Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Feb. 24, 2021)
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated February 24, 2021, at page S836, with remarks by Mr. McConnell, the Republican leader, under the headings Coronavirus and Protests. He says the Democrats' plan would spend only about 5 percent of its money this fiscal year on schools, recalls that the CARES Act spent $2.2 trillion and that another $920 billion followed last December, and objects to a $350 billion payment to State and local governments and to a minimum wage increase. He cites a CBO estimate on the minimum wage and says more than 13 percent of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose. He also describes a competitiveness bill meant to boost American competitiveness and stop China's predatory practices, and under Protests he commends the Rules and Homeland Security Committees for a hearing on the attack on January 6.
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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., Feb. 24, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-02-24-crec-2021-02-24-pt1-pgs836-3-912e06d8f3/
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S836 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 24, 2021
ought to be leading the world in. The The senior assistant legislative clerk We have no historic parallel with anything
same goes for building out 5G, the proceeded to call the roll. like this level of excess saving.
next-generation telecommunications Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I He says we have never seen this
network. There is bipartisan interest ask unanimous consent that the order much ‘‘dry powder.’’
on both these issues. for the quorum call be rescinded. Even mainstream liberal economists
Overall, the new legislation must The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- agree that our country does not need
achieve three goals: one, boost Amer- pore. Without objection, it is so or- another massive fire hose of borrowed
ican competitiveness by investing in dered. money. This is not April of 2020. This is
our economy and our workers; two, le- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER a different chapter. Washington should
verage our alliances abroad; and, three, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- focus on practical policies to finish
stop once and for all China’s predatory pore. The Republican leader is recog- this fight: accelerate vaccinations; get
practices. A number of my colleagues nized. kids back in school; help the families
on both sides of the aisle have strong CORONAVIRUS and small businesses that actually
bipartisan ideas on these issues, includ- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, yes- need help; and get laid-off Americans
ing Senators MENENDEZ and RISCH, terday, I discussed the K–12 crisis fac- matched with job openings ASAP.
BROWN and TOOMEY, CANTWELL and ing American families. The science Unfortunately, the Democrats’ par-
WICKER. I hope we can all work to- shows that in-person schooling can eas- tisan proposal would not just be waste-
gether to craft a bill that meets that ily be made safe. Private and religious ful but, in certain ways, actually coun-
moment. schools and schools in Europe have terproductive. It would have Wash-
It is my intention to put this legisla- been open for months. ington go out of its way to discourage
tion on this topic on the Senate floor But Washington Democrats have ap- hiring, discourage a return to work,
for a vote this spring. I urge the com- parently bought into Big Labor’s myth and actually keep things shut down
mittees to continue their work in a bi- that schools cannot reopen without longer.
partisan way so we can have strong even more Federal funding, even Take the minimum wage policy. The
legislation before us. though their own plan would only CBO says this abrupt, one-size-fits-all
It so happens that today, at the other spend about 5 percent—5 percent of the change would kill about 11⁄2 times as
end of Pennsylvania Avenue, signifi- money this fiscal year. many jobs as the number of workers it
cant work will be done on the same This is just one illustration of how
would lift out of poverty.
issues. President Biden has invited a Democrats started with preconceived
Or take their proposal for another
bipartisan group of lawmakers to the ideological goals and actually worked
long-term extension of a big Federal
White House to discuss concerns with backward, instead of starting with the
supplement to unemployment benefits.
the U.S. supply chain, particularly the actual needs of American families.
Let’s take a look at the economy. Even in the middle of last year, it was
semiconductor shortage, and will sign questionable policy to pay people more
an Executive order aimed at plugging When we had to stall our economy to
protect our health system, the Senate to stay home than essential workers
the holes. I applaud both the meeting were earning while actually on the job.
wrote the bipartisan CARES Act, the
and the Executive order. The new ad- Now another long-term, flat supple-
biggest rescue package in American
ministration is taking a strong first ment would make even less sense.
history. It spent $2.2 trillion to save
step in shoring up America’s critical Here is how one leading economist
the healthcare system, find vaccines,
supply chains and putting a spotlight puts it:
and support families. We refilled many
on American competitiveness. In an expanding economy that is putting
of those programs with another $920
PROTESTS the virus behind it, paying people more in
billion just last December.
