leave for second quarantines workers, extends state unappointed insurance programs and provides free coronavirus testing. in the meantime house of representatives tested positive for the coronavirus causing several members including representative steve scalise, wagner and stephanie murphy to self quarantine. now live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. our father, we place our hope in you. may our lawmakers find wisdom in your trustworthy precepts.

guide our senators to live so honorably that they will bring glory to your name. lord, inspire them to yield their allegiance to you, striving always to receive your approval. thank you for hearing and answering their prayers, as they fervently seek your wisdom. guide them through the challenges of these times. lord, remind us all that we are mere sojourners in time, heading for the better land of eternity. we pray in your loving name.

amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each.

mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: much has been said on the senate floor these past few days regarding our nation's response to the coronavirus. but this morning, after our prayer to the lord and a the other challenges that these families are parents are

raising america's future, and i want to recognize the importance of what you do every day. i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday, president trump and his team announced several new actions to help contain and combat the coronavirus. the president invoked the defense production act, laying groundwork to manufacture more medical equipment. the department of health and human services will let medical professionals practice across state lines. the department of defense will employ hospital ships and transfer millions of respirator masks and thousands of ventilators to new hampshire. the f.h.a. will deepen partnerships with commercial laboratories to expand testing.

the department of housing and urban development will suspend foreclosures and evictions on f.h.a.-insured mortgages. and agreement with canada to close our northern border to nonessential travel. major steps, madam president, as we confront a major crisis. here in the senate, we are prepared to take further bold steps of our own. yesterday, we passed legislation from the house that will provide some american workers with additional benefits during this emergency. as i explained yesterday, that legislation was hardly perfect. it imposes new costs and uncertainty on small businesses at precisely the most challenging moment for small businesses in living memory. so the senate is even more determined that our legislation cannot leave small business behind. support for small business is

one of the four key components of the much bolder proposal we are finalizing. chairman rubio and chairman collins have been crafting a major plan to help small businesses survive this crisis and help workers continue to get paid. we're talking about new federally guaranteed loans on the order of hundreds of billions of to address immediate cash-flow problems. no massive new bureaucracy. we want to let qualified small businesses get liquidity through familiar institutions, their own community banks, credit unions, or nationwide lenders. as chairman collins explained yesterday, owners will not be able to use the funds to give themselves raises or increase their own profits. the point is to help small business endure, help workers

keep their jobs, and help both businesses and workers emerge from this ready to thrive. as chairman rubio explained, the portions of these funds that small businesses use on core expenses such as paying workers and paying their rent or mortgage will convert into grants they will not need to pay back. this will make sure that even lower profit margin main street businesses get a fighting chance to stay open and continue paying workers. this is straightforward, a rapid injection of cash to help small businesses through this turmoil. not some brand-new program with a long lead time, but an existing program that's been tested. the second major pillar of our legislation will be even more straightforward. direct financial help for

americans. senate republicans want to put cash in the hundred dollars of the american people. chairman grassley and a number of our colleagues are finalizing a structure that will get assistance to individuals and families as rapidly as possible. no tangled washington process with a thousand cooks in the kitchen. no piles of forms for laidoff workers or busy families to fill out. money for people. from the middle class on down, period. for laidoff americans, this infusion would complement unemployment insurance and could put -- and could be put toward immediate needs during this crisis. for americans who are still working, the money would provide some extra certainty in this uniquely uncertain time and help remind everyone that temporary shutdowns at bars and restaurants does not mean all commerce has to halt. for retirees, the money would

complement social security and help seniors navigate the unusual routines that have suddenly become necessary for their own safety. this is a form of emergency tax relief that we want to push to taxpayers right away. it's not an ordinary policy, but this is no ordinary time. the american people need help, and they need it fast. this will deliver it. we believe this rapid assistance is rural, but more broadly we believe we need to keep as many americans on the job and connected to their employers. this small business relief will help, and so will a number of additional tax relief measures which will be designed to help employers maintain cash flow and keep making payroll. preserving employment and protecting economic foundations.

that's also why the third pillar of our proposal involves targeted lending to industries of national importance. chairman shelby, chairman wicker, and senator thune are leading this component. just like small businesses, entire sectors are being crushed, crushed by public health guidance, which is obviously no fault of their own. for example, our nation needs airlines, yet they have ongoing maintenance costs that do not disappear just because the government has chased away all the customers. we cannot expect this key industry to mothball itself overnight, then dust off in weeks or months and pop right back online as the nation will need and expect. so let's be clear about something. from small businesses to key sectors, we're not talking about so-called bailouts for firms that made reckless decisions. nobody is alleging a moral

hazard here. none of these firms, not corner stores, not pizza parlors, not airlines, brought this on themselves. we're not talking about a taxpayer-funded cushion for companies that made mistakes. we're talking about loans which must be repaid. for american employers whom the government itself, the government itself is temporarily crushing for the sake of public health. the fourth piece of our proposal goes to the heart of this crisis, the health of the american people. chairman alexander and grassley will be rolling out proposals to get more resources on the front lines of our fight against the virus itself, because to be clear, madam president, nothing i have laid out so far will represent a typical economic surplus in the way that we think of that term.

nobody, nobody expects that employment figures or the stock market or g.d.p. growth will bounce right back to where they were a few weeks ago. no policy, no amount of money could return things to normal overnight. there is an underlying medical reality that is in this disruption. in the words of one journalist, this is primarily, quote, a health crisis with an economic crisis strapped to its back. so yes, our proposal will immediately help american workers, families, and businesses. yes, it will help position our economy to thrive once again after this public health menace is behind us. this may not be the last economic legislation we pursue, but fundamentally we have to

beat back this virus. we have to beat back this virus. that's why our proposal will go even further to remove barriers to care, speed innovation, fund the hospitals and health centers that will treat patients, and expand health care workers' access to the tools they need, including respirator masks. and immediately after we pass this legislation, congress must begin a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process to address the administration's new supplemental funding request so we can keep funding health care and other priorities. so, madam president, i think every american shares the sense that the last several days have felt more like several months. just last saturday, our nation had fewer than 3,000 confirmed

cases, and 58 americans had lost their lives. already the number of cases has nearly tripled. tragically, so has the number of deaths. the crisis is moving fast. our health system is under strain, and our economy is hurting. the legislation i have just laid out will not be the last word. as i said, we will need to turn right away to a bipartisan appropriations process. this is not congress' last chance to legislate. but it is critical that we move swiftly and boldly to begin to stabilize our economy, preserve americans' jobs, get money to workers and families, and keep up our fight on the health

front. that is exactly, exactly what our proposal will do. these are not ordinary policies. this is no ordinary time. the american people are strong, they are brave. there is no doubt the american people will come through this battle and then soar to new heights on the other side. the american people will win this fight against this virus. the senate's job is to give them the tools that they need. and we're not leaving until we do our job. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

mr. schumer: madam president, are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: we are. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: in the space of 24 hours, yesterday, the anymore of coronavirus -- the number of coronavirus cases in my dear home state of new york has more than doubled. the spread of the virus has been rapid. the consequences severe. the coronavirus is slowing our economy to a near standstill. promoting widespread layoffs and the likelihood of a deep recession that will be painfully felt in households from coast to coast. -- from new york to california and every other state. we're living in a time of public emergency -- in our health care system, in our economy, and indeed in our society itself. separated from one another, we are going to have to pull

together in spirit. the american people have to sacrifice their routines. they don't want to, but we have no choice, if we want to stay healthy and arrest the spread of the disease. and our health care workers and our first responders every day are being asked to perform daunting and horrific tasks -- and heroic tasks for which we are already in their debt. the anxiety, the fear, the confusion that new yorkers and americans feel today is palpable, but i would remind them that there has never been a challenge too great for our country to overcome. i remember the dark days after 9/11. so many were prepared to write new york city off the map. they said no one will live or do business in the southern part of maps. they said the whole city and its

