vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the yeas are 80, the

nays are 16. the bill, as amended, is passed. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for wisconsin. mr. johnson: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i come to the floor today to urge the senate to immediately take action to address the issue of elections. and specifically to address technical changes to the $400 million in electric security funding passed in the cares act and to talk about the coronavirus threat to our

democracy itself. 16 states have already postponed their presidential primaries or transitioned that i primary -- their primaries to almost voting entirely by mail. we have seen democratic and republican governors from states like west virginia, indiana, the state of the presiding officer, new york, and kentucky issue waivers allowing all voters to cast their ballot by mail during the pandemic. this includes states that used to have requirements that you have give a reason to given get a mail-in ballot to vote from only. -- from home. both democratic and republican governors have weighed in. while it is important that individual states have taken action to protect voters during this pandemic, it is the responsibility of us, of congress, to ensure that states

have the funds they need to make our elections more resilient and make sure that voters don't have to risk their health to cast their ballots. we must do because, as we have seen over the last several weeks, not all states are doing everything they can to protect voters. that is sad, but it is true. and what's coming before us in the fall is a national election. just yesterday we learned that the attorney general of texas asked the texas supreme court to stop county election officials from letting voters who are afraid of getting the coronavirus to vet by mail. he basically -- to vote by mail. he basically went to court and said the counties who are giving out these ballots should stop. he tried and he is continuing resolution to try -- continuing

to strie to stop them from -- to try to stop them from sending out ballots. some have preexisting condition, some are veterans who have served our country, some of them are seniors. and basically in this one state, and there are other things going on in other states, the attorney general is trying to stop them from actually voting from home. under texas law, you have to have an excuse in order to vote by mail. this pandemic, as we know, has killed more than 85,000 americans and local officials in texas have told their voters that the coronavirus, and they looked at the law and said it is a valid excuse to request a mail-in ballot. i guess it is. i would think it is. but the texas attorney general disgreece and has -- disagrees and asked the texas supreme court so stop from sending the voters a mail-in ballot. that, mr. president, is a

disgrace. we shouldn't be playing politics with people's lives. even the most cynical americans believe that. they know people play politics all the time but they don't think you should play it with their lives and we know from what happened in wisconsin that people who show up to vote during this crisis are, in fact, risking their health if precautions are not taken. a little over a month ago both democratic and republican voters and independent voters in wisconsin stood for hours in the cold and the rain wearing garbage bags and homemade masks in order to cast their votes. there were just five polling locations in milwaukee instead of the 182 in green bay instead of the usual 30. with two-thirds of wisconsin's african american voters living in milwaukee. there is no question that this

vast reduction in polling places without adequate time to transition to mail voting ended up disenfranchising voters and particularly in this case african american voters. at the same time we saw people trying to vote in whatever way they could. trying to mail in their ballots even when it was at the last minute. now health officials say that more than 67 people in wisconsin may have become infected with the coronavirus as a result of that election. this is unacceptable. no one should have to choose between exercising their right to vote and protecting the health and the health of themselves and their loved ones. what happened in wisconsin will be forever etched in the memory of our nation. we can't allow this to happen again. in the face of this, yesterday the wisconsin supreme court struck down the governor's

stay-at-home order. we should be taking steps actually forward now instead of backwards. public health experts have warned of the possibility of another more serious outbreak of this virus in the fall. congress must act now to give states the funding that they need. we know the states are strapped. every single state in this country is strapped. and even if we did nothing here, we know that there are going to be states that are going to get humongous requests for mail-in ballots that they've never had before. we know that in the state of wisconsin, senator johnson's state, they are a state where 60% vote by mail. in the state of minnesota, it is 25%. but we know it will double and more. so even if, no matter what party you're in, and this is why the republican governors are asking

for money, they may not agree with everything in my bill, but so many of them are asking for funding to be able to help them to send out those ballots, to send out the postage to be able to keep their polling places open a week, two weeks, we think 20 days in advance so that people can actually vote themselves and not congregate in one location. that's why this is happening right now. nearly two months ago i introduced legislation, the natural disaster and emergency ballot act, with senator wyden, along with 35 of my colleagues. the bill would simply ensure that every voter can cast their ballot by mail. that those who need it have expanded access to early in-person voting and that states have the funding and resources necessary to safely administer elections. this week the house introduced the covid 4 bill. the fourth covid relief package,

the heroes act and it contains the election reforms found in my legislation as well as $3.6 billion to help states protect our elections from covid-19. that's because mail-in ballots mailed all over the country, we know that's going to cost some change. we know that. but what's the alternative? having veterans who served on the battlefield in world war ii, like the one i heard about yesterday, telling him he can't vote or he has to go stand in line? what's the alternative? telling seniors that they have to go stand in line? no, that's not a good alternative. the alternative is to make are sure that we expand mail-in ballots. i know that negotiations will occur over the coming days regarding the next relief package. i look forward to working with my democratic and republican colleagues. i see the chairman of the rules committee, senator blunt, is here. i look forward to working with

