morning business be closed. finally, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h.r. 748. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senateesiding officer: the

majority leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i introduced the coronavirus aid relief and economic security act. senate republicans' bold proposal to continue combating this health crisis and the economic crisis it is causing. and i called on our democratic counterparts to join us immediately at the table for urgent discussions so that the senate can deliver major relief to the american people as soon as humanly possible. i'm glad to say that talks are already well under way. earlier this morning, a number of our committee chairmen began indepth bipartisan talks with their democratic counterparts. we were joined by representatives from the administration and those talks continue right now as we speak. here are the next steps.

these member-level discussions will proceed with the goal of reaching agreements on each of four components of the legislation by the end of today. by the end of the day, agreements on each of these four components. this would allow the first procedural vote to occur before the end of the day tomorrow. and that would allow a bipartisan package focused on immediate challenges to pass the senate monday. the nation needs and expectations are perfectly clear. workers, families, small businesses, and the foundations of our economy itself need swift action. and in the senate swift means bipartisan. the senate rose to the occasion

earlier this month. we united across party lines to pass billions in quick funding to support the medical response. and we did it again just this week. we passed the more modest proposal that came over from the democratic house quickly and in a bipartisan fashion. now our nation needs a major next step, and we need it fast. that's why senate republicans produced a bold initial proposal to give shape and structure to these discussions. first, our cares act would deliver direct financial help as quickly as possible to the american people. senate republicans want to put cash in americans' hands. for americans who've lost work, this would be the quickest possible first wave of

government assistance to supplement unemployment insurance and help with bills and immediate needs. for our nation's seniors, this would supplement social security and provide further relief for those who are at heightened risk and have had to change their routines literally overnight. and for americans still working, this infusion of money would provide a little more certainty in this very uncertain moment. and the opportunity to invest in local economies where possible. second, our proposal would provide the quickest possible access to desperately needed liquidity for small businesses all across our country. our proposal would use existing channels and small business existing lending relationships to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency capital. a significant cash infusion as

fast as possible so that more small businesses can hold on to their workers, weather this disruption, and come out on the other side instead of having to resort to layoffs or shutdowns right away. no tangled new bureaucracies, no delaying this urgent aid while we try to redesign complex programs from the ground up. just the most direct path, the most direct path to the cash that small businesses need to keep making payroll while in many cases the government itself is chasing away their customers for the sake of public health. this straightforward approach is already earning support. a coalition of small business advocates has already written to express their hope that, quote, both republicans and democrats can come together to pass this.

third, our bill recognizes that big structural national crisis requires a big structural response. let me say that again. our bill recognizes that a big structural national crisis requires a big structural response. we want to empower the treasury department to engage in targeted lending, not bailouts but loans to key sectors and industries which this pandemic is hurting. again we want to preserve employer-employee relationships wherever we can. we have to fight to protect jobs and we need to recognize that our nation will need industries to come back online quickly on the other side of the crisis. fourth, and this is crucial, our

legislation will continue to push surged resources to the front lines of the medical battle against the virus itself. we want to expand access to testing and treatment to further encourage and speed up research on therapeutics and eventually vaccines. to continue to fund the hospitals and health centers that are treating patients and we want to expand health care workers access to critical equipment and supplies, including -- including respirator masks. these are the four big things our bill seeks to do. as we speak at this very moment, senators on both sides are discussing the details and exchanging suggestions on all four of the pillars that i've just outlined. so once again, mr. president, this will not be the first bill we pass to combat this crisis or

the second. and i do not expect it will be the last. this legislation does not need to contain every piece of ongoing national effort. in fact, that would be impossible. but everyone -- everyone -- from public health experts to economists to working families of this country, everyone has made it clear we need to deliver relief and we need to deliver it now. we need to go big. we need to minimize new complexity. and we need to move swiftly. we need to push immediate relief to americans. we need to keep americans employed as much as possible and help job creators literally stay afloat. and we need to continue taking action to stand with medical

professionals and protect our nation's health. laid-off workers cannot wait. struggling main street businesses cannot wait. our hospitals and health centers cannot wait. so as i said, i hope these member-level discussions will be able to produce agreements in principle on all four components by the end of the day today. in fact, they must reach agreement by the end of the day today. that would leave tomorrow for drafting legislative text and for the first procedural vote. and that should allow a bipartisan package focused on immediate challenges to pass the senate on monday. the crisis is moving fast. the senate is here. we are working,