Mr. President, finally, I want to com- Today, we stand at a very different unemployment than they could receive from
mend the Rules Committee and the working is an act of substantial economic
kind of crossroads. More than 13 per-
Homeland Security Committee yester- self-harm. It would keep workers on the side-
cent of Americans have received at lines, stop the unemployment rate from fall-
day for holding an important hearing least one dose of the vaccine. Manufac- ing as rapidly as it otherwise would, and
examining the attack on January 6, a turers expect vaccine supply to keep slow the overall recovery.
horrible, horrible attack. It was the ramping up dramatically in the weeks
first of what will be many examina- Then there is the $350 billion bailout
ahead. for State and local governments, many
tions of the events on January 6 and The trillions we spent on rescue poli-
how we can prevent such an attack of whom have already seen revenues
cies in 2020 had the economy prepped to
from ever happening again. and receipts rebound. It is several mul-
come roaring back as health conditions
The hearing revealed several security tiples of any sober estimate of the ac-
keep improving.
and communication failures that must Unemployment today is already tual need. Apparently, even Senators
be addressed going forward and fol- lower than where, at one point in this on the Democratic side are trying to
lowed up on in future investigations. crisis, the Federal Reserve predicted it pare back this absurd request—just one
Regrettably, the hearing also revealed would be by the end of the year. In more way this proposal seems to be
that there are still Members of the some blue-collar sectors, both total stuck back in April of last year.
Senate Republican minority who are employment and job openings are al- I haven’t even talked about the hun-
willing to continue the campaign of ready higher than they were before the dreds of millions of dollars for pet
misinformation, deception, and con- pandemic. Retail sales just smashed projects without a shred of relevance
spiracy that helped fuel the attack on experts’ predictions. Many manufactur- to the pandemic or the recovery—
January 6 in the first place. ers can’t keep pace with demand. money for ‘‘climate justice,’’ transpor-
Let me be very clear. Blaming the Remarkably, even as economic out- tation earmarks for the Democratic
January 6 attack on provocateurs and put obviously shrunk in 2020, overall leader’s home State—all kinds of lib-
fake Trump protesters is mindless gar- household personal income and per- eral wish list items that would do
bage. It has no basis in fact. Perpet- sonal savings actually went up. That is nothing to help American families put
uating and giving a platform to those because of the relief Congress deliv- COVID behind them. Just about 1 per-
lies is a preposterous contribution to a ered. cent of the money is for vaccines, so ei-
Senate hearing devoted to Capitol se- There is no question that some ther the new administration has com-
curity. Everyone—everyone needs to American families are still struggling. pletely taken their eye off the ball or
move forward by sticking to the facts Nobody thinks our health or economic they were not actually starting from
and engaging in a very serious discus- fight is finished yet, but on a broad na- scratch at all, like they claimed. Only
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
sion about the security of the Capitol tional scale, households are sitting on 5 percent of the education funding
Complex. an historic pile of pent-up cash, wait- would even go out this fiscal year. Only
I yield the floor. ing for the economy to reopen. 5 percent of the education funding
I suggest the absence of a quorum. The former head of President would go out this fiscal year.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers Our own Senate Democratic col-
pore. The clerk will call the roll. says: leagues are reportedly admitting parts
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February 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S837
of this are poorly targeted. Liberal vestigation into the specific security They said, by the end of March, which
economists and the Washington Post’s failures that occurred here at the Cap- is not that far away—4 weeks plus—it
editorial board are saying Americans itol. It sets the stage for a somewhat will be the dominant strain of
deserve more bang for their buck—a broader inquiry into ‘‘domestic violent coronavirus in the United States. I was
predictably chilly reception for a par- extremism’’ beyond just that day, but taken aback by that to think that a
tisan bill that started with an out- the partisan panel would get to decide variant could become that dominant
dated, ideological wish list instead of which other incidents are and are not that quickly, but it was fair warning
the current needs of American fami- ‘‘relevant.’’ that it was about to occur. Then they
lies. Rioting and political violence are ab- talked about the South African vari-
PROTESTS horrent and unacceptable no matter ant, which is just starting to appear.
Now, Mr. President, on a completely what cause the mob is advancing. The good news is they have done
different matter, I have been out- These are not forms of political speech. enough testing to believe that both of
spoken and clear about the crimes that For almost a year now, we have seen the major vaccines we are now using
were committed here on January 6. In political violence and riots become an across America, which are Moderna
my discussions with Judge Garland, increasingly normalized phenomenon and Pfizer—I have Pfizer, and my wife
the President’s nominee to be Attorney across our national life. None of us has Moderna—are effective against the
General, I specifically raised the need should accept that. UK, United Kingdom, variant. The jury
to continue investigating and pros- January 6 was uniquely grave be- is still out when it comes to the South
ecuting anyone who broke the law that cause the intent was to interrupt the African variant. There is a third vari-
day. I am glad he has repeatedly em- constitutional duty of Congress, but if ant, and I won’t venture into trying to
phasized this would remain a priority. this new commission is to go beyond a remember exactly what that was
Everyone agrees that day’s events targeted, after-action analysis of the about, but I remember it had some ori-
must occasion a serious and thorough security failures here at the Capitol gin in South America.
