General Leave

Floor Speech

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, more than a year has passed since the coronavirus was first detected in the United States. In that time, we have lost over half a million people to this relentless virus. We are a nation in mourning for our lost loved ones, our neighbors, and, indeed, our colleagues.

As we mourn, much of American life is unrecognizable. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their safety, and their security, and 10 million jobs that were lost have not been returned.

This is the hard reality across this Nation and in every single congressional district across our country.

Through all this pain, our care for one another is still recognizable. We have seen this in the countless hours our health heroes have spent caring for the sick. We have seen other essential workers who have kept our grocery aisles stocked and our mail delivered. We have seen the care of neighbors, indeed, helping neighbors.

Today, Congress acts in the same spirit of care for our fellow Americans by delivering on the relief our constituents, always with humility, have been asking for.

This is not about dollars and cents. This is about lives that are at stake. We can save them by passing this bill. We will get shots into arms faster. We will help families stay housed and, indeed, put food on their tables. Most importantly, this package will help families avoid impossible choices.

The Ways and Means Committee, which has written half of this legislation--and I must tell you, in all my years, I am really proud of what we did, and a reminder that it was the CARES Act that saved the American economy 1 year ago. Full of proven policies, it will fight both for public health and, simultaneously, the economic crisis.

We will not get back to economic recovery until we defeat this virus.

We are balancing immediate relief and sustained support to keep Americans afloat and ready to bounce back stronger than ever. We will make good on our promise of an additional $2,000 from the $1,400 that we promised. We will enhance and expand the refundable tax credits for low- and middle-income workers and their families.

Combined, these benefits will provide an average income boost of 33 percent for the poorest 20 percent of American households. This will be life-changing, and it will lift millions of children in this Nation out of poverty.

For families, this bill offers massive savings in childcare expenses, which have been a major barrier to returning to the workforce, particularly for women.

For millions of jobless Americans, we are ensuring that they can afford life's necessities until this economy rebounds by extending pandemic-related unemployment benefits and increasing that benefit.

Access to affordable, comprehensive healthcare is critical, so we have included provisions to contain costs, particularly for unemployed workers. We will include help for nursing homes to crush the virus.

Mr. Speaker, we shored up the multiemployer pension plans, and you should know I am really proud of that as well. Thirty Republicans in this House have voted for this legislation on two different occasions. Those plans were jeopardized by COVID, and we intend to correct that.

Delaying is not an option. This is an opportunity to take bold action that will keep struggling Americans afloat and give them the peace of mind that better days are still to come.

For those who ask, Is this too much?

The answer is, No.

Economists left, right, and center have agreed with what we are about to do. They know that too little is not enough as we fight the pandemic. We will continue to fight the virus like the grave enemy that it is and give people a fighting chance to make it through the pandemic. And we must give them a chance for opportunity as we get to the other side, and that is what we intend to do with this legislation.

I remind my colleagues that this is not the time for partisan rancor. And I must say that the debate in the Ways and Means Committee was superb. We must go big. We must be bold. And we must rise to this challenge because the American people this evening are counting on us.

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Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation providing a technical explanation of section 9674 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and request that the Joint Committee post the letter on their website as well. Congress of the United States, Joint Committee on Taxation, Washington, DC, February 26, 2021. Hon. Richard E. Neal, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal: You asked the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation to prepare a technical explanation of a provision to modify the exceptions for reporting third party network transactions provided by Internal Revenue Code section 6050W. The specific legislative text is new section 9674 of subtitle G of title IX of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, as amended by the proposed manager's amendment.

Enclosed please find the Joint Committee staff's description of present law and technical explanation of this proposal. Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold, Chief of Staff.

Enclosure. Technical Explanation of the Modification of Exceptions of Reporting Third Party Network Transactions in New Section 9674 of Subtitle IX of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, as Amended by the Proposed Manager's Amendment

(Prepared by the Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, Feb. 26, 2021) Modifications of Exceptions for Reporting Third Party Network Transactions Present Law

Present law requires persons to file an information return concerning certain transactions with other persons. The person filing an information return is also required to provide the recipient of the payment with a written statement showing the aggregate payments made and the contact information for the payor. These returns are intended to assist taxpayers in preparing their income tax returns and to help the IRS determine whether such income tax returns are correct and complete.