suburbs would never come back. but we do did come back. stronger, more resilient than we ever were before. we can and we will do it again -- in new york and throughout the nation. but we must act urgently and boldly now during what may still be the early days of this crisis. regarding the business before the senate right now, yesterday we passed the second phase of legislation to respond to the coronavirus, which included important provisions to extend paid sick leave, unemployment insurance and provide -- free -- free -- no co-pays, no deductibles -- coronavirus testing -- free coronavirus testing for all americans. that bill was a first step. i'm glad it's now down. i'm glad it got support from both sides of the aisle. i believe 90 votes on passage,

and the aid will begin to flow. now, leader mcconnell has just outlined and will soon announce plans of what the senate republicans believe should be included in the third phase of legislation to confront the coronavirus. we are ready and eager to look at what republicans have put together and to work with them, but we believe that whatever proposal emerges -- and it will be bipartisan -- that it must be a workers first proposal. workers first. that's our motto in what we're proposing. that means help for all workers, service workers, industry workers, factory workers, office tower workers, small business workers, gig workers, freelancers, bartenders, retail workers, airline attendants and so many more.

we owe a great deal of gratitude to the working people of america, whether they be blue collar or white collar. whether they work in high office towers, on the farms, or in a local drugstore. those who clean our buildings and streets, those who are still working to collect the garbage and keep the power on, and of course our health care workers who are risking everything to keep the rest of us safe. workers first. that is the motto that i have and i believe speaker pelosi has as well. as we democrats seek input into the joint bipartisan package that will be put together. our goal is to make sure that no one, no worker, no family, no one loses a paycheck or goes into financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus, and that will take strong, bold,

immediate action. that's why we must work so quickly but carefully as well to put together a bipartisan package. i spoke with secretary mnuchin several times. i think he is of that view. i have heard leader mcconnell has said he will sit down with our democratic senators to come up with a bipartisan package. that's what we must do. and so let me outline a few of our priorities. first, if there's going to be a bailout of any sort of industry, worker priorities and worker protections must be included. corporations should not get a bailout and then be allowed to fire employees or cut their salaries, cut their benefits. the airline industry just spent billions and billions in stock buybacks in the last two years. liquidity that would come in handy at a time like this.

if there is a bailout, there needs to be conditions to make sure the interests of labor are given priority, that corporations can't buy back stock, reward executives, or lay off workers. we cannot repeat the mistake that was made in 2008 where the big boys and big girls benefited and no one else did. workers first. second, phase three must include a massive infusion of resources for our health care system, for hospitals, and medical supplies. america needs a marshall plan for public health and public health infrastructure. in the wake of world war ii, america helped rebuild a continent. right now, we need to rebuild our health infrastructure on a continental scale. we need a marshall plan for our

health care system. without a massive commitment from this congress, our health care system will not be able to handle this crisis. there are not enough workers, not enough supplies, not enough beds, not enough state and local funding. there's a major concern that as this virus spreads, countless americans will not be able to access or afford treatment if they get the coronavirus. it goes from the very big -- we need lots of ventilators -- to the smaller. a hospital in new york told us that they didn't have enough nasal swabs to conduct the coronavirus test. health care workers in washington state are fashioning homemade masks out of vinyl, elastic and double-sided tape. the need for ventilators, which will save the lives of those who are afflicted by the disease in

a severe way, is desperate. yesterday president trump finally -- he took our suggestion and invoked the defense production act. but what is happening now, we don't know. who's in charge? which factories are being asked to make the ventilators? and which factories are being asked to do other things as well? we need that kind of information, but, more important -- or just as important as the information is the urgency of getting these things done. machines like ventilators can be the difference between life and death. according to one projection, it's possible that up to 960,000 americans will need a ventilator during the coronavirus pandemic. right now only 160,000 are available. and only 12,700 are in stockpiles.

the president must direct a massive mobilization to ramp up ventilator production. he also must do so to acquire new hospital space. we'll be short of beds, particularly i.c.u. beds. the army corps must be involved in helping build temporary hospitals that can take on the new burden. we are on the verge, unfortunately, if we don't act quickly, of repeating the heartbreaking collapse of the hospital capacity experienced in italy. that must not be allowed to happen. i was glad yesterday that president trump heeded call by democrats on the defense production act, but we need to go further. he must -- the president must make this an against responsibility. we need a marshall plan for our health care system. and that also means getting new workers involved. we're going to be short of doctors and nurses.

and we have to make sure that those in the health care system can get to work. new york city subway system is still needed to carry them there. in many other cities, they depend on one form of mass transit or another. the next legislation that we are putting together must include an historic commitment to supporting our health care system and our fellow americans who get sick. we cannot get this wrong. the stakes are too high. and, third, phase three legislation must address the plight of workers and families struggling with the economic ramifications of the virus. millions and millions of american workers have been laid off. they didn't do anything wrong, neither did the owner of their business, but there are no people coming into the strawrnts and the stores -- restaurants and the stores and the shops. there may be no customers for businesses that provide services or goods.

store fronts are closed, the service industry is shedding jobs, small business owners who have devoted their lifetime to building their businesses are on the brink of collapse. the gears of american manufacturing are grinding to a halt. there are millions of americans, american workers, home at night, home during the day. they are doing the right thing, but now they have no income, no idea where the next paycheck will arrive or when they can return to work. we must step up to the plate immediately and help these suffering workers who don't have a paycheck and are worried about how they are going to pay the rent, the mortgage, buy the food, the necessities, the medicines that they and their families need. congress must help them. we should enact a new form of unemployment insurance. we call it employment insurance. it's really unemployment

insurance on steroids assistance until she already -- until these already employed workers can get back to work. unemployment doesn't cover enough people to meet this crisis, so many who are part time, who are gig workers and for so many other reasons are not covered by unemployment insurance. our new employment insurance must cover them all. second, the payments must be full. the payments should equal or come as close to equaling as possible the salaries they got. most people who get unemployment insurance don't get close to the percentage they need to live on. and, third, it must be quick and easy. in many states, some by design, it's very thard to get unemployment insurance -- it's very hard to get unemployment

insurance. you have to go through the whole riga ma roll. that must end. so our new employment insurance, and unemployment insurance -- an unemployment insurance on steroids must have payment so lost salaries are totally made up for, it must be quick and easy to access and it must be broad based. democrats who asked for that is one of our most important asks because that goes to the people who need help. that goes to the people who are not getting their salaries because they've been laid off or furloughed. that's the most immediate and quick thing to deal with the problem right at the level it exists. another must for us is paid sick leave. senators murray and gillibrand have important legislation on this issue and want to get this

done, and for small businesses there must be liquidity. many of these businesses are great businesses. they were doing fine until two, three weeks ago, but no customers are coming in the door or calling on the phone. in addition to paying their workers through our employment insurance, we must see that these businesses have liquidity to pay their insurance bills, to pay their mortgages, to pay their problems and deal with that so when, god willing, and i'm confident it will happen, this crisis leaves us, they'll be able to open their businesses stronger than ever before. and there are many other things we want to get done. today senator warren, senator murray, senator brown and i are introducing a bill to stop --

and have -- a minute of a $10,000 payoff for all student loan borrowers. this has been going on for a long time. it's exacerbated by the crisis. we've got to help the students and those with big loans on their backs. that legislation, something like it, should be in phase three of legislation. and there are many other things that must be done as we democrats, a couple of days ago, senate democrats announced a $750 billion package, well, there are other things in there and maybe other things that have to be added, but we've got to look at this crisis in its totality. now some of us proposed and i heard this coming out of the administration and from my colleagues, an alternative to these policies, a one-time cash payment of $1,000. that might help families cover rent, groceries for a month, but

then what? if we're going to do these kind -- this kind of payment plan, first, it cannot be a substitute for the things i mentioned, it must be in addition. i think there's a general unanimous view on our side that that should be the case. second, if we're going to do it, it's got to be bigger, more generous and more frequent than some that i've heard proposed from the other side. we all know that workers and families need assistance, and they aring -- and they are goino get it. democrats want to get that assistance as quickly to the american people as possible, and i believe our republican colleagues do as well. but those who want to limit that assistance to a one-time payment of around $1,000 given to everybody, people who make $1 million and people who make $50 a week, -- $500 a week, that doesn't make sense.

