>> the democrats once again providing a roadblock to progress in our country and nancy pelosi and her deputy, chuck schumer, continue to say no to an agreement, no to a deal because it appears to me that for the democrats in those two in particular, it is all politics, all of the time but i am convinced they don't want an agreement. that they don't care what the consequences are for the american people and we have all been home, we traveled around our states and talking to people, listening to what they have to say and what they really want -- >> we leave this program here to continue our long-time commitment to live gavel to gavel coverage of congress. the u.s. senate is coming back in after their weekly caucus meetings. we take you live now to the floor of the u.s. senate. presi. madam president, this morning i had the privilege of attending the president's signing of the great american outdoors act. this is a town, washington, d.c., that is accustomed to

hyperbole and excessive partisanship. and today we had neither. the bill the president signed is clearly the most important conservation and outdoor recreation legislation that has passed in this congress and become law in at least a half-century, and it may only be exceeded by the actual funding of the national park system itself as it was gradually created over time to become an agency with 419 properties. what this legislation does is two things. one, it tackles the deferred maintenance backlogs in the park system. and by that i mean look at our campground, the great smokies, which normally has 5,000 families camping there. but it's been closed a number of

years because the sewage system doesn't work. and then there are examples all across this country, from the pearl harbor visitor centers to the national mall, of worn-out trails, roads with holes in them, roofs that leak, sewage systems that don't work. as a result, campgrounds are closed. bathrooms that don't operate. all of these for our national parks and our public lands where we want to go, and we especially want to go, madam president, right now because of what all of us want is we want to get out. we want to get outdoors. we want some fresh, clean air that we can breathe, and the head of bass pro- shop was telling me this morning that the white house -- at first covid really hurt bass pro shop. guess what's happening now?

fishing licenses are going occupy. purchasing of them are going up at a record level. people are taking their sons and granddaughters and grandsons fishing. everybody that cares about the outdoors for the last generation that people aren't going out to the park, today they are because they want to get outside of the so today was a wonderful day. and everyone agreed. the most important bill for conservation and the outdoors in at least a half a century. republicans agree with that. democrats agree with that. hundreds of conservation groups agree with that, and the president of the united states agrees with that. so it is no exaggeration to say that something remarkable and historic happened today when the president signed the great american outdoors act. and it's also accurate to say, it was wholly bipartisan because, madam president, it never would have passed if it had not been -- and it barely

passed even though it was. it took a herculean effort. so today i want to come to the floor briefly to talk about some of those persons who made a difference in this historic event. there were many marchers in this parade. there always is when something passes in the united states senate. one senator never really does anything. it takes a parade of senators, almost always of both parties, and it takes a house of representatives, and it takes the president of the united states. and because presidents don't always get the credit they deserve, i want to say that there were many marchers in this parade. there were democrats, there were republicans, there were hundreds of outdoors groups, but this historic conservation legislation would not have happened had it not been for president trump. and here's why. he is the first president of the united states to allow and support the use of money derived

from energy exploration on federal lands to be used for deferred maintenance in our national parks. and if the president and the office of management and budget doesn't support that, it's not going to happen. which is one reason this bill hasn't happened, even though people have been trying to do it for years. i mentioned the history of this. if you take the deferred maintenance, as the secretary of interior pointed out, it was in the eisenhower years when we had the last big investment in our national park system. and i know for a fact that the landers and water conversation fund, which was the other important part of this legislation -- $900 a year permanently for the land and the water conservation fund. that was enacted in 1964 by congress. i spent some time on that myself when i was chairman of the

president's commission on americans outdoors in 1985 and 1966. it was our number-one recommendation that the congress should do what had been recommended in 1964, and now we're in 20. so good people have -- and so we're in 2020. so good people have been working since 1964 to make the land and water conservation fund permanent. it was signed into law today. and good people have been working since the eisenhower years to deal with the deferred maintenance backlog, the potholes, sewage systems, the roofs in our national parks. that bill was signed today. so it's historic, and the president -- if the president had not allowed the money to be used in that way and not supported it strongly in the republican caucus where we had some trouble getting enough votes until weigh got plenty of -- until we got plenty of votes, if we hadn't had his support, it

wouldn't have happened. our bipartisan group of senators asked me if i would ask him when he visited tennessee in early march if he would add to the bill or if he would support adding to the bill the national forests and the national wildlife refuges and the bureau of land management and the indian schools, which are in disrepair. he said, yes, let's do it. i telegraphed that information -- i called that information back to the bipartisan group of managers. they were excited. it was added to the bill and that became law today as well. take the chair key national forest, which is adjacent to the great smoky national park. we hear about the great smokies. they've got a $224 million maintenance backlog. this was cut that in half over five years. but the cherokee national forest

has 3 million visitors a year. and the indian schools will get hundreds of millions of dollars in order to build them back up, and they're in bad shape. so the president deserves credit for that. there were many important marchers in thapar raid, but it -- in that parade, but it would not have happened without president trump. we just mentioned some of the other marchers. let's talk about the ones in the united states senate. i think won't go on at great length about it, but i do want to -- i do want to acknowledge -- i do want to acknowledge them. let's start with senator warner of virginia and senator portman of ohio. they, working with the national parks conservation association and others, introduced the bill to reduce the maintenance backlog in the parks. secretary zinke then came to

