Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the interim emergency corona virus package being considered today.

The last two months have been some of the hardest in our nation's history. The toll that this virus has taken on our economy and, more importantly, on American lives, has been staggering. Over the last few weeks, my office has received thousands of calls and emails from constituents who need help obtaining the important economic relief provisions secured by Congress.

While some small businesses and nonprofits in my district were able to access programs like the Paycheck Protection Program, many more were shut out from these critical funds.

Let's be clear--large companies and corporations never should have been allowed to receive funds meant for small businesses.

Now, it's up to us to begin to make this right and ensure that those small businesses most in need get access to replenished relief funds. Countless American jobs--and lives--are on the line.

The legislation before us today would provide an additional $310 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, including billions intended for businesses in underserved rural, urban and tribal communities. It also provides $50 billion for additional emergency disaster lending, translating into more than $350 billion in loans, and another $10 billion in emergency disaster grants.

In addition, this package continues our efforts to provide health care workers with the life-saving protective equipment they need to do their jobs safely and effectively by directing $75 billion toward hospitals and other health care providers.

Also of great importance to me is the $25 billion this package secures for testing, which is key to quickly and safely reopening the country. These funds will be critical in facilitating the large-scale production and rapid deployment of precise coronavirus testing--which public health experts agree is necessary to determine when people can get out of their homes and back into schools, the workforce and society.

Despite these important provisions, this package falls short in a number of areas.

For one, it is unacceptable that Republicans blocked more funding for state and local governments on the frontlines of this crisis. Right now, every American is benefiting from the tireless work our local officials are doing to keep us safe.

However, without additional support from the federal government, the costs of the coronavirus response--on top of the reduced tax revenues caused by the economic fallout of the pandemic--threaten to bankrupt our communities and undermine public health efforts.

The fact that some in Congress and the Administration would rather bail out big corporations than support the local governments working day and night to keep us safe is unacceptable. We will not stop fighting until our communities get the support they need.

We also must continue fighting for the most vulnerable among us. Our immigrant communities, incarcerated individuals, undocumented people, poor families and many others are still being left out of important relief provisions.

If there's one thing we've learned throughout this pandemic, it's that we're all in this together. We have to look out for each other, and we have to do our part to take care of one another.

While I urge my colleagues to come together to pass today's package to bring additional relief to our small businesses and health care providers, we must continue working to ensure all those suffering from this pandemic can be made whole.

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