Providing A 77-Day Extension of Certain Authorities for Foreign Intelligence and International Terrorism Investigations

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we are at an extraordinary moment in our Nation's history. The President of the United States has declared a national emergency. One has to go back to the early 1900s to the Spanish influenza to find a similar public health threat to the United States of America. We are in the midst of not just a threat in our own country but a global coronavirus pandemic. There are more than 173,000 cases nationwide, and more than 7,300 people have died.

What you see today on the floor of the Senate is exactly the opposite of what we are being advised as a nation we need to do. What you see today on the floor of the Senate are staff people--thank you for being here--protective forces outside the Chamber, and others who are invisible to those coming and going who are part of the ordinary business of the Senate. You see, we did today what the President has told America we should not do, what medical experts have told us we should not do. We have taken unnecessary airline flights to come here to Washington, DC. I was on a plane this morning from Springfield, IL, to Chicago. There were six passengers on the plane. Most people are listening to the advice of the medical experts and avoiding unnecessary travel.

Unfortunately, we were required to come back today from across the United States. Some Members stayed over the weekend because their homes are too far away. Some decided to drive this morning just to be extremely safe. But the fact is, we were asked to take unnecessary airline flights to come back here today and this week and, frankly, expose ourselves to the possibility of some public health risk and ask our staff to do the same.

In addition to that, we have been counseled by the leaders--both at the State and the Federal levels--not to gather in groups of more than 10. It looks like we are breaking that rule right here on the floor of the Senate. The obvious question is why: Why would we put ourselves at risk? Why would we put our staff at risk and their families to come back here?

There are two issues. The first issue is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was brought up on the floor of the Senate last Thursday, and Senator Lee and Senator Leahy offered the extension of this act for a period of time in return for a few amendments to be debated on the floor. That was rejected.

Just minutes ago, what was rejected last Thursday was accepted. We made this trip back here, and it was not necessary. You have to ask yourselves: Are we being respectful of ourselves, our family, our staff? Are we being respectful of our responsibility as setting a model for the rest of America? I am afraid not.

Now there is this bill remaining that just passed the House of Representatives, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The coronavirus act was one that was negotiated by speaker Nancy Pelosi and the President of the United States through Mr. Mnuchin. That went on for a week, and the bill was agreed to and supported by both. The President even tweeted his support for it. That shows his level of commitment, I suppose. Speaker Pelosi supported it as well. It was a measure that should have passed by a voice vote here in the Senate over the weekend. Instead, we are still talking about it today.

There are measures included in it that are critical for public health. May I gave you one example? When the State of Illinois and the city of Chicago asked for protective masks for healthcare workers so that they can avoid infection, they sent us an allotment of 25,000 masks. A State of 12.5 million people was sent 25,000 masks. Those would protect the people working at one major hospital in Chicago for a month. It is totally inadequate.

The last time we faced any kind of epidemic threat like this, we received 1.5 million masks from the stockpile. What is holding up the masks? What is holding up the test kits? Those are legitimate questions.

One of the provisions in this bill that is still sitting here somewhere in Senate limbo would authorize new masks to be released across the United States to my State and others. So while we talk, the masks are not being delivered.

Why, then, aren't we taking up this bill tonight? The coronavirus bill should be taken up at this moment by unanimous consent. Let those who object to it come to the floor if they wish and object and explain why. If they have an amendment to offer, so be it. But if it is just to let the ordinary course of things work their way through and maybe we will get around to this by Wednesday or Thursday, shame on us. This is a matter of national emergency and a public health crisis in this country.

What kind of example are we setting by coming back to this Chamber at risk to our staff and the people and ourselves and our families? We have Members of the Senate going in and out of quarantine. They are self-quarantining themselves, and we are acting like it is business as usual. We will get around to it later this week.

