out to the American people, but this
against Communist rule and, through will proceed with the lifesaving ur-
PRAYER nonviolent demonstrations, precip- gency that is called for.
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- itated the nation’s transition to de- Right now, COVID–19 is continuing to
fered the following prayer: mocracy. The Velvet Revolution lasted spread across the country at rates that
Let us pray. 43 days and in the end ended 41 years of are not sustainable and which we must
Eternal Master, we honor You for Communist control of Czechoslovakia. try to slow. Yesterday, my home State
Your glory and strength. Your glory Jingling keys became a symbol of the of Kentucky just logged its highest
fills us with reverence, and Your revolution and of the new doors that ever daily total—2,700 new cases. The
strength inspires us with courage. democracy and freedom from com- positivity rate of our tests is the high-
Bless our lawmakers. Inspire them to munism would unlock for those great est since early May.
find fulfillment in the splendor of holi- people in Czechoslovakia. It is urgent that all Americans con-
ness. Lord, remind them that You ex- tinue the smart steps that have gotten
Now we have two countries—the
pect people of faith to illuminate the us this far: wearing masks, social
Czech Republic and the Slovak Repub-
darkness of this world with exemplary distancing, adapting our plans and rou-
lic. We also have a National Czech and
tines. This virus is not going to magi-
actions that prompt people to glorify Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, IA.
cally leave us alone if we decide we are
You. May our Senators remember that This museum helps to educate Ameri-
fed up with taking precautions, but
their conduct, particularly during cans about these events I just talked
thank God and thanks to the brilliant
times of adversity, has long-term con- about and, most importantly, to teach
scientists, we may look back on this
sequences. them about the importance of never
hopeful announcement as the begin-
Lord, we praise You that You con- giving up on fighting for freedom. ning of the end of this terrible ordeal.
tinue to rule our universe. I yield the floor. I said back in March that our coun-
We pray in Your awesome Name. f try was about to meet a whole lot of
Amen. brandnew heroes. Many were going to
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY
f be doctors and nurses. Others were
LEADER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE going to be essential workers who kept
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- society going. Some were going to be
The President pro tempore led the jority leader is recognized. the men and women who worked like
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: f crazy in labs and research centers until
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the we had this virus beaten. But every
United States of America, and to the Repub- CORONAVIRUS
single American has a role.
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, last As cases continue to climb, the sim-
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. week, the country and the world re- ple advice—wear a mask, practice so-
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ceived some really great news that we cial distancing, wash your hands—is
SCOTT of Florida). The Senator from have longed for quite a while to hear. A now just as important as ever. So, of
Iowa. major American drug company, to- course, discovering the vaccine will
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask gether with its German partner, an- only be a part of the battle. Once one
unanimous consent to speak for 1 nounced that their candidate for a or more candidates have been proven
minute in morning business. COVID–19 vaccine appears to be at effective and safe, it will be a second
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without least 90 percent effective in trials. That Herculean undertaking to scale up pro-
objection, it is so ordered. is 90 percent—nine zero. Dr. Fauci duction and distribute doses of the vac-
f called these preliminary results ex- cine throughout our country. This is
traordinary. Another expert called the why this Senate and the Trump admin-
31ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE news ‘‘as good as you could hope for.’’ istration have been on the case for
VELVET REVOLUTION Of course, tests and trials are ongo- months.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, Iowa ing. The FDA will perform its own As part of the historic CARES Act,
is home to a lot of people who have a thorough review, which will include we created Operation Warp Speed—a
heritage from the Czech Republic and analyzing months of safety data. The historic effort that combined inter-
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the Slovak Republic. November 17 is American people should rest assured agency government work with public-
∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
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S6658 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 12, 2020
private partnerships. This was a 21st- gle year—4 billion prescriptions—trust- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
century Manhattan Project for a ing the expertise and professionalism objection, it is so ordered.
COVID vaccine. We helped fund re- of the FDA. That is the trusted author- 2020 ELECTIONS
search and development for several ity. Nobody is crying out for liberal Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President,
firms. We committed billions of dollars Governors to add their own Good yesterday, we came together as a coun-
in advance purchase agreements. We Housekeeping seal of approval, let try—not as Republicans, not as Demo-
flattened regulatory barriers to speed alone potentially delaying the end of crats or Independents, but as Ameri-
the process. We provided backing so COVID–19 to do so. cans—to recognize the service and sac-
that companies could begin mass-pro- If this vaccine proves to be the one, rifice of our veterans, men and women
ducing vaccine doses before clinical citizens in New York and California who served in uniform to protect our
trials had fully concluded so we would should not have it withheld from them country and to defend our democracy.
