MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, growing up, my dad used to tell me on a regular basis: ``You should never speak up unless you can improve upon the silence.'' I tried to take that to heart in my personal life and in my professional life.

Today I feel like I can improve upon the silence. I have a deep conviction that the U.S. Senate is not living up to the expectations of the American people. The American people deserve a U.S. Senate as good as the American people. They deserve a U.S. Senate that is responsive when they need government most.

I suppose it is fashionable these days to use so many of our institutions in society to elevate ourselves. Well, folks, this institution--this institution--its credibility is at stake. The American people need this institution to function.

I was a U.S. marine after graduating from college, and I never saw a war. I never saw a national emergency or a major crisis. I am very straightforward about that, but I have to say, I was ready for a war. I was prepared for that big day when the United States of America really, really needed me, and I made sure all of my marines were prepared. We were prepared to do our duty when it mattered most.

As it relates to this pandemic, I have to say that the American people are ready. Look around. It makes you proud.

Are we not a unified people? Are we a Tribal people? There is a lot of conversation about that among political circles. Spend some time in my neighborhood. Spend some time back home in Indiana right now. Maybe it took some separation, some social distancing. Maybe it took some time away from work, some time away from social gatherings. Maybe it took cancellation, unfortunately, of March Madness, the NCAA tournament, to remind us all that we are deeply connected with one another. And we long for those connections, regardless of political philosophy and regardless of the fact that we have an election going on. That is not what is real important to regular people.

Americans are coming together. They are ready for this emergency, and this is, indeed, an emergency. Make no mistake, look across the country at all the National Guards who are being mobilized.

This is an emergency that people in my home State have been responding to favorably. The Senate needs to as well. Folks in my neighborhood are putting bags of groceries on people's doorsteps who are unable to go out and get groceries themselves. I know this from my own family. They are calling senior citizens they know who they think are probably lonely at this time. They are coming together.

Back in Evansville, one of my friends, J.P., who is a business owner and very active in the community, and I were on the phone the other day. I think, like other Members, I have had countless phone calls in the last week or so with businessowners, not-for-profit leaders, healthcare providers, and rank-and-file citizens. This active citizen, this community leader, J.P. in Evansville, says that he was on the phone with the mayor, local business leaders, local healthcare leaders, and a bunch of others from Southern Indiana, and they were all on the same page. They have figured out how to come together, how to solve local problems together. They were all ready to tackle this because they sensed what we should all sense: The sooner you can tackle these challenges, the sooner the pain will end, and the sooner we will reduce anxiety among our neighbors. They are all determined to work together. In fact, he said he had not seen such unity within the community of Evansville, IN, since 9/11. It says a lot.

Well, the Senate must be ready. This package, the CARES Act, was negotiated in a bipartisan way--two Democrats, two Republicans, in consultation with each of the varying working groups. They put together a package. It all came together, and it was introduced. It was all bipartisan until it came time to vote on a procedural vote yesterday

You know, this virus may seem to many small because it has impacted a small percentage of our population directly, but I have to say that its impact is growing rapidly. The longer it takes us to come together, the more damage that is going to be done. This is an emergency.

It is time, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, to take yes for an answer and not play games.

So what does this bill do? It is nothing controversial. It provides additional assistance for healthcare needs. This is a pandemic. We need more masks. We need more PPEs. Our hospitals are swamped. They can't conduct elective surgeries anymore. Their finances are out of whack. We need to help them out.

What else does it do? It helps individual Americans. Folks are resource-constrained right now. They can't go to work. So 1,200 bucks, at least for starters, per American; $2,400 per married couple; and an additional $500 if you have dependents--that is really going to make a difference in Hoosiers' lives.

We need to make sure that people have lives to go back to once we get through this, as well, and that is why this legislation is designed to provide much needed liquidity for these businesses. They still have debts to pay. They still have debts. They want to make payroll.

I can't tell you--I mean, I have talked to so many small businessmen in tears. I have talked to leaders of our largest corporations as well. I will tell you, I talked to a lady who didn't think things looked real good. We didn't really have a whole lot of time to respond to this. Meeting payroll, paying for rent, paying your leases, paying for mortgages, these are the essentials, folks.

And this is not 2008. That was a horrible crisis. But we are coming off of the best economy, arguably, in five decades. And because the economy was so good, people were optimistic about the future. And through no fault of their own, businessmen did sort of the rational thing. They invested in the future, the property, the plant, and the equipment that is required to grow. They were working on taking market share. All of those who believe in the free enterprise system can associate ourselves with what they were trying to accomplish.

But 2008 was a little different. The economy was lethargic. The bottom fell out of the economy. In sort of an ironic twist, when the economy is down, people are paying down their debts. They are bolstering that balance sheet. They are maintaining some liquid assets in anticipation of further tough times. We don't have that benefit right now. We can measure the prospects of our employers in days. For many of them, it is too late.

The U.S. Senate needs to treat this like an emergency because it is an emergency.

