Congressional Record — Senate, December 7, 2020, Page S7229
Summary
Page S7229 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for December 7, 2020, in interleaved columns. A Democratic speaker says the Republican leader has refused to compromise on coronavirus relief since March and that it will take urgency and a willingness to give a little, which is that speaker's view. The speaker also cites a news report on Dr. Orient and her association's skepticism about coronavirus vaccines and promotion of hydroxychloroquine. Another speaker, discussing child abuse reporting training, says two-thirds of reports in 2018 came from people who contact children through their jobs and quotes Jenna Quinn.
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, December 7, 2020, Page S7229.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-12-07-crec-2020-12-07-pt1-pgs7229-2-89e81f8757/
, SHA-256 b2b844a1f164d95dd14c5ee85f4f5eb611610b8c7ec9ff51d07286f79cff75ae.Full text
December 7, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7229
one reason: The Republican leader has spring, back when Republicans were According to the New York Times,
refused to compromise. Again, today saying they did ‘‘not feel the urgency Dr. Orient’s association ‘‘opposes gov-
we heard the same old song from the of acting.’’ I believe those were the ernment involvement in medicine and
Republican leader. His position has not leader’s words. views Federal vaccine mandates as a
budged since March. First, he put the Well, it is going to take a sense of ur- violation of human rights.’’
Senate on pause while the spread of the gency now, Mr. Leader, and it is going Dr. Orient herself has expressed skep-
virus got worse and worse. Then, after to take a willingness to give a little, ticism about coronavirus vaccines and
pressure mounted, the Republican lead- not just to put your bill on the floor continues to hawk hydroxychloroquine
er finally decided to put forward a se- and say: Take it or leave it. as a COVID–19 treatment, following the
ries of bills that comprised only the As I said, it is encouraging that some lead of President Trump, who boosted
things the Republicans want. Republicans are already on that path. the drug despite scientific evidence
While the Nation has been clamoring Hopefully, the Republican leader can that it is ineffective.
for a bipartisan solution, the Senate, catch up with the more fairminded So while President-Elect Biden is
under the leadership of the Republican Members of his caucus. nominating experienced, committed
leader, has only been allowed to vote NOMINATIONS public servants to lead the next admin-
on partisan Republican proposals, each Madam President, now, on nomina- istration’s healthcare policy, the Re-
of which has been sorely inadequate tions—another matter. The incoming publican majority is inviting promi-
and each of which has contained poison Biden administration continues to nent anti-vaxxers to Senate committee
pills designed to ensure the bill’s fail- name candidates it will tap to lead hearings—a study in contrasts, to say
ure. Cabinet agencies and other key posi- the least.
The Republican leader never men- tions in the Federal Government. After one of the most difficult years
tions those poison pills in his speeches Today, President-Elect Biden intro- in recent memory, we finally have a
to this Chamber where he excoriates duced his healthcare team, including light at the end of the tunnel in the
Democrats for refusing to pass ‘‘bipar- Dr. Fauci, who will stay on—thank discovery of several effective and safe
tisan legislation’’ that everyone agrees God—as Chief Medical Adviser; Dr. vaccines. They are the best chance we
on. But ‘‘bipartisan’’ does not mean Vivek Murthy to serve as Surgeon Gen- have of ending the terrible scourge of
Democrats must agree to whatever the eral; Dr. Rochelle Walensky to head this disease and getting our lives back
Republican leader wants or whatever the CDC; and Xavier Becerra, the at- to normal.
issues he picks. ‘‘Bipartisan’’ means torney general of California, to be the And yet, the effectiveness of the vac-
both sides sitting down and finding an next Secretary of Health and Human cine only matters insofar as the num-
agreement. We all know that is the Services. ber of Americans who are willing to
case. Like most of President-Elect Biden’s take it. The more Senate Republicans
We have a Democratic House. They selections so far, Mr. Becerra’s nomina- dip their toes into the water of these
are going to need Democratic votes in tion is groundbreaking. He will be the anti-science, anti-vax conspiracy theo-
the Senate. So Senate Democrats are first Latino to ever run the Depart- ries, the more damage it does to our
simply asking the Republican leader to ment of Health and Human Services. country. Public figures at all levels
do one thing: Sit down and negotiate. Now, these nominees, once con- should be building up confidence in a
Now, since March, since Secretary firmed, will face a monumental task. vaccine, not giving a platform to those
Mnuchin and I negotiated the CARES President-Elect Biden will inherit a who would undermine it.
bill, the Republican leader has con- once-in-a-generation healthcare cri- The Senator from Wisconsin, the
stantly refused to sit down with Repub- sis—a crisis made worse by the Trump chairman of the Homeland Security
licans and negotiate a bipartisan solu- administration’s lack of focus, com- Committee, should revoke his invita-
tion. He puts his bill—with no Demo- petency, and consistency over the past tion to Dr. Orient.
cratic input—on the floor and says, year. I yield the floor.
