Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Dec. 17, 2020)

Summary

Page S7564 of the Congressional Record, Senate, for December 17, 2020, includes a Senator's remarks that a $748 billion relief bill would extend unemployment insurance benefits with a $300-a-week Federal supplement, add $300 billion for business loans and $25 billion for emergency rental assistance, and provide $82 billion for education. The Senator also says over 300,000 Americans have died and criticizes the continuing resolution. Thune speaks under Coronavirus about progress on relief legislation and urges finishing it. A tribute to a longtime staff member named Johanna follows.

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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Dec. 17, 2020).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-12-17-crec-2020-12-17-pt1-pgs7564-2-e51de516fc/, SHA-256 cb8b27c1b2d040a73f05335d06529650a695fe45f6877e1808d63267f156cc5e.

Full text

S7564 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 17, 2020
of the Trump nominees on the floor of Then the subcommittee is supposed The bill itself is significant in that it
the U.S. Senate. I remember that. to meet and vote out an appropriations has $748 billion in spending.
There were some that were delayed be- bill at the end of that process, report- The areas of spending are fairly pre-
cause of very basic things. They had ing it to the full committee. And we dictable: extending unemployment in-
not filed their financial disclosure didn’t do that. surance benefits with a $300-a-week
forms and the ethics reports, which Then the Appropriations Committee Federal supplement; $300 billion for
were expected of all Cabinet nominees. is supposed to take up the subcommit- business loans for those that are strug-
I don’t expect President-Elect Biden tee’s product, debate it, subject to gling to survive; an additional $13 bil-
to cut any corners. I expect his nomi- amendment, and pass it out for a con- lion for the food stamp program, now
nees to follow the rules and the law, sideration by the full body. We never known as SNAP, so that people who are
and I am hoping that they will have bi- did that as well. relying on that, perhaps in the midst of
partisan support when it comes to the The matter is supposed to come to unemployment, will have enough to
Senate. I want to give this President a the floor of the Senate, be debated, as eat; $13 billion for our farmers; $25 bil-
chance to get off to a good, solid start, well, perhaps amended, and pass the lion for emergency rental assistance to
and he is going to need it. Senate, if it has the right, the nec- avoid evictions; $34 billion to hospitals
We are in the midst of this pandemic. essary votes. We didn’t do that. and clinics for help as well, with a por-
The numbers that roll in every single Then it is supposed to go to the tion of that set aside for rural hos-
day are frightening. Even in my home House of Representatives to see how it pitals; $16 billion for testing and trac-
State of Illinois, where Governor matches up with their similar work ing and the logistics of delivering the
Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot and so product. We didn’t do that either. vaccine across America; $12 billion for
many others have worked hard to es- Ultimately, it may result in a con- a CDFI project for minority businesses.
tablish standards of conduct that will ference report, according to the rules, There is $5 billion for additional help
keep people safe, we know that the between the House and the Senate, and with mental health counseling, and we
numbers are just unacceptable in terms that never happened. know that this pandemic and the econ-
of infections and hospitalizations and, So the entire budget appropriations omy have taken their toll on the men-
sadly, deaths as well. Over 300,000 process was completely avoided, and we tal health of America.
Americans have died. find ourselves extending a continuing There is $82 billion for education, $20
We want to make sure that President resolution for the spending of the U.S. billion of that for higher education,
Biden and Vice President Harris have Government for weeks at a time until school districts and schools—univer-
the team and the wherewithal and the after the election. sities too. They have to spend a lot of
resources to respond quickly when they So now we face the prospect, at the money because of COVID–19, and we
take office on January 20. eleventh hour, of a decision to finish want to help them get back on their
I hope my Republican friends will the work we were elected to do or to
join me in that effort. They have every feet.
simply delay the situation again. There is $10 billion for childcare, a
right to expect these nominees to an- Well, we need to do our job, and we critical element for many families. If
swer the very basic questions that are need to do it now. We need to pass our they can’t find childcare, many people
required, but I hope that they will also annual appropriations bills to keep the
do their best to expedite that process can’t go back to work. We want to give
government running. I cannot imagine them help.
so that those going into critical posi- the unforgivable and embarrassing There is $10 billion for broadband.
tions to keep our country safe from tragedy it would be if the government Expanding broadband became critically
this pandemic are in place, as well as is shut down for our failure to reach a
those who are going to serve our Na- important when kids relied on it to
decision. continue their education on remote
tion in critical capacities, whether it is
Secretary of State or Attorney General
CORONAVIRUS learning.
Madam President, we need to pass a There is $45 billion for transpor-
or Department of Homeland Security.
But I look forward to working with COVID relief bill. tation, everything from the airline in-
my friend from Iowa. I take heed of his I was happy to join a group of 10 Sen- dustry to Amtrak, to transit, to buses.
warning that we will hold these nomi- ators—5 Democrats and 5 Repub- They have all been hit hard, and we
nees to the same standards as we held licans—3 weeks ago. We met for dinner need them to come back with our econ-
President Trump’s nominees. one night—safe social distancing—in omy.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
one of the Member’s houses and spent There is $10 billion for our Postal
Madam President, we are at the elev- several hours talking about our frus- Service, and, boy, have they worked
enth hour before a funding deadline tration that we hadn’t passed a COVID hard during this pandemic to keep up
where the budget of the United States relief bill since March, when we passed with the demands.
is at stake. Tomorrow, the continuing the CARES Act. And we know that And there are extensions of opportu-
resolution expires, and we are facing things have gotten worse in this coun- nities to use CARES money into the
the prospect of another continuing res- try, not only with the pandemic but next fiscal year—the next calendar
olution. I pray that we don’t do that. also with the state of the economy. For year, I should say.
This has been a very disappointing some reason, we just couldn’t reach an There were more. We reached agree-
year for the Appropriations process. agreement—the two parties. ment on all of these and came up with
Historically, the process begins with Well, this mixed group of Senators of a bill that we presented to the leader-
the President’s budget, and then comes both political parties had a bold idea: ship of both the House and the Senate,
a budget resolution passed by the Let’s try to do it ourselves. So we sat both parties. The good news is they
House and the Senate for the spending down, and in the course of 3 weeks, I didn’t ignore it; they embraced it and
priorities in the next fiscal year. We cannot tell you how many hours we started their own negotiations at the
didn’t do that. spent on the phone—zoom calls, other very highest levels of leadership in the
Then there is an allocation, usually, conference calls, and calls were even Congress.
after the passage of a budget resolution taking place on Thanksgiving Day— Fingers crossed, we may come up
of how much each subcommittee of the talking about what a COVID relief bill with a bill today, a COVID relief bill.
Appropriations Committee can work might look like. Some of the items we So from the time of our press con-
with, the total amounts of dollars. We debated long and hard. Most of them ference on Tuesday to the delivery of a
didn’t do that. we agreed on. product as soon as today is an amazing
Then the subcommittees have hear- This last Tuesday, this week, we re- accomplishment when you consider all

dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
ings, and some of these subcommittees ported our bill to the U.S. Senate, to the time that we have spent waiting in
of Appropriations have many hearings, the floor of the Senate, and to the lead- hopes that we could find that solution.
to explore whether the dollar amounts ers. And we didn’t just give them a We have made significant progress.
that are allocated for a certain purpose memo with concepts. We gave them an Funding the government is basic to our
really are well spent and serve their actual bill that could be introduced work in Congress, and this COVID re-
purpose. We didn’t do that. today. lief bill is essential as well.

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December 17, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7565
Now, I am disappointed in our work We can’t expect people to wait with ing around the country, and we need to
product. There is pride and disappoint- any patience. We have waited too long get help to struggling Americans as
ment. The disappointment is the fact ourselves. soon as possible. The time for debate is
that we didn’t reach an agreement on CYBER SECURITY over. Let’s get this done.
State and local government assistance. Madam President, let me close on a We started this week out with a tre-
I favor that strongly, and I hope we topic that is related to this. The press mendously hopeful moment in our
turn to that issue as soon as we return reports of Russian hacking into the se- COVID fight—the first vaccinations
in January. curity systems of the United States are against this virus. It is incredible that
Also, there was a question of liability as troubling as can be. This is nothing barely a year since we first learned
and lawsuits during the time of short of a virtual invasion by the Rus- about the virus, we have a vaccine,
COVID–19. We offered several alter- sians into critical accounts of our Fed- with more vaccines likely on the way.
natives. The Republicans countered eral Government. I have been thinking a lot this week
with theirs. We never had a meeting of It is possible that they have com- about the people who volunteered for
the minds on that issue. I hope that we promised some of the most important vaccine trials.
do return to it at some point soon. and sensitive information that this We have gained a new appreciation
We need to put government spending government owns, information that we this year for a lot of people whose work
on a course that makes sense for the rely on to keep America safe. Of we might have taken for granted in the
next year that we are going to be tack- course, Vladimir Putin denies it, but past—the farmers and grocery store
ling as soon as January. From the mili- we know better. It is not the first time, workers and truckdrivers who kept
tary and the FBI, public housing and but I hope it is one of the last times. food on our grocery store shelves; the
transportation, to medical research We need to make it clear to Mr. delivery drivers, whom we have relied
and cybersecurity, in any way that we Putin, to China, to Iran, to North on so heavily this year, who have
approach it, governing by CR is the Korea, and to any nation that would brought our packages to us so we can
worst possible way to do business. compromise and breach our security minimize our time at the store; all the
Continuing resolutions impede our that there is a price to pay. No, I am workers whose jobs can’t be done from
government’s ability to operate effi- not calling for an invasion myself or home—from electrical workers, to
ciently and, frankly, waste money. all-out war. I don’t want to see that trashmen, to pharmacists—who get up
Taxpayers deserve better. The con- happen, but it is no longer a buddy- every day and put on their masks and
tinuing resolution would leave us oper- buddy arrangement between the United go out and keep our country running;
ating under funding levels before we States and Vladimir Putin. We have to and, of course, our Nation’s medical
faced this national emergency, which take this man very seriously because professionals, who have faced down this
affects every part of America today. he is a serious threat to the United virus with courage and determination
It would restrict agencies from shift- States when he captures this kind of and with great compassion.
ing dollars around to meet the chal- information, which we use so that our There have been a lot of quiet heroes
lenges, and it would hurt their ability troops are safe in the field and we are this year, and the people who volun-
to plan ahead, hire and train new em- safe in our homes. teered for vaccine trials should be high
