Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., March 16, 2021)

Summary

A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated March 16, 2021, at page S1535, under the heading Coronavirus, carrying a speech by a Senator from Illinois. The Senator recounts the history of the filibuster, including one in 1957, and says there are now on average 80 filibusters a year, arguing that Senator McConnell has made the filibuster the normal course of business. The Senator says the American Rescue Plan could pass because reconciliation cannot be filibustered, credits the administration with scaling up vaccinations, and says ten countries have accounted for 75 percent of vaccinations worldwide while about 100 countries have given none.

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“Coronavirus (Cong. Rec., March 16, 2021).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-03-16-crec-2021-03-16-pt1-pgs1535-dd1cb971b8/, SHA-256 114307f1cd768aa2558696b9a28ad77e1277270d57f9e7a79cc3a5bd94dd9868.

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March 16, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1535
down, by insisting on a filibuster, only us to hang on to the traditions of the for dramatically scaling up vaccina-
to be stopped by an extraordinary ma- Senate, I would tell you that their in- tions in America. The administration
jority of the Senate voting to return to terpretation of the traditions is stran- helped to strike a historic partnership
the regular business. gling this body. They have beaten the between rival drugmakers, ramped up
That was the case in 1957 because, in old filibuster to the point where it is manufacture of the vaccine, and im-
August of 1957, Senator Strom Thur- hardly recognizable and is now the reg- proved coordination with State offi-
mond took to the floor of this U.S. ular order of business in the U.S. Sen- cials everywhere.
Senate and initiated the longest fili- ate. We are seeing a world of difference
buster in its history. For 24 hours and That is why many of us, frustrated that this makes. When you put com-
18 minutes, the man stood by his desk with having worked so hard to come petent, qualified leadership in charge
and spoke without stopping. He didn’t here, wanting to do the best we can to in the White House and in State cap-
have any permission to leave the floor represent the people who have sent us itols, good things happen. Our weekly
for any reason and certainly couldn’t here, are so frustrated by the current vaccine shipments in Illinois have
sit down without losing his filibuster. state of procedure. And for Senator nearly doubled. The Federal Govern-
He did it. He did it for the wrong rea- MCCONNELL and other Republicans to ment has erected a mass vaccination
son, I am afraid, because he was trying come to the floor and plead for hanging site at the United Center in Chicago. It
to stop the march of civil rights in this on to this tradition is actually plead- has also supported partnerships with
country, but he did it. Determinedly, ing for the Senate to continue to do community health centers and retail
he achieved that goal. less and less each year. pharmacies to expand access to vac-
When he did, in 1957, that was the There are those of us now in control cines. A cautious hopefulness is wash-
broken fifth filibuster in the history of on the majority side—the bare major- ing over America, but we can’t lose
the Senate in the previous five decades. ity side—on the Democratic side, who momentum in our fight against COVID.
In other words, if you went back to 1919 really believe there is much more to be To put this pandemic really behind
and all the way to 1957, Strom Thur- done in the Senate. The American peo- us and to bury it in history, we need to
mond’s was the fifth time in history a ple expect us to respond. lend a hand to the many poor nations
filibuster was broken. Once every dec- Now, you might ask: Well, how did that have yet to receive a single dose
ade, a filibuster was broken on the Sen- you pass the American Rescue Plan if of vaccine. The inequities are stark.
ate floor. there is a filibuster used so frequently? Ten countries have accounted for 75
Well, that world has changed—dra- It was under a process called reconcili- percent of the total vaccinations ad-
matically changed. We can now have ation, which depends on a majority ministered worldwide, while approxi-
five filibusters in a couple of weeks. We vote. You can’t filibuster under the mately 100 countries have yet to ad-
now have, on average, 80 filibusters a reconciliation. That is why this amaz- minister any vaccine doses. This dan-
year because of the urging and direc- ing bill, this new law, the American gerous shortfall has the potential to
tion of the Senator from Kentucky, Rescue Plan by President Biden, is so undermine the good work that is hap-
Senator MCCONNELL. He has institu- sweeping in its reach. We had to try to pening here in America. Closing this
tionalized the filibuster to the point combine, under this law, so many pro- gap is not only the right and moral
where it is now the normal course of visions that had been affected by the thing to do, it is the safest and smart-
business, not an extraordinary proce-
pandemic and the state of the economy est thing to do to stop the threat
dure.
because we knew that returning to the COVID, and its increasingly contagious
I recounted the fact that I introduced
the DREAM Act 20 years ago—20 years regular order of business with the fili- variants, pose to us all.
ago. DURBIN, what kind of a Senator buster looming every single day would Remember back a little over a year
are you that in 20 years you can’t pass tie our hands just as sure as we have ago, an obscure city in China generated
the DREAM Act? Well, I brought it to seen in the past several years. a virus—we think they did—that ended
So, Senator MCCONNELL, thank you up circling the world many times over
the Senate floor on five different occa-
for mentioning my name, but if I be- and changing life on this planet.
sions, and on five different occasions it
came skeptical of the filibuster, it is Last month, I received a briefing
was stopped by the filibuster. Other
Members can tell the story of their leg- because of your use of it. I hope that from Dr. Fauci on the new genetic
islative experience on the floor too. you understand that you can’t have it mutations of COVID–19. He shared
The point I am getting to is this: It both ways. It can’t be a rare procedure troubling news about variants that are
wasn’t until Senator MCCONNELL and and be a procedure that dominates the emerging in the United Kingdom,
the Republicans who follow him de- actual business of the Senate as this South Africa, and Brazil. Some of them
cided to make the filibuster just daily has done for so many years. may have more resistance to our cur-
business in the Senate that it was CORONAVIRUS rent vaccines than we care to see. He
abused to the point where the Senate Mr. President, last year I came to the warned that if we fail to stamp out the
stopped doing regular legislative busi- floor on multiple occasions to ask con- virus globally, then we will continue to
ness. sent for a simple, sensible resolution. see risks within our own borders.
I would like Senator MCCONNELL to It called for the United States to co- Variants of the virus could counteract
come to the floor the next opportunity operate in global efforts to address the the tremendous progress we have made
he has and explain this to me. In the COVID pandemic. At that time, that and the progress that we are poised to
last calendar year, 2020, the Senate point was obvious, and it is even more make in the near future.
considered 29 amendments on the floor obvious today. As I said at the outset, viruses don’t
of the Senate in the entire year. Now, Pandemics don’t respect borders. recognize borders. Crushing the virus
that doesn’t count a vote-arama, which None of us is safe from highly infec- in other countries is a strategic invest-
is an aberration that I don’t think tious diseases until all of us are safe. ment in our own national safety and
would ever be accused of being delib- That is especially important to keep in security. President Biden understands
erative. But 29 regular-order amend- mind as we begin to turn a corner here this. He is serious about addressing the
ments during the course of a year—em- in America. virus first in America and then around
barrassing, isn’t it? When you think of Last week, during his first address to the world. He has set us on a pace to
this great so-called debating society, 29 the Nation, President Biden announced vaccinate all eligible Americans over
times we brought an amendment to the that all adults in America over the age the course of the next several months.
floor? Well, it was an improvement—an of 18 will be eligible for vaccinations on Let me urge those who are hesitant
improvement over the previous year, a May 1 of this year. If all goes to plan, or skeptical as to whether it is the

