Congressional Record — Senate, S848 (February 24, 2021)
Summary
This Senate page of the Congressional Record (page S848, February 24, 2021) carries remarks from a senator speaking about Texas, where a failure to anticipate the subzero freeze took infrastructure offline, and asking how to prevent a repeat. The speaker then opposes the $1.9 trillion COVID package, listing three concerns. The first is that it would overspend in areas that do not need funding, with 95 percent of it spent over the next 7 years. The speaker recalls that a relief program ran dry within 2 weeks of $350 billion, and says five bipartisan COVID relief packages had passed. The page ends with morning business and Reed's statement on Armed Services Committee rules of procedure.
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“Congressional Record — Senate, S848 (February 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-pgs848-2-482c40ed7c/
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S848 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 24, 2021
our children are getting the very best This is not unlike what we have to do sure others would have made other
education possible, which is full-time, periodically for hurricanes that seem changes.
in-person instruction. They are intent to find their way to the State of Texas. But each bill was a clear response to
on jamming through this partisan $1.9 But in this case we know that some of the crisis at hand and free from any
trillion COVID package, which does in- the problem was not an act of nature; unrelated partisan priorities. In other
clude billions of dollars for schools. it was a failure to anticipate these sub- words, it was focused on COVID–19 re-
Incidentally, in working together, we freezing, subzero cold temperatures. So lief.
have passed five bipartisan COVID re- we have got to ask not only ‘‘What Suffice it to say that the same can-
lief packages. Yes, it is harder to work happened?’’ but ‘‘How can we prevent it not be said about this latest piece of
in a bipartisan fashion, but that is why from happening again in the future?’’ legislation, this $1.9 trillion bill being
we were sent back here to Wash- As I said, we experience, from time to rammed through Congress by our
ington—to work together. Yet Presi- time, hurricanes, occasionally torna- Democratic colleagues.
dent Biden and the Democrats are say- does and tropical storms or record-low Overall, I have three concerns with
ing: We are going to do this one alone. temperatures, but we cannot allow our this legislation. First, it would dra-
It is going to be their way or the high- infrastructure to go offline for days on matically overspend in areas that
way. end. aren’t even in need of additional fund-
The sad reality is, the more the I want to thank the countless Texans ing.
American people hear what is in this who supported each other during this In the early days of the pandemic, we
$1.9 trillion package, the more they are crisis. There are those that have gone had no real expectation about how long
not going to like it. Most of the money above and beyond the call of duty in the crisis would last or how big a blow
in this package is not to be spent now. their official capacities, whether it is it would deal to our economy. After the
In fact, 95 percent of it will be spent as first responders, emergency dis- CARES Act was signed into law in
over the next 7 years, after the crisis. patchers, utility and energy workers, March, late March, it made sense to hit
We should not use this COVID crisis as healthcare workers—the list goes on the pause button so we could see how
a liberal wish list of items here where- and on. what we did was working—what was
in 95 percent of it gets spent in the out- But there are also the unsung he- working well and what was not work-
years. How does this help our students roes—those who invited neighbors into ing so well. Where was more assistance
and our schools now? The answer is, it their homes, delivered hot meals to needed? Where was it sufficient?
doesn’t. those in need, checked on an elderly These needs became obvious pretty
This is not how we solve the prob- neighbor, those who towed vehicles quickly. One example was the Pay-
lems that our students are facing. For- stuck in the snow, and so much more. check Protection Program. Within 2
tunately, there is a pretty simple solu- I just want to assure all of my con- weeks of passage of $350 billion worth
tion. It is this: Listen to the experts. stituents that we are in this together, of relief, it ran dry—in 2 weeks. So we
Listen to the science. Reopen our and we will do everything we can not quickly came together on a bipartisan
schools, and let’s get our students back only to find out how this happened but basis to replenish the fund with addi-
in the classroom. what we can do to make sure it never tional money, and we did so again at
I yield the floor.
happens again. the end of the year.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
CORONAVIRUS This sort of bipartisan, step-by-step
ator from Texas.
Madam President, on another mat- approach is the most effective way to
TEXAS
ter, as you know, this week our Demo- get funding where it is needed without
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, we
cratic colleagues in the House are con- wasting money on already well-funded
have had some bizarre weather in my
tinuing to take action on President programs.
State in the last week or so. We are
Biden’s relief bill, using the budget rec- But, unfortunately, our friends
still reeling from a deadly winter
onciliation process. across the aisle didn’t apply that same
storm that hit all 254 counties in the
It is really not so much an issue in logic to this $1.9 trillion piece of legis-
State of Texas last week.