Returns relating to payments made in settlement of payment card and third party network transactions:

Starting in 2012 (for payments received in 2011), payment settlement entities are required to report the gross amount of payments made in settlement of payment card transactions and third party network transactions to the IRS and to businesses that receive these payments.

Specifically, the statute requires any payment settlement entity making a payment to a participating payee in settlement of reportable payment transactions to report annually to the IRS and to the participating payee the gross amount of such reportable payment transactions, as well as the name, address, and TIN of the participating payees. A ``reportable payment transaction'' means any payment card transaction and any third party network transaction.

A ``payment settlement entity'' means, in the case of a payment card transaction, a merchant acquiring entity and, in the case of a third party network transaction, a third party settlement organization. A ``participating payee'' means, in the case of a payment card transaction, any person who accepts a payment card as payment and, in the case of a third party network transaction, any person who accepts payment from a third party settlement organization in settlement of such transaction.

For purposes of the reporting requirement, the term ``merchant acquiring entity'' means a bank or other organization with the contractual obligation to make payment to participating payees in settlement of payment card transactions. A ``payment card transaction'' means any transaction in which a payment card is accepted as payment? A ``payment card'' is defined as any card (e.g., a credit card or debit card) which is issued pursuant to an agreement or arrangement which provides for: (1) one or more issuers of such cards; (2) a network of persons purpose, unrelated to each other, and to the issuer, who agree to accept such cards as payment; and (3) standards and mechanisms for settling the transactions between the merchant acquiring entities and the persons who agree to accept such cards as payment. Thus, under the provision, a bank that enrolls a business to accept credit cards and contracts with the business to make payment on credit card transactions is required to report to the IRS the business's gross credit card transactions for each calendar year on a Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions. The bank also is required to provide a copy of the information report to the business.

The statute also requires reporting on a third party network transaction. The term ``third party network transaction'' means any transaction which is settled through a third party payment network. A ``third party payment network'' is defined as any agreement or arrangement: (1) that involves the establishment of accounts with a central organization by a substantial number of persons (e.g., more than 50) who are unrelated to such organization, provide goods or services, and have agreed to settle transactions for the provision of such goods or services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement; (2) that provides for standards and mechanisms for settling such transactions; and (3) that guarantees persons providing goods or services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement that such persons will be paid for providing such goods or services. In the case of a third party network transaction, the payment settlement entity is the third party settlement organization, which is defined as the central organization which has the contractual obligation to make payment to participating payees of third party network transactions. Thus, an organization generally is required to report if it provides a network enabling buyers to transfer funds to sellers who have established accounts with the organization and have a contractual obligation to accept payment through the network. However, an organization operating a network which merely processes electronic payments (such as wire transfers, electronic checks, and direct deposit payments) between buyers and sellers, but does not have contractual agreements with sellers to use such network, is not required to report. Similarly, an agreement to transfer funds between two demand deposit accounts will not, by itself, constitute a third party network transaction.

A third party payment network does not include any agreement or arrangement that provides for the issuance of payment cards as defined by the provision. In addition, there is an exception for de minimis payments that applies to payments made by third party settlement organizations but not to payments made by merchant acquiring entities. A third party settlement organization is not required to report unless the aggregate value of third party network transactions with respect to a taxpayer for the year exceeds $20,000 and the aggregate number of such transactions with respect to a taxpayer exceeds 200. If a payment of funds is made to a third party settlement organization by means of a payment card (i.e., as part of a payment card transaction), the $20,000 and 200 transaction de minimis rule continues to apply to any reporting obi igation with respect to payment of such funds to a participating payee by the third party settlement organization made as part of a third party network transaction.