tennessee three years ago and asked me to do a similar thing, and i worked with senator king of maine. and so we introduced a bill. we put those bills together. so senator warner and senator king and senator portman deserve a lot of credit for the work that they've done on that part of the bill. and then we had the land and water conservation fund. i mentioned how long that work had been going on. senator burr of north carolina has been an advocate of that for many years. senator cantwell, a democrat from washington state, as well. and then more recently senator manchin, who is the ranking democrat on the energy committee, took a major leadership role in the land and water conservation fund. and then senator gardner and senator daines -- if it was a parade, you'd have to say they were the drum majors. they helped work with the president. so you can see what kind of parade we were talking about. senator heinrich of new mexico, a strongdom with great respect

in his caucus, made sure we kept the thing on balance and brought a real conservationist zeal to this effort. but let's give senator mcconnell, the majority leader, some credit. in the middle of covid, he agreed, at our request, to give us two weeks to debate this bill and try to pass it. two weeks of senate floor time. if mitch mcconnell hadn't put the bill on the floor, the bill would never have had a chance to pass. and i want to thank the democratic leader as well for creating an environment in his caucus where we could work through the difficult issues that arose. now, that's just part of the honor roll of united states senators who were involved in all this, but it's an important honor roll. i should add senator collins of maine, who from the beginning was a strong supporter of both the land and water conservation fund and the restore our parks act. so when i say parade, madam president, that's what i'm

talking about. there are many marchers in this parade. every single one of those united states senators, both democrat and republican, were essential to the passage of this bill. then the final group were the outside groups. some people said there were more than 800 conservation, outdoors groups in support of this. that sounds a little bit like hyperbole to me, but i think it might have been true. i mean, this is something that organizations have worked on for decades, literally decades. some of the same people i saw at the white house today were the people i met in the mid-1980's when i was chairman of president reagan's commission on americans outdoors. most of the people involved in the rockefeller commission are gone now. that was in 1963 and 1964. people for decades have worked on this. i couldn't begin to mention all of them. but the nature conservancy would be one, pew would be another, national wildlife federation, the congressional sportsmen's

association, national park foundation. sally jewel, the former secretary of the interior in the last administration, helped organize and lead many of these you can see, from babbitt to zinke, we had quite a parade of americans who wanted to celebrate the great americans outdoors. people say that italy has its art, england has its history, egypt has its pyramids, but the united states has the great american outdoors. we celebrated that today, and i was proud to be one marcher in thapar raid. i -- and i was proud to be one marcher in that parade. i thank the president and yield the floor. madam president, seeing no one waiting to speak, i want to add

an addendum to that. when -- as the president signed the legislation, i was thinking of some gesture i could make or gift i could give him that would be appropriate to recognize that of all the marchers in the parade, he was the most consequential because if he wouldn't have supported, it wouldn't have happened. so i took with me a walking stick that's as tall as i am, about his size, that was given to me in 1978 when i was walking across tennessee in my campaign for governor of tennessee. i walked in a red and black shirt, a lot like the mask i wear today. and people would give me walking sticks. this was a walking stick that was carved by a smoky mountain craftsman. i gave it to the president. he looked a little surprised and

then he took it and he walked away with it. i said, mr. president, you may find that comes in handy during the rest of the year. he said, i think it will. so that was a heartfelt gesture to the president. i'm glad he liked it. i'm glad the people of the great smoky mountains like this piece of legislation and they're grateful for his work on it. i hope he keeps that walking stick as a token of respect for his support and appreciation for what he has done to help this whole parade of senators on both sides of the aisle create in new law. thank you. i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, madam president. madam president, the last six months have been among our country's most trying and painful in recent history. nearly 160,000 americans have lost their lives. that's more than enough people

to feel seattle century length stadium twice. 4.7 million americans have been infected. everywhere nationwide we see the consequences of this virus. millions of people losing their jobs and their health care. millions more at risk of losing their homes. food lines a mile long, and all of this as our country begins long overdue work to grapple not just with police brutality against black people and communities of color but also with the racial injustice embedded in our laws and policies which has caused covid-19 to have vastly different impacts on those very same communities. madam president, since my home state of washington was hit hard early back in february, i've been ringing alarm bells every day, day in and day out, about the need for the trump administration and this republican-controlled senate, to act with urgency, to listen to

public health experts, to follow the science and put the health and safety of workers and families above any political consideration. so you can imagine my frustration that for months, as democrats urged republicans to work with us on additional relief and pass legislation to do just that in the house, republicans have refused. as we got closer and closer to laid-off workers sees dramatic cuts in unemployment benefits, as we got closer to the eviction. we heard the republican leader was in favor of states just going bankrupt. that was april. we heard that the senate republicans didn't feel any urgency to act. that was may. and now it's august and with this virus still raging, senate republican leaders finally produced a so-called relief package that grants corporations a get out of jail free card if

their employees or customers get sick. it cuts job benefits, rolls back civil rights protections for workers, including people of color, lgbtq, women, older americans, and people with disabilities. it's a package that fails to keep our child care sector stabilized for more than a month. to provide the significant funding we need to finally make testing and contact tracing free. to require the type of end to end comprehensive plan that we need to make sure safe, effective vaccines are cost free and widely available. and their package will not help the millions who lost health insurance coverage during this crisis or help people suffering from the virus afford treatment. it does nothing to address the disproportionate impact of this virus on black, la teenex and other people of color and provides zero relief for state,

