the minority leader. mr. schumer: thank you. madam president, over the past few months, both parties have worked together to provide historic levels of funding to help small businesses retain employees, meet payroll, and stay afloat during the covid-19 pandemic. the paycheck protection program, the main instrument to help small business, received $349 billion under the cares act and another $310 billion in supplemental legislation. the public has know how this money is being spent. oversight, transparency, and accountability are crucial because from the moment the administration began implementing these funds, it became clear much of it wasn't going to those who needed it most. so today we are not taking any other action on the floor dealing with covid, so we thought we would take this opportunity to ask unanimous consent to get something real done that should have bipartisan

support on both sides of the aisle. who can be against transparency? who can be against accountability? who can not want to know where close to $700 billion of the taxpayers' money is going. is it going to the right places? unfortunately today at least 200 publicly traded companies have managed to secure p.p.p. loans, and most of those are not very small, including some companies whose owners are large contributors to president trump. truly small businesses, however, hundreds of thousands of mom and pop shops with less than 20 employees, the proverbial restaurant owner or the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker have been mostly shut out because they didn't have a standing relationship with a big bank. there have been great disparities when it comes to minority-owned businesses. according to the center for responsible lending, over 90% of

african american-owned and latino-owned businesses were likely shut out of p.p.p. funding. women-owned businesses have also been neglected. now, we have tried to fix some of these problems in covid 3.5, working closely with the senators from maryland and new hampshire and the senator from florida, but much more needs to be done. we need data to help further inform who is being left out so we can continue to make the necessary fixes to see that all small businesses are helped. now, my friends, senator cardin and shaheen, have a bill that they have worked on to do just that, so i want to thank them, and they will talk more about this bill in a moment, but i want to make one point here. this is a very simple piece of legislation. it requires the kind of transparency expected from any federal program of this size and importance. regular public reporting of how and where taxpayer dollars are spent. this is something my republican

colleagues have always believed in. so i hope that my republican colleagues won't object to this legislation when i ask unanimous consent in a few minutes after senators cardin and shaheen have spoken. i hope they won't object just because it comes from this side of the aisle. it's a good idea. there's no reason to object to this very unobjectionable idea and get this body focused on covid, not on extraneous matters which we seem to be doing now when covid is the most important issue we face. we are doing quite literally nothing else on the floor of the senate today. there is no other business before us, no votes whatsoever. so we're here to force some action, force some progress, and force some focus on covid-related legislation. i prefer to do this in a completely bipartisan way, but from the get-go, democrats have been -- have had to force the issue on many covid response programs. the leader lays down a bill.

it has no democratic input, and then of course we have to work towards that goal, and we have. and the fact that the first bill passed 96-0 is a tribute to this body that we can come together when there is real need. we should be doing it the same way today. we should be doing it the same way today. we should be working together for support of our health care system, protesting so desperately needed. unemployment insurance and crucial improvements to small business lending. all of which democrats said we needed. our republican friends first resisted and then came along, led by the republican leader, and all of which passed with -- with unanimous support. the same thing should happen said. we should pass this, u.c. it, and get the oversight that this program so desperately needs. i yield the floor to senator cardin. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: thank you, madam president. let me thank leader schumer for

initiating this discussion. i'm very pleased that senator shaheen is also on the floor. the two of us worked on the democratic side with senator rubio and senator collins on the republican side, and we are very proud of the tools that we made available to small business. these are important tools that keep small businesses alive during covid-19. the paycheck protection program got money out quickly and helped small businesses stay afloat. $660 billion we have provided under the paycheck protection program. the emergency economic injury disaster loan program, the loan and grant program, we have now provided $70 billion for that program. but here's the issue. we had to adjust both of those programs without even knowing all the specifics on how the first amount of money was distributed, and we're hearing that we are going to be running out of money again soon and that

congress is going to be asked to make additional changes in these programs, and we still don't know the specifics on how this money was distributed. we're all frustrated here. and i really appreciate the leadership -- i know my chairman is on the floor. he has been demanding this information and has been unable to get it. we're going to be asked to act again without having the specific information. senator schumer is absolutely right. we know in the first round that those who had preferred relationships with banking institutions got priority. that we know. but we don't know how much. we don't know how many loans the big banks have issued and what size they have issued, what their compensation has been, and how those loan decisions were made. we need to know that because we are relying on the private banking institutions to make the 7-a loans in all communities. you know, we expanded this program to nonprofits. that was a good thing. but we don't know how many of

the nonprofits have received help under this program, the specific dollar amounts, the specific loans, the specific locations. and here's the challenge -- i got a call yesterday where they want to expand eligibility under this program. we know there are some difficulties in the programs themselves that need attention. there is now a desire to expand eligibility. there is also being asked what comes next? restaurants are still ordered to be closed in my state. they're going to need additional help. how do we go about crafting what we need to do if we don't know what's been done already? we have been asking for this information over and over again. we haven't been able to get it. it's our responsibility to oversight these programs. now putting it from my chairman. he said i agree with him. it's our responsibility to oversight, but if we don't have the information, how can we