So, for example, if a business that provides a web-based rental platform for short-term travelers is considered a third party settlement organization, it does not have to provide a Form 1099-K to property owners participating on their web-based site who have received payments of $20,000 or less. On the other hand, if that company is considered a merchant acquiring entity, it would have to issue a Form 1099-K to all payees participating on its platform who have received payments of any amount starting with the first dollar.

There are also reporting requirements on intermediaries who receive payments from a payment settlement entity and distribute such payments to one or more participating payees. Such intermediaries are treated as participating payees with respect to the payment settlement entity and as payment settlement entities with respect to the participating payees to whom the intermediary distributes payments. Thus, for example, in the case of a corporation that receives payment from a bank for credit card sales effectuated at the corporation's independently-owned franchise stores, the bank is required to report the gross amount of reportable payment transactions settled through the corporation (notwithstanding the fact that the corporation does not accept payment cards and would not otherwise be treated as a participating payee). In turn, the corporation, as an intermediary, would be required to report the gross amount of reportable payment transactions allocable to each franchise store. The bank would have no reporting obligation with respect to payments made by the corporation to its franchise stores.

Another rule provides that if a payment settlement entity contracts with a third party to settle reportable payment transactions on behalf of the payment settlement entity, the third party is required to file the annual information return in lieu of the payment settlement entity.

The payment settlement entity is required to file the information return to the IRS on or before February 28th (March 31st if filing electronically) of the year following the calendar year for which the return must be filed. The statements are required to be furnished to the participating payees on or before January 31st of the year following the calendar year for which the return was required to be made.

The Secretary has exercised authority under these rules to issue guidance to implement the reporting requirement, including rules to prevent the reporting of the same transaction more than once.

The reportable payment transactions subject to information reporting generally are subject to backup withholding requirements. In addition, the information reporting penalties apply for any failure to file a correct information return or furnish a correct payee statement with respect to the reportable payment transactions. Any person who is required to file an information return or furnish a payee statement but who fails to do so on or before the prescribed due date is subject to a penalty that varies based on when, if at all, the correct information return is filed or furnished. There are penalties imposed for failure to file the information return, furnish payee statements, or comply with other various reporting requirements. No penalty is imposed if the failure is due to reasonable cause. Both the failure to file and failure to furnish penalties are adjusted annually to account for inflation. Explanation of Provision

This provision lowers and modifies the threshold below which a third party settlement organization is not required to report payments to participants in its network. Under the provision, for any calendar year, a third party settlement organization is required to report third party network transactions with any participating payee that exceed a minimum threshold of $600 in aggregate payments, regardless of the aggregate number of such transactions.

Third party network transactions include any commercial transactions settled through a third party payment network. The provision also clarifies that third party network transactions only include transactions for the provision of goods or services (e.g., personal gifts, charitable contributions, and reimbursements are not included).

For example, an individual who has registered for a mobile payment service and uses such a service to reimburse friends or relatives for expenses, or on occasion sells a used item to another person, would not be engaging in transactions that are subject to reporting requirements. However, if that individual were to register with such mobile payment service for the purposes of engaging in commercial transactions, such as regularly carrying on a trade or business through use of that service, the mobile payment service would be required to report under the provision. Effective Date

The part of the provision that lowers and modifies the reporting threshold is effective for returns for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2021.

The part of the provision that clarifies that reporting is not required on transactions which are not for goods or services is effective for transactions after the date of enactment.

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Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, let me also note on this proud day that it happens to be the 95th anniversary of the creation of the Joint Committee on Taxation, and throughout its history it has provided the Committee on Ways and Means with invaluable advice, and I suspect that is something we can all agree on.

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Mr. NEAL. Davis), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, the residents of my district and of districts all over America are jumping for joy. They are jumping because they see this bill like manna from heaven. There is money for COVID testing; money for vaccines; money for their pockets; money to help reopen schools; unemployment checks; tax credits for children; money for hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, daycare centers, State, county, and local governments; money for poor families, poor children, homeless youth, small businesses, restaurants, rental assistance and mortgage payments so they can stay in their homes. You name it, Mr. Speaker, it is in this bill.