local, and tribal governments, which is an absolute necessity for my state and so many others. if that's not enough, madam president, one of the centerpieces of this bill is a demand tweeted out by the president of the united states, which i, a as a former preschool teacher and mother and mom find harmful. this is the republican policy to try to force schools to reopen for in-person learning regardless of what the public health experts recommend. this policy is a lose, lose, lose. it threatens the health and safety of students and families, educators and communities. it would in particular pressure high-needs school districts to reopen in person despite the risk and it could spread this virus further and longer. many school districts are already rejecting that is policy and planning for distance learning this fall for every student. let me be clear, no student's

education, regardless of where it takes place, should falter because the president wants to pretend this virus has gone away or because republicans in the senate are unwilling to stand up to him. if a school cannot safely reopen in person, they need the resources to ensure that every student and educator has access to a computer, to the internet, and to other equipment necessary to learn outside of a traditional classroom. so what we need to do is pass the coronavirus child care and education relief act which provides k-12 schools with $175 billion to make sure schools can continue to educate students in whatever way is safest. it makes additional investments in stabilizing our child care and higher education systems, which are facing financial crisis, and it helps ensure students of all ages who are disproportionately impacted by this virus are supported through

all that they are facing. i know there are somewho sa the investments we are proposing are too much. well, what which would say to them as the former chair of the budget committee in this senate, is budget is a statement of our values and priorities. i believe that one of our top priorities at all times, but especially in a pandemic, should be making sure that students and families and educators do not have to choose between safety and quality public education. madam president, the parents and families i'm hearing from are under such immense pressure right now. my question to republican leaders is, why, when things are already so hard are you determined to make them harder for people who are already struggling so much? madam president, this question's personal for me -- to me for a lot of reasons, one of which because when i was growing up, my family fell on hard times. my dad who was a world war ii veteran, was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis and he couldn't work any longer. that meant that my mom, who had stayed home to raise our family, had to take care of him while also working to support our family. her job didn't pay enough to support me and my six brothers and sisters or cover the growing medical bills. for six months we had to rely on food stamps and then my mom got a federal grant to go back to school and got pa better job. my brothers and sisters and i got student grants to go to college. the thing is i know things could have gone a far different way for us if the government said, sorry, you're on your own. right now families across the country have fallen on incredibly hard times. they are worried and scared because so far you're on your own is largely what this republican-controlled senate and this administration have told them. madam president, we owe every worker and family, including immigrant families, so many of whom are on the front lines of

this fight, relief that reflects the depth of this crisis and helps them get back on their feet just like mine was able. relief to help kids learn safely and keep families in their homes with food on the stable until we can get through this. relief that helps us come back stronger as a nation. it is not too much to ask. in fact, it is what we're supposed to be here to do and it is what i and democrats are going to keep fighting it for. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. for the benefit of my colleagues that want to speak next, i've got one minute remarks and approximately five minutes of remarks. today, as national chocolate chip -- today is national chocolate chip cookie day. it is a perfect day to salute an iowa entrepreneur who built a perfect cookie at the iowa state fair. last year his business sold two million chocolate chip cookies during the fair. a life-long concessionaire, he

is in a league of his own. after more than a quarter century of rolling cookie dough at the state fair, joe back,dale -- joe barksdetail decided to hang up his apron. his legacy will continue for generations to come. he's paying it forward by giving back to the people of iowa. joe's gifted his legendary cookie recipe to the iowa state fair so that its profits could be reinvested for years to come. as of today, barksdale state fair cookies has a permanent name. the perform cookie building will shorten cuss mer wait -- kus mer wait times with a dozen sale

windows for anyone who hasn't tasted the state delicacy, i suggest you put it on your bucket list. on another matter, madam president. iowa is home to 86,000 family farms and leads the nation in the production of commodities such as corn, number one, soybeans, number one, eggs, number one. iowa also ranks in the top ten in cattle production as many family farms raise livestock alongside their corn and soybeans. the 2017 u.s. census of agriculture showed over 23,000 farms in iowa that raise cattle or calves with annual sales of over four and seven tenths billion dollars. caring for livestock takes a

spirit of commitment, selflessness, and of course hard work. these farmers get up very, very early in the morning, work on their farms all day, and are active members of their community. these families and their values form the foundation of what makes up our rural communities across iowa. however, over the years the consolidation of the beef industry has threatened the very livelihood of these families and rural communities where they reside. from the 2012 u.s. -- usda agriculture census to the 2017 agricultural census, iowa lost

nearly 1,500 cattle producers. this is not a new issue to the beef industry. the concern of fair and transparent cattle pricing has seen increased attention due to disruptions on our food supply chain. very obvious during this period of the virus pandemic. for background now, the u.s. department of agriculture mandates price reporting for live cattle and tracks the spread between fed cattle prices which the producer gets paid and the boxed beef values, that's what the packing company gets paid. now, for the years 2016 to 2018, this spread averaged about $2 1

per hundred weight. soon you will see me comparing that to a very, very big increase in that $21. however, during april and may, there were major beef supplies disruptions as large number of plant workers contacted covid-19. because there were -- there are only four companies that slaughter 80% of the cattle, companies have the advantage of purchasing cattle from thousands of producers acting as a check point for the entire industry. these packers dominate the marketplace and limit opportunities for price negotiation. during this time of these recent months, packer profit margin

topped out at a spread of $279 per hundred weight compared, as i just said, to the $21. this was the largest spread between the price of fed cattle and the price of boxed beef since the inception of the mandatory price reporting law of 2001. so while the packers were making record profits, the independent producer had nowhere even to market his livestock. it is important to note the impact of consolidation doesn't just hurt producers, it hurts consumers because we've seen the price of ground beef and steaks,