oversight? i am concerned about underbanked and underserved communities getting their fair share of this help, and yet we don't have the specifics on the number of minority small businesses, the number of women-owned small businesses, the number of veteran-owned small businesses. we don't know about world small businesses and how well they have done. we need to have that information in order to make the next judgments in this congress. and yes, we do need transparency because we have even heard from this administration that there may very well have been small businesses who didn't qualify for this loan that have gotten help or had their own ability to handle this crisis but yet still ask the government for these funds or may have violated the size standards that are in this legislation. we need to have that transparency for oversight. it's our responsibility. and that's why we do need to act as a senate.

the legislation that we are going to bring forward is very common sense. it just tells the small business administration make available the information on the p.p.p. loans, on the eidl loans, the grants, so we can analyze this, know how these loans have been made, and make the proper oversight and adjustments that we may need to make in these programs in order to make sure small businesses get through covid-19. i just urge my colleagues let's get this done and continue to work in a bipartisan way to make sure small businesses in this country are protected. with that, madam president, i see senator shaheen is on the floor. i will yield the floor so senator shaheen can be recognized. mrs. shaheen: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: i'm pleased to be able to join my colleague, senator cardin, who is the ranking member on the small business and entrepreneurship com committee as well as

minority leader schumer. i'm pleased that the chairman of the small business committee, senator rubio, is also here because senator cardin, senator rubio, senator collins and myself all worked on the paycheck protection program and the small business provisions that are in the cares package that we passed over five weeks ago. and i'm proud of our efforts to negotiate in a bipartisan way to help small businesses get through this crisis. not only did we pass in that first cares package $350 billion to help small business, but just a couple of weeks ago, congress also came together to pass an additional $370 billion for the paycheck protection program and the economic injury disaster loan programs. and our intent in passing that legislation is to deliver relief to small businesses that are truly hurting.

small businesses are the lifeblood of this economy nationally, really, and certainly in new hampshire where 99% of our businesses are considered small business. they employ over 50% of the new hampshire workforce. and in new hampshire, 20,000 small businesses and nonprofits have received over $2.5 billion in low-interest, forgivable loans under the paycheck protection program. but there have been challenges. we have heard some of those stories from small businesses that weren't able to access this assistance because some larger businesses got into the queue ahead of them. some of those large publicly traded companies who had a relationship with their lender and so they were able to get in early. and we need information if we are going to correct the things that haven't been working about this program. that's why the legislation that senator cardin and i and senator

schumer are introducing i think would be so helpful. the trump administration and congress need to be held accountable for implementation of these programs. and in order to do that we've got to have oversight as senator cardin said. transparency is fundamental. we need to ensure that assistance is going to the small business and nonprofits that need it most. senator cardin listed off a number of those companies. the women-owned companies, minority-owned companies. well, we also need to think about those businesses that have fewer than ten employees, those mom and pop shops that really need help who may not have as long a relationship with their lender. or may not have any relationship with a lender. all we're asking for today is a measure that would provide the bare minimum that this

administration should provide to ensure that these programs are functioning as congress intended. this is commonsense legislation. all it would do is require the small business administration to provide daily reporting on p.p.p. and eidl loans to provide more detailed weekly reports on these programs, and to make this information publicly available while at the same time protecting borrower and participant privacy. you know, we've heard the horror stories about problems with this program. there also have been a lot of success stories. but the public isn't going to know both sides of that unless there is reporting and transparency so that people know what's working and what's not working. the bill would also ensure that p.p.p. and eidl funds are reaching underserved and underbanked borrowers. it would establish an early warning system for the s.b.a. and for congress so we could figure out how to respond to things that weren't working and

when we're expecting an additional funding shortfall. these proposals shouldn't be controversial. these are all things that i've heard people on both sides of the aisle talking about supporting. what they will do is allow congress to perform our basic oversight responsibilities and foster public confidence in the integrity of these programs. and perhaps most important, these improvements will help make sure that the limited resources that are available are getting to the small businesses that need them the most. so thank you very much, madam president. i yield the floor. mr. schumer: i want to thank my colleagues not only for their eloquent remarks but their hard work. we know that senator rubio has a 2:30 appointment so senator blumenthal has graciously agreed to speak after we ask our unanimous consent request. okay. so as if in legislative session,

i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of a bill that is at the desk that would require the administrator of the small business administration to report on covid-19 recovery small business programs. i further ask that the bill be considered read three times and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there an objection? mr. rubio: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: reserving the right to object. let me first begin by saying -- this is the first time i've had a chance to speak on the floor about the paycheck protection program since it passed. i want to say this unqairveically that despite everything you read out there in my mind, i don't think there's any question by far this has been the most successful part of the cares act. to put in perspective, this is something we worked on in a bipartisan way. in less than a week it was crafted. then the agencies had less than six days to put together the