the pandemic requires bold structural changes to our society's safety net to give people a lifeline for months, not just weeks. it requires the kinds of things i have mentioned, and if we're going to go this route, it's got to be, again, bigger, more generous, more frequent. now, i've taken time to lay out these ideas on the floor because thus far at least senate democrats have not been included in discussions with senate republicans about phase three. leader mcconnell is putting together his own plan. his talking to his chairman and his members, and then he has said he will present it to senate democrats, or even house democrats. as i've said before, if we want to get this done quickly, the best way to do it is to a -- have a four-corners negotiation,

house leaders, and if we do it the other way, it will take much longer. we've got to move quickly. make no mistake about it. our entire caucus wants to work in a bipartisan way to get this done quickly and what we're prescribing are some of the things we think would do the most good. so -- and in reference to that, we're living in a time of emergency, the typical legislative process takes too long and won't work. i believe all parties should be in the room from the get-go so any final product can pass this swiftly as possible. we're all interested in coming together as quickly as we can. so time is of the essence. let us come together, construct and pass this bill as soon as we possibly can. i yield the floor.

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: madam president, i come to the floor to thank speaker pelosi, leader schumer, all my colleagues who support the coronavirus response act. that measure was signed by president trump yesterday. i understand that leader mcconnell that there is another economic stimulus to

help families, businesses, and the health care community, including our hospitals. this morning, i spoke to the governor of illinois, we have been speaking on an almost daily basis and sometimes several times a day and asked about the situation in my home state of illinois. unfortunately we're still desperate for testing kits. illinois had 5,000 more kits provided yesterday by a private company at the urging of our governor, but we've never seen the sum of -- the number of test kits that we believe are necessary to measure the current state of this coronavirus in our home state of illinois. the official count, and i might add that word official, is that we've had 288 illinoisans infected and one fatality. i believe that the number of infections in the official report grossly understate the

exposure in my home state of illinois. once more tests are administered and we see the results, i'm afraid we're going to see a dramatic increase of that number of reported infections in the state. these cases yesterday, 128 new cases were announced yesterday in our state. it is the largest single one-day increase since we've been reporting. we've had two additional counties that have now been touched out of the 102, we're now up to 70 counties with infections, an additional person at a health care facility was tested positive bringing 32 in that one facility. 41,000 insurance claims were filed in illinois in the past two days. during the same two days last

year 4,445 were filed. so roughly ten times the number of unemployment claims have been filed this year. that's, as i mentioned, ten times the level of the same two-day period a year ago. the department of labor reported this morning that 281,000 people filed unemployment insurance claims nationwide last week and that number is likely to grow. oak park, just to the west of chicago, is the first town in illinois to issue a shelter in place order for residents which will last until april 3. mayor lightfoot said that the city would stop debt collection practices. i might add that we learn last night that two members of the house of representatives have tested positive for the virus, representatives diaz and

representative from florida. they were tested after voting on the coronavirus response bill. i joined with senator portman of ohio in proposing that we take into consideration the fact that we have critically important work to do in the senate but gathering in groups, as we've done historically, poses a health risk not just to us as members and our families, but to the staff as well as their families. the staff in the senate and their families. we ought to be more thoughtful in terms of our own families and the people who work in the united states senate. yes, do our job, but do it in a sensible and thoughtful way. senator portman and i are exploring pockets for remote voting by members of the senate. why is it required that we be physically present on the floor closer to one another than perhaps we should be at this moment of a public health

crisis? senator portman and i on a bipartisan basis are trying to find a way to achieve this goal and protect the integrity of the voting process in the united states senate. yes, it is new. yes, it is different. yes, it reflects the 21st century and reflects a challenge the likes of which we have never seen. tomorrow that challenge may be another public health crisis, some other national health emergency or maybe even a terrorist attack. shouldn't we be ready to make sure the senate can still do its business if it's difficult or possible or not advised for members of the senate to come physically to the floor and announce their vote each time it's needed. we believe we should explore this on a bipartisan basis and we're urging the leaders on both sides to look at it seriously at this moment. i might as well that the governor of my state spoke about the issues they are facing and said to me more than once we need federal guidance as to what we should do in our state. i want to salute him and the

other goarches who are -- governors who are doing the best they can doing the best they can with the advice they receive. i think we would need to be sensitive to the reality of the hospitals that are facing real challenges today that are likely to increase. what we have seen over the past few weeks from our health care workers on the front line is nothing short of heroic. the nurses, the doctors, technicians, the lab experts. they have just done the kind of work above and beyond the call of duty that we hope for in these times of challenge and crisis. i commend every hospital employee for their selflessness and quality work, but what i'm hearing from illinois health officials is that hospitals have been stretched to the absolute limit. one hospital executive in central illinois told me that his cash flow runs out in a matter of weeks and his hospital may be forced to close. in downtown chicago, our academic medical centers have

activated emergency protocols and are burning through protective masks, respirators, and other equipment. as of tuesday, three quarters of the 2,600 intensive care beds in illinois were already occupied, and 40% of our 2,100 ventilators were being deployed. for the next package that we're considering here, c.v. 3 or phase three, however you characterize it, congress must step in with direct, immediate assistance to recognize the extreme financial burden and equipment shortfalls of hospitals and health care workers. this has to be priority number one, period. prior to this coronavirus challenge, one in four rural hospitals across america were already facing closure. if a rural hospital closes in your home state, whether it's nebraska or kansas or ohio or illinois, jobs leave, businesses

close, and the community's health care needs are in peril. so as part of the measure that we are presently considering, this phase three, c.v. three measure, senator james lankford of oklahoma, a republican and i, are calling for inclusion of our rural hospital relief act which will provide immediate relief to the most financially vulnerable rural hospitals. these hospitals are the backbones of our health system in rural america. as we know as well, many people soon may lose their jobs, if they haven't already, because of this pandemic. and in so many cases, losing your job means losing your health insurance. that's why i'm working to ensure that individuals who lose their job as a result of this coronavirus do not also lose their health care. under current law, cobra coverage allows individuals to remain on their employer-sponsored health insurance plan after they lose their jobs and otherwise become ineligible. there is a basic problem with

cobra. it costs too much, and the employee, now severed from their work, has to pay 100% of the premiums with no employer contributions. many people just can't afford it. i think it's imperative that congress step up and offer federal funding to cover the costs of cobra coverage for individuals who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic. loss of a job is bad enough. we can't also sit by when millions of people lose their health insurance. democrats are working on a robust funding package to help our united states military defend our country against this pandemic. it includes substantial increases in the capacity of military health care. that will benefit the troops, their families, retirees, and members of the public, we need more resources to provide the national guard with the means to tackle this crisis. as of wednesday, nearly 2,000 guardsmen are active in 54 states and territory. the number grows each day. the women and men of the national guard are working hard,

distributing meals, transporting medical professionals, assisting with planning and much more, and our states are paying for this emergency mission work out of their own pockets. this is a national emergency. states need federal assistance as it is likely to grow. some say there are just over 4,000 beds in the entire military medical system. some say we will need triple that number. i want to make sure the funding is there if god forbid we need it. we also need to take immediate action to address the threat that covid-19 poses to inmates and staff in our federal prison system. just yesterday, two federal bureau of prisons staff tested positive for covid-19. it is only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread within these correction facilities, if it hasn't already. despite this threat, the trump administration has not requested any additional funding for the bureau of prisons to prepare for inevitable overtime and costs.