a staple in many american diets, doubled or tripled recently. grocery stores also limited the amount of meat that families could buy. all of this has made very clear that the cattle market is broken and real action is needed to fix it. now thankfully, the trump administration stepped up to this cause. it has responded with two decisive actions to address the country's cattle market. first, the u.s. department of agriculture and the department of justice are both investigating the practices of these packing companies, particularly the four that dominate the market. while this will take time, president trump has personally

asked for these investigations and said he did it because he wants to protect the family farmer. second, on july 22, the usda issued a significant report that lays out a road map to fix the cattle marketplace. the u.s. department of agriculture mentions 12 different ways to create additional price discovery, increase marketplace competition, and have a more transparent relationship between the price of live cattle and the beef products that the consumer buys. this investigation and this report is very much a breath of fresh air, particularly for this

senator who's bringing this issue to the attention of agriculture departments and justice departments under both republican and democrat administrations for long periods of time. we've had multiple administrations from democrat to republican ignoring independent cattle producers and the broken cattle market. so i'm very grateful that president trump and secretary pursue take this issue -- perdue take this issue seriously when so many others before them have ignored this problem. in the report issued by secretary perdue, one of the considerations for congress is to create a mechanism to mandate negotiated cash trades.

and so i'm getting to one of the very key reasons i'm on the floor today because i see some of the actions in this report from secretary perdue as almost an endorsement of the grassley-tester 50/14 concept. the grassley-tester bill will require half of packers' weekly volume of beef slaughter to come as a result of purchases made in the cash market. the fact is that without a mandated amount of cash trade, independent producers become residual suppliers and then lack the leverage to fairly negotiate with packing companies. besides the grassley-tester

bill, congress has a responsibility to fully vet the 11 other considerations that the trump administration lays out in its report. the agriculture committee should hold hearings on this road map. we should bring a diverse set of stakeholders from government officials, business executives, and subject matter experts to explain the challenges that cattle producers are facing. a hearing would allow the committee to properly vet proposals to improve mandatory price reporting which needs to be reauthorized by september 30 of this year. the beef industry police -- employs hundreds of thousands of hardworking men and women who work each day to help feed our country and because we export so

much, you could say feed the world. as the u.s. department of agriculture census shows, we're losing producers due to consolidation. we need to show these men and women that washington, d.c. is listening. we need to show our rural communities that we want them to survive. we must develop solutions to the problems that they are facing. i will continue to be the voice for independent producers. today i'm asking my colleagues in congress to be that voice with me. support my bill with senator tester and bring competition and price transparency back to the cattle market.

and while i'm add it, i want to reemphasize something i previously said. the ag committee should hold a hearing on these issues and do it very soon. and i'm happy to see senator tester on the floor who i think is here to speak on the very same issue and i yield the floor. mr. tester: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: thank you, madam president. i want to thank senator grassley for his leadership on this issue. he has known for a long time as i have known that something is amiss in the competition in the cattle business. and i rise today to speak about that. it isn't talked enough about in this body or in the united states in general. but the fact is rural america is being cast aside and it's falling prey to corporate interests that's only concern is

about making a quick buck. the truth of the matter is that the american cattle ranchers are suffering. the truth of the matter is the american cattle ranchers are suffering. it is an open secret that meat packers have been taking advantage of small scale ranchers, family ranchers. and the small and medium size feeders for years. and while some of us have been raising the issue for some time, it is now becoming apparent and it is has come into the national spotlight. it was exactly a year ago, almost a year ago that a fire at a beef packing plant in holcomb, kansas halted 5% of our country's beef distribution capacity. it caused the price of meat in grocery stores to skyrocket. it caused a sharp decline in

cattle prices at the farm gate. and it was montana producers and producers across this country who took the height while the meatpacking industry reported record profits. following that fire, senator grassley and i demanded that the department of agriculture conduct an investigation into price manipulation by the largest packers. though this investigation is ongoing, they're -- their findings thus far have been disturbing. they're -- their findings clearly show markets are being manipulated and that the packing industry is walking all over america's ranchers and consumers. but just when we thought the conditions for producers couldn't get much worse and as we saw cattle prices drop lower than they've been in decades, ranchers were hit with yet another disaster. that disaster was the coronavirus pandemic. this virus forced many of the

largest packing plants to shut their doors decreasing the country's beef production capacity by nearly 40%. yet again there was a small-scale calf operators along with everyday consumers who have seen skyrocketing beef prices throughout the last year and we've seen lower and lower prices with the cow-calf operators in the small to medium size feeders. they're the ones taking the hit. in april and may of this year, we saw the highest -- the largest ever increase in discrepancy between the price of boxed beef and the price received by the cattle ranchers. growing from $66 per hundred weight on the boxed beef to $279. i need to repeat that because it's nothing short of ridiculous. from early april to the middle of may, the price difference between the american cattle ranchers were selling the beef

shipped to the stores across this country increased by 323%. mission control, we have a problem here. our ranchers and the american public are being taken advantage of in the midst of a global health crisis. it has also driven us into an economic crisis. and to top it off, cattle transactions on the cash market took a steep decline following the who will come fire, allowing for even more price manipulation by the packers, while the number of slaughters increased by 500 head. now, it is obvious to anybody that looks at the situation that the packers are using these crises to force markets to work for them only. one of the ways the packers get away with this is by limiting transactions that take place on the spot or cash market. instead, they've set prices with formulas that allow them to use unfair market power to put corporate profits over our