The snowstorm brought snow, ice, the House, where you can do anything lation, which sends hundreds of billions
and prolonged subfreezing tempera- you want, basically, with a majority of dollars to areas that are nowhere
tures. We don’t have temperatures vote. But if all goes their way, our near running out of money.
below zero in Texas—or at least we Democratic colleagues will write a $1.9 One example is public education. So
haven’t for a long, long time, but we trillion check, funded by taxpayers— far, Congress has provided more than
did last week. As a result, it paralyzed future taxpayers because it will be bor- $110 billion to support K–12 education,
much of our critical infrastructure, rowed money—without the input of a including $68 billion in the relief bill
leaving millions without electricity, single Republican in Congress, either passed just in December. Schools in
leaving them without heat, and leaving in the House or in the Senate. Texas have used this money to update
them without running water for days We know that there are 10 Repub- their ventilation systems, purchase
on end. licans who went over to the White masks and personal protective equip-
The good news is that power has now House, had a very pleasant meeting ment, and make other investments in
been restored for the vast majority of with President Biden, but were essen- classroom safety. But the vast major-
Texans, and cities are slowly lifting tially told: My way or the highway. ity of the funding that was provided in
water boil notices as water filtration Any effort to try to come up with a bi- December is still waiting to be used. In
systems come back online. partisan compromise was rejected. other words, there is no current need
But a number of families are still Regardless of your political affili- for any more money from Congress.
facing outages, and as we have seen ation or views on this particular bill, As a matter of fact, as of February 9,
during previous disasters, low-income that fact alone should trouble every States have spent just under $5 billion
and minority communities are the single American. After all, there was of the $68 billion we have already pro-
hardest hit. Our top priority is to re- no need for partisan maneuvering to vided for K–12 education. They have
store power and clean water to every pass a coronavirus relief bill last year. spent just $5 billion out of the $68 bil-
single Texan. As a matter of fact, we passed five of lion.
Throughout this episode—this trag- them. All of them were signed into law As a reminder, in December, the
edy, really—my staff and I have been in with overwhelming bipartisan support. CDC—the Centers for Disease Control—
contact with local, State, and, of No bill received fewer than 90 votes estimated schools would need only
course, Federal officials to determine here in the Senate. One even passed about $22 billion to reopen safely,
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
what kinds of things we can do to help unanimously. meaning there is already more than
and how we can mobilize resources as Of course, the reason for the wide- enough money to support safe school
soon as possible. As recovery efforts spread support wasn’t because Mem- reopenings. But that data-driven esti-
continue in the coming days and bers thought these relief packages were mate from the experts doesn’t seem to
weeks, I will continue to try to do perfect. There were things I would have matter to our Democratic colleagues or
that. changed if I had had a chance, and I am the administration, who are preparing
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February 24, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S849
to drop another $130 billion for public Despite all the data that shows our mismanaged union pension funds with-
education. So $5 billion has been spent economy is recovering, rebounding in a out any reforms, and funding for a
out of the $68 billion we have already robust way, this bill sends another $350 bridge to connect the majority leader’s
appropriated, and our Democratic col- billion to State and local governments home State of New York to Canada. So
leagues now want to spend another $130 that are not facing the dire budget we are going to build the majority
billion. shortfalls that we worried about last leader a bridge to Canada as part of an
Since most of the existing funds re- March. And it is not without negative emergency COVID–19 relief bill. It is
main to be spent, the nonpartisan Con- consequences. outrageous. Everyone remembers the
gressional Budget Office estimates that Larry Summers, who served as the infamous earmark now known as the
the bulk of spending of this new pro- Treasury Secretary during the Clinton bridge to nowhere. At least in this case
posed funding would occur after this administration and who was an eco- we know where the bridge will end up.
year, after 2021; that is, the majority of nomic adviser to President Obama, of- But a pandemic relief bill should not
the funding in this new so-called fered a good observation on the situa- serve as a Trojan horse in order to pur-
COVID relief bill wouldn’t even be tion in a recent opinion piece. He sue such parochial and local desires or
touched until, God willing, the pan- wrote: any other part of an unrelated liberal
demic is already in the rearview mir- [W]hereas the Obama stimulus was about wish list.
ror. half as large as the output shortfall, the pro- So the Biden bill of $1.9 trillion actu-
I have advocated for funding to help posed Biden stimulus is three times as large ally creates more problems than it
our schools prepare for a safe return to as the projected shortfall. Relative to the solves or it tries to solve nonexistent
the classroom, and the experts tell us size of the gap being addressed, it is six
problems. It drives up our national
that there is more than sufficient fund- times as large.
