Coronavirus
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, every time we hear the majority leader come out, it is a partisan screed. I am in my office with the President's Secretary of Treasury, the President's congressional liaison, getting things done. We Democrats are trying to get things done, not making partisan speech after partisan speech.
In the past 24 hours, we got word that a Member of this Chamber, Senator Paul, has tested positive for coronavirus, and the husband of another Member, Senator Klobuchar, also tested positive. He is in the hospital. I want to let them know--both of them--that the Senate is thinking of them and praying for their speedy recovery, as we are for tens of thousands of American families who are confronting the same situation right now.
Whether you are afraid for a sick family member, an older relative in the hospital, or struggling without work, income, or the knowledge of when your isolation might end, our thoughts are with you right now. These are trying times for all of us, but the scourge of this disease will pass. The American people, as always, will prevail.
As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States eclipses 35,000, the Senate continues to negotiate what will likely be the largest emergency funding bill in American history. As I have mentioned, we have had almost continuous discussions with Secretary Mnuchin. He left my office at about 12:15 last night and was there at about 9 o'clock this morning. The White House congressional liaison, Eric Ueland, has been in and out of the office as well. We are very close to reaching a deal--very close. Our goal is to reach a deal today, and we are hopeful, even confident, that we will meet that goal.
We have been working on a few outstanding issues that are no surprise to everyone. From the very beginning, Democrats have insisted on a Marshall Plan for our medical system, more money for hospitals, community health centers, nursing homes, and urgent medical supplies, such as gloves and masks, ICU beds, testing kits, ventilators, and PPE. Since our negotiations, the numbers have gone up dramatically because the hospitals and our healthcare workers need the help.
We are fighting hard and making progress on funding for State and local governments. They are propping up local healthcare networks virtually on their own. Their revenues are dramatically declining. Many towns and villages across America--the smaller ones in particular-- might go broke pretty soon if we do nothing. If we can help the big corporations, we can help our local towns and villages and the taxpayers they represent.
On unemployment insurance, the bill has moved in the direction we have outlined. The original bill has the unexpanded employment benefits last only 3 months. We need to make it longer because the dislocation caused by this crisis will not be over in 90 days, and people who lose their jobs need help. It says to every American who loses his or her job--the Democratic plan that is now in the bill: You will get your full pay from the Federal Government. You can be furloughed by your employer. That means you will keep your benefits, health and otherwise. And it means that you will be able to come back, and the business you had to leave can reassemble itself quickly after, God willing, this crisis ends.
The bill still includes something that most Americans don't want to see: large corporate bailouts with almost no strings attached. Maybe the majority leader thinks it is unfair to have protections for workers and labor to companies that are getting hundreds of billions of dollars. We think it is very fair to ask for those. Those are not extraneous issues. That is a wish list for workers--nobody else.
We are looking for protection. We are looking for oversight. If this Federal Government is making a big loan to someone--to a big company, we ought to know it and know the details immediately. The bill that was put on the floor by the Republican leader said no one would know a thing about those loans for 6 months at least. In those so-called bailouts, we need to protect workers--the workers those industries employ.
We have been guided by one plan: workers first. That is the name of our proposal. The bill needs to reflect that priority.
We are working on all of these items in good faith as we speak, and we hope and expect to conclude negotiations today. This vote the Senate--it is no surprise--is about to take is merely a repeat of the vote that failed last night. Leader McConnell continues to set arbitrary vote deadlines when the matter of real importance is the status of the bipartisan negotiations.
Let me be clear. The upcoming procedural votes are essentially irrelevant. The negotiations continue no more than 30 feet away from the floor of the Senate in our offices, where the real progress is taking place. Once we have an agreement that everyone can get behind, we are prepared to speed up the consideration of that agreement on the floor. So I am going to get back to negotiations.
We all know time is of the essence. The country is facing twin crises in our healthcare system and in our economy. We have an obligation to get the details right and get them done quickly. That doesn't mean blindly accepting a Republican-only bill. That was the bill we were given. There were lots of things we didn't even know about on Saturday. That means working to make this bill better--better for our small businesses, better for our working families, better for our healthcare system.
Democrats--Democrats--will not stop working with our Republican counterparts until we get the job done. I will continue to update the Senate on the progress of our negotiations.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER. I would simply like to know for the sake of the Members--
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President--
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER. I have the floor. I would ask--
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER. I would simply like to ask the leader--before we have these speeches, because we were supposed to vote for the next time after he and I spoke--what is the schedule for the rest of the day?
Will he respond?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCHUMER. As long as we have a schedule,
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source