family ranchers around feeders and over consumers. and that is why senator grassley and i wrote a bill requiring large-scale packers to increase the proportion of spot transactions to 50% of the total cattle purchases. this would hold corporate packers accountable, make pricing more fair for our producers, cow/calf operators, small- and medium-sized feeders, bring more money into the pockets of the families that are feeding this country and the world. but i fear that these words are falling on deaf ears. the fact is, we need more support from this body. we need our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to sign on this critical legislation so we can enshould you are that folks who have been -- so we can ensure that folks who have been

raising our food have on the bottom line. we need you to join us yesterday because rural america needs help yesterday. i know many of my colleagues, especially those of you who are on the campaign trail, are always looking for ways to show support for rural america. so i'm calling on you to join senator grassley and me in standing up against this profiteering. another way you could help american ranchers today is by supporting the built of my colleague, senator rounds, and i wrote, the new market for state inspected polltory act. it prevents ranchers from improperly using state-inspected to be able to sell their product across state lines. we worked on this across sides.

we can enjoy a juicy burger or a tender steak. let me close with the words of a person in the cattle industry on the ground in montana. he told me about 60 days ago that we're at a crisis point in production agriculture when it comes to beef. if something is not done on this issue of packer control of prices in the marketplace, and something isn't done to ensure that capitalism isn't working here and that we need to put some sideboards on this to funnel some of the money down to the growers in the small- and medium-sized feeders, then our food chain, the red meat will change. and i know for the vegetarians in the crowd, that might sound like a good deal, but it's not. when the food chain in rural america goes bust -- because that's what we're on the verge

of -- then this whole country, this whole country, is diminished by that. so it is important that my colleagues here in the united states senate work with senator grassley and myself to fix this problem. it will not be fixed by not doing the things we need to do in this body. grassley and i have a bill. rounds and king have a bill. we need to get those two bills passed, move on to ensure fairness in the marketplace. with that, i yield the floor. mr. cassidy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from from louisiana. mr. cassidy: madam president, i rise to address the issues regarding the covid crisis. as we know, the covid crisis is a public health crisis which has led to an economic crisis and,

in turn, an educational crisis. today i'm going to speak about an aspect of the economic crisis. specifically, state and local governments, which have had to shut down their economy and in turn have lost all the tax revenue that they otherwise would receive, and because they have lost that tax revenue, put the jobs of firefighters, police officers, teachers, sanitation workers, other essential frontline workers at risk. so let me proceed. senate republicans have unveiled a proposal for a second line of support for american families and small businesses as our nation continues to combat the covid-19 pandemic. the virus is an unprecedented challenge, but we shall overcome. and the heals act attempts to do that. the introduction of this proposal signals republicans' commitment to see america through this challenging time, as with a with the cares act. the health and safety of the people of louisiana and the

united states are my top priority, and the heals act, as with all major bills, is a starting point of negotiations to build consensus among members of both parties for the best path forward. now, the heals act includes stimulus checks for americans, support for small businesses, businesses to help schools reopen, and while these are critically important to economic recovery, so, too, are the essential services provided by states and local communities. i'm talking about police officers, firefighters, teachers, sanitation workers, other municipal workers. and because of this economic lockdown, state and local government have seen their tax base erode, which threatens their ability to keep these very people we need employed, these people who keep our communities running. i don't want to see, for example, a situation where city

ies slash police budgets. that's why congress should include additional relief for state and local communities in this relief package. senator bob menendez and his team have been wonderful towork with, and i have offered a proposal called the smart act to help communities through this pandemic, and i'm privileged to be joined today by senator menendez and senator collins to speak on its behalf. the smart act calls for $500 billion in funding for state and local government, and it would be dispersed in thirds. one third based on a state's population. clearly, california needs more than alaska. one-third is based upon covid-19 impact. my state has had one of the highest per capita incidences of coronavirus infection. we've been terribly impacted. and one-third is based upon revenue loss, which again my state, as well as the state of

my colleagues, the states of my colleagues, have been very impacted. it is a fair formula that prioritizes funding to the hardest hit. the need is great. s&p global release add report detail ago the state susceptability to fiscal distress in a covid-19 recession. 38 states had a high or very high risk of economic exposure. s&p findings echo a moody's report which also predicted fire detects to cities -- dire effects to cities and states if nothing is done. moody's found that 34 states will see tax revenue fall by double-digit percentage points, worst of which is alaska falling 80%, louisiana at 46%, and north dakota at 44%. according to the national association of counties, local communities -- not states, local

communities anticipate a $202 billion impact to budgets through 2021. their report shows that -- can we put this up, please. their report shows that 71% of counties have delayed capital investment, including infrastructure and economic development percentages. 68% have cut or delayed county services or parish services in the case of louisiana, human services, public safety, and community development support. 25% have cut the county workforce. moody's that 1.-- commodies estimates that 1.-- moody's estimates that 1.3 million have already been laid off and more will be laid off in the coming fiscal year. and then 66% of counties receiving the cares act coronavirus relief fund have -- either indicate that the funding

will not cover the covid-19 budget or they are uncertain if the budgetary impacts will be covered. this is the impact to what has happened. by the way, we spoke earlier of $202 billion. this is how the breakdown is in terms of lost revenue, lost funding, et cetera. the impact upon state and county and municipal governments is huge. all told, the national association of counties predicts a loss of 4.9 million and $344 billion lost in g.d.p. it does not have to be that way. we can save jobs for police officers, firefighters, teachers and others by including state and local support in the act that we are considering. as i mentioned before, louisiana, my state, is facing serious shortfalls. we're still struggling with a second wave of covid cases. yesterday we had the number-one per capita incidents of coronavirus. the state is having to continue