him just as we have recently done on remote committee hearings, which have actually by all accounts gone pretty well in the senate over the last few weeks. but today i'm here to push for a change that we know needs to be done and that is to make some changes to make sure that the first grouping of money, the $400 million, the emergency funding in the first bill, can get out to the states because of some changes that were made to the original proposal that's made it hard for some of our state to be able to get that money out. there's a matching requirement and we see it already playing out. oklahoma has indicated that they will only be able to access a portion of the funding that they have already been provided because they cannot come up with the full requirement. florida has not accessed their funding because they are looking

to see if their legislature can accommodate the match funding. these are things that we have to work on not only now for this forthcoming legislation, but to also look at what we did in the first package. there are also issues with the reporting requirements in the bill. the last thing we want to do is put undue burden on the states. but what i really want to focus on right now at the end of my remarks here is the need to cast the legislation -- pass the legislation in front of us, and i know it will be negotiated, but to make sure that we fund and help our states fund our election. let us dispel the notion that vote by home is somehow a partisan issue. one of the states with the highest number of mail-in ballots is the state of utah. that is not exactly a bright blue state. another state that has a very high number of people voting from home is the state of colorado. that's a state that tends to be a purple state.

then we have blue states like oregon and washington. then we have a state like arizona that, again, has a high number of people voting by mail. then on the other end, the states that don't have as many people voting by mail, we have a mixture of states, too. new york is like 5% right now. then we have a number of states like alabama that don't have a lot of people voting by mail. we don't think -- at least i don't think that every single person is going to vote by mail in this november election. so the key is to give them options, to be able to work with our states, that if we do have it funding -- and i'm so hopeful we will be able to come to some kind of an agreement here. if we do have it funding, that they can use that money to expand their vote by mail because we know the citizens are going to request it but also to make sure that voting on election day is safe and there are ways to do that, and by encouraging more people, if they don't want to vote by mail, to be able to vote early, because less people will be there on the

same day. so what do we see when we look at this? well, a recent poll, some of the key states across the country shows that both republican and democratic voters, 70% to 80% of them want to be able to vote by mail. we have governors in states like new hampshire, republican governors, maryland, ohio, who want to vote by mail. that's the way they want to go. we have a secretary of state who is republican in the state of washington who wants to vote by mail. her entire state basically votes by mail right now. and they are good people who can talk about why this is working for them and how we can make it work, but only if they have the funds, because we are not going to be able to give them the funds, say, in october and then be able to make sure that this has happened so in conclusion,

17 states still have presidential primaries and numerous others have primaries for other federal offices, and of course we have the general election on november 3 less than six months away. we cannot let more americans experience what we have seen what just happened in wisconsin with the garbage bag, with the home-made mask, with the people getting off work at the hospitals and standing in line. nobody should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. i am committed to securing additional funding in the upcoming relief package, but we have fixes that we must make to the original funding that we made in the first bill, in the first piece of legislation, because we need to get that funding out to our election officials today. for these reasons, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of a bill at the desk to modify

the provisions on funding for election security grants. i further ask that the bill be considered and read three times and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for wisconsin. mr. johnson: reserving the right to object. mr. president, there are many things that the senator from minnesota spoke to that i think most of us would agree with. this covid crisis has created all kinds of issues that need to be thoroughly discussed and thoroughly debated. there are a number of us on this side of the aisle -- i'm just one standing up objecting to this unanimous consent request. but the good news for the senator from minnesota is in talking with those colleagues, they also agree there is -- there is a fair number of elements of this bill that they could probably find agreement with. and so i'm just rising to say and certainly extend my hand in cooperation with the senator

from minnesota. let's work on these things together. this is not a bill that comes through my committee's jurisdiction, but i can say that the way we work it through my committee is we work across the aisle, staff has an awful lot of work. we come to a conclusion. if it's not ready for a particular markup, we go back and get the work done, and then we frequently pass a piece of legislation on voice vote and then bring it to the floor. it's all been ironed out. there is no disagreement, there is no objection, and we pass those bills by unanimous consent. i think the problem here is this bill has never had any kind of committee markup, any committee work whatsoever, and so i would just suggest the senator from minnesota work with her committee, her committee chair. i see the committee chair is here in the chamber. work on this, try and find those areas of agreement. and then maybe we can pass this, maybe potentially pass it by unanimous consent. but this piece of legislation is not ready, it hasn't gone through that process, and as a result, mr. president, i object.

the presiding officer: objection is heard. ms. klobuchar: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for minnesota. ms. klobuchar: i appreciate the words of my colleague that he is willing to work with me on this bill. we know we need the immediate fixes to the first piece of legislation, but we also need to look forward to what we have in front of us, and that is to make sure that we hope our states -- help our states to be able to conduct their election in a safe way, so democrats, republicans, or independents, anyone who wants to vote, whatever party they are in is able to safely vote. let's remember that while people were lining those streets to vote in cyst, the president of the united states was able to -- in wisconsin, the president of the united states was able to request a mail-in ballot from palm beach, florida, and vote from the comfort of 1600 pennsylvania avenue. that's an image of split screen