rules. until friday, april 4, no bank in america had ever made a p.p.p. loan. no one had ever applied for one. and the s.b.a. never approved one. it was a massive program. if we look at the result, they're stunning. the results that we have seen. now, does the program have problems? sure. i think any time that you create somethings that spends half -- $500 billion, $600 billion that reaches over 50% of the u.s. economy and put together so quickly, there will be unintended consequences and i'll come back to that point in a moment. i think the biggest problem it's had since the very beginning that created some of the tensions read about in the press is was underfunded from the very beginning. the demand is greater than the supply, even potentially right now after second round. you know, we've heard the reports about publicly traded companies. we know how we feel about that. i'm glad that's being i addressed now. i also want to -- put it in per

spinltive. they've taken 23.5%, not 35%, not 3.5%, .35% of the money that's been lent. so it's not like they took half the money which is what the perception that's been created out there in some of the coverage. meanwhile that means the rest of it went to somebody who is not publicly traded. that's an extraordinary achievement nonetheless. i'm glad that's being looked at. on transparency, all valid points. myself friday, saturday, i was really upset that we weren't getting those numbers. the reason why i want the numbers is a, we want to make sure this program that we put our name on and worked hard on, all of us have, is reaching its intended audience. b, the points made here as well that to the extent that changes have to be made in any future funding, we want to make sure that future funding is targeted in the right way. but the problem is that if we -- so i was as upset as anybody. i hope that the agencies are watching these proceedings now and understanding why it's so

important that our members have accurate, detailed and regular information about how these -- how this program is rolling out. what we do know when they finally release numbers on saturday is in round two, the average loan went from $20 of,000 in -- $206,000 in round one to $76,000 or so in round number two. that's a stunning drop which tells you it's reaching smaller businesses. 72% of the loans made in round two were under $50,000. and that 85% were under $100,000. we do know that 4400 of the 5,200 lenders in the program have less than a billion in assets. we know it's reaching the regional banks, the smaller banks, the credit union. in terms of some of the information that the reason why doing what is being proposed now is problematic is twofold. first, some of the demographic data being asked is not on the

application. it's not clear that they would be able to produce that for us unless they stopped the process, created a new application and then began to process as well. we will know the answer to that question in the forgiveness phase. i do believe in the forgiveness phase, it's very valid to ask that that information on demographics be included in the forgiveness application that people are going to have to file. so i think the best path forward is in my view not to pass something like this today, although something like this may be necessary if we can't get these numbers but let's find out first and foremost what data points do they have. what data points does the expwab have at their dis-- the s.b.a. have at their disposal and see if we can get them to do what they should be doing already. what i don't want to see is an already overburdened agency that's small to begin with and is struggling to get all these programs running. i don't want to see having to pull people off to give people

money to fill out this application. we have to understand in the end it isn't the administrator or treasury secretary that is going to have to write these things up and collect is. it will be people in many cases working from home, living in this region under all the restrictions that are there. i just think this agency is already struggling to manage this massive program. to add an additional requirement without thinking it through would have unintended consequences, potentially slowing the program down. it's my view that we're going to find out all of this information. we're going to know it in a way in a timely fashion so we can do something about it. i do not believe that passing this today is the right approach given the fact that we first need to know what data they have at their disposal before we can ask them to produce it. otherwise i fear they're going to stop or going to slow down and real businesses, small businesses and not for profits are going to be delayed. so i will object to this request. mr. schumer: madam president? the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the democratic leader.

mr. schumer: i just want to thank my colleague from florida. i do believe he's sincere and has the best of intentions to want to make this program warning. i just make two quick points. first point, the more data we s.r. the sooner we have -- data we have, the sooner we have, the better we can make the program. it won't slow it down. it will be make it better, the sooner the better. the second about demographic information, i understand the problem but there are a lot of ways to skin that cat. if we look at zip codes we will be easy to tell demographic information. i thank my colleague. i regret we cannot move this legislation. the only covid legislation that will be talked about on the floor thus far, even though we were asked by the majority leader to come back during a crisis, and i hope we can move forward quickly in the future to get the kind of information we need. with that i yield the floor. i yield to the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: madam president, i want to thank my colleagues,

senator cardin, senator shaheen, and senator schumer for their leadership on this issue in seeking better transparency and oversight with regard to a program that involves now almost a trillion taxpayer dollars. and i join senator schumer in the sentiment that our colleague from florida has been both sincere and bipartisan in his efforts on this program. but the fact of the matter is that this program, paycheck protection program, cries out for stronger oversight as does the entire cares package. we will be spending now an authorized $3 trillion, a federal budget, and then half again with little or no oversight. and we know that this program