review of the specific institutions and complex and if Congress is going to at- I heard that news, and I thought to
security procedures within Congress tempt some broader analysis of toxic myself, this is an ongoing battle. We
that proved so insufficient. That proc- political violence across the country, haven’t run up any kind of score
ess is already underway as we saw with then, in that case, we cannot have an against this coronavirus. We can’t sit
the joint hearing conducted yesterday artificial cherry-picking of which ter- back and relax. We are in a very busy
by two Senate committees. rible behavior does and which terrible third quarter in trying to vaccinate
The Speaker of the House proposes behavior does not deserve scrutiny. We America and in watching for each and
even more investigation through a new could do something narrow that looks every new threat.
commission. She cites the precedent of at the Capitol or we could potentially So, in that circumstance, if you were
the 9/11 Commission, but her draft bill do something broader to analyze the the President of the United States,
fails to track with that precedent in full scope of the political violence here what would you do?
key ways. in our country. We cannot land at some
Well, Joe Biden, President Joe Biden,
The 9/11 Commission was inten- artificial, politicized halfway point.
Don’t take it from me. Take it from decided that we needed to be aggres-
tionally built to be bipartisan. The 50–
the Democratic and Republican leaders sive, that we needed to face reality, not
50 bipartisan split of the commis-
of the 9/11 Commission. An inquiry only with regard to the half a million
sioners was a key feature. It both
with a hard-wired partisan slant would Americans who have died but that we
helped the effectiveness of the inves-
never be legitimate in the eyes of the need to put together the tools to fight
tigation itself and helped give the
American people. An undertaking that this coronavirus as we know it and as
whole country confidence in its work
is uneven or unjust would not help our it is likely to evolve. He needs an army
and its recommendations. This time,
country. to do that. It is that big a war. He
however, Speaker PELOSI started by
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- came to us with a proposal to start
proposing a commission that would be
pore. The assistant majority leader. that effort, in a substantial way, under
partisan by design—seven appoint-
CORONAVIRUS
his leadership. He calls it the American
ments for Democrats, just four for Re-
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last Rescue Plan. I hear my colleagues
publicans. The 9/11 Commission also
week, I was home, as most Members of come to the floor and really raise the
built consensus by requiring bipartisan
the Senate were, but I was asked to question as to whether this is needed,
support for subpoenas. The Speaker’s
participate in a Zoom call with two and I just heard the speech of the mi-
bill would vest subpoena power in one
people I highly respect, Dr. Anthony nority leader, Senator MCCONNELL.
appointee chosen by the Democrats.
Both the Democratic and Republican Fauci and Dr. Collins, with the Na- What President Biden wants to do to
leaders of the 9/11 Commission are tional Institutes of Health. While sit- deal with this pandemic, as we know it
speaking out against this bizarrely par- ting at my dining room table in and as it is likely to evolve, is to pro-
tisan concept. Let me say that again. Springfield, IL, there were about a vide $20 billion more for our vaccina-
The leaders of the 9/11 Commission— dozen Senators who had access to tion program. Does anyone doubt the
one Republican, one Democrat—are Zoom to be a part of that conversation. need for that? I don’t. I think it is the
speaking out against the way this pro- I felt like I was privileged to really key to getting America back to busi-
posal is crafted by the Speaker. hear some information which most ness.
Lee Hamilton, the Democratic Vice Americans wanted to hear, and I knew He provides $50 billion for testing, lab
Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, says: it had to be important for them to ask capacity improvements, and genomic
That does not sound to me like a good for a briefing in the middle of the sequencing of this virus mutation.
start; it sounds like a partisan beginning. week. Again, I am not an expert in science,
That was the Democratic Vice Chair- What they were talking about during but it seems perfectly reasonable to
man of the 9/11 Commission. the course of that hour were variants, me, after listening to Drs. Fauci and
Tom Kean, the Republican Chairman, what is happening to this coronavirus Collins, to make that investment right
pointed out what should be obvious: as it replicates over and over and over now.
Unless you have equal representation . . . again millions of times. What they told President Biden wants to invest in
the report won’t have as much confidence us—and I am a liberal arts lawyer, so I 100,000 community health workers to
from the American people. don’t profess any sort of medical exper- help with the vaccinations and contact
Any undertaking along these lines tise here—was that there were domi- tracing—100,000. It seems like a lot, but
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
needs to be fair and needs to be even- nant variants that were starting to in a nation of 350 million, I am not sure
handed. That really shouldn’t be con- emerge, and they told us the shorthand it is that overwhelming a number. He
troversial, and it goes beyond just a description that they used in the lab- wants to fund the community health
makeup of the panel. oratories. centers so that they will be able to
For example, the Speaker’s proposal I just remember that the first one tackle this issue and particularly ad-
imagines something more than an in- was the UK, United Kingdom, variant. dress the issue of health disparities;
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