ployees, start new projects. We thought we had a defense mecha- on that list. A lot of courageous people
Continuing resolutions cause delays nism established. It turns out that it stepped forward when we needed them,
in contracts and grants when we need failed and compromised the integrity and we would not have a COVID vac-
them the most. There are many exam- of our security in the cyber world. We cine today without their willingness to
ples of these, such as funding for med- need to do better and, through the De- help.
ical research. I don’t think there is an partment of Homeland Security and Monday was the beginning of what
American alive today who doesn’t the Department of Defense, dedicate will hopefully be a decisive victory in
value medical research today more the resources and say to Mr. Putin and our COVID battle. We owe that to the
than they did a year ago. others like him around the world: We hard work and persistence of medical
The Warp Speed project appears to be are not going to stand by and let you researchers, but we owe it also to the
a dramatic success. I pray that it will take advantage of us. There will be a vaccine trial volunteers, who enabled
be. Although I have been a frequent price to pay for this. researchers to complete the process of
critic of this administration, I want to Frankly, if we do anything less than developing a safe and effective vaccine.
give them credit for organizing this ef- that, it is hard to imagine we are doing It is no exaggeration to say that the
fectively and delivering a vaccine in a our best to protect this great Nation. bravery of vaccine volunteers could end
timely way—an almost amazing timely There will be more. I am sure there up saving hundreds of thousands or
way—in this pandemic that we face. I will be security briefings for Members even millions of lives. I doubt we will
thank all who were involved in it, espe- of Congress going into detail here, but ever know most of the volunteers’
cially the scientists and researchers the news that is coming out in the names, but they are heroes of this bat-
who didn’t give up until they found media is very troubling. tle just the same, and I am very grate-
these vaccines. We need to do all that we can to keep ful for the opportunity they have given
We know that FEMA would be pro- America safe. And when adversaries us to defeat this virus.
hibited from awarding Homeland Secu- such as Russia torment us, tempt us, TRIBUTE TO JOHANNA JABLONSKI
rity grants to State and local govern- breach the security of our Nation, we Madam President, before I close, I
ments unless we do our business of need to respond in kind. would like to take a moment to pay
passing a budget. Safety and efficiency I yield the floor. tribute to one of my staffers, Johanna
improvements in our transportation I suggest the absence of a quorum. Jablonski. Johanna is originally from
programs, such as bridge repairs, need The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the small town of Ethan, SD, and is a
to be timely and implemented. States clerk will call the roll. graduate of and former basketball star
and cities would not receive their com- The senior assistant legislative clerk at Mount Marty College.
munity development block grants, proceeded to call the roll. She first joined our team as a sum-
which they desperately need. The list Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask mer intern, working in Sioux Falls. A
goes on and on. unanimous consent that the order for little over 6 years ago, she moved to
Our constituents elected us to do a the quorum call be rescinded. Washington, DC, and became a perma-
job, and part of that job is to create a The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without nent member of the office. She started
budget for this government. Months of objection, it is so ordered. out as a staff assistant and eventually

dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
bipartisan committee work and weeks CORONAVIRUS worked her way up to become my
of bipartisan negotiations should not Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I am scheduler—and our starting pitcher, I
be cast aside. I am hopeful that we will encouraged that we are making might add—here in DC.
finalize a deal today and vote on it as progress on coronavirus relief legisla- When Johanna first came to my of-
early as today or tomorrow at the lat- tion, but we need to finish up and get fice, she intended to move back home
est. this bill out the door. The virus is surg- after a year or two, but God had plans

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