2020 Elections

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I had to look at my watch today to remind myself it has been a week since the November 3 general election. I must say, it seems it has been much longer than that.

Just as we have every 4 years throughout our Nation's history, the American people voted for our next Commander in Chief. In the months leading up to election day, we know the atmosphere was tense. The days of counting that followed it have been, as well, but I have full faith that our constitutional Republic is working just exactly the way it should.

A record-setting 150 million people and counting cast a ballot this election. In my State, there were 10.9 million voters--almost 11 million. The last time I was on the ballot, there were 4.7 million. So we have seen a huge influx of people and increased participation in the electoral process, and I think both of those are good things.

The reason people come to Texas is that we are still a land of opportunity, where people can come and work hard, start out with little, build something for themselves and their families, provide value to others so they can come find a job and provide for their families, which is, to me, the definition of the American dream.

We know that election workers and poll workers have worked across our country to ensure that every legal vote--whether it was in person or by mail--will be counted, and that is as it should be. I know major media outlets have projected that former Vice President Biden has secured enough electoral votes to be our next President, but there are still votes to be counted. As my friend the majority leader noted yesterday, the Constitution gives no role in this process to wealthy media companies.

Between recounts and legal challenges, it is tough to say exactly when the election will be certified. But if there are irregularities, if there are questionable practices or wrongdoing, President Trump and his campaign--like every other candidate and their campaign--are entitled to seek legal remedies in court. Of course, if they do, they will be obligated to present evidence, which I understand is in the process of being marshaled, and to do so, obviously, with dispatch.

But while this process may seem drawn out to us living in the moment, legal challenges are not unprecedented. For example, back in 2000, we remember--some of us remember, most of us remember--the example of Al Gore, the Democratic nominee for President who didn't concede the election until December 13. During the weeks following the election, the American people waited patiently as the courts weighed in, and once they did, we all accepted the result. Acceptance of the result is key. I had faith in the process that led to that result just as I have faith in the process and institutions that are working now.

When the Electoral College meets on January 6, 2021, every American should have confidence in the free and fair elections that led to that result. Let me say that again. When the Electoral College meets on January 6, 2021, every American--win or lose--every American, every candidate should have confidence in the free and fair elections that led to the result. I think this is perhaps the single most important reason to let the process that is currently underway run its course. If one side or the other or, more importantly, the voters who, ultimately, voted for the candidate who loses feel the process is unfair or has been jammed through unreasonably, are they likely to accept the result of the election or will they feel cheated? Well, acceptance of that result is perhaps the single most important goal we ought to strive to achieve.

The peaceful transition of power is perhaps the single greatest feature of our constitutional system. Every 4 or 8 years, the most powerful person in the world steps aside to allow their successor, chosen by the people, to take charge. Of course, many wars have been fought, blood has been shed, and lives have been lost to secure this right to us as Americans and to ensure that peaceful transition of power after all the votes are counted.

Yet in America, dating back to 1797, when Washington willingly passed the torch to Adams, the peaceful transition of power has defined the office of President. It is a legacy that our forefathers established and one that generations of Americans have fought hard to protect. So in 2 months' time, we will see this American constitutional process play out once again. I have complete confidence in that conclusion.

While the Presidential race has dominated headlines over the last week, it was only one of the many races on the ballot, as the Presiding Officer knows from personal experience. From city halls to courthouses, to State houses, to Congress, Americans cast their votes for leaders at every level of government. I was honored--as I am sure my colleague from Louisiana, the Presiding Officer, was--to be reelected by the people of our State for another term in the U.S. Senate.

During the campaign, I had a chance to present my record of service, and I was happy to do that to demonstrate that I have consistently fought to protect the rights of Texans and create more opportunities for every family to achieve their American dream.

Collectively, here in Washington, we have brought down taxes for American families. We have empowered job creators. We have strengthened our criminal background check system for gun purchases, and we have reformed our criminal justice system, just to name a few things.

But we have also worked hard to make healthcare more affordable by presenting more choices for consumers. We have supported quality education, and we have tried to make sure that safe communities are a reality for folks across the country and across the economic spectrum.

In Texas, we have provided funding to rebuild following hurricanes and tornados and other natural disasters, like many other States.

And throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we have provided unprecedented funding to help our frontline healthcare heroes, our small businesses, and our families stay afloat amid so much uncertainty.

I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to fight for a bright future for every family in Texas and to work with my colleagues to make sure that same promise is a reality for all Americans, and that is true regardless of who they voted for. That is exactly what I plan to do. I don't just represent the people who voted for me in this election; I represent all 29 million--and growing--Texans. I am honored to do it.

We have added a few new faces to the Texas delegation in the House, and I am eager to work with these men and women and my friend Senator Cruz as Team Texas as we continue our record of delivering for our State. This is perhaps one of the most important lessons of Senator Hutchinson, whom I served with here in the Senate and who is now our Ambassador to NATO. She would always make this point to Republicans and Democrats in the Texas delegation. She said: We may be Members of the House or Members of the Senate. We may be Republicans or Democrats. But we are Team Texas.

I have been proud to continue that spirit and that effort. I am proud of the fact that in this election we increased the number of women elected to Congress. At least 134 women will serve in the next Congress, with a record number of Republican women in the House of Representatives. For young women like my own daughters and younger girls, in particular, this representation is long overdue--just like Amy Coney Barrett, who was recently confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. What a wonderful example and role model for young women and maybe not so young women--for all women--and for all of us. It is something we should celebrate.

While we are still waiting to know which party will hold the majority here in the Senate--that will be determined on January 5 of 2021--it is clear that there was no blue wave that swept the country.

My Republican colleagues and I in the Senate will continue to fight against ideological policies from the left, or so-called progressives, that were resoundingly rejected in this election. We are not going to allow the Federal Government to tax Texas energy workers out of a job by imposing a carbon tax. We are not going to let them hamstring our police with unrealistic funding cuts or one-size-fits-all policies. And we are not going to allow them to pack the U.S. Supreme Court with political Justices intent on delivering results that couldn't be achieved through the legislative process. And we are not going to let them reverse the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, increase taxes, which will only make it harder for working families to put food on their tables.

Now, the Presiding Officer and I both participated in an organization called No Labels, and I am proud of the work I have done, regardless of the fact I am a Republican and he is a Republican. We both know--we all know--that you can't get things done here in Congress by just working with people in your own political party. You have to work together. Indeed, I think that is the genius of our system. It forces us to work together if we want to get things done.

I am proud of being consistently ranked as one of the most bipartisan Members of the Senate because I literally am willing to work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who wants to make progress on the challenges that confront our Nation.

This came up in a recent conversation we had during a hearing just a few minutes ago, talking about the lessons we have learned from the coronavirus in terms of the vulnerability of our supply chains, whether it is personal protective equipment that was overwhelmingly made in China, which was threatened by the delay in reporting from China and the hoarding and, literally, the global rush to hoard PPE for their own countries and their own people.

But another example of that that we have worked on in a bipartisan way--most recently, in the National Defense Authorization bill--was to build more high-end semiconductors here in the United States. In 2019, only 1 foundry was being built in the United States and 16 of them in China, and you can imagine, if we are dependent for our economy, for our national defense on a sophisticated semiconductor manufactured in Taiwan, for example, that supply chain could be easily disrupted. So I am proud of the fact that we did pass, in the Defense Authorization bill, an amendment 96 to 4 to begin the effort to reduce the vulnerability in our supply chain. That is an example of the kind of thing that I think we need to do more of and which I am proud to be a part of.

Well, I know Republicans have a long list of priorities, just as our Democratic colleagues do, but we still have a couple of months before the end of this Congress, and we need to find a way to work together in the best interest of the American people. The lights don't go out on the 116th Congress until January 3, which means we still have some time.

I believe that over the last 2 years--notwithstanding what you hear in the media, which tends to focus on those narrow areas where we disagree the most and does not focus on the areas where we worked cooperatively together because they, by definition, don't make news--we have actually accomplished a lot for the country, and I will have more to say about that in the coming days.

For now, I want to talk about the biggest remaining item on our to-do list and, that is an additional coronavirus relief package.

Texas has just hit the unenviable milestone of 1 million confirmed COVID-19 tests. More than 19,000 Texans have lost their lives due to this virus, and our healthcare providers in some parts of the State are still struggling to keep up with the cases that end up going into the hospital. As we head into the winter months, experts are telling us that things will get worse before they get better. It is part of the seasonal impact of a virus like this.

While we will continue to do our duty as individuals--wash our hands, mask when we can't socially distance, and the things we have learned to do, such as to stay home if you are sick--it is clear we are not through with this virus yet, even though we were delighted to hear some of the prospects for a vaccine in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, we still need to make sure that the assistance that we started in the first four bipartisan bills we passed, that we continue that assistance both on the healthcare front and on the economic front until we fully recover.

The researchers and scientists who have been developing a vaccine over the last months have been making tremendous progress, and we need to invest in their continued success. Once the vaccine is actually approved as safe and effective by the FDA, the logistics of getting it distributed across the country, prioritizing, I hope, the most vulnerable Americans--those in nursing homes and assisted living facilities and those with underlying chronic illnesses--that is an enormous logistical challenge, and it is going to cost money.

At the same time, we need to make sure that our economic recovery continues and that means we need to continue to safely reopen our economy, just as our school children and our college students have transitioned from a virtual educational experience back into the classroom slowly but surely.

The unemployment rate in October dipped at 6.9 percent. Now, that is still a far cry from the 3.5 percent unemployment we had before the virus hit, but it is the lowest we have seen since the pandemic began, and we need to make sure we don't backslide into the double digits.

Well, we know with the pendency of the election, after we passed the CARES Act in late March, we tried, I think it was, four times to pass a more targeted bill. We spent roughly $3.8 trillion in the first four pieces of legislation, and many of us--me included--felt like we needed to do more but on a targeted basis. The Speaker said, well, $3 trillion was her pricetag. We offered a half a trillion dollars in additional targeted relief, to which she replied, ``Nothing is better than something,'' which made me do a double take. I always thought that something was better than nothing, not ``nothing was better than something.''

Regardless of that, now that the election, by and large--at least, certainly, for Congress--is behind us, we need to address those people who still need help. I hope our Democratic colleagues will join us and not force the country to wait 2 more months. There is too much on the line.

So I want to conclude by thanking the people of my State for the opportunity to continue to fight for them here in the U.S. Senate, and now I am happy to get back to work with all of my colleagues to deal with this unfinished business.

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