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
30-percent improvement, in fact—be- we can look forward, as President right thing to do, do it, please—for
cause in the year 2019, under Senator Biden mentioned, to a Fourth of July yourself, for those you love, and for
MCCONNELL’s leadership, we had 22 with family and close friends at a close this Nation.
amendments. distance. President Biden wisely halted Presi-
So when Senator MCCONNELL and Considering what they inherited, the dent Trump’s withdrawal from the
others come to the floor and plead for Biden administration deserves credit World Health Organization. He joined

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S1536 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 16, 2021
the global COVAX vaccine effort, and it. I hope and expect that they will do Before Louis DeJoy took over, 91 per-
he allocated significant funding toward the same when it comes to supporting cent of Postal Service customers gave
global vaccination efforts, funding that the global effort against COVID–19. The USPS high marks—one of the highest
is expanded under the American Rescue moment calls for nothing less. approval ratings of any government
Plan, which we passed just a few weeks Public health experts understand Agency. Today, postal customers
ago in the Senate. that. President Biden understands across America—certainly in my State
Secretary of the Treasury Janet that. I know we here in Congress un- of Illinois—customers wait anxiously
Yellen recently announced that the derstand that. We can end the threat of for important checks and bills that ar-
United States will support the issuance COVID once and for all. It is within our rive weeks late, if at all. They check
of special drawing rights, a type of IMF power. tracking websites to search for delayed
foreign exchange reserve that can help UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE packages, only to read that the pack-
poor countries buy vaccines and weath- Mr. President, let me start this age is ‘‘out for delivery.’’
er the economic fallout from the pan- statement by saying I am a fan of the In some neighborhoods in Chicago,
demic, a welcome move that I encour- U.S. Postal Service. I have been residents have given up hope of receiv-
aged and was a coauthor of with Sen- throughout my life. I believe the men ing mail at home. They stand in line
ator SANDERS and Congressman and women who make the Postal Serv- for hours at the local post office to try
‘‘CHUY’’ GARCÍA. ice work do a great service to this to retrieve their mail themselves.
Just last week, the President an- country and distinguish us from many Often, even that doesn’t work.
nounced a partnership with key allies countries in the world that don’t have Tracey Otis is one of those people.
in the Pacific region to provide at least anything near our service or reliability One day last month, she was one of 40
1 billion COVID vaccines in countries in delivering the mail. Having said customers—40—waiting in line at the
in Asia. This is prescient, global lead- that, and believe it to my inner being, Postal Service station in the Gresham
ership long overdue. The President’s the Postal Service needs to take a hard neighborhood on the South Side of Chi-
actions will save lives here at home look at what is going on within their cago. Ms. Otis hadn’t had regular mail
and abroad, and these investments will ranks today. delivery since Christmas. She waited in
fuel a global economic recovery, which Last month, the U.S. Postal Service line for hours, hoping to retrieve a
Great Lakes area sent out the postal package of diabetic test strips before
we all want to see.
To understand why a global strategy equivalent of an SOS. It put out the her current supply ran out. She told a
is called for, look at history. Some of call to mail carriers in five sur- Chicago Sun-Times reporter that she
you who are witnessing this statement rounding States asking for letter car- would volunteer to sort the mail if it
on the floor at home may be old riers to come to my State of Illinois to would help. She went home empty-
help deliver a huge backlog of undeliv- handed that day, still not sure where
enough to have a distinct circular scar
ered mail. It also called for mail car- her package was or when, if ever, she
on your upper arm. Maybe you have
riers to help deliver Chicago’s mail on might see it.
seen it on the arms of a parent or
Sundays. Last month, my staff in Chicago esti-
grandparent. That mark is a relic from Ken Labbe is one of the mail carriers mated that there might be 300 pieces of
one of the world’s greatest public who answered that call for help. Mr. mail sitting undelivered in four Chi-