Joe Biden to the rescue. Thank God for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, and especially the people in Georgia. I will vote for this bill. I will vote ``yes.'' Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will vote to rescue and save America.
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Mr. NEAL. Sanchez), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

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Mr. NEAL. DelBene), a member of the Ways and Means Committee who has had a profound influence on the child credits in this legislation.

Let me begin by recognizing the extraordinary work that has gone into this legislation by the Ways and Means Committee staff, the Office of Legislative Counsel, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and many others: Morna Miller, Amy Hall, Kara Getz, Andrew Grossman, Melanie Egorin, and Alice Lin, to name but a few of the superb staff members that we have.

They have worked long hours under immense pressure, all while facing the same challenges of remote school, lack of child care, and concern for family members that Americans everywhere face. There are too many names to include here, but let it be known that your counsel is unparalleled and your expertise is unmatched.

Mr. Speaker, tonight, we recognize that a half a million people have died. Millions have been affected by this dreadful disease. Ten million jobs that were lost have not been returned, and 18 million members of our family are receiving unemployment benefits. People who never imagined that they might be relying on a food bank are lining up weekly, and they are part of the unthinkable number of children that still go hungry as we meet.

With this legislation, we are taking bold action, and, yes, it is sweeping. I want to thank Joe Biden for his courage and vision in helping to bring us to this moment. Yes, it will be costly, but if crushing this virus and ending the suffering that Americans are currently facing, if it is not worth this investment, then I ask: What is?

Over the Speaker's rostrum there is an extraordinary quote by a son of Massachusetts, and I think that it compels us to this moment. Mr. Webster asked, ``Let us develop the resources of our land and call forth its powers and build up its institutions, promote all of its great interests, and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered.''

Tonight, as we vote for this legislation, we are going to achieve something that will be worthy to be remembered.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter listing business leaders in support of this bill 180 Business Leaders Sign in Support of the American Rescue Plan (By Jana Plat, Feb. 24, 2021)

Washington, DC--Today, 180 CEOs issued a public letter to leaders of Congress, urging rapid, bipartisan adoption of a stimulus package on the model of the American Rescue Plan. The following is the text of the letter and the full list of signatories.

Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader McCarthy: We write to urge immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a year after the first coronavirus case was reported in the United States, our nation is still struggling to combat the spread and reverse its economic fallout.

Previous federal relief measures have been essential, but more must be done to put the country on a trajectory for a strong, durable recovery. Congress should act swiftly and on a bipartisan basis to authorize a stimulus and relief package along the lines of the Biden-Harris administration's proposed American Rescue Plan.

Strengthening the public health response to coronavirus is the first step toward economic restoration. The American Rescue Plan mobilizes a national vaccination program, delivers economic relief to struggling families, and supports communities that were most damaged by the pandemic.

More than 10 million fewer Americans are working today than when the pandemic began, small businesses across the country are facing bankruptcy, and schools are struggling to reopen. The most vulnerable Americans--including women, people of color and low wage workers--are experiencing the worst of the pandemic, with unprecedented job loss, childcare burdens and food insecurity. States and cities have been crushed by pandemic-related expenses and revenue losses.

The American Rescue Plan provides a framework for coordinated public-private efforts to overcome COVID-19 and to move forward with a new era of inclusive growth. The country's business community is prepared to work with you to achieve these critical objectives. Sincerely,

Yo Akatsuka, President & CEO, Nomura Holding America Inc.; Ellen Alemany, Chairman & CEO, CIT Group Inc.; Simon Allen, Chief Executive Officer, McGraw-Hill Education, Inc.; Jeffrey H. Aronson, Managing Principal, Centerbridge Partners; Neil Barr, Managing Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Rich Barton, Co-Founder & CEO, Zillow; Candace K. Beinecke, Senior Partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP; Charles R. Bendit, Co- Chief Executive Officer, Taconic Investment Partners LLC; Stephen Berger, Chairman, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC; William H. Berkman, Co-Chairman & CEO, Radius Global Infrastructure, Inc.; Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer, Fiserv; Jeff T. Blau, Chief Executive Officer, The Related Companies, L.P.; Kathy Bloomgarden, Chief Executive Officer, Ruder Finn, Inc.; Lora Blum, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary, Survey Monkey; Adam M. Blumenthal, Managing Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners; John Borthwick, Founder & CEO, Betaworks; Ari Buchalter, President & CEO, Intersection.