meets a need among small businesses that is absolutely critical. i have traveled my state via videoconference and telephone calls and communications of all kinds with small businesses around connecticut. and i have seen and heard firsthand how they are hanging by a thread struggling to keep their doors open and stay alive. this program gives them a lifetime. and it has in fact provided many powerful success stories as my colleague, senator shaheen said. but it also has produced some horror stories about big customers, big banks receiving favored treatment to the detriment of smaller businesses that were supposed to be the beneficiaries of this program. we need to make sure that these funds go to the businesses and

they should be small businesses that really need it. and we should make sure that this program is adequately and effectively administered. we need to make sure there is transparenciy and disclosure about who is receiving these loans that can be converted and forgiven so that they become grants. and so that real needs of those businesses and employees are continued to be employed. those kinds of imperatives we must assure. we know the ripple effect of these closures of businesses is tragic and traumatic. and that's why we need to continue this program but do so with oversight that assures its purposes are met.

and the businesses that have told me, for example, they need more flexibility, those needs need to be met. a number have indicated that they would like to extend the time provided for them to hire back their employees, pass the time in which the state is likely to allow them to open. they need more funding for fixed costs. basically they need some flexibility because every business is different. and oversight in this bill will help alert the s.b.a. and the congress to those needs. finally, the oversight needed here is simply one example of the accountability that should be imposed on the entire cares act. real accountability demands a watchdog, not a lap dog, to stop

the waste, fraud, and favoritism that seems all too common in this administration. that's why i've been working with my colleagues, most prominently senator warren, in strengthening oversight of programs created by the cares act during this pandemic. we need to make sure there's effective enforcement and a hammer that is essential to deter wrongdoing, preserve resources, and conserve credibility. strong scrutiny is required to make sure that aid reaches the right hands. and i know that all of us believe, for example, conflicts of interest should be barred. retaliation against whistle-blowers should be prevented. firing of the inspector general without just cause should be stopped. and that means keeping an eye on

these programs, not just a wandering eye but a focused, strict scrutiny that will assure transparenciy and make sure that this program serves the needs that it was intended to meet. the only people who feel threatened by that kind of oversight are the ones who are trying to game the system or hide something. the rest of us, which means the workers, their families, small businesses, want us to demand oversight, and this bill is a good way to begin. it is a start, not a finish, to the task of oversight ahead of us. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. mr. grassley: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: when it comes to

the virus pandemic that faces the world, the world health organization is not serving its member nations the way it should. the world health organization's mission is to promote worldwide health, reduce the burdens of disease and poverty, and provide access to health care, especially for the world's most vulnerable populations. the world health organization states as its guiding principle that the all people should enjoy the highest standard of health regardless of race, religion, economics, or social condition or political belief. it serves primarily as a coordinating body to share information and best practices by connecting experts in

different countries. the virus that emerged in wuhan, china, which causes the disease now known as covid-19, has had a devastating impact on the health of people worldwide as well as to the global economy. nations, including the united states, have been scrambling to deal with the impact of the virus since the beginning of the year. without a doubt, worldwide efforts to combat covid-19 would have been greatly benefited from independent, unbiased, and informative data from the world's leader in health, the world health organization. unfortunately, information

coming from this organization since the beginning of the year has left much to be desired. often providing information that we know now to be inaccurate or at least incomplete. the american people and citizens of every country, all of whom rely on direct and truthful information, deserve better from dr. tedras and his team who lead the world health organization. china, where the current crisis began, has not done its part either in seeking or providing that very crucial information that if it had come out sooner would have saved many lives. for example, of china not

cooperating, a doctor in wuhan, china, by the name of dr. li bin young, raised concerns about a growing pandemic in early january. dr. li tried to blow the whistle on the spread of one of the world's deadliest diseases. you know what he got for doing that? he was punished by the china communist government for -- quote, unquote -- spreading rumors. tragically, dr. li passed ad way in early february due to this virus, covid-19 -- passed away in early february due to this virus, covid-19. after the death of dr. li, he actually became a rallying point for chinese citizens who were very upset about their government's cover-up of this virus. only then, after he died and

after the public outroar, did the chinese government apologize to his family and posthumously dropped dr. li's reprimand. throughout this time, the world health organization demonstrated no interest in the accurate and verifiable information on the true dangers of this virus. we now know that in late-december 2019, taiwanese officials had sounded the alarm about human-to-human transition of virus directly to the world health organization. prior to that, it was only thought animal-to-human translation. but taiwanese officials blew the

whistle. taiwan center for disease control sent an e-mail to the world health organization, which has now been forwarded to my office and has been widely reported, warning of, quote, at least seven atypical pneumonia cases in wuhan, china, end of quote. additionally, this e-mail communication noted that those individuals had been isolated for treatment, which we now know is said to be a standard operating procedure for preventing human-to-human transition -- transmission. but still, at that time, it was considered animal-to-human. taken together, this information should have been very much a red flag for the world health

organization's leadership that the virus was capable of human-to-human transition -- transmission. unfortunately, the world health organization chose to ignore these warnings and, thus, failed to pass on this critical information to other countries. instead, what did this world health organization do? it was complicit in the chinese government's cover-up, stating the opposite -- that it was not human-to-human transmission. in fact, the world health organization even retweeted chinese propaganda on january 14 that there was, quote, no clear evidence of human-to-human

transmission, contrary to the information that the world health organization got from the taiwanese. it ought to be very clear that misleading the public like this is simply egregious. by sidelining taiwan's participation, which has one of the lowest known covid-19 infection rates per capita despite its proximity to mainland china, the world health organization stymied information about a more effective response to the pandemic, and it was these critical days back in january when the spread of the virus could have been greatly slowed and even contained and saved a lot of lives. the world health organization

mandate is to coordinate responses and facilitate information-sharing on a health emergency to all of its members, which probably is almost every country on this globe. so this gross mishandling of the organization's most important mandate has cost countless lives around the world. while china covered up the extent of the virus' spread, the world health organization continued to praise china for a so-called proactive response and transparency. general secretary xi waited a crucial six days until january 20 before announcing findings by china's national health

commission about the danger of widespread human-to-human coronavirus contagion. now, just think for a while of the time lost between taiwan's warping to the world health -- warning to the world health organization in late december 2019 and general secretary xi's admitting human-to-human transmission on january 20. that time lost could have saved the whole worldous in of lives, because they could have been on top of the situation, how bad it was, much more than anybody knew at that particular time. general secretary xi's government also delayed an access request for the world health organization experts to visit expected -- affected

regions at the end of january by almost two weeks. another two weeks lost. and he has continually fed disinformation to foreign citizens via several misleading tweets by his foreign ministry and multiple unfounded claims posted on state-run media websites. despite this and also other evidence that china actively silenced whistle-blowers and doctors domestically and that the communist party officials were aware of the spread well before reporting it, the world health organization officials yet continued to praise china's response and transparency. they lauded the world health organization -- the world health organization lauded china for

reversing the virus' genome in mid-january while neglecting to meng that it took -- to mention that it took china at least 14 days to do this, even as the virus continued spreading across europe and reaching america. dr. tedros said in early february that there was no need for measures that, quote, unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade in trying to halt the spread of that coronavirus. now, early february was a few days after president trump stopped travel from china, except for american citizens coming home. but during that period of time,

dr. tedros thought it was unnecessary to interfere with international travel. time and time again, the world health organization endorsed and also repeated chinese government talking points, and they did it all to the rest of the world's detriment. we now know that there was a continued flow of misinformation coming from the chinese government since the on-set of the pandemic with little to no pushback by the world health organization on whether that information was accurate. in mid-february, officials from the world health organization yet again uncritically parroted chinese government propaganda by stating that there were signs

that confirmed suspected cases of covid-19 had declined in china. the united states intelligence committee has in fact asserted that china misrepresented both the number of cases and its death toll from the virus, concealing the real extent of the outbreak in its country and that china intentionally hid or even destroyed evidence of the virus outbreak. in a dossier that was leaked to the "australian daily telegraph" it is alleged that china began censoring information surprisely when taiwan -- precisely when taiwan, caring about the whole world knowing what might be going on, was sounding that alarm to the world health

organization. previously, chinese leaders came under incredible scrutiny by the world health organization back in 2003 for the sars outbreak. china was not transparent with sars like they were transparent until too late in regard to this virus pandemic that we're fighting today. back then the chinese government made sure that information regarding the outbreak of sars was not made public. at that point the world health organization did what they're responsible for doing. they publicly reprimanded china back in 2003 on the sars

outbreak. chinese leaders then quickly fell in line with the rest of the world in sharing its data with the world health organization member countries. now if the world health organization had been doing its job on this pandemic, then maybe china would have been quicker admitting that it was human-to-human and how bad it was even in their own country. however, we're seeing a very different approach now to the organization's handling of china's information suppression campaign with the world health organization often praising china for its information sharing. but make no mistake, china has been nothing but deceptive in its handling of covid-19. we must remember that china has a long history of not being

transparent with respect to the outbreaks of viruses, and there is little to no evidence suggesting we should start believing china now, meaning of course the chinese communist leaders. nobody in this world is going to hold the chinese people responsible for this. global leaders are now coming to realize that china is responsible for this pandemic. with global sentiment against the chinese communist party at its highest since the 1989 tiananmen square crackdown, it's important that world leaders, including president trump, keep pressure on china to finally be transparent with its data so that we can join together in combatting this deadly disease.