we need to make sure that our federal, state, and local prisons and jails have access to the supplies and personnel and resources they need. and we need to do everything we can to safely relief or transfer as -- release or transfer as many inmates as possible to home confinement, particularly those who are vulnerable and elderly. now to our economy that's being ravaged by this public health epidemic, the department of labor this morning reported that more than 281,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week. 33% increase from the previous week. similar grim news has come out of illinois that has seen unemployment claims skyrocket, as i mentioned earlier. these figures show us how serious this is for working families. upped scoring the importance to move quickly and boldly. congress must immediately take steps to ensure state unemployment trust fund accounts have more resources to get the benefits to those who need them. my governor this morning alerted me to the fact that there is a cash flow problem because of these claims that are being made

on the unemployment benefits account. nationwide, small businesses and retailers are closing their doors, some we hope only temporarily. restaurants are moving to take out only -- only or closing out their shops altogether. this morning, i had a web n.r.a. with the -- a webinar with the chicagoland chamber of commerce. we expected over 100 people. 500 participated. this is going to be a significant hit for a lot of small businesses. we've got to be there to help them. i support a proposal also that's being led by senate colleagues brown, bennet, and booker to request that direct cash assistance beginning at $2,000 be sent to american families in need. this will be a crucial lifeline, but it alone can't help these families navigate the crisis. i support what senator schumer

said earlier about strengthening unemployment insurance for these same families. a second wave of assistance is likely to go out. i support that as well. i don't believe this is a short-lived crisis. we have got to see it through and stand by the workers and their families all the way. in past times of economic crisis, we have seen an increase in chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by businesses, but too often, these businesses have been able to manipulate the bankruptcy process to favor creditors and management and leave the workers high and dry. we cannot let this happen again. for more than ten years, i have had a bill to reform chapter 11 to improve outcomes for workers and retirees. most importantly, by doubling to $20,000 the value of worker wage claims entitled to priority payment and bankruptcy. let's get that reform done as part of the challenge of this crisis. let's make helping workers the highest priority when it comes to business bankruptcy. we also need to make clear that companies that take federal

bailout money can't just turn around and use chapter 11 to try to get rid of their collective bargaining agreements with their work force. my legislation would prevent this time of gaming. we need to get that done as well. and if congress is going to consider changes to make the bankruptcy process simpler and less painful for businesses, we ought to do the same for workers and families. that includes americans who are currently being crushed by student loan debt and face their own economic recession even before this one. if we are talking about relieving debts that businesses and individuals cannot pay, for goodness sakes, how can we ignore the crushing student loan debt across america which compromise the futures of thousands of americans? we need to take steps to forgive student debt, like for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges, a check which we continue to fight secretary devos over, and we need to restore dischargeability and bankruptcy for student loans once and for all.

in short, bold policy ideas to help families during this time are not exclusive to either political party. i look forward, as we have in the first two measures, to a bipartisan effort and a timely effort to respond. america is counting on us. now is the time for us to produce. madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: madam president, i appreciate my colleague from south dakota giving me just one minute to respond to the senator from illinois' comments about remote voting. i appreciate his joining me today on a resolution, bipartisan resolution to say that during times of emergency or crisis, that the united states senate would be able to vote remotely in a secure manner. i think it's time for us to turn to this. i actually supported such legislation back in the house when i was there almost two decades ago. at the time, we didn't have, frankly, the electronic communications we have today to be able to safely vote remotely.

now we do. we have the ability to do it in a secure way, an encrypted way, in a way that would protect the fundamental right to vote, and i think it's important that we move forward with this. it is something that would be up to the majority leader and the minority leader to jointly agree upon. once they agreed upon that, there would be 30 days. after 30 days, congress would have to vote, the senate would have to vote to continue it. i think, not just because of covid-19 where we have an obvious problem right now, but the threat of terrorism, bioterrorism, these sorts of issues unfortunately are part of our 21st century life. we have to be aware of the fact that this is possible, and it's important to me and i think to all of my colleagues that article 1 be heard, that the legislative branch be heard, that we have the ability to convene for the continuity of government and not allow what we would normally do perhaps to shift over to article 2 to the executive branch or not to be addressed at all. so again, i thank my colleague from south dakota. i thank senator durbin from

illinois for working with me on this project. and my hope is that we can see a change in our senate rules coming out of this process so that we can have the ability to do our constitutional duties, regardless of what's happening with regard to the national capitol or crises as we currently face with covid-19. and i yield back my time. mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. thune: madam president, yesterday the senate passed the families first coronavirus virus response act, which is bipartisan legislation that will provide critical relief to american workers, families, and small businesses. two weeks ago, the senate passed the first phase of congress' coronavirus response, and that was $8.3 billion in funding for coronavirus research, testing, and medical care. so yesterday's bill was the second phase of that response. the families first coronavirus response act will ensure that all americans can access

coronavirus testing at no cost. the bill also ensures expanded telehealth access for medicare recipients during this outbreak, which i strongly support. as a resident of a rural state, i have long been a supporter of telehealth for the expanded health care access it can deliver for rural communities. but the value of telehealth isn't limited to rural states. during an outbreak like this, for example, telehealth services can help keep patients, particularly vulnerable elderly patients, out of doctors' offices and hospital waiting rooms. patients can use a phone call or the internet to check in with their doctors for minor complaints or medication follow-ups instead of having to venture out and be exposed to possible coronavirus infection. i'm very pleased that medicare patients will have greater access to telehealth services during this outbreak. madam president, the largest part of the families first coronavirus response act focuses on providing economic support for families during this difficult time.

the bill makes provisions for paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave for american workers, particularly for those who might not otherwise have access to these benefits. it also invests additional money in unemployment insurance so those benefits are available for those who need them. madam president, i am pleased that we were able to pass this bipartisan bill that the house produced, but there is more work to be done. the house bill only touches on a small part of what is needed to help americans weather this storm, which is why senate republicans are currently working to develop a third phase of congress' response. our legislation will address three priorities -- providing direct immediate assistance to american workers and families, giving our economy, especially our small businesses, the necessary support to weather this storm. and of course, most importantly, providing medical professionals with the resources they need to fight this virus. i have been working closely with colleagues on the senate commerce and finance committees to develop parts of the legislation that will address tax relief, particularly for small businesses, and support

for industries that have been directly impacted by this pandemic, including the airline industry, which has taken a devastating hit from this outbreak. and the senate will be here as long as it takes to get this additional legislation to the president's desk. madam president, these are difficult days. this is new territory for most of us, and there is a lot of uncertainty in the air. americans are worried about their own health and that of their loved ones. they're worried about what this outbreak will mean for their jobs and their financial health. it's a difficult time for our country, but we are going to get through this. america's faced big challenges before, and we have come through them even stronger. this time will be no different. i see the strength of america everywhere i look, in the dedicated doctors and nurses putting their lives on the line to care for the sick, in our first responders who are always at the forefront of the response to any crisis, in the truck drivers and the grocery store employees and delivery workers