in a phase two lockdown because -- which strains not only my folks in louisiana but also the revenue of the local communities where they would otherwise spend their money. now, folks back home know consequences if they don't receive support. written attorney general, as elected leaders with parish populations ranging from 400,000 to 800,000, the extreme loss of tax revenue, which provides for essential services coupled with unforeseen costs brought onto us responding to the covid-19 pandemic has the potential to have an extremely detrimental effect on our role to provide for the citizens of our parishes. i received a letter from more than 80 mayors across my state giving, quote, their strong support and thanks for our

efforts to pass the smart act because they know i'm working to deliver the support they need for their communities, our mutual constituents. and mayors ranging from cities as large as shreveport to as small as glenn ardennes, the smart act will support the reaccepting of businesses and allow louisiana to move to invoke cloture forward. -- to move forward. we are grateful for senator cassidy's as long standing efforts. the same has been echoed by the louisiana chamber of commerce. i understand concerns about spending money on state and local government. some are worried the money will would be used to bail out poor management decisions and overly generous and unfunded pension plans. i share those concerns. the act provides provisions prohibiting spending in those areas. the smart act replaces funding

losses coughed by covid-19. a city would have to show their books and show that they have lost ref 0 knew relative to a year ago before they would be eligible to receive funding from this. i understand concerns about spending. but the cost of doing nothing is worse. jerome powell spoke on the state and local funding needs saying that while costly, it would be, quote, worth it if it helps-to-a void long-term damage and leaves us with a stronger economy. madam president, congress should not allow police officers, firefighters, first responders, teachers, sanitation workers, and others to lose their job by the millions at a time when our country needs them most. the united states cannot fully recover economically if local communities cannot provide basic services, allowing commerce to flow. so as i end, i commend my colleagues on the work thus far on the heals act. more work is left to be donald trump and i look forward to --

more work is left to be done. and i look forward to working on this in the coming days in finding a common path forward with our democratic colleagues. we cannot let americans down in this time of tremendous need. by working together, we can deliver the support they need. we'll be stronger as a nation for having done so. and, madam president, i yield the floor. mr. menendez: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: madam president, i rise today to join my republican colleagues from louisiana and maine to make a plea for us to break any partisan logjam and support bipartisan, commonsense solutions. and i want to especially commend senator cassidy, who from the beginning has joined me in this effort, who's been true to his

commitment to the issue and to his word. we've engaged in a series of conferences with major national organizations in support of the legislation. and i appreciate his leadership in this regard. i also appreciate senator collins, who joined us from the very beginning in this effort. exactly 76 days ago, yep, two and a half months ago, senator cassidy and i stood on the floor of the senate along with senators collins and booker, talking about the need for congress to deliver robust flexible assistance to help them deal with the pandemic and the economic fallout. in 76 days we've seen covid-19 sweep across our land. the virus is surging in the states coast to coast from the deep south to the upper midwest.

no community has been spared. america's no stranger to tough times. in just the past 100 years, we fought two world wars, we faced the great depression, we confronted a nuclear arms soviet union and we faced natural disasters natural an manmade. we have lived through many dark days of our history. but no matter how steep the challenge, no matter how hopeless things appeared at the moment, we always came together as a country and we saw ourselves as americans above all else. now, i'm proud to be a new jerseyan. i'm proud to be from a state that invests in its people, has a great education system and is an innovative economy. when my parents fled tyranny in cuba, their dream wasn't to move to any one state. no, they dreamed of moving to the united states of america to give me and my siblings the

opportunity they never had. we're not a collection of 57 states. we are one nation indivisible. flooding inundated communities, wildfires raged in wets, i never hesitate the to act and cast my vote to help my fellow americans. i never asked how many new jerseyans were affected or how this would impact my state. but some in this body have chosen to undermine that unity and to instead pit one state from another. they have derided senator kation i did and my efforts to avoid millions of layoffs of essential workers as, i quote, a blue state bailout. the junior senator from florida said he refuses to assist because it will go to

progressive states like new jersey. he talks about states that carry large annual budget deficits, although he must be aware that the states must balance their budgets according to their state's constitution. he chides other states from taking from florida even though his state is the second-largest taker in the entire country. florida receives about $45 billion more from the federal government than it pays each and every year. by comparison, new jersey actually pays about $21 billion more each year to the federal government than it receives. so let me say that again. florida takes $45 billion per year out of the federal coffers more than they put in. new jersey puts $21 billion back in. so to my colleague from florida,

you're welcome. why is new jersey a donor or maker state while florida is a taker state? it is because we invest in our people and communities. new jersey has the best public schools, ranking number one. florida, well, it ranked in the bottom half of states. a better education leads to a better economy with higher-paying jobs, so it's no surprise that new jersey has the highest per capita income among states at $110,000. florida's per capita income is almost$dz 40,000 less. if you want to work in a vibrant economy, you should live in a state like new jersey. but new jersey, like all states, and through no fault of our own, is facing a health and fiscal

crisis of historic magnitude. and because here in washington we have failed to implement a national response to a national emergency, our local towns, cities, counties and states have to deal with this crisis alone rather than united as a nation. and they are running out of money. they are running out of money to combat this deadly disease. they are running out of money to maintain the services of our residents and businesses our businesses depend on. they are running out of money for the firefighters an emergency personnel. they are running out of money to make sure there are teachers in the classroom so our kids can head safely back to school. they are running out of money to make sure the trash gets picked up, the buses and trains run on time and the lights stay on at city hall. they've been squeezed on both sides of the ledger, spending