now we have a report from the department of homeland security. that report says that china, quote, intentionally concealed the severity, unquote of the pandemic from the world. to make matters worse, the report further states that while china continued to down play the pandemic, it began to increase imports and decrease exports of medical supplies. so this report from department of homeland security suggests that china was beginning to hoard these medical supplies from the rest of the world. so they knew how bad this was in their own country. secretary pompeo recently stated that there is a significant amount of evidence that this virus came from the laboratory in wuhan, china, contrary to what chinese communist party

propagandists have been pushing throughout the world. on april 9, i wrote to the world health organization seeking answers to several questions regarding the organization's handling of covid-19. i wanted to know what the world health organization knew and when they knew it. i asked that my questions be answered no later than may 1. much to my dismay, the world health organization has refused to answer my questions about its handling of the virus. it would seem that the organization is much more focused on covering for china than it is in answering questions that every single american has a right to know. and not only does the united states have the right to know

this information for the benefit of the whole world, because transparency brings accountability, but because we give, i think, about $400 million a year to support the world health organization. and i believe we're the largest contributor to it. and i believe china gives about 10% of what the united states taxpayers put in. so i want you to know that i will continue to push the world health organization for answers to my letter. probably a lot of other questions that ought to be asked other than the one my letter had. ultimately then the primary responsibility for this pandemic lies with the chinese communist government authorities who actively concealed the outbreak since the fall of 2019 and

suppressed the spread of accurate information about the virus. but the world health organization also bears responsibility for aiding and abetting the chinese communist party's cover-up. that is why i support a full congressional investigation into how the world health organization has bowed to chinese pressure with the covid-19 outbreak. the leaders of the world health organization need to be held accountable for their role in promoting this information and helping china cover up this global pandemic. americans deserve to know what the world health organization leaders knew and when they knew it. i yield the floor.

mr. barrasso: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. madam president, i come to the floor today as the senate returns to help the country recover from coronavirus. this global pandemic is hopefully a once-in-a-lifetime,

once-in-a-century shot, but it has been an earthquake that continues to shake the world to its core. tragically we have lost tens of thousands of americans to the disease, and our hearts go out as well as our prayers to each of those impacted, and all of their loved ones. madam president, more than 30 million americans have lost their jobs in the last six weeks due to the virus and due to the state lockdowns that have been put in place as a result of the virus. people want and they need to get back to work as soon as possible. it's vital that we reopen america smartly and safely and we do it as soon as we can. many states are starting to open. wyoming did this past friday. i will tell you we must all be prepared and alert for any likely aftershocks that will occur from the virus.

the economy could not reopen had it not been for the major medical progress that we have been experiencing. our heroic nurses, heroic doctors and others on the front lines have saved many lives. testing in the united states has been dramatically expanded, and we're producing promising treatments. the american people deserve a lot of credit for their tremendous sacrifices to contain the spread of the virus. everyone in my home state of wyoming is suffering from the economic fallout, as are americans all across the country. the best way to help these people is to push the start button on the economy. the senate is in session and will consider taking additional targeted, temporary, and bipartisan relief measures. we're now assessing the impact of the relief money that's already been spent. we do know what has worked. we know that the paycheck protection program, the funds

to go to the mom and pop small businesses that are part of the cares act, we know that that program has saved 30 million jobs. small businesses are the backbone of our economy, the engine of job creation. and in wyoming, the program has been very successful and very popular. you know, before the pandemic, madam president, the united states had record job growth and record low unemployment. our economy will bounce back, there is no question in my mind. but as we look to the future in terms of recovery legislation, what we need to do is to prevent a second epidemic. and i have great concern, madam president, that that second epidemic will be that of frivolous coronavirus lawsuits. any future legislation must focus on the virus and must include reasonable liability protections for the hard-hit health care workers and for american employers.

op -- op opportunity trial lawyers are targeting the small businesses we have helped during the crisis. ironically the relief money could end up lining the pockets of greedy trial lawyers. as businesses bravely begin to reopen, class action lawsuits are being planned nationwide. ambulance chasers are running recruitment ads right now that read, quote, receive a free coronavirus lawsuit review. it goes on to say, call if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with covid-19 and you believe another party's negligence caused exposure. nursing homes appear to be the prime target. an ad from one florida lawyer who describes himself as a coronavirus exposure lawyer encourages action for nursing home negligence. that's why nurses, doctors,

and hospitals are counting on congress to pass commonsense liability reform. yet speaker pelosi and senator schumer say they oppose this critical liability protection. instead democrats are demanding more aid for states and local government. they want american taxpayers to bail out states with long histories of financial mismanagement. now that's already, madam president, on top of the $150 billion that the states have just received within the last two weeks. nancy pelosi now wants a lot, lot more. madam president, we put the full force of the american government in this fight against coronavirus. we cannot afford to allow an avalanche of abusive lawsuits to crush our awakening economy. republicans will insist on a legal shield for essential workers and for businesses before spending another dime. it is our job to do everything

that we can to get people back to work and back to work safely. madam president, the physical and economic health of our country is at stake today. we're continuing to deliver financial support plus medical help to all people across the country. one thing is clear, trial lawyers should not profit from our nation's pain. together america will come back and americans will come back, and it will be stronger and better than ever. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: madam president, i have three requests for committees -- excuse me, madam president. i request that proceedings during the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: madam president, i have three requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. ms. murkowski: madam president, we are here in the united states senate on this tuesday. we had a vote yesterday evening, the first that we have had in some six weeks here. as i walked over to the chambers just now, 4:00 on a tuesday afternoon, from the hart building, the only individuals that i saw were the