who keep on doing their jobs in the face of the outbreak, ensuring that all of us have the essentials that we need. and in the thousands of ordinary americans stepping up to help their neighbors. running to the grocery store for elderly or sick individuals, providing child care for those who can't telework, and looking out for those who are struggling financially. this, madam president, is what will get us through, and i and my colleagues in congress will continue to do our part to ensure that our country has everything it needs to whelming this crisis and to defeat -- to weather this crisis and to defeat this disease. madam president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. cornyn: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call, disrespected with. the presiding officer: officer without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, over the last three weeks, given the nature of this unprecedented virus, members of congress have been able to come together and during divided times support our country -- our country's response. first, we passed an emergency funding bill to bolster our response to the critical early stages of community spread. since it was signed into law nearly two weeks ago, it's provided funding for the personal protective equipment our health care professionals rely on, supported our community health centers and state and

local health departments. it's also bolstered our resources in the race to develop a vaccine, possible treatments, more tests. it was a strong start, but we've known all along that it would just be the first step. as the scope of this virus continues to grow and challenge our country in new ways, we're working as quickly as possible to respond in realtime. as we know, more and more americans are staying home and practicing a new term, a new phrase -- social distancing, one that i hadn't really heard of before this virus. while that's a sign of progress in our fight to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it's handy capping millions of businesses and workers. as public events are canceled and restaurants and shops are closing their doors or scaling back their operation, many people are losing their jobs and

their livelihood. a recent poll found that nearly one in five american households have experienced a layoff or reduced work hours, and those who work in the service or hospitality industry are particularly hard-hit. think about the waiter at your favorite restaurant, the person who cuts your hair, the individual who sweeps the aisles after a basketball game, the housekeeper who cleans rooms at a hotel. they are among the millions of workers across the country who are trying to survive this new reality. here in the senate we're working as quickly as possible to support them. yesterday we passed a bill to help individuals and families facing economic fallout from this outbreak. we improved paid sick leave for those impacted by the coronavirus and strengthened our food security for americans of all ages. we also made coronavirus testing

free for all americans. no one should be afraid to get tested because of the cost. for all the benefits that this legislation would deliver, it doesn't address every problem. we knew that. we knew that it would just be the second step in an undetermined -- a journey of undetermined length. but rather than holding that bill up and doing nothing to include additional measures we'd like to see, we worked as quickly as possible to put that second phase into action and move on to phase three. building on the first two steps that we've taken, it's time make bold make -- it's time to make bold moves to support our economy. we need to be sure we can survive in the long term. the american people are resilient. we've been through national disasters like 9/11, the huge

economic meltdown and great recession of 2008. but in my experience, we've never had anything quite like the coronavirus pandemic. but the american people have always maintained their good attitude and worked through these crises and come out stronger and better on the end. as i mentioned, the shift in our daily routines is having a severe impact on the businesses. and sadly those small businesses which employ about half of all u.s. workers are among the hardest hit. and here's the thing -- they bear no responsibility for the economic condition they find themselves in. this is something totally beyond their control. the restaurants, the hardware stores, the salons, the gyms, and countless other small businesses operated by our neighbors are facing tough

decisions. over the last couple of days, i've talked about a number of my constituents, fellow texans, who were experiencing hardship. one whose revenue is down about 60%. one whose rotating their employees so each can at least get some work. one who's terrified this could sink the business he's worked on for 25 years. as we continue working on this coronavirus response and recovery, my top priority is to the support these small business owners and their employees who've been left with no way to collect a paycheck. no way to provide for their family, no way to provide for the necessities of life. yesterday senate republicans met with treasury secretary mnuchin and discussed the wide-ranging proposals to provide relief to workers and small businesses. one thing we all agreed on -- we need to take immediate action

to put money directly into the hands of these displaced workers. work opportunities may be disappearing for some workers, but the expenses don't go away. people need money to buy groceries, pay their bills, stay afloat until things normalize. there are ongoing discussions about the most efficient and most effective way to get money into the hands of those most negatively impacted. but i wanted to assure all texans that we are working as quickly as possible to find the best solutions. a centerpiece of the phase three deal will be that direct aid to american workers who have been displaced. but it must also include additional actions to protect the integrity of our health care system. as more and more people are being tested and diagnosed, our hospitals and health care providers need additional support so they can continue to serve patients. we're working to get our health

care providers the resources and equipment they need to continue fighting this virus on the front lines. i want to thank the majority leader, senator mcconnell, for publicly committing to keep the senate here in session until we pass legislation that meets these high demands, a decision that i fully support. while the senate's work continues, i know many americans are feeling some helplessness and uncertainty at a time when the best thing you can do may be just to stay home. while older americans face a higher risk if they come into contact with the virus, every one of us has a role that we can play in beating this virus. i want to reiterate remarks made earlier this week by dr. deborah birx, whose coordinating the white house coronavirus task force. she continues to stress the importance of millennials, one of the largest generation

cohorts, saying that this is the core group who will stop this virus. because we all know young people feel bulletproof and that their life will be eternal, many times they don't understand that they're just as mortal as the rest of us. because these younger individuals are at lower risk from the virus, they think it's fine to continue with their norm al routines as long as they aren't experiencing symptoms. but if they're infected, they can still transmit the virus to others, especially the older, more vulnerable people in their community. dr. birx pointed 0 utah that we often talk about the greatest generation -- that's the world war ii generation, people like my mom and dad, those who answered the call to serve and fought for our freedoms. but now is the time for the younger generation, the millennials, to answer a different call and take the

necessary precautions to protect that greatest generation, which is among the most vulnerable. i'm proud of the fact that when texas faces a crisis, whether it's hurricanes or tornadoes that have devastated our state in recent years, texans come together and support one another. but the truth is, that's also how i would describe how americans react to an attack, whether it's 9/11, the great recession of 2008, or now this coronavirus. this is not a time for us to engage in business as usual. this is a time for us to come together in a new and very important but different way. stay home, take this seriously, and we'll get through this together.

mr. president, i yield the floor, and i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator for missouri. mr. blunt: are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: we are in a quorum. mr. blunt: i move we suspend the quorum. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: mr. president, the response to the coronavirus has made it clear that there are lots of things that are the responsibility of individuals, things like staying home if you're sick. frankly, staying home if you're more likely than others to be sick. practicing the kinds of hygiene our mothers taught us we should follow all along. personally, i may have set is a new personal record for just washing my hands in the last two

weeks. it's never been ad -- i've never been adverse to washing my hands, but i don't know if i've ever washed them a half a dozen times a day or so. those things are left up to us. then there are things that are left up to the local level, things to determine in a local community whether things should be open or not, what kind of activities should be the activities where you draw the line in terms of crowds, much likely to be better decided at a local level by even a state or, more likely, by a mayor or a county executive than by somebody here in washington. and then at the national level, we're moving toward our third package now in the last few days to try to deal with this. the first package was about $8 billion, really focused at the immediate health response -- supplies, developing a vaccine, trying to figure out what the

right therapies were, understanding the things we needed to do to further help hospitals get ready and to further encourage people to go places other than hospitals when that worked. all of those things were part of that first panel. and the package that we sent to the president, the president sign $100 billion, a huge amount of money in a short period of time, that $100 billion, while it continued towork on the health care side also was very focused on just keeping people on a payroll, if they're on a payroll. that $100 billion focused to a great extent on how you keep people who have decided they needed to be quarantined or who were quarantined by a business or a doctor, keeping those people on that payroll,

continuing to keep that part of our economy going. and now today we move to the third package, which is $1 trillion. $8 billion, $100 billion, now $100 -- now $1 trillion. that $1 trillion designed to do all the things i talked about but also designed to keep this economy at a point where when we get through this, we'll be as nearly to where we would have been otherwise as at all possible. interestingly, mr. president, here we're going into a situation where we're trying to protect an economy that didn't have any systemic problems with it. it was an economy that was by all measures unbelievably good and then suddenly people are encouraged, sometimes required, to back away from that economy, to cease participating in lots