So what else does this legislation do? Well, there is a category--let me just group it together. Let me call it, incontrovertibly, emergency funding. There is $20 billion for veterans' healthcare; $11 billion for vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other preparedness needs, masks, gloves, and ventilators; $75 billion for hospitals; $4.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control; $12 billion for America's military as it helps respond to this pandemic, and so on. That is what the bill is all about. That is what we are fighting about.

So what happened? How did things go off track? Well, it may surprise some folks, but I have a very positive relationship with the Democratic leader. We just happen to have a lot of principled disagreements. And at the very end of a bipartisan process, when he and other Members of his caucus try and insert provisions pertaining to the Green New Deal and other far-left priorities into this package, then, that, of course, disrupts our emergency response.

So now we have Speaker Pelosi, seemingly, hijacking the process. That is right. She is over in the House of Representatives. She is not even part of this body, and her folks are all home. The House isn't in session, but Speaker Pelosi wanted to remain relevant. She decided she wanted to get some TV time, I suppose, and so her proposal involves federalizing voting. We can have an honest debate about whether it is appropriate to federalize the voting system, to mandate early voting, or same-day voter registration. That is something that should be debated in the U.S. Senate because I know it is a priority for so many of my colleagues.

Again, there are elements of the Green New Deal. We can debate whether or not there has to be a full offset of airline emissions by 2025 some other time. We can debate whether or not greenhouse gas statistics for individual flights should be widely available. Let's work on that separately after we help the American people. Let's not work on pet priorities. We can debate permanent paid leave--permanent paid leave granted by the Federal Government some other time. This is a pandemic. It is an economic emergency, a public health emergency. The American people want a response. They don't want us to focus on this right now.

I made a lot of phone calls in recent days back home. None of this is possible without the wherewithal, without the hard work of sturdy Americans, and without great American innovation, none of the resources that are required to actually sustain our government, to feed our families. People need places to work.

Here is what is happening in Indiana, a little snapshot. The RV industry, the global headquarters of the recreational vehicle industry, is in Elkhart, IN. We are seeing RV companies temporarily shutting down in Indiana, and I know we are seeing it across the country.

The hotel industry, today, the two largest hotels in Indianapolis had to shut their doors. I am not just talking about buildings shutting their doors; this closure is going to mean the loss of employment for about 780 full-time workers. Think of all of the family members who depend on those workers. This is an emergency.

The auto industry--Hoosiers proudly manufacture the components for the auto industry. They assemble those components into finished automobiles. That industry has been brought to a halt on account of this unique crisis, and the worst, we hear, is yet to come.

Airlines, they are feeling the most immediate impact. I flew the other day from my home in the Indianapolis area. I flew out of the airport to Washington, DC. It wasn't a chartered flight. I was the only passenger. I was the only passenger on the aircraft. We know that is not a sustainable business model when you are paying for the fuel, you have a pilot, a copilot, a flight attendant, and me. This is an emergency. St. Elmo Steak House is one restaurant of the restaurants across Indiana that have had to close their doors. St. Elmo just had to do it. It is the first time it has had to do it since 1902. They were even able to keep their doors open in the midst of the 1918 flu pandemic.

This is bad. This is an emergency. The Senate needs to act.

We have Sanjay Patel. He is the president of an Indianapolis-based company, and he and my team spoke recently. He said that he had to lay off at least 100 workers just last week, with another 150 layoffs likely this week. These are families. These are individuals who take pride in their work. They want to go back to work.

Here is what Sanjay said:

We're thinking of closing a few of them here--it's just deteriorating every day. It was worse last night than the night before, and it was worse the night before than 2 days ago. It's just deteriorating and I think it's just a matter of time [until] we close down.

It is an emergency. It is not time for Nancy Pelosi's priorities. It is time for the American people's priorities.

We have a baking shop with locations in Carmel and Indianapolis that had to lay some workers off. Their owner said:

My heart goes out to my Cake Bake family, whom I was forced to lay off during this horrible virus. I am working with my banks, my insurance company, my accountant and the government to try and create some sort of relief support for my team. I am doing everything in my power to help all 170 of them. All tips received at both of our bakery counters will be divided and shared with our servers. Hoping to get through this difficult time together, coming out on the other end with the safety and health for our families.

I heard from a small optometry practice in North Vernon. They have 12 employees. The owner says:

We simply don't have the cash to fund their wages while they are off work. I am saving what cash I have to pay them, their vacation and personal day time. We are in trouble and need help.

This isn't somebody who is used to asking for help. This is the time to give them help. Let's not allow this legislation to be hijacked. Let's live up to the high standards of the American people. At this difficult moment, let's come together like we did in 9/11, like our country has so consistently when the chips are really down.

Let's all take part in this effort. I encourage all of my constituents and anyone else around the country to encourage your Senators--Republicans and Democrats alike. Stand up. Speak out. Send emails. Tell your neighbors.

It is time for this body to move. It is time for us to deal with this crisis once and for all. We will make America great again from the bottom up. It doesn't have to take that long. We can bounce back, but the longer we wait, the harder it will be. Let's do our jobs.

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