Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

When Congress passed the emergency COVID bill in December, we knew more resources would be needed to fight the virus and provide additional relief for many Americans who have been devastated financially. Now we are working to accomplish that by March 14 when the enhanced unemployment benefits will expire.

I fully support the beginning of the process of budget reconciliation because we need to start the clock. In my experience in Congress, and yours, too, we all know that this place works much better with a deadline.

However, I would hope that we can respond to this challenge in a bipartisan way as we did last March and again in December, and maybe this proposal could be better targeted.

I am encouraged by the $600 billion proposal of 10 Republican Senators. Some have scoffed at this offer, called it an insult, or dismissed it as not serious. I don't agree with that. $600 billion is a lot of money, but it is not adequate for the task at hand. We need more help to open schools and to keep people housed. State and local governments need assistance to prevent more layoffs and make up for lost revenue, and we should stop guessing how long we will need unemployment and food assistance.

As the New Democrat Coalition has advocated from the beginning, we should enact automatic triggers to keep them flowing and then shut them off according to economic conditions.

Our biggest challenge as a nation is not one particular issue, but the deep division among us here in Congress and among citizens across America. Bipartisanship has intrinsic value and we should prioritize it. But today's action will ensure that we have a relief package on time no matter the politics. This is a step we have to take.

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