extraordinary men and women of the capitol police who are here in the building. but suffice it to say that these are strange, these are unusual, these are challenging and difficult, difficult times as we face the covid-19 pandemic, as we address the challenges that our constituents, our friends, our family are dealing with at home, whether it's the impact of the virus itself on our health and our health facilities, or whether it is the impact, truly the economic devastation that we're seeing in all corners of the nation. and so the opportunity to be together as a body to address these challenges is important. it is challenging for us as we

adapt to this time and this situation, to be wearing protective masks, to be separated from one another, to be teleworking as we are. we are adapting. we are facing that challenge. we rightly must be doing this because as the nation deals with these matters related to the covid-19, there are other matters that are taking place every day, issues that need to be addressed, problems that must be tackled and matters of governance that we must be engaged in. i woke up this morning and looked at my little news caps to focus on the day, this tuesday.

it noted that today is teacher appreciation day. we thank all of our teachers. our teachers are certainly in an unusual situation now as all of our students are. it's also cinco de mayo. it's also giving tuesday. for many, it feels like groundhog day every day because in this, in, again, this strange time that we're living, for so many it just seems every day is more and more the same. but today is also a day that we have recognized may 5 for several years now as being a national day of awareness for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. and that is a matter that i would like to speak briefly to this afternoon. to recognize, to recognize the devastation that so many families have seen when it comes

to those that they love who have gone missing or found murdered and the dark reality of the many that we know are still missing. and unfortunately, madam president, for far too long there has been a silence on this issue. there has been a failure to act in face of what we know and sometimes not knowing, not knowing what we are dealing with because we haven't asked the questions, which is equally problematic. it tears at my heart. it just tears at my heart to hear the stories of those that i have come in contact in alaska. a woman's story, a family's story that they say their words have been discounted, they have

been dismissed because the woman who went missing, the woman who was murdered was a native american woman. we have to change that. we cannot accept that. we cannot let the statistics that have really just been allowed to accumulate for too long to remain as statistics. every single one of these women was her own person, her own life story, a member of her community. and in addition to being someone's lost daughter, a wife, a mother, a sister, we should mourn the promise that these missing and murdered women meant to our communities as that next generation of mentors, of role models and change makers. when women are murdered or abducted, when women are trafficked, when individuals

are left as missing, discarded, or discounted, there is an injustice that is being done, and we cannot let that continue. by raising awareness of the epidemic, by giving these women their faces, their names, and by telling their stories, we're shining a light on the problem and we're giving hope. and i want to acknowledge the work of a former colleague of mine here in the senate, senator heidi heitkamp who came to this floor often as a strong, strong advocate for those native women who have been dismissed and discounted. and she shared pictures. she gave names. she went beyond the statistics. and she reminded me and encouraged me that this is an

effort that together we must address. we all, we all have the stories, unfortunately, the stories that sicken you and just literally break your heart. the one that perhaps touches me most immediately and directly is the life of ashley johnson barr. she was a beautiful girl, a ten-year-old girl, a ten-year-old girl who was taken from the children's playground in her hometown in alaska, a native village on the northwest coast. she was brutally raped and murdered. again, taken from the kids' playground to just outside her town. her death and the tragedy around the circumstances of how she

left this world is one that is open still, it is still raw, and it has left a permanent scar on alaskan communities. and what happened to ashley is a reminder that in my state, in my state unfortunately there is a darkness that is still to this day very, very, very hard to talk about. but we must. we have to talk about it. we have to act on it. we cannot turn a blind eye simply because it is difficult to talk about. but we have to because we're seeing, we're seeing these stories that represent these statistics in unprecedented proportions. let me give you some numbers to just put that in perspective. alaska native women are two and a half times more likely to be a

victim of domestic violence. in tribal villages and native communities, domestic violence rates are up to ten times higher than the rest of the nation, more than ten times higher than the rest of the nation for their domestic violence rates. in 2015 it was estimated that 40% of sex trafficking victims were native americans. 40%. almost 40% of those who have been trafficked, native americans. the rate of skull violence victimization among -- of sexual violence victimization among alaska native women is at least seven times greater than nonnative females. again, i would just say these are unprecedented proportions. so when we designate a day as a day of awareness, awareness of those that have gone missing and

murdered, our indigenous women and girls, it has to be about more than awareness. it has to be about action. so this is where senator cortez masto and i have picked up on this work. she and i have worked together on several pieces of legislation that helped pave the way for greater collaboration and data collection between federal agencies, our law enforcements and elected tribal officials to not only understand the extent of the issues but in developing methods to end these horrible crimes. so two bills. the first one was savannah's act. it combats the epidemic of murdered and missing native women and girls by improving the federal government's response to addressing the crisis. we do this through coordination among all levels of law enforcement by increasing data collection and information sharing, empowering tribal

governments with the resources that they need in cases involving missing, murdered indigenous women and girls, wherever they may occur. and in the second piece of legislation -- and then the second piece of legislation is called the not invisible act. it is aimed at addressing the crisis of missing murdered and trafficked women by engaging law enforcement, tribal leaders, federal partners, and service providers and improving the coordination across the federal agencies. one of the things that we have learned, the more we have reviewed this, is that so much of the data is lacking. we have gaps. we just haven't been able to get the data that we need in order to do a better job of coordinating with our agencies. so the good news with all of this is that both of these bills have passed this body, and i thank my colleagues here in the senate for your support of the measures.

we advanced them unanimously on march 11 just a little bit before we left in dealing with the covid pandemic, but i truly want to thank the senate for helping to prioritize these measures to protect indigenous women. in addition to these measures that -- that we passed the senate, we have done more on the appropriations side. we worked through the committees and for the first time in the appropriations bill that president trump signed in december, there is funding specifically directed to address the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked indigenous women. $6.5 million was included for the b.i.a. to take a really comprehensive look at the issue across b.i.a. and i.h.s., indian

health service. it covers everything for funding for cold casework, background checks, equipment needs, training, and a directive to the i.h.s. to -- with regards to forensic training. it also includes language that does more towards the coordination and data collection amongst the tribal, local, and state and federal law enforcement. so that was significant. the -- the executive order that was issued by the trump administration late last year, very important in this effort. and i want to personally acknowledge the good work that the assistant secretary for indian affairs, tara sweeney, has done. she has pulled together the agency coordination to respond to these cases. she has shown extraordinary heart, real heart in responding to the calls from tribes and advocates to address the crisis of missing and murdered native

women. so there has been -- there has been so much at play that has come together. now what we need is for the house to act on these legislative measures that we have moved through the senate so that the president can sign them into law. i think we recognize that again as we are dealing with these matters that are directly related to -- to the day to day with a response to covid, as we have seen our economies slowed, as we have moved indoors to telework, the work that is required for us to help the most vulnerable among us continues. we know that that work continues. and as we have worked

aggressively across the country and in alaskan communities to flatten the curve out there as it relates to the coronavirus, we know unfortunately that we have seen an uptick in domestic violence. unfortunately, and sadly, truly sadly, for so many the order to shelter in place or safer at home is the terminology used in some communities, safer at home doesn't necessarily mean safe at home for far too many. shelter in place is not a safe shelter. we are seeing -- we are seeing increased calls to police departments during this time, but interestingly enough, what we are not seeing is an increase

in those who are seeking help or shelter in our women's shelters. it was just a couple weeks ago, i had a phone call with representatives from the various women's shelters around my state. probably a dozen or so women on the line. i was asking specifically how are we doing within the shelters? what are we seeing? and their numbers are down. if you look at it just from a numbers perspective, you would say good. but, madam president, we know the domestic violence doesn't -- doesn't disappear, doesn't go away at times like we are facing now. it just goes underground. and i think what we are seeing is that -- is that concern, that fear. as difficult as the situation may be at home, it might be more

frightening to go to a shelter where you might be exposed to this invisible threat of the virus. and so i wish that i could say that as a consequence of what we're seeing, our shelters are better off, but i fear, i fear that those who would seek shelter are not better off. and so to make sure that we are -- we are prepared to address these needs, that is yet another challenge for us here in this body, is to come together to -- to address these issues that we know are with us, at not only the levels of domestic violence, but the impact that we

know is there, is present when it comes to mental health and behavioral health needs. at a time when people feel fragile and yet are afraid to seek that help because of the exposure it may give them to something else. we have work to do in this area, and that's something that i intend to focus on in the days and weeks ahead. i was encouraged to hear my friend, the senator from texas, senator cornyn, speaking to just these issues yesterday on the floor. we have much to do. these are challenging times on many, many, many different levels. but as we recognize this day of awareness for those who have gone missing, for those women and girls who have been murdered, know that this is more

than just raising awareness. it is up to us. we owe it to them, their families, and their loved ones to act as well. with that, madam president, i thank you. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum calling dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, the senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate adjourn it meet again on wednesday, may 6, after the pledge, the journal of proceedings be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. further, following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the evanina nomination.

further, if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time expire at 2:00 p.m. in relation to the evanina nomination. finally if confirmed the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the

>> i think that my mother did it decent job at homeschooling. by the time i came along she had seven kids and the farm. i never took an exam. there was never anything like a lecture.

>> i had many experiences on talking on the phone that finally i felt -- growing through my e-mail or social media feed. i don't need to do that. it's just right there that does fall into it. we cannot multitask but we multitask these tasks very rapidly. this is why i think that we need to ask the question how do we strengthen more importantly the quality.