Martin S. Burger, Chief Executive Officer, Silverstein Properties. Inc.; Chris Cartwright, President & CEO, TransUnion; Anthony Casalena, Founder & CEO, Squarespace, Inc.; Timothy Cawley, President & CEO, Con Edison, Inc.; Guillaume Cerutti, Chief Executive Officer, Christie's; Brian Chesky, Co-founder & CEO, Airbnb, Inc.; H. Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Maria Colacurcio, Chief Executive Officer, Syndio Solutions; Richard A.C. Coles. Founder & Managing Partner, Vanbarton Group LLC; Marc Cooper, Chief Executive Officer, PJ Solomon, L.P.; R. Cromwell Coulson, President & CEO, OTC Markets Group; Linda Darr. CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies; Todd C. DeGarmo, Chief Executive Officer, STUDIOS Architecture; Annemarie DiCola, Chief Executive Officer, Trepp, LLC; William R. Dougherty, Chairman, Executive Committee, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Russell Dubner, President & CEO, Edelman US; Douglas Durst, Chairman, Durst Organization Inc.; Blair W. Effron, Co-Founder, Centerview Partners; Joel S. Ehrenkranz, Partner & Co-Founder, Ehrenkranz Partners L.P.; Douglas F. Eisenberg, Founder & CEO, A&E Real Estate, LLC; Steven M. Ellis, Chairman of the Firm, Proskauer.

Helmy Eltoukhy PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Guardant Health; Alexander Farman-Farmaian, Vice Chairman, Portfolio Manager, Edgewood Management LLC; Ziel Feldman, Chairman & Founder, HFZ Capital Group; Laurence D. Fink, Chairman & CEO, BlackRock; Peter Finn, Founding Partner, Finn Partners; John Fish, Chairman & CEO, Suffolk; Winston C. Fisher, Partner, Fisher Brothers; William E. Ford, Chairman & CEO, General Atlantic LLC; Lynne Fox, Board Chair, Amalgamated Bank; Paul Fribourg, Chairman & CEO, Continental Grain Company; Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia; Pat Gelsinger, Chief Executive Officer, Intel Corporation; Dexter Goei, Chief Executive Officer, Altice USA; Timothy Gokey, Chief Executive Officer, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.; Perry Golkin, Chief Executive Officer, PPC Enterprises LLC; James P. Gorman, Chairman & CEO, Morgan Stanley; Barry M. Gosin, Chief Executive Officer, Newmark; Jonathan N. Grayer, Chairman & CEO, Weld North LLC; David J. Greenwald, Chairman, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Efraim Grinberg, Chairman & CEO, Movado Group, Inc.

Stewart KP Gross, Managing Director, Lightyear Capital; Robin Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue Airways Corporation; Leslie W. Himmel, Managing Partner, Himmel & Meringoff Properties, Inc.; Linh Hoang, Chief Executive Officer, Boston Microfluidics; Barbara Humpton, President & CEO, Siemens USA; Frederick J. Iseman, Chairman & CEO, CI Capital Partners LLC; Kenneth M. Jacobs, Chairman & CEO, Lazard; Jerry Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer, Delaware North Companies, Inc.; John Josephson, Chairman & CEO, Sesac; Jared Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer, OppFi; Brad S. Karp, Chair, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Charles R. Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Warburg Pincus LLC; Jason Kelly, Founder & CEO, Gingko Bioworks; Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Visa Inc.; Anthony S. Kendall, Chairman & CEO, Mitchell & Titus, LLP; Richard A. Kennedy, President & CEO, Skanska USA Inc.; Michel A. Khalaf, President & CEO, MetLife, Inc.; Brian Kingston, CEO of Real Estate, Brookfield Asset Management; Scott Kirby, Chief Executive Officer, United Airlines.