that i don't think anyone wants to see. i think what we want to see is fairness for all americans. you do that by ahead of time getting them the funding, by making sure we have rules in place that works for everyone, by acknowledging this has never been or should it be a partisan issue, and by telling all americans we worked this out, we're getting the funding to the states, we're working with all your states, we put in some fair rules so that no american will be denied the right to vote. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. blunt: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for missouri. mr. blunt: mr. president, this is national police week. it's one of the weeks that i always look forward to. for years now, it has been an opportunity to spend time with

people who protect us, who protect all of us. we get a chance each day to say thank you to the capitol police who work here at the capitol. as the chairman of the law enforcement caucus, i have lots of opportunities in our state to see officers in groups one at a time, and i always try to be thankful to them when i see them. this was a time every year when we would get a chance to see people from all over the country come to washington and get a chance for us to say thank you to them and thank you to their families. particularly this year, chief john belmar, just recently retiring chief with the st. louis county police department. good friend. always there for advice. always brought a big contingent and came with a contingent of officers to police week. and so i'm thinking about him

and not seeing him at police week in washington, as i'm also, mr. president, thinking about the new chief of the st. louis county police department, chief mary barton. that's a county of over a million people. it is a substantial job. it's a place to really affect how police work is done. i look forward to spending time with chief barton as she moves forward with what she can do to build on what's happening in that department over the years. like everything else, or like so much else, this year police week is different than it has been before. not having the sounds of hundreds of motorcycles going down the streets of washington as we celebrate the week. no groups of law enforcement officers or police vehicles from all over the country coming here. i'm grateful for them. they protect our safety. this is a job where every day when you leave home, you have no idea what events may come before

you that day, and frankly your family has no idea what may happen that day. i have told a number of officers thinking about their families, including the officers that serve here at the capitol, that they generally have some sense whether they are in a moment that could lead to danger or not beyond the normal readiness to serve us, but their family staying not with them when they are at work has to wonder all over and over again during the day what threat may come to the person that they care so much about as that person protects others. each year, one of the memorable be events of police week is the candlelight vigil with the law enforcement memorial a few blocks from here. they gather there and gather there annually to hear the names of officers who lost their lives

and to give -- bear witness to them, be grateful for their service. sadly, in the past year, missouri lost three dedicated officers. last june, lakeshire chief wayne needenberg passed away after assisting at the scene of a rollover crash in o'fallon, missouri. the chief had stopped at the scene on his way home, called for assistance, proceeded on after the situation was stabilized, but before he got out of his car at home, he had a heart attack, and we lost chief needenberg at that moment. he had spent his entire career in law enforcement, serving in both the st. louis county police department and the lakeshire police department. he was an army veteran. he is survived by his wife ardelle, his daughter cory, and three sons, matthew, derrick, and & aaron.

another police officer responded to a splaint of check fraud at a local business in wellston, missouri. the man who had -- has been charged with his murder shot officer langsdorf after a struggle inside the store. he had served the department for only three months, but before that he for 17 years had been part of the st. louis city metropolitan police officers. at his memorial service, officer langsdorf's son caleb remembered his dad this way. according to caleb, they say, quote, no, sir to meet your heroes because you will end up disappointed. well, continuing caleb's quote, well, i had the chance to be raised by mine and he never disappointed. he taught me that life was rescuing, defending, and serving is the only life worth living. in addition to caleb, the

officer is survived by his fiancee kim, his daughter olivia and future stepchildren devin and kaitlyn. officer christopher walsh joined the springfield department in 2016. on the evening of sunday, march 15 of this year, officer walsh responded to an active shooter situation at a convenience store. the shooter had opened fire in this store, killing three people and injuring a fourth person. officer walsh rushed into harm's way to protect others at the time. the shooter opened fire on officer walsh, killed him and his fellow officer, joe sigh a overton -- josiah overton who was injured in the same attack. officer walsh fatally wounded, died the next day. he had been a u.s. army reservist, 14 years of service in the reserves. he had been to iraq and

completed tours there and afghanistan. his wife sherri and their daughter morgan will live with his loss for the rest of their lives. let me share a passage from chris' obit actuariy. -- obituary. chris was the first springfield officer, the town i live in, to have been killed on duty since the 1930's, so a town with a great city, with a great good fortune of its officers managing to do their job without a loss like this, but we had one this year. so the quote was christopher ray walsh, a man devoid of vanity and devoted to the service and to the welfare of others. i would hope that out of this tragic circumstance, something beautiful could take place in all our hearts. chris would hope that his memory would serve as an example to

spur small kindnesses and acts of devotion and service to all of our community. to our friends, loved ones, to look past the things that separate us and focus on the things that unite us. so police week, mr. president, is exactly the time to think about the things that unite us, to think about these officers and their courage, to think about acts of devotion and service as we remember them. congress, we want to make sure that law enforcement officers have the support they need and never go into a situation with less than you would hope they would have to whack back them -- back them up. i serve on the bipartisan caucus which advances legislation that supports the efforts of law enforcement nationwide. senator coons from delaware, the other founding cochairman, along with me, we sponsored the law

enforcement commemorative coin act. the proceeds from those coins, mintd -- minute -- i'm also a cosponsor of legislation that will provide resources to protect officers mental and physical well-being, including the law enforcement suicide data collection act and the lifesaving gear for police act. i'm glad to be the cosponsor of the thin blue line act and the back the blue act, both of which are designed to better protect police officers and hold perpetrators who attack them accountable. through these pieces of legislation and others, the congress has a chance to once again show its support of the men and women who serve in law enforcement. so police week is different this year. i think we're all particularly appreciative of how law