billions of dollars in unforeseen costs on emergency response while watching revenues dry up due to the slowing economy and necessary orders to contain the virus. without help from washington, our states, counties and municipalities will have to swallow a toxic cocktail of tax hikes, service cuts and layoffs that will only poison our economic recovery. it would be the height of irony, and a horrible one at that, for the men and women we've needed the most to be the ones fired as a result of the economic distress that the virus has created. we need our essential workers on the job dealing with the pandemic, not on the unemployment line. already nearly 1.5 million state and local workers have been furloughed or laid off, and that's only since february and double the total local public sector jobs we lost during the entire great recession of a

decade ago. if we fail to deliver the robust flexible funding our states and communities need, we are effectively sending pink slips to millions of americans. we're saying to all of them, you're fired. that's millions more who aren't collecting a paycheck, millions who can't afford to shop at our store, eat at restaurants or pay their mortgage. leading economists respected by both parties predict it would decimate our economy and send us on the path to another great depression. we can't allow that to happen. that's why senator cassidy, senator collins, senator hyde-smith and i came together. we saw early on the impact covid-19 was having on our home states and constituents, so we came up with a state and municipal assistance for recovery or the smart act. it delivers $500 billion in flexible funding to front line

states, localities an municipalities, it targets areas. from when we started this, that is a growing reality across the country and every single town, city, and county, regardless of its size, would qualify for direct funding. no one is left out. we immediately built a bipartisan coalition where senators collins and booker, hyde-smith, manchin and sinema. we knew the assistance congress provided our state and local governments in the cares act wasn't enough to deal with the growing need. and we warned our colleagues, each and every one, that was what was happening in new jersey, louisiana and elsewhere would eventually come to your state if we didn't get the pandemic under control. well, we haven't and it's raging and our fellow americans are suffering and too many of them are dying.

now, we've waited for 76 days, and what is now being offered is wholly inadequate to address the needs of the american people. in colorado, for example, the estimated state and local shortfall due to the pandemic is $10 billion, and counting through 2022. in alaska -- and alaska's expected to exceed $4 billion. in georgia it will be $2.5 billion in 2021 alone, kentucky could see a 20% drop in its revenues in 2021 at a time when its fiscal house is already in disorder, but we're being offered not a dime, zero, to help our cities, counties, and states confront this challenge. zero. nothing. that's not something that is acceptable. and last the problem when we ignore regular order and let leadership hijack the legislative process. we lose our voice and the needs of our constituents are left out

so i, for one, didn't come to washington to sit on the sidelines and wait for a handful of people to reach a deal behind closed doors, for us to vote on a thousand-page bill within an hour of seeing, it but that's exactly what we've been doing here far too long. we need to end the high-stakes game of closed door posturing and return as the greatest deliberative body in the world many it would have been easier to embrace the relief from the heroes act, it would have been easier for senators cassidy, hide-smith and collins to tow the line. we knew it wouldn't help our constituents and it's not too late for the senate to get back on track. let's do our jobs. let's get to a bipartisan solution that delivers the support that our cities,

counties and states need to defeat covid-19 and serve the american people. let's bring the smart act up in committee allow members both sides of the aisle to make the legislation even better because you all know what our state and local governments will get if we leave it up to the present status, absolutely nothing. and good luck explaining that to the people back at home. now, i hear some of my colleagues speak from this floor calling not for unit but for division. they callously ignore the pleas of help from fellow americans comforted with the belief that their communities are immune. let me be clear. it doesn't really matter how fiscally responsible for conservative your state budget has been when your revenue dropped 30% overnight. it's not a red or blue state issue. it's an american priority. i believe that history will look kindly upon those who stood up

for unit and compromise over demagoguery. those who put the well-being of the country, those who stuck their next out and took a political risk for no reason other than that was the right thing do and i believe that's what we're doing on the floor now, the right thing do do and with that, i'm happy to turn to my friend senator collins. mr. cassidy: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. cassidy: before senator collins speaks, i ask unanimous consent that matthew fagley, a fellow in my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the congress. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you, madam president. i listened to the presentations of my two colleagues, senator cassidy and senator menendez, and i could not agree with them more. we have an opportunity to solve

a problem that is affecting each and every community in our country. with the covid-19 pandemic continuing to devastate our public health and our economy, towns and cities across our country are facing increasingly significant new challenges and plummeting revenues at the exact same time. i urge my colleagues to be problem solvers, to address this crisis as part of the relief package that is now being negotiated. we cannot wait. i've joined with seashts menendez -- senators menendez and cassidy and others in this

chamber in introducing the smart act. it would provide much-needed financial assistance to state and local governments while providing safeguards to prevent wasteful spending. it is a lifeline to our communities just as the paycheck protection program has been a lifeline to our small businesses and their employees. the cons qebsz of local -- consequences of local government shortfalls are dire. without our providing them relief, communities face having to lay off essential employees and reduce services at the worst possible time for working families. what is their alternative? they cannot raise taxes. that would be the worst thing

for them to do. municipalities are already scaling back their budgets, furloughing workers, and postponing needed purchases and projects. madam president, these cuts threaten the jobs of our police officers, our firefighters, our e.m.s. personnel, our dispatchers, our sanitation crews, our public works employees at the time when their services are vitally needed. they are the people who make our communities operate, that make them livable. we need them. and we already know about the stresses that our schools are undergoing. do we really want school budgets

to be cut and educators laid off at this important time? the cares act did provide $150 billion to our states and to very large communities, but those funds came with restrictions, and they did not require direct distributions to municipalities with populations under 500,000. mr. president, there is not a single county in maine much less a city or town that has a population of that level. the national governors association has called for $500 billion in assistance to aid our nation's recovery.