Kip Kirkpatrick, Co-Chief Executive Officer, The Vistria Group; Philip Krim, Co-Founder & CEO, Casper; Barbara Armand Kushner, President, Armand Corporation; Christopher Larsen, Chief Executive Officer, Halmar International, LLC; Michael Lastoria, Founder & CEO, &pizza; William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc.; Rochelle B. Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; Richard S. LeFrak, Chairman & CEO, The LeFrak Organization; Rich Lesser, President & CEO, Boston Consulting Group; Max Levchin, Founder & CEO, Affirm, Inc.; Aaron Levie, Chief Executive Officer. Box; Jeffrey E. Levine, Chairman, Douglaston Development; Pamela Liebman, President & CEO, The Corcoran Group, Inc.; Martin Lipton, Senior Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Robert P. LoCascio, Founder & CEO, LivePerson, Inc.; Charles Lowrey, Chairman & CEO, Prudential Financial; Roger Lynch, Chief Executive Officer, Conde Nast.

Mehdi Mahmud, CEO & President, First Eagle Investment Management, LLC; Anthony Malkin, Chairman, President & CEO, Empire State Realty Trust; Anthony E. Mann, President & CEO, E-J Electric Installation Co.; Sandeep Mathrani, Chief Executive Officer, WeWork; Peter W. May, President & Founding Partner, Trian Partners; Bill McDermott, President & CEO, ServiceNow; Tom McGee, President & CEO, International Council of Shopping Centers; Andrew McMahon, President & CEO, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; Anish Melwani, Chairman & CEO, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.; Avner Mendelson, President & CEO, Bank Leumi USA; Heidi Messer, Co- Founder & Chairperson, Collective[i]; Marc Metrick, President & CEO, Saks Fifth Avenue; Danny Meyer, Chief Executive Officer, Union Square Hospitality Group; Michael Miebach, Chief Executive Officer, Mastercard; Edward J. Minskoff, Chairman & CEO, Edward J. Minskoff Equities, Inc.; Steve Mollenkopf, Chief Executive Officer, Qualcomm; Linda Moore, President & CEO, TechNet; Tyler Morse, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner, MCR Development LLC; Deanna M. Mulligan, Chief Executive Officer, DM Mulligan, LLC.

Daniel Neal, CEO & Founder, Kajeet; Martin Nesbitt, Co- Chief Executive Officer, The Vistria Group; Suzanne Neufang, Chief Executive Officer, Global Business Travel Association; Liz Neumark, Chair & Founder, Great Performances; Jon Oringer, Founder & Executive Chairman, Shutterstock, Inc.; Doug Parker, Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines; Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global; Michael Phillips, President, Jamestown Properties LLC; Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, Google; Patricia ``Patti'' Poppe, Chief Executive Officer, PG&E; Penny Pritzker, Chairman, PSP Partners; Deirdre Quinn, Co-Founder & CEO, Lafayette 148 New York; Daniel Ramot, Co-Founder & CEO, Via; Scott H. Rechler, Chairman & CEO, RXR Realty LLC; Jack Remondi, President and CEO, Navient; Christiana Riley, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank Americas; Brian L. Roberts, Chairman & CEO, Comcast Corporation; Michael Roberts, President & CEO, HSBC Bank USA; James D. Robinson, II, Co-Founder & General Partner, RRE Ventures; Robert Roche, Founder & President, Roche Enterprise.

James A. Rosenthal, Chief Executive Officer, BlueVoyant; Michael I. Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group; Steven Roth, Chairman & CEO, Vornado Realty Trust; Steven Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Communications, Inc.; William C. Rudin, Co-Chairman & CEO, Rudin Management Company, Inc.; Kevin P. Ryan, Founder & CEO, AlleyCorp; Scott Salmirs, President & CEO, ABM Industries Inc.; Charles Scharf, President & CEO, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.; Ralph Schlosstein, Co-Chairman & Co-CEO, Evercore Partners Inc.; Michael Schmidtberger, Partner & Chair of the Executive Committee, Sidley Austin LLP; Alan D. Schnitzer, Chairman & CEO, The Travelers Companies, Inc.; Dan Schulman, President & CEO, PayPal Holdings, Inc.; Alan D. Schwartz, Executive Chairman, Guggenheim Partners, LLC; Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone.

Frank J. Sciame, Chairman & CEO, Sciame Construction, LLC; Suzanne Shank, President & CEO, Siebert Williams Shank & Co. LLC; Tarek Sherif, Co-Founder & CEO, Medidata Solutions, Inc.; Stanley S. Shuman, Senior Advisor, Allen & Company LLC; Mike Sievert, Chief Executive Officer, T-Mobile US, Inc.; Jonathan Silvan, Chief Executive Officer, Global Strategy Group, LLC; Jacob Silverman, Chief Executive Officer, Kroll; Joshua Silverman, Chief Executive Officer, Etsy, Inc.; David M. Solomon, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs; Jeffrey M. Solomon, Chair & CEO, Cowen; Rob Speyer, President & CEO, Tishman Speyer; John Stankey, Chief Executive Officer, AT&T; Robert K. Steel, Chairman, Perella Weinberg Partners; Alan Suna, Chief Executive Officer, Silvercup Studios; Steven R. Swartz, President & CEO, Hearst.

Paul J. Taubman, Chairman & CEO, PJT Partners Inc.; Owen D. Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Boston Properties; Jonathan Tisch, Chairman & CEO, Loews Hotels & Co.; Daniel R. Tishman, Vice Chairman, AECOM & Principal, Tishman Realty; Jean-Marie Tritant, Chief Executive Officer, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield; Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, Global Markets, IBM Corporation; Ellis Verdi, President, DeVito/Verdi; Hans Vestberg, CEO, Verizon; Pamela S. Wasserstein, President, Vox Media; Philip Waterman II, Managing Partner, WatermanClark; Charles Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer, EisnerAmper LLP; David Winter, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Standard Industries Inc.; Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City; Rudolph M. Wynter, President-Elect, NY, National Grid; Tony Xu, Chief Executive Officer, DoorDash; Eric Yuan, Chief Executive Officer, Zoom; Strauss Zelnick, Partner, ZMC; John Zimmer, Co-Founder & President, Lyft, Inc.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget shows that approximately $1 trillion of previously appropriated COVID-19 relief funds have not been spent.

Let me say that again, Mr. Speaker, about a trillion dollars appropriated by Congress for COVID relief has not been spent.

Yet today, the House will vote on spending an additional $1.9 trillion.

Without so much as a single congressional hearing held with expert witnesses--including top officials in the Biden Administration--to probe the what, why, and how much, the House will likely approve this massive spending package without serious scrutiny.

I'm committed and want to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that the federal government's ongoing response to the pandemic is both robust and responsible.

With more people getting vaccinated--meaning fewer infections and many lives saved--it's now possible to hope that we might soon see some improvement in the economy. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for example, projected in its February 1 report that real GDP will return to pre-pandemic levels by the middle of this year, 2021--meaning jobs and renewed economic security.

Last year, I strongly supported, and Congress passed five bipartisan COVID funding relief bills that were signed into law--totaling $4.1 trillion.

That included $458 billion for stimulus checks to individuals, $586 billion for expanded unemployment benefits, $68.9 billion for nutrition programs and a whopping $1.47 trillion for grant programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help small businesses and others retain and pay their employees during the shutdown.

I would note parenthetically, that as a lawmaker who absolutely thrives on constituent casework, my staff and I have helped solve thousands of problems faced by the people in my district including facilitating medicines to patients made severely ill by the coronavirus, PPE for health workers and first responders, PPP for our small businesses and nonprofits and more. My staff and I have left no stone unturned in helping more than 1,500 people in my district who have faced unconscionable delays--even denials--in obtaining the unemployment compensation they are entitled to under congressionally appropriated COVID funding laws. Implementation of unemployment compensation by the State of New Jersey has been profoundly disappointing.