have a head start on whichever ones because their Governors care more The ongoing attacks that President
wound up working. about performatively opposing Presi- Trump has launched on our democracy
If things stay on track, we hope to dent Trump than about hard science. are an insult to those who have sac-
have a safe and effective vaccine in a This reminds me of when the junior rificed so much to defend, and so too is
timeframe that will be absolutely his- Senator from California declared back the complicity of so many Republican
toric. President Trump’s administra- in September, during her Vice Presi- Senators right here in this body, who
tion and this Congress should take dential campaign, that she might hesi- through their silence or active incite-
huge pride in the groundwork we laid. tate to trust a vaccine. ment are spreading Donald Trump’s ab-
Now, strangely enough, some are The whole country understands that surd false narrative that he won the
finding it challenging to simply ap- our Democratic friends are not charter election.
plaud this unambiguous good news. members of the Donald Trump fan Each of us—each of us in this body—
The Democratic Governor of New York club. We know that. They do not need has sworn an oath to protect and de-
opined a few days ago that it was ‘‘bad to dabble in the early stages of anti- fend the Constitution of the United
news’’ that a vaccine breakthrough States, to stand up for our democracy,
vax conspiracy theories to prove it. In
may have been reached, because Presi- and to support the peaceful transfer of
fact, for the sake of public health and
dent Trump is still in office. power established there. My colleagues,
Now, I understand Governor Cuomo public confidence and saving lives,
they have a moral obligation to stop. it is time for every Senator to do your
has found the time during this pan- sworn duty and stand up for the Con-
demic to write and publish a self-con- If a vaccine has been found and dis-
tribution can begin soon, that is good stitution and for our democracy.
gratulatory book on leadership—this, Make no mistake, on January 20, Joe
notwithstanding that his own State news, not bad news. It would be a
major victory for our country and the Biden will be sworn in as the next
has been absolutely pummeled by the President of the United States and
disease and his own administration in- world, fueled by American innovation
and aided by Operation Warp Speed, KAMALA HARRIS will be sworn in as the
tentionally sent thousands of COVID– next Vice President of the United
19 positive patients into vulnerable thanks to this Senate and the Trump
administration. It would save thou- States. But that does not mean that
nursing homes.
sands and thousands of American lives, what Donald Trump is doing now is
The Governor has the temerity to say
this vaccine breakthrough is partially and public confidence will be essential. harmless. That does not mean that the
‘‘bad news’’—partially ‘‘bad news’’?— So this is where we are. Leaders on silence or active complicity of so many
because it occurred under the Trump all sides have a duty to act accord- Republican Senators is harmless. It is
administration. He gestured vaguely ingly. downright dangerous to the health of
toward unspecified concerns about dis- f our democracy and to our national se-
tribution. I guess he would have pre- curity interests.
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME We have enough challenges pro-
ferred the lifesaving breakthroughs to
have been delayed longer, with more The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under tecting our democracy from foreign en-
American deaths in the meantime. the previous order, the leadership time emies and foreign adversaries who seek
The irony, as our colleague the Sen- is reserved. every day to undermine faith and con-
ator from Tennessee has pointed out, is f fidence in democratic institutions here
that the plans that are in place put in the United States and in other de-
CONCLUSION OF MORNING mocracies around the world. The last
States in the driver’s seat for arrang-
BUSINESS thing we need is for people to attack
ing distribution and making sure the
most vulnerable citizens receive ac- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning that confidence from within the United
cess. The Federal Government is there business is closed. States. This is doing harm in the short
to provide guidance and support. As f term and the long term to our national
Senator ALEXANDER said, the Governor security, putting us at risk.
EXECUTIVE SESSION In the short term, we are seeing a
of New York might want to devote
more time and attention to developing very dangerous purge of top national
this crucial plan rather than under- security officials at the Defense De-
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR partment and other places. These are
mining public confidence for the sake
of politics. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under officials with whom I have many policy
Sadly, this isn’t anything new. Just a the previous order, the Senate will pro- differences, but they are competent
few weeks ago, the Democratic Gov- ceed to executive session to resume managers and qualified individuals.
ernors of both New York and California consideration of the following nomina- And what you are seeing this President
both began openly second-guessing the tion, which the clerk will report. do in the death throes of his adminis-
Food and Drug Administration and The legislative clerk read the nomi- tration is purging those qualified indi-
doubting its ability to assess the safety nation of Aileen Mercedes Cannon, of viduals and replacing them with people
of a vaccine. There were suggestions Florida, to be United States District whose only credential is loyalty to
that blue States may set up their own Judge for the Southern District of President Trump, and replacing com-
State review boards and then withhold Florida. petent, qualified individuals with polit-
lifesaving vaccines from their own peo- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I ical lackeys. That is dangerous at any
suggest the absence of a quorum.
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ple for who knows how long until this time. It is especially dangerous to mess
extra obstacle had been hurdled. This The PRESIDING OFFICER. The around with the top leadership of our
is where they are. Vaccines aren’t vac- clerk will call the roll. national security agencies during a
cines if a Republican is President until The legislative clerk proceeded to transition to power.
New York and California reinvent their call the roll. That is what the 9/11 Commission
own miniature FDAs. Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I told us. Yet what you are seeing Presi-
To be clear, Americans purchase ask unanimous consent that the order dent Trump do is play with matches
nearly 4 billion prescriptions every sin- for the quorum call be rescinded. when it comes to our national security
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