debt by spending money that experts
ing already out there to make that For this administration to make pub- say is not needed. It ignores the data—
happen. So I am left to conclude, as I lic comments about following the the facts about our economic recov-
think most—really, any reasonable science—certainly, following the facts, ery—and it creates even more prob-
person would, that it is irresponsible to listening to the experts—it is hard to lems, all in the name of securing a win
have taxpayers foot the bill for another reconcile that with this bill that is so for the administration and our Demo-
$130 billion when there is no need for divorced from reality. I don’t think cratic colleagues. It is as though this
the funding. you can do it, which brings me to my bill were drafted in a vacuum with no
And this isn’t like we are spending third big concern with this bill: This is attention paid to what has already
money that we have. We are actually not a COVID–19 relief bill in its en-
borrowing money from future genera- been done, how things are going, or
tirety. It includes a range of com- what we anticipate the need will be in
tions, exacerbating an already huge pletely unrelated, liberal priorities
Federal debt. the future.
that should not be included in this If the evidence and the experts tell us
That brings me to the second concern emergency spending, let alone one that
I have with this bill: It completely ig- that more funding is needed to bolster
is rushed through in a partisan manner our response to the virus, I will be one
nores the trajectory of our economic through the budget process.
recovery. of the first people to advocate for addi-
One case in point is the proposed in- tional targeted relief. But this race to
At the start of the pandemic, we all crease in the minimum wage to $15. Re-
know the economic hammer came spend money for the sake of spending
gardless of the cost of living, busi- money and ignore what the experts are
down hard and fast. As States imposed
nesses in small towns and major cities saying is absolutely disgraceful.
lockdown measures, businesses closed
alike would be required to pay their The two parties have done much bet-
their doors, people lost their jobs, and
employees $15 an hour by 2025. Now, for ter than this. As I said, last year, we
consumer spending plummeted.
But as the pandemic has gone on, big companies in big cities, that may passed five COVID relief bills on a bi-
even the more moderate predictions be doable. That may be the going rate partisan basis because we all were try-
about an economic depression have to get the kind of quality workforce ing to come together and meet a com-
proven wrong. By any measure, our you want. As we know, companies like mon enemy—the COVID–19 virus and
economy has recovered faster than any Amazon have already implemented the consequences of the pandemic. But
of us expected. That should be a posi- their own $15 an hour minimum wage it seems like this $1.9 trillion wish list
tive thing. We should be happy about back in 2018, and they can afford it. But is divorced, really, from the COVID–19
that. for small businesses that are the back- relief that we did in the past and is de-
The unemployment rate has steadily bone of our economy and are key to signed purely for partisan political pur-
declined, going from 14.8 percent in our economic recovery following this poses, and I think it is an unfortunate
April to 6.3 percent last month. State pandemic, this could lead to massive development in an area where we have
tax revenues have largely rebounded. layoffs or permanent closures. so successfully worked together in a bi-
As a matter of fact, California has The Congressional Budget Office that partisan way.
fared so well that it is adding money to I referred to earlier estimates that this I yield the floor.
their rainy day fund. In other words, provision alone could put 1.4 million The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
they don’t need any more money. Their Americans out of work. Do we really OSSOFF). The Senator from Minnesota.
revenues have exceeded their revenues want to pass a provision that would put
f
from years before the pandemic even 1.4 million Americans out of work?
hit. That is 50 percent more than it could LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The Congressional Budget Office potentially lift out of poverty.
projects that the U.S. economy will re- As a reminder, our colleagues are
turn to its prepandemic size by the trying to rush this massive change MORNING BUSINESS
middle of this year, even if Congress through Congress as part of a pandemic Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask
doesn’t approve another penny of relief bill because they know that it is unanimous consent that the Senate
money. Let me say that again. The the only shot at passing a bill that proceed to legislative session and be in
Congressional Budget Office projects would have this sort of dramatic nega- a period of morning business, with Sen-
the U.S. economy will return to its tive effect on jobs—all under the guise ators permitted to speak therein for up
prepandemic size in the middle of this of economic relief and stimulus. There to 10 minutes each.
year—just a few months away—even if is simply no way to justify a one-size- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
Congress does not approve any more fits-all mandate that treats Silicon objection, it is so ordered.
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
Federal money to aid the recovery. Valley the same as it does mom-and- f
Well, it is tough to reconcile that pop businesses in rural America.
fact with the claim from our friends And the range of unrelated provisions SENATE COMMITTEE ON ARMED
across the aisle that we need to spend doesn’t stop there. This legislation in- SERVICES RULES OF PROCEDURE
another $1.9 trillion, money that we cludes $30 billion for public transit Mr. REED. Mr. President, pursuant
don’t have. agencies, a blank check to bail out to rule XXVI, paragraph 2, of the
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