of that economy, partly because we've encouraged part of that economy to cease being part of the active economy. and what do we do there? so this is going to be a different kind of response, more focused in many cases where in the past people said we need more of your money, many of the questions we just need to have an access to more money that we can easily pay back when we get through this. we're willing to have securitized loans, lots of things, figuring out how to deal with that liquidity issue. then there are some things we need to put in this package that simply the government is going to have to look at in ways we haven't looked at before. i want to spend a few minutes talking about one of those things today, which is just frankly securing our medical supply chain. in the past, the idea that we'd worry about the supply chain

would not have been at the top of the list of the things that the american people would be thinking needed to be on the first list they needed to look at when they think about public health. but what we see happening is now a direct reminder that medical supplies we use can come from all over the world, and in a pandemic, everybody in the world may think they need what you think you would have received and expected to get more than they think they should send it to you. we depend on manufacturers in other countries. approximately 40% of the finished drugs and 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients are manufactured overseas, primarily in china and india. the ongoing global coronavirus outbreak has really highlighted for the first time in today's

supply chain what happens if you might not be able to get what you need when you need it. there's also a spotlight on our supply chain challenges generally. i think, as a result of this, we're going to look at that sooner than we would have. but right now in this bill, i'm hoping we include an immediate look, because we have quickly gone through a series of warning signs now that make us understand why we need to look at this and look at it now. on february 27, the food and drug administration announced the first coronavirus-related drug shortage. february 27. on march 10, the f.d.a. halted its routine overseas inspections of drugs and devices. last week state health

departments and the center for disease control and prevention raised concern about the looming shortage of the coronavirus extraction kit, reagents needed to actually conduct the diagnostic tests, not to mention some concerns about the swab you might need in some cases to take just the normal flu exam. it's more and more clear that protecting our nation's medical supply chain is both a priority for public health and for national security. obviously, the supply chain has become more and more global. now, economic efficiency makes sense. being more competitive makes sense. it's fine to buy things from other countries, but it's better if you have multiple options, it's better if you have other options, including domestic production. it's especially true when this comes to vital options like

medical devices, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, products we need for public health and safety. now, we see now that this is a problem. it's a problem that's sort of come upon us in this pandemic environment in a way that we had not had we'd have to deal with it before. but we do have to deal with it. and we're hoping in this bill this is one of the places we can deal with it. you know, in our supply chain generally, if you're making is, mr. president, and it makes 300 parts and you have 299 of them, you're in really good shape except you can't make what you hoped to make because you don't have that one essential 300th part. if you're relying on factories in china or south korea or some other place that have shut down temporarily, sudden lid your factory -- suddenly your factory

has become too dependent on a partner that's no longer there. so a bipartisan group of senators, including myself and senator alexander and senator murray have written legislation to figure out how to access our -- assess our vulnerability for medical supplies. we want the medical academy of sciences, medicine and engineering to look at this issue and to look at it now. to look at this issue and determine how dependent we have really become on supplies from other countries and then to make recommendations as to what some of our options might be. we also would like to hear their views on how we can make our supply chain more resilient for critical drugs and equipment, what kind of backup plan we need to always be thinking about, if our frontline plan may continue to be that other partner in

another country, what's our quick go-to backup and how essential is it that we have that backup. that would include encouraging how we can ask domestic manufacturers of some things to be able to step up and reorient what they do when they need it and in a crisis. the president has to some extent addressed this idea yesterday but talking about a defense manufacturing strategy. that defense manufacturing strategy may need to be more robust in some areas just simply because whether it's component parts to a medical device or pharmaceutical ingredients or simply the gloves and masks and swab sticks and things that you need for basic health care when you're trying to determine what your health care environment is and then deal with it are out there and we need to look at it. one example may be the -- just the, again, the daily dependence

on the daily protective equipment that our health care providers have. we're interested to know what we need to do and what we need to do over the next 60 to 90 days. what we need to do over the next two or three years, but what we're going to be asking this commission to look at is -- we want them to look at it quickly. this is a priority. it has become an immediate priority. we need to know as we now look at another one of these in a series of epidemics where this has been a concern, whether it's ebola or swine flu or zeka or sars, we've had too many of these in too short a period of time, and in that same period of time, the globalization of the supply chain has dramatically changed. as we prepare for future

hazards, we be want to ensure the supply chain is in place to allow us to provide the kind of health care we need, the kind of response we need, the kind of protection we need. this should be part of the bill we send to the president, hopefully between now and no later than the end of next week. it's one of the things that will begin to set us on a better direction and create greater security -- greater health security as we look at our other security concerns. and, with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator for virginia. mr. kaine: mr. president, i also rise, like my colleague from missouri, to address the nation's response to the covid-19 virus. in particular i want to discuss the next steps that we need to take at the federal level to deal with this health emergency and the severe economic

dislocation resulting from it. before i offer my comments, i do want to are offer some thanks. i want to thank the senate staff and all in the capitol who are working under tough circumstances. i notice that the pages are not here and that's because the senate decided while we are here to do the senate's business, the young people are at home with their families. i want to thank the health care workers across the united states. they are doing very difficult work right now and they are doing it under very stressful circumstances. so many people who work in our health care facilities are there trying to protect patients. they have kids in schools that have been closed and they are grappling with their own children during the day, can they find child care during a particular school day. i want to thank them and i will thank the american public. we're not an authoritarian nation. there are steps other nations are taking with respect to this virus where they can sort of

order and quarantine in ways that we can't do here. what we do here depends on the consent of the governed. the guidelines of social distancing requires some significant sacrifice. overwhelmingly i see americans taking steps to make that sacrifice. i want to thank them. i applaud the bipartisan work the congress has done with the white house in the past two weeks to pass two important laws. we passed the supplemental appropriations bill providing more than $8 billion to invest in our public health response with resources for our states, territories and tribes and vaccines and key testing. and yesterday the senate passed the second piece of legislation to provide emergency relief to workers and their families, paid sick leave, extended unemployment insurance and other matters. but we still have more to do. and i will be very candid about this. i offer these thoughts as a

former governor and mayor who has seen what is needed. hurricanes, floods, mass shootings, the h1 in 12 epidemic, the economic collapse of 2009. while it gives us a perspective on what must be done, the current challenge is a massive one, arguably bigger than any one i have seen in my life. because it is so big, it will require innovative degrees of innovation and cooperation and the need for that innovation and cooperation is urgent. i got off a phone call this morning and i'm sure all 100 of my colleagues are making calls like this. i got on the phone with my fellow virginia senator, senator warner, to talk to virginia's hospitals. it is a top capita income, but the stories from my hospitals were just, frankly, shocking, they can't get tests to test

patients who are presenting with symptoms of covid-19. if they have testst, they don't have the swabs to administer the tests or they don't have some of the chemical components needed so that once a swab is taken, they can run the test to determine if somebody has the virus or not. they don't have masks. hospitals were telling me that masks that they would normally buy for $1 a piece are being charged at $9 apiece. major hospitals in the metropolitan areas, one hospital said they got enough tests to test 40 people that lasted for two days and when they said we need more tests, the supplier said, well, look, we only have so much that we can distribute around, that's all you get. when i heard this story, one after the next, and i know i live in a nation with not only the best health care providers

but the best health care institutions in the world, i had to ask myself, where am i? is this the united states of america where a hospital treating people on a global pandemic cannot get a mask? can't get a swab, cannot get a test? why do nations like south korea, australia and the united kingdom, why are they much more able to do things which this country should be able to do? i don't think we should become normalized or just accept that. i think this is so profound a question about why this nation with the best health care providers and the best health care institutions in the world is so far behind other nations. so let me offer these recommendations -- blunt recommendations for the road ahead. first, in the words of the hippocratic oath, do no harm, the administration lost six to eight weeks in responding to this crisis, critical time that

was used productively by other nations because the president continually downplayed the threat of covid-19. no american has a louder microphone than he does. he downplayed the threat, suggested it was contained, suggested that everyone would be tested, suggested it was a hoax and suggested that the chinese or the media was blowing it out of proportion. whether it was due to ignorance is irrelevant. i was shocked the congress submitted a bill to congress on february 10, it cut funding for key hubbell health agencies, h.h.s. and our investments in global partnerships. the white house foolishly eliminated the global health security team that was set up after the ebola crisis to proactively deal with epidemics like covid-19.