‘‘Take it or leave it.’’ That is no way— By naming a deeply experienced and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
no way—to get things done. It wasn’t tested team of senior healthcare advis- ator from Texas.
in April or May or June or July or Au- ers, President-Elect Biden is getting CORONAVIRUS
gust or September or November, and it ready to right the ship and execute a Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I
isn’t now. whole-of-government approach to came to the floor to talk about some
We want the leader to sit down and crushing the virus and providing af- other things, but I just want to say in
negotiate so we can come up with a bi- fordable healthcare to all Americans. response to our friend, the Democratic
partisan proposal that can pass both As safe and effective vaccines become leader, it sounds to me that he has got
the House and the Senate. And Speaker available over the next year, President- a case of ‘‘do as I say, not as I do’’
PELOSI and I have modified our pro- Elect Biden’s team will also have to when it comes to COVID–19 relief bills.
posal several times in an effort to meet work with States and healthcare pro- If my memory serves me correctly,
our Republican counterparts in the viders to get Americans vaccinated. he has led the effort to block the Sen-
middle. Last week, Speaker PELOSI and To state the obvious, healthcare is ate’s consideration of five different
I went even further and agreed to use a going to be the No. 1 challenge when COVID–19 relief bills.
bipartisan bill, crafted by moderate the new administration takes office. Speaker PELOSI has made the incred-
Senators from both sides of the aisle, We are in the middle of a once-in-a- ible statement that ‘‘nothing is better
as a framework for the negotiations. century public health crisis. Accord- than something’’ when it comes to
We have not heard the same willing- ingly, President-Elect Biden’s team COVID–19 relief. That is easy to say
ness from the Republican leader. should be confirmed swiftly to ensure when you are still getting a paycheck,
However, there are some encouraging that no time is lost in the fight against when you have a job you can go do, and
signs. The bipartisan group of Senators the pandemic. you can provide for your family, and
and House Members working on this Regrettably, there is a split screen you have access to healthcare.
latest proposal continues to make this week between the seriousness of But for the millions of Americans
progress. I was encouraged to see the the incoming Biden administration and who have suffered through this pan-
Senator from Louisiana this weekend the activities of the Republican major- demic, those are words that sound a lot
say he was hopeful the President would ity here in the Senate. like Marie Antoinette: ‘‘Let them eat
sign such an agreement. Let’s use the On Tuesday, the Republican chair- cake.’’
work of the Gang of 8 as the basis for man of the Homeland Security Com- I mention this because I have been
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
bipartisan negotiations and com- mittee has invited Dr. Jane Orient to around this place long enough to know
promise. give testimony at a hearing in his com- that, unless you tell people the whole
The bottom line: We have to get mittee. Dr. Orient is a member of the story, too often they believe the talk-
something done for the American peo- Association of American Physicians ing points and the half story or the in-
ple before the end of the year. We and Surgeons—a benign-sounding name complete story, like we heard from the
Democrats have been trying since the that obscures some dangerous policies. Democratic leader.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G07DE6.011 S07DEPT1
S7230 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 7, 2020
It is shameful that, after passing four known that you were showing all the ers, counselors, caregivers, also police
separate COVID–19 relief bills, includ- classic symptoms of a victim of child officers, lawyers, social services, but
ing the CARES Act, through the end of sexual abuse, I would have intervened predominantly teachers who see these
March on a virtually unanimous basis, sooner. children at school.
that Speaker PELOSI chose to pass a Well, the 2009 Texas law was one of Teachers, educational professionals,
partisan bill out of the House, the He- the first to mandate this training, and and other support staff at schools, like
roes bill, for another $3 trillion, includ- now more than half of all the States busdrivers, are responsible for more
ing things like tax breaks for million- have adopted a form of Jenna’s Law. So than half of the reports of child abuse.
aires and billionaires in New York and you may ask: Why do we need to pass But as I said, with children home
San Francisco, unrelated to the a Federal law? Well, the States don’t during the pandemic, out of sight from
COVID–19 relief bill that we needed. have the funding for the training, and their teachers and other adults they
So I applaud the group of bipartisan that is what the Jenna Quinn Law pro- would otherwise see on a routine basis,
Senators who have been working now, vides. It allows current Department of abuse is becoming more difficult to
after the election, to try to come up Health and Human Services grant identify and report, not because it is
with the relief rather than kicking this funds to be used for this specialized not happening but because these chil-
can down the road and leaving people training. dren are having to suffer silently, liv-
in the lurch during the Christmas holi- This bill has received the support of ing with, perhaps locked down with,
day season. every member of the Senate Health their abuser.