Mr. Speaker, the public-private sector effort to swiftly create safe and effective vaccines to protect against COVID has no parallel in history.

Just breathtaking.

That's what Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, recently said when asked by an Axios reporter what the Trump Administration got right in the effort to fight COVID-19 as he gushed about both the efficacy and unprecedented speed in approving and disseminating lifesaving vaccines.

Dr. Collins praised Trump's Operation Warp Speed and said they brought all parts of government together in an ``unprecedented way to test up to six vaccines in rigorous trials''.

He said that would not be the way things are traditionally done and added: the fact that we in December had not one but two vaccines that had gone through trials of at least 30,000 participants and had been judged safe and effective by a very rigorous and very public FDA process, is just breathtaking.

Meanwhile, Mr. Speaker, among the more than 200 Republican amendments to the pending legislation that the Democrat leadership rejected, was a proposal to increase funding for CDC COVID vaccine activities by $2 billion and earmarking $1 billion of that for teachers and school personnel. Another amendment would have earmarked $10 billion--out of $46 billion--for testing for teachers and school personnel. That too was rejected.

Prioritizing teacher vaccinations will likely help keep teachers COVID-19 free and get the schools open.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, only about 5 percent of the school money designated for K-12 in the new bill will actually be distributed in 2021--the rest will be spent in the outyears, between 2022 and 2028.

Earlier this month, our bipartisan group, the Problem Solvers Caucus, released the Defeating COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Package with $160 billion for vaccines, testing, PPE, rebuilding our National Strategic Stockpile and other efforts so that we can ensure that more people are protected.

We asked the House leadership that these bipartisan priorities be moved quickly and separately. That didn't happen.

Finally, in a radical departure from all previous COVID-19 relief laws--the bill before us today mandates taxpayer funding for abortion on demand.

Today, the Rules Committee refused to allow a vote on the McMorris Rogers-Foxx-Walorski amendment--cosponsored by 206 members--to ensure that taxpayers aren't forced to subsidize abortion.

Mr. Speaker, in his inauguration speech, President Biden said that the dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.

The noble dream of justice for all however will never be achieved if a whole segment of society is legally ignored, trivialized, dehumanized and discriminated against because of where they live--in their mothers' wombs--and how small and defenseless they are.

Where is the empathy for the battered baby-victim?

The science of human development has not changed--and, thanks to ultrasound, unborn babies are now more visible than ever before.

Growing numbers of Americans are shocked to learn that the methods of abortion include dismemberment of a child's fragile body including decapitation and that drugs like RU 486 starve the baby to death before he or she is forcibly expelled from the womb.

We know that by at least twenty weeks unborn babies killed by abortion experience excruciating suffering and physical pain. And that until rendered unconscious or dead by these hideous procedures, the baby feels every cut.

All that will be subsidized by taxpayers if this bill remains unchanged.

Mr. Biden once wrote to constituents explaining his support for laws against funding for abortion by saying it would protect both the woman and her unborn child . . . I have consistently--on no fewer than 50 occasions--voted against federal funding of abortion he said . . . those of us who are opposed to abortion should not be compelled to pay for them.

I agree.

According to public opinion polls most Americans agree as well--58% according to the most recent Marist poll--that taxpayers should not be compelled to fund abortion.

Mr. Speaker, lives, as you surely know, have been saved by the Hyde Amendment. More than twenty peer reviewed studies show that more than 2.4 million people are alive today in the United States because of Hyde--with about 60,000 children spared death by abortion every year.

Over 2.4 million people who would have been aborted instead survived because public funds were unavailable to effectuate their violent demise and their mothers instead benefitted from prenatal healthcare and support.

Abortion violence must be replaced with compassion and empathy for women and for defenseless unborn babies. We must love them both.

These children need the President of the United States and Members of Congress to be their friends and advocates--not powerful adversaries.

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