Congressional Record, Senate, December 31, 2020, Page S7985
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated Thursday, December 31, 2020, at pages S7985 and S7986, Volume 166, No. 223. Mrs. Fischer serves as Acting President pro tempore, and Mr. McConnell moves to proceed to Calendar No. 480, a policing bill, and speaks on the National Defense Authorization Act, saying 80 Senators voted to proceed and criticizing nontargeted checks for high-earning households. Mr. Schumer then makes a unanimous consent request on H.R. 9051, saying Mr. McConnell has twice objected to setting a vote on $2,000 checks, and offers to vote separately on the other issues the President raised, including section 230 and a commission on voter fraud claims.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, December 31, 2020, Page S7985.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-12-31-crec-2020-12-31-pt1-pgs7985-8-feaad99f08/
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Congressional Record
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020 No. 223
Senate
The Senate met at 12 noon and was appoint the Honorable DEB FISCHER, a Sen- women in uniform the tools and train-
called to order by the Honorable DEB ator from the State of Nebraska, to perform ing they need to stay safe. There
FISCHER, a Senator from the State of the duties of the Chair. should be nothing controversial about
CHUCK GRASSLEY,
Nebraska. continuing the work of rebuilding and
President pro tempore.
f modernizing our capabilities. It should
Mrs. FISCHER thereupon assumed be a nonpartisan proposition that
PRAYER the Chair as Acting President pro tem- America should keep pace with Russia
pore. and China rather than slip behind.
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of-
fered the following prayer: f We have enacted an annual NDAA for
Let us pray. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY 59 straight years and counting. In the
Eternal Lord God, as the new year LEADER next few days, the easy way or the hard
beckons, our souls rise to meet You, way, we are going to do our job once
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
for You are the source of our strength again. This body will fulfill our respon-
pore. The majority leader is recog-
and the hope of our lives. We put our sibility to the men and women who
nized.
lives in Your hands, trusting You with protect our country. The Senate will be
f here until we finish this bipartisan leg-
all our tomorrows.
Lord, You bless us with Your peace, JUST AND UNIFYING SOLUTIONS islation.
even in the midst of life’s storms. TO INVIGORATE COMMUNITIES Now, for several days, we heard some
Uphold our Senators. Give them EVERYWHERE ACT OF 2020—MO- Senators say Congress must send more
hours that sustain rather than stress. TION TO PROCEED cash to high-earning households that
Permit the rhythm of Your truth to Mr. MCCONNELL. I move to proceed haven’t seen any income disruption
free them from the bondage that debili- to Calendar No. 480, S. 3985. during COVID–19. Our colleagues who
tates. May they find strength in You as The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- purport to be the champions of vulner-
they give You their restlessness and pore. The clerk will report the motion. able Americans now say that what
doubts. The senior assistant legislative clerk struggling people really need is for
We pray in Your wonderful Name. read as follows: Congress to stop focusing on targeted
Amen. relief for them specifically and, in-
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 480, S.
stead, to send thousands of dollars to
f 3985, a bill to improve and reform policing
practices, accountability and transparency. people who don’t need the help.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE f
Experts from across the political
The Presiding Officer led the Pledge spectrum agree that our colleague from
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME Vermont is dead wrong on this. Social-
of Allegiance, as follows:
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- ism for rich people is a terrible way to
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the
United States of America, and to the Repub- pore. Under the previous order, the help the American families who are ac-
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, leadership time is reserved. tually struggling. Let me say that
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- again. Borrowing from our grandkids
pore. The majority leader. to do socialism for rich people is a ter-
f
f rible way to get help for families who
APPOINTMENT OF ACTING actually need it.
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE NATIONAL DEFENSE Washington Democrats took Presi-
AUTHORIZATION ACT dent Trump’s suggestion and skewed it
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
clerk will please read a communication Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, so the checks would benefit even more
to the Senate from the President pro yesterday, the Senate was finally able high-earning households.
to proceed to this year’s National De- Imagine a family of five where the
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY).
fense Authorization Act. A few of our parents earn $250,000 per year and have
The senior assistant legislative clerk
Democratic colleagues have pulled out not seen any income loss this past
read the following letter:
all the stops to hold back this crucial year. Speaker PELOSI and Senator
U.S. SENATE,
bill, but last night, a big bipartisan SANDERS want to send them $5,000 from
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE,
Washington, DC, December 31, 2020. majority of 80 Senators voted to pro- Uncle Sam. They make a quarter of a
To the Senate: ceed. million dollars, nobody is out of work,
Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, There should be nothing controver- but our so-called progressive friends
of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby sial about giving our brave men and say the household needs ‘‘survival
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∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
S7985
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S7986 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 31, 2020
checks.’’ In fact, they believe a family that is exactly what we did less than 1 no such demand. President Trump
of five should have to earn $350,000 be- week ago, when nearly $900 billion in couldn’t care less about how the bills
fore the spigot of government money more targeted relief was signed into are packaged in Congress.
would stop entirely. law for our people. So the Republican leader has in-
Socialism for rich people. That is f vented an excuse to prevent a clean,
what Speaker PELOSI and Senator up-or-down, yes-or-no vote on $2,000
SANDERS have sketched out. A terrible RECOGNITION OF THE checks from coming to the floor. This
way to help those who need it, and ex- DEMOCRATIC LEADER maneuver to combine all three issues is
perts across the political spectrum The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- intended to kill the possibility of $2,000
agree. pore. The minority leader is recog- checks ever becoming law.
The liberal editors of the Washington nized. Just to prove it, let me make this
Post have blasted so-called progres- f offer to the Republican majority. We
sives demanding a nontargeted give- are willing to vote on the other issues
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST— that President Trump mentioned—all
away that would give ‘‘huge amounts’’
H.R. 9051 the issues the Republican leader says
to ‘‘perfectly comfortable families.’’
Larry Summers, who ran the Treas- Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, must be addressed—so long as we vote
ury Department for President Clinton the Senate today meets for a rare New on them separately. That way, $2,000
and the National Economic Council for Year’s Eve session for one reason and checks could become law, and we could
President Obama, says there is ‘‘no one reason only: The Republican leader debate all the President’s supposed
good economic argument’’ for more has refused to allow us to vote on legis- concerns.
nontargeted checks with no linkage to lation to provide the American people We can vote on setting up a commis-
need. $2,000 checks. He has twice objected to sion to look at the President’s roundly
The liberal New York Times reported my requests to set a time for a vote on rejected claims of voter fraud. We
this morning that a majority of the the measure, claiming yesterday that would also have the commission look
households that get nontargeted direct stimulus checks were ‘‘poorly at voter suppression and gerry-
checks do not end up spending them on targeted,’’ bemoaning the idea that mandering. That is completely unre-
urgent needs but rather just add it to some of these checks might go into lated to helping Americans pay their
their savings. ‘‘We know where the ‘‘the hands of Democrats’ rich friends bills, but we are willing to take a look
pockets of need are,’’ said one econo- who don’t need the help.’’ Senator at the whole picture. Just give us a
mist, and ‘‘putting [money] there TOOMEY said much the same thing. vote on the House-passed bill so we can
would be a much more efficient use.’’ Well, funny, I don’t remember the get help now for people who des-
Fortunately, though some of our col- Republican leader and Senator TOOMEY perately need it.
leagues seem to have forgotten, that is complaining about how a $2 trillion Heck, we can also have a vote on re-
exactly what we did only a week ago. It across-the-board corporate tax cut was pealing 230. We can do it today. We will
has been less than 5 days since Presi- ‘‘poorly targeted’’ because some large use Leader MCCONNELL’s exact lan-
dent Trump signed into law another companies didn’t need the help. No, guage. He wouldn’t agree to that be-
when corporations get a blanket tax cause he knows his caucus wouldn’t ac-
historic bipartisan rescue package tar-
break, that is fine by the Republican tually support such an act. Unlike the
geted to Americans who actually need
majority. When the average American President, some Members of this body
the help.
We passed an entire second round of gets a little help from their govern- understand what 230 means. They un-
ment, it is ‘‘poorly targeted.’’ derstand that section 230, which cer-
PPP loans to save small business jobs,
I hope that every American heard the tainly needs change, actually enables
targeted to the hardest hit. We re-
objections by these Republican Sen- the President to spew his lies.
newed multiple kinds of additional We all know the 117th Congress will
benefits for unemployed workers, in- ators. I hope every American who has
have to take a close look at the rela-
cluding an extra $300 supplement every their water or heat or electricity shut
tionship between liability and reckless
week. There are billions for targeted off or had eviction notices stapled on
speech on the internet. But if Leader
food assistance, billions for targeted top of one another to their door or had MCCONNELL wants a vote on these
rental assistance, and many billions of to choose which meal to skip on a issues, we are here for it. Just give us
dollars for vaccine distribution so we given day—I hope they all heard the a vote on the House-passed bill, and we
can finally beat this virus and reopen reason they will not receive $2,000 can vote on whatever rightwing con-
the economy in full. checks is because Leader MCCONNELL spiracy theory you would like.
These are the kinds of targeted emer- thinks it could wind up in the hands of We can even vote to set up a special
gency programs that directly help the ‘‘Democrats’ rich friends.’’ blue-ribbon commission to determine
most vulnerable, and we just poured al- Let’s be very clear. There is one way whether Georgia’s secretary of State
most another trillion dollars into and only one way to pass $2,000 checks has a brother named Ron, if that would
them, less than 5 days ago, along with before the end of the year, and that is make our Republican friends happy.
more direct checks that are already ar- to pass the House bill. It is the only Just don’t let these conspiracy theo-
riving in households’ accounts. That is way to get the American people the ries and Presidential fantasies get in
what we did just 5 days ago. $2,000 checks they need and deserve. the way of helping actual people—peo-
This crisis has not affected everyone The House is gone for the session. ple whose livelihoods have been torn
equally. The data show that many Any modification or addition to the apart by this pandemic, people whose
upper middle-class Americans have House bill can’t become law. Either the lives have been torn apart by the ad-
kept their jobs, worked remotely, and Senate takes up and passes the House ministration’s mismanagement of this
remained totally financially com- bill or struggling Americans will not pandemic, people who need just a little
fortable. On the other hand, some of get $2,000 checks during the worst eco- direct assistance.
our fellow citizens had their entire ex- nomic crisis since the Great Depres- The President’s term, thankfully,
istence turned upside down and con- sion. will end in 20 days. It is a term that
tinue to suffer terribly. Leader MCCONNELL knows this. So he has been marked by hate and division
We do not need to let the Speaker of has said that the Senate can only vote and turmoil. He has so far used his
the House do socialism for rich people on a bill that combines the checks with term to enrich himself and the
in order to help those who need help. other unrelated partisan policies: a re- wealthy.
Our duty, both to struggling Ameri- peal of section 230 and an investigation Let’s close out the term on a good
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cans and to taxpayers, is to focus on into the President’s dishonest and note. For once, he wants to help reg-
targeted relief that will have the max- bogus claims of election fraud. ular people, to give Americans a leg up.
imum impact and help the people who The Republican leader claims that Let’s allow him to do that.
need it the most. That is what the ex- President Trump insists that all three We have a chance at the end of this
perts say we should do. That is where issues must be addressed in one bill, painful year to give Americans a rea-
there is broad bipartisan support, and but, of course, the President has made son to have some hope in 2021. The only
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