Coronavirus
Floor Speech
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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, as we all know by now, late Friday evening, the world received the news that we have been waiting, hoping, and praying for since March. The first COVID-19 vaccine was approved here in the United States. The vaccine was developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech and was found to be 95 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 during clinical trials--extensive clinical trials.
The leaders of Operation Warp Speed immediately mobilized the distribution plan, and the first doses of the vaccine are arriving at healthcare facilities across the country today. Texas's initial shipment of nearly 225,000 doses will be administered to our healthcare workers this week by our healthcare workers, and we will provide these heroes with the protection they need to continue their fight on our behalf on the frontlines.
This is a turning point in our war against COVID, and the significance of this victory in such an expedited timeframe cannot be overstated. I want to thank the brilliant men and women who made this feat possible. There are the researchers and scientists who developed the lifesaving vaccine, as well as the volunteers who participated in clinical trials. There are the manufacturers that are rapidly producing millions of doses and distributors who are getting those doses to sites across the country as quickly as possible. Of course, there are the hospitals, pharmacies, and our incredible healthcare workers who will lead the vaccine effort. The race to a COVID vaccine will be remembered as one of the greatest human achievements of our generation, and these brave and brilliant individuals helped make it possible.
I want to remind all of us that while this is a huge milestone and one that should absolutely be celebrated, we are not out of the dark yet. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and brighter, but we still have a ways to go, and each of us has our own part to play in getting us there. For the American people, that means stopping the spread through the same habits that we learned all year--washing your hands, wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and taking extra care to protect our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. Of course, this holiday season is not a time to forget the habits we built over the last several months but to double down on them.
While this is a development to be celebrated and a day we have been looking for for a long time, Congress has not yet done its job. For months on end, the American people have asked for additional financial support to weather this storm, and so far we have not seen any progress. Our Democratic colleagues blocked bill after bill, saying more of the words of Speaker Pelosi: Nothing is better than something.
Well, our Democratic colleagues stood in the way of investing more in vaccine distribution, extending unemployment insurance benefits, helping our small businesses keep their workers on payroll, and giving our schools the resources they need in order to provide education to our students safely. Our Democratic colleagues didn't block these bills because they disagree with the content of the bills; they simply refuse to engage if we do not concede to their controversial and outrageous demands.
At first, Democrats refused to back off the completely absurd bill passed in the House called the Heroes Act, which includes things like diversity studies for the marijuana industry and tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. While they eventually realized how unrealistic their position was, they now stand firm in providing a bailout for cities and States that have been--some of which have been grossly mismanaged for decades.
Over the last several months, our Democratic colleagues have repeatedly blocked legislation that would have poured half a trillion dollars more into our fight against COVID-19 because it didn't include their far-fetched, partisan priorities. Our Democratic colleagues have wasted a lot of time in playing games with this pandemic relief, and the clock on this Congress is quickly running out. Congress needs to pass another bill this week, and I encourage our Democratic colleagues to start compromising and quit the grandstanding. They have shown us time and again, when you sit down at the negotiating table with an all- or-nothing attitude, the result is always nothing, and that is all they have to show for their obstruction over the last months since we passed the CARES Act.
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