What are we waiting for? This is a healthcare emergency. It is time for both political parties to come to the floor--not this empty Chamber--and do our job tonight. There is no excuse for it. If someone has a substantive objection to the bill, state it on the floor. You have plenty of chance to do it. Offer an amendment, if you wish, or just vote no, but for goodness' sake, the American people expect us to do our work.

We are here at risk to ourselves and others. We should do our work, and do it quickly. If this is going to end up in some voice vote that is quietly registered tomorrow, a number of us are going to be very upset because we made this trip here because we had to represent our people who elected us and sent us here thinking we would have to vote.

If we can do this without a vote, so be it. But couldn't this have been done without exposing all of the staff people and all of the protective forces and everyone else to the obvious pandemic that we think is threatening our country in a massive way?

I take this very seriously because I love my family and friends. I wouldn't want any of them to be hurt because of something I have picked up--some virus I have picked up. I have increased my exposure today to be here on this floor, and, tonight, we are going to quietly sneak away and maybe come back tomorrow and actually do some work. We should do it tonight.

This coronavirus emergency should be taken seriously by both parties and taken seriously by the U.S. Senate. It is time for us to act. That is what we were sent here to do. Let's do it.

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Mr. DURBIN. I am happy to yield.
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Mr. DURBIN. Let me defer to the Senator from Idaho.

I have just had this explained by my staff. There is an enrollment correction that was supposed to be taken up on the floor of the House today and sent over with the bill.

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Mr. DURBIN. I understand a Republican Member of the House is objecting to the enrollment correction at this point, and it is being held up there because of his objection.

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Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for a question?

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Mr. DURBIN. Through the Chair, I ask a question of the Senator from Ohio.

The Senator from Idaho, who is a friend, raised a parliamentary issue, and you have gotten to the heart of the matter with the question of how families are going to survive in the midst of the pandemic and what we are going to do about it. The Senator from Idaho raised a parliamentary issue, and we are guided by rules around here.

To the knowledge of the Senator from Ohio, in the past, has the Senate entered into agreement on bills posted in the House before the papers actually arrived in the Senate?

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Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Senator.

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Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for a question through the Chair?

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Mr. DURBIN. We have the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that passed the House of Representatives early on Saturday morning, which we could consider--and have in the past on a parliamentary basis--and which I have called for, and others have joined me. We should move on this and move on it quickly. The Senator from Massachusetts has expanded it to other areas that we should be considering. While we are here, let's get some work done.

Among the things included in this is the testing. The Senator said there have been 84 tests in the entire State?

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Mr. DURBIN. It is obvious that you cannot measure the actual rate of infection until you have enough tests of those who are suspicious--who have a fever or a cough.

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Mr. DURBIN. We have faced the same thing with 12.5 million people. We have tested 360 a day for the entire State. It is ridiculous.

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Mr. DURBIN. I know.

The Governor has told me that we really don't know how many people are infected. We don't know the rate--whether it is going up and at what rate--and whether it is in certain areas of our State and not in others. So, if you don't have testing, you don't have knowledge, and you can't fight a pandemic.

I would just say to the Senator that this was the highest priority in this bill that passed the House of Representatives on Saturday.

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Mr. DURBIN. We should have been here on Saturday. We should take it up today. What are we waiting for? For goodness' sakes, we ought to do it.

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Mr. DURBIN. The other thing is food assistance, and I know your State struggles. There are many people, as you said. It is not paycheck to paycheck; it is week to week. Some of them qualify for food stamps, the SNAP program.

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Mr. DURBIN. It starts with testing. It is food assistance, and it is also additional Medicaid money coming back to the State. I am sure the State of West Virginia, like Illinois, desperately needs it.

I was surprised to learn today that the capacity of hospitals in the United States is less than 1 million patients, fewer than 1 million patients. In a nation of 350 million people, we have hospital capacity of less than 1 million, and when it comes to the intensive care units, it is a much, much smaller number than that. So that is our fear. If this goes rampant, it could overwhelm our hospital system.