enforcement has had to step up in the -- in the crisis of the virus and do what needed to be done again and then often making way for first responders and others to do what they can to save life and to protect other people who somehow are on the edges of this virus, to deal with people who are in their homes and because they are -- they are isolated in their homes, their mental health issues have become bigger issues. this is not an easy time for any of those who serve, but it's the week every year we remember law enforcement. this is a year that it's particularly easy to be grateful to those who serve and protect us. and i would yield the floor, mr. president.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 564. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. scott h. rash of arizona to be united states district judge for the district of arizona. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the-esque did. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions

of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of scott h. rash of arizona to be united states district judge for the district of arizona, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar of 40. -- 640. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, federal election commission, james e. trainor iii of texas to be a membered. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of james e. trainor iii of texas to be a member of the federal election commission, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 600. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the jirn, anna m. manasco of bam to the

united states district judge for the northern district of alabama. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of anna m. manasco of alabama to be united states district judge for the northern district of alabama signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 601. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to.

the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination. the judiciary, john f. heil iii of oklahoma to be united states district judge for the northern eastern and western districts of oklahoma. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of john f. heil iii of oklahoma to be united states district judge for the northern and eastern and western districts of oklahoma signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 602. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion.

all in favor say aye. those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, john leonard bah dal meantty of florida to be united states district judge for the middle grict of florida. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of john leonard bah dal meantty -- bah dal meantty of florida. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the mandatory qawrms for the cloture motions we waive tdz. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business for senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i have one

request for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the minority and majority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to immediate consideration of s. 3744. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3744, a bill to condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic turkic muslims and calling for an end for ash treash detention, torture and harassment of these communities inside and outside china. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

when it comes to the fundamental length, the house is face-to-face with building relationships, hashing out differences. very reluctant to set a new president, wrote a normal practice. i'm concerned about whether or not the system of remote voting is constitutional. language of the constitution clearly contemplates members being physically present in the chamber to conduct business. they moved to any other kind of procedure to involve copy is a great present and quorum will put the legislation passed.

the legislation will likely pass by these methods in the near term will probably be built along the times of the cares act. bipartisan measures that deal with the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic distress. it does not make sense to me to put such important legislation at risk the court challenge because he failed to comply constitutional requirements. not completely convinced me to a proxy voting system or remote voting system is necessary at this time. there are other methods of operating that comply with our existing rules. would not require members to return to washington during this crisis if their travel insurance.

our

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, since the senate returned to washington two weeks ago after

about a six week hiatus, we accomplished quite a bit on a bipartisan basis. we confirmed national security nominees, we've held hearings to examine liability and coronavirus testing and safely getting back to schools. in short, the senate's been working on a bipartisan basis to understand the challenges that this virus has created so we can provide targeted reforms. it certainly seems to be a different approach than the one taken by the house. earlier this week house democrats released a so-called coronavirus relief bill. you might say they kind of mailed it in because they haven't been here for the last two weeks, but it has an absolutely staggering price tag, $3 trillion, with a t. that's more than we spent on the

first four coronavirus response bills combined. mr. president, i tell my constituents when i'm talking to them on a video conference call or teleconference, two months ago i never would have maidged the senate would be voting on trillion dollar bills, but now the house apparently wants to make this a way to do routine business and apparently without too much debate. as astounding as that figure is, the bigger issue with that bill isn't the cost or the fact that speaker pelosi or her party drafted it in secret, but that they leased the 1,800 bill text on tuesday and they plan to vote on it tomorrow. unbelievable. it would be an understatement to say that their concerns with this kind of legislating, i would call it legislative malpractice to be kind, and it's not just from republicans or the

administration or the american people. the speaker's own members are begging for additional time to review this massive bill. unlike the previous coronavirus response bills passed here in congress there have been no bipartisan discussions in the production of that bill from the house, not with house republicans, not with the administration, certainly not with us. and i can assure you that this legislation looks just like the kind of product that you would expect from that type of flawed process. it's partisan, it's unaffordable, it's unrealistic and it stands absolutely no chance of becoming law. we all know that legislation drafted in a vacuum by one political party and one -- in one chamber isn't a good-faith effort to try to survive much less address this pandemic crisis. it's a political statement as much as anything else, a liberal wish list that, if passed, which

it will not be, would sink us further in debt without the benefit of addressing the problems that we are actually facing. when this legislation was announced, speaker pelosi said, we all know we must put more money in the pockets of the american people. this is not only necessary for their survival but it's also a stimulus to the economy. but the ones who will reap the biggest benefits from this bill aren't the ones struggling to make ends meet. actually what speaker pelosi is apparently trying to do is help some of the wealthiest people in america. this legislation would reinstate the so-called salt deduction, the state and local tax deduction and thrust that burden of subsidizing the wealthiest people in the bluest parts of the country on the rest of us. we were able to cap that in a fair and realistic way in the tax cuts and jobs act. prior to that tax reform,

taxpayers who itemized their returns would deduct the amount of state and local tax also they paid with no limit. so if you lived in a high-tax state like new york, there was no limit to deduct state and local taxes. you know who paid for it? the people of indiana, the people of alaska, the people of texas and other states who more responsibly dealt with their fiscal affairs. now, for the average american this change hasn't even been a blip on the radar screen, for the millionaires and billionaires, though, the ones speaker pelosi's bill would benefit most directly, this was a huge blow. people say, well, the wealthy ought to pay more. well, okay, here's a way for them to do it in the right way. but it's also a way to hold your state and local jurisdictions accountable for the high taxes they pass only to previously allow those taxes to be deducted from the federal income tax.

so this is a matter of political accountability for them too. i'm sure the wealthiest americans would delighted to see that the democrats' response to what speaker pelosi called the biggest catastrophe in our nation's history would allow them once again to reap the benefits of this no-limit deduction. if the salt cap were removed, they would receive an average tax cut of nearly $60,000. that is higher than the household income for many texans and many americans. to make matters worse, this would sink our country further in debt. the nonpartisan joint committee on tax said that doing away with the salt cap would cost about $700 billion over the next seven years with almost 95% of the benefit going to those making at least $200,000 and more than half going to those making more

than $1 million a year. mr. president, we have spent a lot of money in the last couple of months, but we've done so in the face of an emergency. kind of like the civilian equivalent of world war ii, fighting this virus that is both the public health and the economic consequences, so we're already looking at staggering debt that we are going to have to deal with at some point because it's immoral to expect our kids and grandkids to pay that money back after we've already cashed those checks. but this just adds insult to injury what speaker pelosi and house democrats are trying to do. even the liberal tax center -- tax policy center, one-third of the salt deduction went to the top 1%. here our democrat -- we hear our democrat friends talk with income and equality and the top 1% needing to pay more, then their actions are directly contrary to their rhetoric.

we know 80% of the benefit went to the top 20% income earners. now, we're not trying to start a -- start a civil war here between people who are doing well and people who are not doing well, but this just makes absolutely no sense, and particularly in the face of a crisis like the coronavirus. this isn't an attempt to support those who are struggling to make ends meet. that's who we ought to be focusing on, the people who are not getting a paycheck because their employer -- or their business has been shut down, their restaurant, their bar, their sports stadium. this is a get out of free jail card -- get out of jail free card for millionaires and billionaires who don't want to pay their fair share of taxes and to foist that unfairly on to others. now, i realize that's only a small portion of the bill, after

all it's a $3 trillion bill. so let's dive into a couple of other things. changes, for example, they would make in unemployment insurance. the cares act we passed -- i think it was march 25, expanded unemployment benefits to include workers who would not typically be eligible for those benefits. the self-employed and independent contractors. it also provided an additional $600 of federal benefit on top of the state's unemployment benefit through the end of july for four months. the theory behind that was to provide workers who lost their jobs with the money they needed to pay for the necessities of life, until the economy could reopen and they could go back to work. slowly, but surely, businesses across this country are starting to reopen their doors, safely and gradually reopen their doors, and many are facing an unlikely hurdle, which is now getting people to come back to

work. over the last several weeks, i've heard texas businesses struggling to rehire their employees because they're making more from unemployment than they would if they worked, and it's not an isolated issue. according to the texas workforce commission that administers our workers -- our unemployment insurance program, 80% of the people are making more money on unemployment than they were when previously employed. 80%. now, that clearly was a mistake in the underlying bill, and it's true that when you do something that big and that fast, you're going to make some mistakes. but nobody can think this is sound public policy, to pay people more for not working than when they do work. and, you know, here is what house democrats do. they extend that mistake through next january, providing even less of an incentive for workers to find new jobs. you know, the united states

can't be the successful economy that we have been capable -- that we are capable of being or have been by encouraging people not to work. at a certain point, these benefits are going to do more harm than good, and i would say they already are starting to do that. so extending unemployment benefits through next year would deter people from trying to return to work because why would they? why would someone choose to do more work for less money? well, i understand the need to support the american people until they are able to get back on their feet, but i'm afraid this move would stun, would retard any hope of economic recovery. and it would deepen the hiring struggle businesses are already facing. i'm glad that they are hiring and ensure that the sorry we're closed sign remains on the door of mainstream businesses throughout the country. as we begin to recover from this

economic crisis that this virus has caused, our country will need a lot more from congress than a blank check written in a back room. rushing to appear to do something while doing absolutely nothing, which is what house democrats have done, won't do any good unless we're taking the time to find out what america's health care professionals, small businesses, and workers actually need. and that's what we're doing every day, listening. how is what we have already done working? where are the mistakes that need to be corrected? where are the gaps that need to be filled? and at a time when about a half trillion dollars of that money from the cares act isn't even out the door yet for the main street lending facility that is being set up through the federal reserve. i'm not blaming treasury. crime just saying they are covered up, and they're working 24/7, but let's see how what we have already done works before

we continue to shovel more money aimlessly out the door. earlier this week, the judiciary committee held a hearing to examine liability around the coronavirus pandemic. one of our witnesses was kevin smart, a texan from bonham, texas, home of sam rayburn, who is c.e.o. and president of quick check food stores. i think he has 47 fast food stores. in his opening statement, he outlined the steps that quick check took to protect the safety of its employees and customers, while continuing to provide access to essential items like food and fuel. they followed the constantly shifting guidelines from the c.d.c. and other federal, state, and local government agencies and adjusted and adapted accordingly. like millions of businesses across the country, quick check implemented strict cleaning protocols. they installed sneeze guards in their stores. they put markers on the floor to

help customers maintain social distancing, and they made every effort to obtain masks and hand sanitizer but have often struggled to overcome supply disruptions. in his testimony, kevin said, quote, unfortunately, despite trying to do everything we can to protect the health and safety of our customers and employees during this pandemic, my companies now have targets on our back because their doors have remained open. that's just not right. we're all in this together, and my businesses shouldn't become targets for liability threats just because we have chosen to serve our communities. i've found, mr. president, this is a common fear for businesses, small and large alike. as well as for our dedicated health care professionals. can you imagine serving on the front line of this fight against the pandemic, doing everything you can possibly to help people

who are sick and injured? and despite acting in good faith to protect employees, customers, or patients, we know that certain -- a certain element of the bar are lining up to file opportunistic lawsuits against these hardworking people, people who i think we all consider to be heroes. across the country, lawsuits have already begun rolling in by the hundreds, and unless we take action, we will wake up from this pandemic only to find ourselves in a legal nightmare. now, i want to be clear. bad actors don't deserve blanket immunity. we are all in agreement on that point, but hardworking americans who are trying to do the best thing and follow in good faith the guidance that their government gives them, they do deserve a safe harbor from frivolous litigation and nuisance lawsuits. now, this chamber is full of

lawyers, democrat lawyers, republican lawyers, who are well aware of just how damaging this unlimited litigation that will ensue, how damaging it will be on our economic recovery. while house democrats have been crafting their dead-on-arrival liberal wish list, we have been working on legislation which can and should gain bipartisan support and protect our frontline workers in the process. we are working on legislation to provide liability protections for the men and women who supported us through this crisis and who will be the key to our recovery from this crisis. we simply must protect those who have acted in good faith. from having to defend costly legal battles only to win, only to lose their business because they can't survive that additional burden.

going through the pandemic, the shutdown, only to find just when you think you're coming out of it that you're being drowned with litigation costs. so i believe we should continue to provide an opportunity to seek legal recourse for those who act willfully or exercise reckless disregard for the health and safety of others. those are the kinds of cases that deserve, in my opinion, deserve access to compensation. make no mistake, our country's road to recovery isn't going to be easy, and we have already caught a glimpse of the next epidemic, the lawsuit epidemic that's waiting around the corner. so, mr. president, unlike house democrats who are moving full speed ahead, the senate has chosen to tap the brakes and figure out the best way to avoid

hitting the brakes. economically and from a public health perspective. mr. president, i yield the floor and i thank my friend from alaska for his -- his indulgence. and if you will indulge me just one minute more. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent for the senate to proceed to executive session for the en bloc consideration of executive calendar 583, 633 through 639, and all nominations on the secretary's desk, that the nominations be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and all en bloc and the senate then -- all en bloc, and the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i

further ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 3607. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3607, a bill to extend public safety officer death benefits to public safety officers whose death is caused by covid-19, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged, and the committee will proceed. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the grassley-booker amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and that the bill as amended be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i know of no further debate on the bill as amended. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it, the

the ayes do have it. the bill is amended and passed. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i now ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 3434 and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3434, a bill to make federal law enforcement officer peer support communications confidential, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed. mr. cornyn: i further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i now

ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 2746, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 2746, a bill to require the director of the federal bureau of investigation to provide information on suicide rates and law enforcement, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged, and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. cornyn: i further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and that the senate now proceed to s. res. 555. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 555, recognizing and supporting the

advocates, counselors, volunteers, and first responders who served survivors on an emergency basis during national sexual assault awareness and prevention month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged, and the senate will proceed. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and that the senate now proceed to s. res. 560. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 560, recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of national sexual assault awareness and prevention month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee

is discharged. the senate will proceed. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3:00 p.m. monday, may 18. further, that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and that morning business be closed. further, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session to resume the consideration of the rash nomination. finally, notwithstanding rule 22, the cloture vote on the rash nomination will occur at 5:30 p.m. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: if there is no further business to come before the senate, mr. president, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks from the senator from the great state of alaska. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. cornyn: s. res. 560, i would ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, thank you. it's thursday and i'm back on the senate floor partaking in one of my favorite times of the week which is to come down on the floor and talk about somebody who is making a great difference in my state. we call these -- these individuals our alaskan of the

week. to those who watch the floor back home, sometimes we break the rules a little bit and recognize more than one person. we just call them the alaskans of the week with an s. so pandemic or no pandemic, i think it's important still that we come down and recognize particularly during these challenging times people who are making a difference in our states and across our country. and as i mentioned last week, mr. president, this pandemic is definitely testing the character of our nation. you might remember right when it was hitting "the washington post," some reporters wrote this story saying america is going to be tested and we don't think they're going to be able to pass, maybe not like they have in world war ii and other times, the mettle, the toughness, the resiliency of americans might not be able to get us through this. that was "the washington post," the classic, clueless,

inside-the-beltway reporting. and what i said in remarks on the floor -- this is about six weeks ago -- you ought to come up to alaska, "washington post," and see my constituents or maybe come out with my marines and see the marines. you've got to know america and alaska is america and we're going to pass this test as a nation. and we are. all across the country and certainly in my great state, in small rural villages, urban centers from the tundra to the rain forests, all across the state people are helping each other, passing out food, helping the elderly making sure they're not lonely, tending to those in need, displaying generosity, strength, and amazing resilience. the paper should write more about that. our frontline workers are now -- have now become our national heroes. some of them are working day in and day out to ensure that our

grocery stores are stocked, that the goods are transported, that the buildings are maintained, that our telecommunications systems are running, that our airplanes are flying, our hospitals are open, our community health centers are providing health with our health care workers. the list as we all know goes on and on and on. and because of them back home, because of these great americans all around our country, because of what's happening in my state with our state leadership -- our state's leadership, alaska has done well from a health standpoint in terms of this virus. knock on wood, of course. and i'm doing it. things could change. they can change anywhere. certainly could change in alaska but so far so good. mr. president, you know, alaskans are known for their rugged individualism. alaskans are not naturally

people who automatically follow orders. without a good reason to do so. but almost everybody across our state has taken this virus seriously helping one another, following the guidance that has been given by our state's leaders. and i chalk that up to good leadership from our very attentive mayors, city mayors, our local leaders across the state, to our governor mike dunleavy and the health care team he put together in his administration that was ready when this pandemic hit. so i'm going to talk about that health care team. it has been led by the commissioner of the alaska department of health and social services, adam crumm and by alaska's chief medical officer

dr. ann zinc. so both of them are our alaskans of the week. both of them have worked day and night throughout these past several weeks as this pandemic hit our nation, hit my state, and they've been trying around the clock to keep our fellow alaskans safe. and as i mentioned both are more than deserving of this very, very prestigious award. they have risen to the challenge in so many impressive ways to work for their state and their country. and, mr. president, as alaskans do, both of them have interesting stories, interesting life stories, compelling life stories. so let me tell you a little bit about both of them. adam crumm, he lives in wasilla with his wife colleen born and raised in alaska, went to homer high school, was a graduate there, good football player. he went to northwestern and

walked on the football team. that's big 10 football. takes a lot of guts. center, guard, offensive lineman. did great there. in fact, you look at the crumms, his siblings, they are a big family, impressive, a big group, brains and brawn in that family. adam's three brothers all played college ball. joey at puget sound, richie at university of idaho, cody at west texas a&m. their dad also played at the university of arkansas. like i said, you line up the crumm brothers, you like like you have a serious pro football offensive line right there. impressive family. so adam enjoyed northwestern. playing ball there but on his first visit back from home, back home from college, he began to

realize just how unique the great state of alaska was where he grew up. as he said for me i really didn't appreciate it until i actually went some place else. like all of us, he loves the outdoors, the scenery, the diversity, the opportunities that beckon and when he moved back if college, he was committed to coming back to our state to serve our state. he went into his family business, got his masters degree from john hopkins university in public health and then when governor dunleavy who i mentioned was elected in november 2018, adam was offered the job of commissioner of health and human services. now, his starting date was going to be december 3, 2018, but in alaska there's always adventure and challenges. and on november 30, south

central part of our state got hit with a huge shock, a huge earthquake. 7.1. cracking and schaptioning roads and -- collapses roads and highway, damaging buildings, destroying schools, knocking out power, sending people scrambling outside and under furniture. really damaging homes. so adam who was going to start this job in three days said, i'm going to start now. moved up his start date and got to work. it was a crash course in health emergency operations. his department, brand new on the job, health and human services, was in touch with all the hospitals, all the prisons, the elder care facilities, the department of military and veterans affairs. he watched and led these operations. everybody working together. and here's the miracle, mr. president. this was a huge earthquake.

during rush hour in alaska. not one life was lost. remarkable. literally a miracle. and he learned how to bring people together in emergency operations. that exercise was invaluable with what came next. and we all know what came next. the pandemic which has rocked our state, our country, really our world. now, alaska's chief medical officer dr. anne zink appears with commissioner adam crum and governor dunleavy nearly every night to address alaskans in a press conference in our media about where we are with regard to the health of our state and this coronavirus. versions of this scene happen every night across the country as governors are addressing

their public. but i'm going to venture to say that if there's a marker of success of such briefings, it's this. how much the people are trusting what's being told to them. and i would say alaska's health care team, commissioner crum and dr. zink pass with flying colors. and dr. zink is certainly one of the stars of this nightly show as she appears from her yurt in her backyard. she's become popular in alaska. there's even a facebook page dedicated to her called think like zink. rory watt is the juneau city manager. he actually wrote an ode in her honor, a lengthy poem. and it starts like this. o alaska, i love you, and it

feels like we are teetering on the brink. who can guide and steer us at this time, the unflappable dr. zink. you know if a poem is written about you, you're doing a good job. dr. zink was raised in colorado with physician parents. she was no stranger to alaska. she worked as a mountain yearing -- mountaineering guide. after a degree from stamford, she made her way back to our great state 11 years ago and has worked as an e.r. doctor in the valley. last july she was with her family in buton when she -- on a year-long sabbatical when she was asked to come to work by dr. crum. she was my number one draft pick, he said. speaking like a true big ten

football player. so commissioner crum made that smart decision to bring on dr. zink, to bring her on the medical team and health care team that he leads. commissioner crum and dr. zink have along with the rest of the country been closely watching the virus migrate from china to the united states, early stages. and you might remember what happened when we -- when the state department brought our diplomats home from wuhan. a plane load of our diplomats were coming home, and they had to stop in alaska, in anchorage on january 28 for a refueling stop. now, we later learned that nobody on the plane actually had the virus but commissioner crum and dr. zink started to get our

state ready. they prepared for the worst, contacting local and tribal medical facilities. they were in constant coordination with the c.d.c. they were in communications with all the state agencies and divisions and very, very importantly with the public. and this began their outreach to our citizens, and they've continued that frenzied pace every since, working day and night with the governor's office to try their best to keep the virus at bay, to keep our citizens healthy. and so far it's working. like other places, mr. president, businesses in alaska have been shut down and are now slowly beginning to open back up. and we need to open back up. we need to keep our citizens healthy, but we need to get our economy open and moving again. among the other precautions, the

governor established a ban for a time on travel throughout the state and a 14-day quarantine, still in place, for anybody who comes from outside of alaska to the state. commissioner crum said that mandate was probably the most effective thing they've done so far to keep the virus from spreading. but again, mr. president, that doesn't mean it can't flare up in alaska. it's flared up in other parts of our country. for example, we have some 200 villages that are not connected by roads, many of which do not have health care facilities. in they do, they're very, very limited. these communities were hit very hard by the spanish flu, so there's a lot of trepidation in rural alaska. we also have a fishing season that will start and begin to bring people from out of state,

thousands of people, to work in alaska. this is very important for our economy, but the communities need to feel safe. this is an issue i've raised with the president, with the vice president, with the chief of staff, and to their credit, they have responded. as a matter of fact, right now, we have a doctor from d.h.s. who's going around the state with dr. zink and others who was sent there by admiral giroir, brett giroir the h.h.s. assistant secretary in charge of testing. they're all out there. they're going to be in kodiak and bristol bay, cordova trying to make sure that our communities, our fishing communities, are ready. now, the admiral when he called me said, we are working with the state, senator sullivan.

this is direction from senior officials, the highest officials in the white house, to get out there and bring resources to your fishing communities. and i will say, working with dr. zink, she's one of the top medical officers in the country. this is admiral brett giroir who's saying that about dr. zink. so, mr. president, as you can tell, the utmost i will generals is required -- the utmost diligence is required. so is planning and so is communication and bringing people along, particularly when you're asking them to take extreme measures. and this, again, because of the leadership we have, is something that i think so far is going well in our state. as commissioner crum said, alaskans are contrarian by nature. they want to be educated. they don't want to be forced. when they were told that it was the right thing to do to comply

with mandates, that if we do this now, he said, it will hurt less later, alaskans did this. commissioner crum continued -- it was the most painful thing i've ever done, asking people to close their businesses but not as painful as it was for the people who actually had to shut down their businesses. very painful. but alaskans complied, tried to take care of the overall health of the population, and we worked together. that's what commissioner crum said. mr. president, true leaders emerge during times of crisis, and we are grateful that these two leaders emerged for us in alaska. they're working along with the governor and the rest of his team, doing a very, very good job for our state. like i said, we aren't past

this. we have emore us in economic challenges in our -- we have enormous economic challenges in our nation and huge challenges in our state. but we know a few things. we have good people at the top who are guiding us, and we know that alaskans will dot right thing when they're -- will do the right thing when they're asked by these people we also know we're resilient. our state is our people are, and our nation is. in a recent interview, dr. zink said that one of her big particularaways throughout this entire -- one of her big takeaways throughout this entire pandemic is just how important resilience is and how very, very resilient alaska is. she said, quote, adversity can bring out the best or the worst in people, and we have a choice to grow in response to the challenges or crumble from them. well, mr. president, as i mentioned at the beginning of my remarks, i'm convinced that alaska will grow from these

challenges, that america will grow from these challenges. i'm convinced that what we're seeing all around our state and our nation, the amazing generosity, people working together in difficult times, we will emerge stronger and more resilient. so i want to thank two leaders in our state who are responsible in many ways for getting us through so far so good on the health side, commissioner commands dr. zink. thank you for your service, thank you for your hard work, your sacrifice. thank you for stepping up, and congratulations on being our alaskans of the week. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

live to capitol hill where the house rules committee is meeting to consider a 3 trillion-dollar coronavirus a bill as well as a resolution. while congress has taken significant actions to address significant needs stemming from coronavirus we must do more. additional fiscal support should be, would be costly but worth it. it helpsvo