i remain stunned -- stunned that the president's lawyers are still in court attempting to repeal the affordable care act and take health care away from millions of americans. there's never a good time -- never -- to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and scheme to take away people's health insurance, but there is surely no worse time to do it -- to take an ax to the public health infrastructure and take away people's health insurance than during a global pandemic. my recommendations here are pretty simple. quit lying and downplaying the threat. let the scientists and public health leaders take center stage. in recent days the president seems to have adopted this approach and it is long overdue. congress should ignore the president's budget that urged foolish cuts to our public health infrastructure and the administration should cease efforts to dismantle the affordable care act.

one more thing, quite the inflammatory china bashing. did this virus originate in china? yes, but mr. president that does not excuse your weeks and weeks of tweeting lies and misinformation about the virus while the leaders of other nations were taking steps to be sure their populations should be safe. the fact that the virus originated in china does not excuse the massive missteps that led to the united states being so far behind the other nations in the world in the ability to provide basic testing to citizens, including citizens who have serious signs of illness. the president's decision to call this china virus or wuhan virus or other epithets that he and other members of his team use are crass efforts to blame others. the buck stops with you, mr. president. you cannot blame this on anyone

else. you have to own responsibility and you should stop inflammatory china bashing that is exposing asian americans in this country to prejudice. the second thing we need to do is to continue to focus first and foremost on managing the public health crisis presented by covid-19. the economic dislocation is significant. we're working on a package on that now and i will talk about in a minute. but no economic intervention will work if the american public lacks confidence in our public health response, and a strong response that will effective coordinate those affected will be the best way to enable the economy to get back on track. to accomplish this public health goal, we need to have strong policy at the federal level to continue to make science-based recommendations on the time and

extent of social distancing guidelines. we need to overcome the shockingly poor start of testing the public. it will help affect the curve so it our health system is not overwhelmed. it will help reduce anxiety by giving people information on what they need to do. americans are used to being tested. if we feel ill, we get a test to see if we have the flu, a test to see if we have pneumonia, we get a test to see if our children have strep throat. when you hear the president and vice president say everyone will be tested but people call their health care providers and there are no tests and see drive-through testing sites shut down after a day of tests, it tremendously raises their anxiety. we need to continue the good work that's already being done to accelerate the development of a safe and effective vaccine.

we need to make sure that our hospitals and health providers have the resources they need to treat sick people and protect their front line health workers and this is looking down the road, but i think it's important that we look at it now, policymakers should try to develop the science-based criteria that will enable them to confident i will tell americans when it -- tell americans when it is time to return to normal. it is time for americans, it is now safe, it's time for americans to go back to every day activity. a strong signal of that type when it is warranted by science will be critical -- critical to our recovery. now, that day may be weeks or months away, but developing the criteria that we can agree on should be the signal to return to normalcy is something we should be working on right now. third, make full use of state

and local governments. polling shows that americans are skeptical about what they hear about this virus from president trump and, indeed, washington. but the same polls show they do have trust in how state and local officials are handling this crisis. use the network of state and local officials to miewn indicate clear -- to communicate clear messages. seek their input on how their schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and local economies are affected. that's what i'm doing every day and i suspect every member of the senate is doing the same thing, conference calls with leaders around my state to make sure that we are doing the things that are most helpful and we should reality test any legislation, especially an economic package, with these leaders to make sure it is responsive to the real needs that they are seeing on ground. fourth, congress needs to move promptly to pass this strong economic passage backstopping the american economy from being

ravaged by covid-19. in 2008, the accumulation of debt, bad public policiesy -- policies and predatory mortgage practices brought down the global financial system. today the global economy has been performing relatively well and it now labors under a severe health care shock. there is reason to believe that once we get the health care strategy right, we will be poised for the economy to resume its upward trajectory but we must provide protection and sport in the -- spurt in the meantime. i believe the focus should be small businesses. they are most in need of intervention. this is the message i'm hearing again and again as i talk to virginia residents and business leaders. i had a wonderful conversation with the president of my statewide chamber of commerce the other day and he said

candidly, he said more of our members are largely medium and large businesses, but the most important thing you can do is focus on the needs of small businesses and their employees. i appreciated he was advocating for a business sector that isn't the core of his membership. but this is w -- but this is what he was hearing. i support direct cash payments to lowe and middle-income americans. it is nice to hear there may be some agreement on that. i support strategies to provide grants and loans to small businesses particularly if they use those resources to keep employees on the payroll. i hope direct support to individuals and small businesses will be the heart of the economic package that the senate and the white house and the house put together. for the larger businesses and industry sectors who need federal help, we have to stand ready to assist. but if we are to invest in these businesses yet again a few years after providing them with massive and, in my view,

unnecessary tax breaks, we must not simply rescue them but demand that they reform. and our investments must be designed to keep workers on payrolls to the maximum extent possible. the business roundtable, an influential voice for the business community, said last year that businesses need to expand their priorities beyond shareholder concerns and invest in employees by compensating them fairly, providing important benefits, and supporting communities they work in. i couldn't agree more. these businesses employ many americans and deliver us important goods and services, but if american taxpayers are stepping in to cover their losses, is think it's fair to expect and indeed require that these businesses channel the benefits toward people who are on their payrolls who work for wages and salary, not those who live off investment income. i'll do all i can in the coming days to help shape our economic package to make it responsible

to -- responsive to these goals. fifth, and in this i echo some of the comments made by my colleague from missouri, this does address long-term questions going forward. better travel leads to economic growth and better understanding of the world, but it also facilitates the spread of viruses. instantaneous global communication, networks are an economic plus but increase vulnerability to cyberattack. how do we increase -- without indiana hibitting our economic prospects. pharmaceuticals and medical products and supplies in particular that must be viewed through a national security lens and progressively brought back to this country to enhance safety and an adequate supply of supplies in times like these. a second long-term question rised for years by my virginia

colleague, senator warner, deals with the new reality of how americans work. many of the people most affected by this shock will be part-time and gig workers. their safety net mechanisms that our policy provide for full-time workers who get a w-2 every year are not as available to the increasing percentage of american workforce who are in multiple part-time jobs without benefits or who work as independent contractors or are otherwise self-employed. in addition to making sure that the economic relief package provides assistance to this large group of americans, we have to examine our workforce policies so that these workers also have a social safety net to fall back on during times of crisis. finally, mr. president, every american needs to do their part toen do front this crisis. the best way to slow the spread of covid-19 and minimize its impact to our health care stand our economy is to adhere to

science-based social distances and personal hygiene recommendations in our everyday lives. because america is not an authoritarian nation, there are some options used by other nations that will not likely be used here. our public health measures will depend upon the cooperation and adherence of every single person. sacrifice is hard, but a modest sacrifice in the near term can help save the lives of people we love. so i implore every virginian and every american to follow the recommendations we get from our public health officials and find ways to safely reach out and connect with friends and family during this challenging time. and to my colleagues, we must rise to meet this challenge. this is one of the moments for which we were destined to be in the senate. the people we serve are relying on us to calmly and promptly address a great health crisis with the tools needed to keep families safe and protect the american economy. it's a serious responsibility.