Certainly Medicaid money back to your State and mine in this bill that passed the House should be authorized tonight. We should vote on this tonight.

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Mr. DURBIN. Medical leave.

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Mr. DURBIN. There is no reason. And if the President was credible-- and I believe he was when he called this a national healthcare emergency--we ought to act like it.

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Mr. DURBIN. Let's do it.

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am going to conclude for the sake of the staff and yourself and others who are here, who, as I mentioned earlier, are at risk. We are all at risk with this pandemic.

But just to summarize as quickly as I can, we returned this week when we were supposed to be back in our States. We returned this week because there was pressing legislative business. One of the items before us, raised by Senator McConnell, the Republican leader, was the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization. There are some Senators who have questions and objections to the bill that passed the House. Those Senators on the Republican side and on the Democratic side came to the floor last Thursday and said: We will agree to an extension of this law if you will give us a chance to actually debate our concerns on the floor of the Senate. That request was rejected last week by Senator McConnell.

So tonight we were going to have the showdown vote to see whether or not we move forward on this, and, lo and behold, moments before that vote, Senator McConnell agreed to what he refused to agree to last Thursday. Yes, we will have a temporary extension, and we will have debate and amendments before that extension expires.

So one of the reasons that we were drawn back to Washington, when we were counseled by all the medical experts not to take unnecessary airline flights, was for a matter that was resolved without a vote tonight.

I came to the floor after that and said: If that is the case, then, for goodness sakes, the only other remaining matter pending before us is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed by the House of Representatives in the early hours of Saturday: free testing for coronavirus, strengthening food assistance, safeguarding Medicaid benefits, enhancing unemployment assistance, and establishing paid leave. My request then was and still is, Why don't we pass that by voice vote? Let's do it.

This was a measure agreed to on a bipartisan basis by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. If the two of them can come together and agree on it, are you telling me we can't agree on it in the Senate? And if someone wants to vote no, so be it. Place your vote on the record. But for some reason we are not going to do that. We are going to sit around tonight and come back tomorrow.

Will we do it tomorrow? I don't know. But there is no sense of urgency in the Senate, as there should be--first, for the people in this country who are facing this virus and the disruption in their own personal lives. Some of those people are losing jobs, and some are sick and should stay away from their jobs. They want to know what this bill says that passed the House of Representatives--that there is medical leave for them if they are sick and can't work, and then, if they lose their jobs, if there is going to be some assistance for their families in this time of trouble. Those are reasonable requests by every family. That is the highest priority. Why would we wait to take that up? Why would we delay that decision and leave more uncertainty among the people of Illinois and across America? There is no reason or excuse for it. Let's get that done.

Secondly, this measure also says that we are going to continue to work on a bipartisan basis to solve this problem. Let's take this up tomorrow morning.

As was noted before, we raised, in the initial bill to deal with this pandemic, the President's ask from $2 billion to $8 billion and did it on a bipartisan basis to put the medical and healthcare resources to work across America. We should and we did, and we did it with a minimum of debate on a bipartisan basis.

This bill, the second bill in the package, should have been treated exactly the same way. It should have moved through the Senate without asking all the Senators to return, the staff to come here, the Capitol Hill Police and others to protect us, and all the staff support that we have. We didn't have to go through this. We should have done this.

If Senator McConnell and the Republican leadership would have reached out, he would have found there was a lot of cooperation available on our side of the aisle--again, on a bipartisan basis.

I don't disagree with what the Senator from Massachusetts said. There is more to be done--a lot more to be done. We will discover it, and we should move on it quickly. But for the time being, pass this bill. Tell the American people we heard you and we know what we are up against, and we are in it together, on a bipartisan basis.

Let's not dream up some way in the Senate rules to drag this out day after weary day and expose one another to the virus that has been rampantly crossing this country and threatening us every single day. We need to do this work, get it done, and get it done quickly.

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