health victories: the eradication of the Labbe has been a mail carrier in Mount cago postal facilities. We based that on
deadly smallpox virus. Prospect, IL, just outside of Chicago, the number of complaints we received
The fact that so few people living for 28 years. He is the president of the in our office. After that, the Postal In-
today remember the death and misery local letter carriers union. He is also spector General released a report that
caused by that disease is a testament quite an athlete. In 2002, he was the showed we were wrong. There weren’t
to the global public health strategy only male mail carrier on the USPS- 300 letters in postal limbo in these fa-
that stopped it. Smallpox was one of sponsored professional cycling team. cilities; there were 19,000 undelivered
the most devastating diseases to afflict He volunteered for the last Sunday in pieces of mail in those four facilities.
mankind. It is estimated to have killed February. He figured he had the knowl- Since then, in my State, the chaos
up to 300 million people in the 20th cen- edge and endurance to help reduce the has stretched way beyond Chicago. We
tury, 500 million people in the last hun- mail backlog that had plagued the hear from all over the State: Spring-
dred years. Postal Service in Chicago. What he dis- field, Champaign-Urbana, Belleville,
In 1967, the World Health Organiza- covered, he said, stunned him. At every East St. Louis, Quincy, Peoria, the
tion launched a historic international home he delivered to, he stuffed 20 to 30 Quad Cities, and Rockford. These
effort to eradicate it. It was one of the pieces of mail in the mailbox. He delays in Illinois and across America
most successful public health initia- worked 12 hours on that Sunday, from are causing real hardship for tens of
tives in human history. Next month 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., sunup to sundown, millions of Americans waiting for mail
marks the 41st anniversary of that his- without a break, even for lunch. Still, delivery. Patients and pharmacists
toric achievement. he couldn’t complete the assigned complain about late medication. Peo-
In the years since, America has led workload; the sheer volume of back- ple are getting dinged for late mort-
similar global efforts to stamp out dis- logged mail was too great. Inside the gage and utility payments and forced
eases like polio and Ebola. If we follow local post office, Ken said, he found to pay late fees. Insurance policies are
in these footsteps, historians will one packages stacked everywhere. Some being canceled because of late pay-
day add COVID to the top of that list of appeared to have been there for a ments. Small business owners are
historic achievements. month or more. The entire situation forced to wait weeks or months for
Pursuing a global strategy is the looked, in his words, ‘‘like an episode payments. Others are flooded with calls
most effective way—maybe the only of ‘Extreme Hoarders.’’’ ‘‘A crisis.’’ and emails from customers wondering
way—to accelerate vaccine production Chicagoland is not the only postal where their packages are—a good way
and distribution in every corner of the chaos location. Nearly 9 months after a to lose business.
world. By sharing our wealth of knowl- new Postmaster General unveiled his Who is Louis DeJoy, the mastermind
edge and resources with the world, we surprise reorganization plan, postal of this mess? Did he come through the
reap lifesaving benefits, not just service in much of the Nation is er- ranks of the Postal Service, like four
around the world but right here at ratic. Delays are longer than ever. Postmasters General before him? No.
home. The delivery times have shrunk to His qualifications? He is a former logis-
We all know public health is bigger historic lows since Louis DeJoy took tics executive who donated millions of
than partisanship and always has been. over last June. At the end of December, dollars to Donald Trump and the Re-

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In the 2000s, for example, I called on the Agency had an on-time rate of 38 publicans—no experience working at
then-President Bush to help stem the percent for nonlocal mail. What was it the Postal Service before Donald
scourge of AIDS around the world 1 year earlier? Ninety-two percent. A Trump tapped him to head this Agency
through the historic PEPFAR Pro- 92-percent on-time rate descended to 38 last June.
gram. At the time, many of my Repub- percent under Postmaster General One month later, in the middle of a
lican friends in the Senate supported DeJoy. pandemic that turned postal deliveries

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