may we all live up to it. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum. ifer officer the clerk will call the roll. -- the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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mrs. blackburn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mrs. blackburn: i ask that we waive the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you you mr. president. we are continuing to roll out our response to the coronavirus and to this pandemic, and i want to encourage my colleagues to begin to think how we move past

what is this immediate crisis that we are in and that we begin to look toward what is going to happen in the future with our supply chains and our health care deliver systems. as we talk about the problems that are before us today, let us not forget that three months from now, six months from now, a year from now we need to be looking at today and saying, here were the lessons learned. and these are the steps that we have taken to make certain that it doesn't happen again. what we have learned and what many americans know is something that some of us started working on a couple of years back, and it was looking at the fact that americans and american drug manufacturers rely heavily on chinese companies to produce

active pharmaceutical ingredients, or a.p.i.'s, as they are called. we also know that bad actors in china are poised to use that vulnerability as leverage and to use it as a way to disrupt and interrupt the supply chain of those active pharmaceutical ingredients coming into our country. this is an issue that we cannot wait to address, mr. president. this is something we need to do right now. and it is why my colleague from new jersey, senator menendez, and i introduced the securing america's medicine cabinet -- or the samc act -- as a way to encourage and increase american manufacturing of these active pharmaceutical ingredients. now, here is what it would do.

it would expand upon the emerging technology program that is housed within the f.d.a. to prioritize issues related to national security and critical drug shortages and bring that pharmaceutical manufacturing out of china and back into the united states. not in five years or ten years, but now. it is something that we need to do right now. in addition, the sam-c act authorizes $100 million to develop centers of excellence for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing in order to develop these innovations. these centers will be a partnership between institutes of learning and the private sector. we talked a lot about public-private partnerships and the necessity of that to move us

through this crisis, and we have cheered as the president has brought private sector companies into the white house to work with him on addressing these issues. one thing we have to realize and why this is important that we do it now, the number of a.p.i. manufacturing facilities in china, it is still growing. they have found a vulnerability in our system. they are continuing to exploit that vulnerability, and although we don't yet know down to the precise percentage, we do know that the more chinese products flow into the u.s., the more potential there is for trouble and the more vulnerable, the more vulnerable we have our

supply chain. the bottom line is that if we continue to rely on the chinese to stay healthy, we're doing that at our own peril, so i'm asking my colleagues to join senator menendez and i and to support this legislation as a part of these coronavirus response efforts that we are making. the spread of the chinese coronavirus has put considerable strains on our health care delivery system. primary care physicians are overbooked and potential patients are afraid of going to clinics at all for fear of putting an elderly or a vulnerable person at risk. i'm in daily contact with physicians' offices, nurses' practices. i am hearing from those that care for elderly that are caregivers, for those with complex medical conditions, and this is a primary concern.

for that reason, conversations here on capitol hill have turned toward boosting telehealth services to free up in-person appointments for those who need them the most, and i am so grateful that the vice president and the coronavirus task force has made this a priority. we appreciate that. coverage of these efforts has made telemedicine feel to many like a new concept, but thank goodness we started building the foundation to support health care technology years before covid-19 spread beyond china's borders. mr. president, as just a little bit of history, back in 2015, when i was over in the house, i introduced the software act to eliminate red tape that was preventing innovation in health

care delivery. the bill ended up being rolled into a piece of legislation called 21st century cures that we passed through the house in late 2015 and then in 2016 it cleared the senate. it was -- what it did, what the software act did was to direct the f.d.a. to come up with a more efficient way of approving health care software so that it would not discourage innovation. at that point, that is what we were beginning to see. the red tape just would pile on to new concepts in delivery and by the time it got approved, a new generation of technology was beginning to emerge. so software's provisions made it possible for regulators and the private sector to bring us a lot

of new innovations. we have got teledoc, we have got fitbit and hundreds of others health care applications that we carry on our mobile device. we have also seen many hospitals conduct post-op ration care to patients -- post operation care to their patients when they go home. they are entering their data on a specific ipad, specific to their surgery, and those physicians are monitoring thairg care and their recovery. this push for responsible tech policy has gone hand in hand with efforts to bring broadband to rural and unserved areas. last year, i introduced the internet exchange act which will enable these communities to support the high-speed internet connections telehealth software

requires. now, we all know they cannot have access to 21st century health care or emergency response without access to high-speed internet. these concepts go hand in hand. and at a time when we are facing a global pandemic and the impact that that has on our country and our citizens, we know everyone needs that access and should be able, able to go in and access this care. last year, as a part of a rural health agenda that my team and i developed, working with our state and local electeds, i introduced the telehealth across state lines act so that we could bring health care to the patient rather than always taking the

patient to the health care. and i am so appreciative that administrator berma at c.m.s. is paying close attention to this and is working carefully to relax some of the rules. now, what telehealth across state lines would do, it would lead to the creation of uniform national best practices for the provision of telemedicine across state lines. second, it would set up a grant program to expand existing telehealth programs and incentivize the adoption of telehealth by medicare and medicaid. two things that are needed. we have seen where you have these gaps in access to care. this is one way that we can make certain everyone during these

times of a pandemic has access to care. now, anyone who has ever video conferenced into a meeting. i will tell you, mr. president, my staff has been doing that with employers and with organizations and with citizens around our state, and you know this is a game changer during a time when people are not able to come in for a meeting. but my support for telemedicine has been grounded in more than just convenience. the forethought behind this push for telemedicine was to say how do we make it more accessible? how do we make certain that the care you're able to receive does not depend on the zip code where you live? and right now, as we are talking about testing and communicating

with a doctor and being curious as to if we have symptoms and how to treat symptoms, accessibility is so important. and what we have learned from the dangers posed by the wuhan, china, coronavirus fears that are there and the spreading of this virus, it has made us realize that actually telemedicine and access to telemedicine makes accessing health care safer in so many instances. for the elderly, for those that are homebound, for those with complex medical situations. my colleagues will recall that during the first meeting that our conference had with the administration regarding the

coronavirus response, i specifically asked officials with the centers for medicare and medicaid services to push for temporary relief of section 1135 regulations. that would prevent patients from taking advantage of telehealth services. and aren't we grateful that that has been lifted. we thank president trump for greenlighting that. that is what you call a win for consumers that have a difficult time getting to the physician's office. and i will tell you it's time for medicaid and for private health insurers to get on board and to cover these telehealth services. for our private insurers, make it easier for those who are covered in your insurance plans to get to the care they need in

a timely manner. for our state medicaid officials, this will involve rethinking some of their licensure and other procedures for insurance company, it will involve making complex but responsible business decisions. let's remember, we are all in this fight against the coronavirus together. we are in this fight together. it is up to us to find solutions as to how americans are going to be able to access the care they need when they need it, so we need to address these things immediately. because this is no longer just talking about convenience or being able to call into a meeting. the coronavirus has evolved into a global threat. technology that can spare people

from the risk of exposure should not be seen as a luxury or only available to a few. we have the tools we need to suppress transmissions of covid-19 in the united states. we have a plan to secure our pharmaceutical and our health care supply chains. it is time to get it done. we are the united states of america. we can come together. we can respond to this attack by this virus. we can defeat it, and we can make certain that there is a way to provide access to health care for all americans, regardless, regardless of the zip code in which they live. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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