And then when it comes to a vaccine, Committee—Republicans and Demo- As the stresses of the pandemic and
I have no doubt that the incoming ad- crats, not surprisingly—and it has the lack of reporting take a violent toll
ministration is going to claim com- passed the Senate unanimously, but it on our children across the country, it
plete credit for producing a vaccine has been months, and we are still wait- is time for action, not excuses, not de-
and getting this virus in the rearview ing for the House of Representatives to criminalizing marijuana, not a ‘‘Tiger
mirror. act. King’’ bill but passing legislation that
I understand why they would be Just last week, House Democrats, will actually make their lives better,
tempted to do so, but it is because of under Speaker PELOSI, did find time to give them some hope—not action at
the bipartisan action that Congress has act on a bill to decriminalize mari- some time in the future but now.
taken with this administration juana; on a bill to deal with large cats, And there is one person in the House
through Operation Warp Speed that we the ‘‘Tiger King’’ bill. But did they of Representatives who is holding that
have seen our world-class scientists have time to provide assistance to up right now, and he is Chairman
come up with safe and effective, I hope, small businesses? Did they find time to SCOTT.
soon-to-be-certified vaccines by the pass bipartisan COVID–19 relief? Did Children are suffering every day.
Food and Drug Administration, and they find time to pass the Jenna Quinn They are not worried about politics or
people can begin to start getting vac- Law, which I am sure, if put on their whether Chairman SCOTT has the lever-
cinated by the middle of this month. suspension calendar, would pass very age he needs to advance a larger par-
That is a modern-day miracle. We quickly and go to the President for his tisan bill later on next year. These vic-
should all be proud of it, but it should signature? tims are worried about their own safe-
not be part of a partisan campaign now In a move that defies common sense, ty. They are worried about: How much
after we have had an election on No- the chairman of the Education and longer will it be until some adult iden-
vember 3. Labor Committee in the House, Con- tifies my abuse and gets me out of this
I wish our friends would get out of gressman BOBBY SCOTT, is blocking— abusive relationship—gets me out of a
the campaign mode and get into the blocking—the Jenna Quinn Law. living nightmare?
governing mode. We have got impor- He voted to decriminalize marijuana; Well, the sort of mindless obstruction
tant work we need to do here. he voted to ban the private ownership we are seeing from Chairman SCOTT in
JENNA QUINN LAW of big cats, but he won’t even let the the House exemplifies everything peo-
Madam President, part of that is the Jenna Quinn Law receive an up-or- ple loathe about Congress—holding up
Jenna Quinn Law. This bipartisan down vote on the floor of the House of a bill to prevent child sexual abuse as
piece of legislation that I introduced Representatives. a means to gain political leverage for a
with Senator HASSAN over a year and a Well, if you are confused by the logic bigger partisan bill. It is just shameful.
half ago to help identify and stop child of this move, you are not alone, espe- Let’s call it what it is—shameful.
sexual abuse in communities across our cially because the urgency for this leg- It is time for Chairman SCOTT to stop
country has passed the Senate unani- islation has only grown during the pan- blocking the Jenna Quinn Law so we
mously but is stuck in the House of demic. can provide training to the men and
Representatives. As families have stayed at home as women most likely to stop the cycle of
Nationwide, there are more than part of the mitigation efforts, their child sexual abuse.
42,000 survivors of child sex abuse— lives have been filled with a range of CORONAVIRUS
adults now, 42 million adult survivors new stressors. Loss of income, isola- Madam President, finally, last week
of child sexual abuse. tion, health anxiety, and the stress of on the Senate floor, I spoke briefly
Sadly, these victims often stay silent teaching children at home can test about our retiring colleague Senator
for days, months, years, even a life- even the healthiest families and rela- MIKE ENZI, from Wyoming, and some
time. As a result, they and countless tionships. But they also put children at wisdom he imparted to me shortly
other victims continue to be abused. a higher risk for abuse and neglect. after I arrived in the Senate—some-
We need to stop this cycle as quickly In April of this year, nationwide re- thing he calls the 80–20 rule. As my
as possible, and that is why the Jenna ports of abuse or neglect dropped an friend from Wyoming told me, you are
Quinn Law is so important. average of 40 percent compared to the never going to agree or disagree with
It is modeled after a 2009 Texas law, same time last year. Now, ordinarily, somebody 100 percent of the time, but
which requires teachers, caregivers, you would say: Well, that is good news. that doesn’t mean you can’t get impor-
and other adults who work with chil- But the reason the reports of abuse and tant work done. So instead of just fo-
dren to receive training on how to neglect have dropped is because chil- cusing on the 20 percent you cannot
identify and report child sexual abuse. dren have not been going to their class- agree on, look at the 80 percent you
After the Texas law passed in 2009, rooms, where the teachers who train in can agree on.
one study found educators reported identifying these signs and symptoms I hope all of my colleagues will re-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
child sexual abuse at a rate almost four can see them and help them by inter- member this formula for success in the
times greater after the training than vening. coming days as we work to deliver an-
they got during their pretraining ca- In 2018, two-thirds of the reports of other round of coronavirus relief for
reer. child abuse were submitted by people the American people. It is clear that
Jenna Quinn herself tells the story of who came in contact with children as we are never going to agree 100 percent
her own mother saying: If I had just part of their jobs. I mentioned teach- of the time on what that bill should
VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G07DE6.016 S07DEPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2020-12-07_crec-2020-12-07-pt1-pgs7229-2.pdf
- Size
- 211,234 bytes
- SHA-256
- b2b844a1f164d95dd14c5ee85f4f5eb611610b8c7ec9ff51d07286f79cff75ae
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov