Coronavirus

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, how bad is the COVID-19 pandemic? I am sure we each look at it in personal and family terms.

We have just gone through a Thanksgiving like no other, for my family and for many others who decided that safety was more important than being physically in the same room with the family members we love. So we turned to FaceTime, Zoom, and every other contrivance we could find to maintain a connection with children, grandchildren, and other people we love.

But the situation is dire. The infection and death rate in my home State has been heartbreaking in terms of the number of people who have had their lives changed, and some have had their lives ended because of it.

I can use one example of how bad it is. It won't mean much to those who are listening. The city of St. Louis is a large metropolitan area-- millions of people. I grew up nearby on the Illinois side of the river. One day last week the St. Louis hospitals were unable to take a COVID- 19 patient, and, as a result, that patient was transported almost 100 miles away to Quincy, IL, to a hospital so the patient could receive the care that they needed. Think of that: not an available space in the city of St. Louis.

Last month a dear friend of mine, feeling ill, who lived in Illinois, went over to the St. Louis area and went to one of the most outstanding hospitals in the city. She was told she couldn't be admitted because there was no room for her. She went to the second most reputable hospital in the city with the same report. Finally, with the third try, she was admitted to another hospital. Three days later she passed away. In a desperate situation, she was turned away from two major hospitals because they didn't have room.

So we can argue long and hard about the danger of this COVID-19, whether it is something to take seriously or not--and there are still those who insist it is not--but we can't escape the reality that 13\1/ 2\ million Americans have already been infected with the COVID virus and over 267,000 American lives have been lost.

My heart goes out to those families and their loved ones, some of whom were my friends--and one very close friend--who have lost their lives. And for all of those who are fighting COVID-19 today, including Members of Congress, I wish them well, Godspeed. Get well and come back and join us in a positive way.

As the number of infected Americans continues to rise, it is vital that we continue to take safety precautions: social distancing, wearing masks, and staying home as much as possible.

I am worried about the health and safety of our country, but I am also worried about the millions of Americans who find themselves in dire straits as the economic impact of this pandemic lingers. I think of some of the restaurants in Chicago and in my own hometown that I visited with my wife from time to time. They are gone. They are not going to return.

Sadly, every day, decisions are being made by businesses just like those that they just can't continue to lose money. It clearly is a call to action for Congress to do something.

Some choose to focus on the status of the stock market indexes and monthly job reports as proof that the economy has recovered. In fact, I met with a group of Senators from the other side of the aisle who said it is the dominant opinion of the majority of Republican Senators that we don't need a stimulus; that we have recovered; we are on our way. I don't see it that way at all. I think we clearly need to bring life into this economy that reaches families, neighborhoods, communities, and towns.

The Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones average are interesting to read, but for most Americans, it is not part of their regular life experience; it is just a question about whether or not they can keep their family-owned business open or whether or not that store or that restaurant they always valued as part of their community is gone forever.

We know the stock market or a single jobs report are not reliable measures of the economy's overall health. The fact is, too many Americans are still living life on the brink. Look at the long lines of people in their cars waiting for food, spending hours of their day trying to get a donation of food. Some of them are embarrassed by the experience, though they should not be. It reflects the reality of what life is like for many people who just a short time ago were volunteers at that same food bank or contributed to it. They are waiting anxiously for relief and wondering if Congress even knows it.

We set a record of 88,000 Americans hospitalized last Tuesday, a week ago. One-quarter of our hospitals are reporting critical shortages of doctors and nurses who have been fatigued with months on the frontlines. I can't help but be personally moved by these doctors and nurses who stand before us and talk about what it is like to be in that emergency room day after day after day. These are rock-solid professionals who have given their life to the medical profession. How many times have we watched them break down in tears as they tell us what they are going through? You talk about the emotional stress that we face, the depression we face having to stay home and away from our friends and family. Think about what they face every single day, plus the danger to their own personal health and the danger to their families that is part of this. It really begs for us to take this much more seriously here on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, 1 in 8 Americans--126 million--didn't have enough to eat. Millions of Americans are claiming some form of unemployment insurance. If we do nothing--if we do nothing--in the Senate, other than to act on the Executive Calendar, which the Republican leader referred to this morning, the day after Christmas, 12 million Americans will be cut off entirely from unemployment assistance--12 million. If we don't do something, those families will be in a desperate situation.

If Congress fails to act, that day is going to be an ominous, dark day in our history. The issues facing our State and local governments, which are at the forefront of combating this crisis, continue to be a priority. Their budgets are being hammered by shrinking revenues, and without additional aid, many will have no choice but to either cut important services that many rely upon or raise taxes on families already hard-hit.

We must take action to protect our State and local government workers, the firefighters, the teachers, the first responders. In the coming weeks, as many as 30 million Americans are facing the risk of eviction without additional help. Merry Christmas. You have been evicted.

Just a few weeks ago, nearly 12 million Americans indicated they would be unable to pay their rent or mortgage in December. Where will they go? Housing assistance that helps keep families in their homes during this public health crisis, as we move into winter months, has to be a top priority.

For those who are saying that we are out of the woods, we don't need a stimulus, look at those numbers on the Dow Jones index--I ask you to tell that to 20 million Americans receiving unemployment today or the countless small businesses that are facing closure.

There is still a lot of hurt out there, and we need to get more relief out to those who need it. News of the COVID vaccine development is promising, but we are many months from building up the immunity that we need. In the meantime, we must confront the virus with investments in testing, tracing, and healthcare.

I want to, at this point, say a word about an effort that was announced this morning that I have been part of for several weeks. There is a bipartisan group of Senators in Congress who have been talking about the very issues that I raised in this speech. I can't tell you how many hours they put into it. We have a group of eight Senators--four Democrats and four Republicans on this side of the Rotunda and a similar group on the other side of House Members--who have been trying to find a bipartisan path out of this current situation. I want to salute them. On the Democratic side, I want to thank Mark Warner of Virginia, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. It has been my honor to sit at tables on Zoom calls hour after hour after hour as we hash through some of the difficult choices that need to be made. On the Republican side, I want to thank Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, and Mitt Romney. They have put as much time as I have, and many times more, in this effort to bring us to a point where we can offer a solution.

They announced this morning that they have come to a conclusion that the spending part of this is going to be manageable--doable--on a bipartisan basis, and it should be called on the floor for passage. I will tell you that the $908 billion package they put together is not what I wanted. I believe there should be dramatically larger amounts put into this effort. But there are some on the other side of the aisle who believe that little or nothing is needed. They have tried to find a middle ground, and I believe they have with the $908 billion. The way it is allocated across the board in a draft framework hits the major elements that we need to act on before we go home for Christmas in this month of December. I am not happy with a lot of these figures, but that is what it is all about in this world of the U.S. Congress: You come together willing to sit down and listen to the other side and, if necessary, compromise, so at the end of the day, you have something to show for your efforts.

The reason I didn't participate in the press conference this morning is because at the very end, an issue came up, which I believe is really so important, that has to be resolved and resolved fairly, and that is the issue of immunity from liability. Many of us believe that businesses--most businesses--are doing everything they can think of to keep their employees and their customers as safe as possible, and I salute them for it. But many of them as well believe that we need to have standards that they can live up to, so if they are ever challenged by an employee, by a customer, or even in court, they can turn to a standard of care and point that they did everything they could be expected to do at that moment in time.

I believe that is a good defense and always has been to any accusations of wrongdoing. But there are some who believe that there should be a different standard, an unreasonable standard--one that I think goes too far in providing immunity from liability, not just for good businesses but also for those that are not. And there are some. We need to have the courts available for those who have been treated badly. I think of the meat processing plants and some of the activities that were involved in the earliest stages, where the employees didn't receive the basic protection they needed. They came down with the COVID virus, and many had serious consequences in their lives. I believe they deserve a day in court.

I want to make sure that we pass this COVID-19 bill, as the group has brought together or something like it, for $908 billion. We shouldn't be delayed or diverted from this effort by a debate over immunity from liability. It is an important issue, but some 38 States have already adapted their laws relating to COVID-19 liability. The others can certainly do it, if they wish, if they think they need it. That has resulted in some things which are worth reporting.

We are told that there is a tsunami of COVID-19 lawsuits that are being brought against individuals and businesses. It turns out that nothing could be further from the truth. There is a law firm known as Hunton Andrews Kurth that monitors all lawsuits that are filed in the United States every day. They have sought out how many lawsuits relate to COVID-19 and the coronavirus. Last week's report is this: Out of the some 12\1/2\ to 13 million Americans who have been infected with the COVID virus, only 6,273 lawsuits have been brought in the entire Nation in the year 2020 that mention the term COVID-19 or coronavirus. Well, you think: Boy, that is a lot of lawsuits to be filed against doctors and nurses and hospitals. Let me tell you, out of the total number, 6,000 lawsuits, only 10--10--nationwide have been filed for malpractice claims, medical malpractice claims--10 lawsuits.

To argue that we ought to close the doors of the court to people who are seeking relief, when so few lawsuits have been filed, makes no sense at all. How many personal injury suits? How many people have sued some person or entity or business saying, ``On your premises, I contracted this COVID-19''? Well, out of 13 million who have been infected, you would think the number would be enormous. Twenty-two-- that is the number--twenty-two personal injury lawsuits have been filed. One hundred and ten of these additional lawsuits have been filed by employees for workplace situations. Out of all these lawsuits in the United States of America for malpractice, personal injury, and workplace complaints, there are 142 lawsuits nationwide. Why would we hold up the $908 billion economic relief over this phenomena? Do you want to know where most of the lawsuits are being filed? Most of the lawsuits are being filed between businesses, as well as businesses versus their insurance companies, and prisoners who are petitioning the court for release from what they consider to be dangerous circumstances. Those are the lawsuits that make up the bulk of the cases that have been filed so far.

There is no tsunami of lawsuits. The States are handling this matter responsibly and effectively, and there is no indication that our tort system in this country needs to be dramatically changed. That is why I really withheld my attendance this morning at this press conference. The group has not agreed on the basic issue of liability, but there were statements being made that I could not agree with that I didn't want to suggest that I did, and that is why I didn't attend. I am still ready to work on it. I want to work on it and find a bipartisan way to protect the rights of individuals who have been wronged for their day in court, not to extinguish or take away any rights from any people, to acknowledge that States have made decisions on COVID-19 and are moving forward and are doing a very fine job, as those numbers indicate.

Let us not make the best the enemy of the good. For those Republicans who believe that the Cornyn bill on liability is an essential part of this package, do not deny unemployment insurance and help to small businesses across America because we need to fight out this battle. If the Democrats had insisted that we would have no COVID-19 bill unless we had minimum-wage legislation or family leave related to economic circumstances, you would say: Why don't you save that debate for another day? We don't need it at this moment. We do need it as a nation but not at this moment. At this moment, we need to pass emergency assistance to the families and businesses across America.

I salute my friends who are part of this effort, this bipartisan effort. I am glad that I spent the time that I did, and I am still ready to work some more. We can come to a conclusion, and we must.

For the U.S. Senate to finish this month without dealing with this very basic COVID-19 relief package is fundamentally wrong. It is the highest priority for families and businesses across America, and we owe them nothing less.

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Mr. DURBIN. Harris), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Schatz), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

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