organizations supporting our towns and our cities and our counties have all endorsed the smart act. moody's analytics warns that failing to act could shave three percentage points from real g.d.p. from our economic growth and result in the loss of four million jobs. that is the worst thing to happen at this time. this week the main municipal -- maine municipal association released objections anticipating a combined $146 million in lost revenue from maine cities and towns by the end of this year alone. we know that the revenues are going to take a while to recover and are going to affect next

year as well. this builds on maine's revenue forecasting committee which expects a $1.4 billion state budget shortfall from lost sales and income tax revenues over the next three years. as people are driving less, we're also seeing our gas tax revenues plummet. mr. president, i have talked with town and city managers, with mayors and members of town councils, select men and women all across the state of maine about the difficult decisions that they are facing as they attempt to balance their budgets. these cuts are not theoretical. the harm is not just possible.

it is occurring today. let's look briefly at what some maine communities are already having to do. the city of westbrook has announced a hiring freeze affecting all city departments, including the police department. well, that police department has five open positions that it needs to fill and cannot do so. auburn, a city i has had to free six vacant positions because of expected revenue losses. again, vital positions. two firefighters, a police officer, and three public works employees. these cuts come as the city of auburn has spent more than $200,000 in new expenses to

respond to the virus. the town of falmouth has eliminated four open positions, including a police officer and can no longer go ahead with the purchase of a much-needed new fire truck. the town of windham has kept seven needed positions open. these are not large communities. this is a large number of positions. five of these are public works positions without which how is the plowing going to be done this winter to keep the roads safe and clear? the town is also postponed $1.6 million in capital projects. that has a ripple effect on the local economy. it means the contractors not buying supplies nor hiring

employees at this time. in northern maine in the northern maine city of mat wos came -- matawoska, the town manager has shared with my office that the town has had to scrap a $3 million road paving project and will have to keep at least three positions vacant. this is what they're doing already. it is only going to get worse for these towns and cities as revenues continue to plummet. mr. president, senator menendez made a very important point that i want to reiterate. and that is the way our bill is structured, every city, every town regardless of size will receive direct assistance.

every county will receive direct assistance. they will not be dependent on the largess of the state. the money will go to them to meet these essential needs. it is common sense to provide the relief needed to avoid these widespread layoffs and cuts to essential services at the local level where they often are most often needed. these are the public servants who keep our communities and our citizens safe. they are the public servants who keep our communities and our citizens healthy. they are the public servants who keep our communities and our

citizens educated. they are the ones who are plowing our roads and repairing our bridges. they are the ones who make our towns, our cities, our neighborhoods livable. congress must act to provide assistance to every community. mr. president, this is a problem we can solve. let's enact the smart act as part of the next coronavirus package. thank you, mr. president. mr. carper: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: mr. president, i'm going to briefly remove my mask. we are about one week into baseball season. i'll lighten this us, mr. president. one week into baseball season.

some of us are baseball fans. this is the home of the nationals, world champions. for those who might not have been watching baseball over the weekend, a young guy, a relief pitcher for the tigers, his name is tyler alexander brought in the second or third inning, struck out nine straight batters. struck out the first nine batters. one other person has done that in major league history, i think. as we gather to figure out how to get out of this mess, his day was to figure out how to get out of another mess. i hope my reference here in the senate, the white house, will be as successful as his. i'm happy to file today -- my friend from maine, our colleague from new jersey, and you, mr. president, as the senator from louisiana in actually pointing to something we can agree on.

people are always saying to me and i know to my colleagues when we go home, can't you guys, gals ever agree on anything? as it turns out a number of us agree that state and local governments could use some help. and additional help beyond that which we already provided. that's a good thing. we don't have to pit blue states against red states. we can actually work together and in this case we are. very few of us actually come here and start our first elected job as u.s. senator. some but not a lot. other people are former mayor, former governor, former representatives. every now and then somebody slips through without ever having run for elective office again. but i'm a former state treasure. people call me a recovering governor, mr. president. but i'm really a recovering state treasurer. i was elected when i was 29 as state treasurer. when i was elected state treasurer and took the oath, our state had the worst credit rating in the country.

i was elected when pete dupont was elected. turned out to be a great governor. he was a good mentor to me and someone i always looked up to. i hope i was -- i was a good partner to him. pulled our state out of a real mess. not only did we have the worst credit rating in the country that year, mid-1977 actually, but we had the worst credit rating, no pension fund, no rainy day fund. we had the lowest start-up rate of any businesses of any state in america. we couldn't balance our budgets if we had to. and in order to actually have money to spend, we issued revenue anticipation notes. and i asked my -- i got to the state treasurer's office. what is a revenue anticipation note? they said that is the way a state borrows money until taxes come in the following april so we can pay payroll and pensions and stuff like that. i said you are kidding? they said no, we are not. that was the then. this is now.

when pete dupont was our governor and i was treasury, had a bipartisan legislature, house and senate, split between democrats and republicans, but we created a rainy day fund. never invaded it. created -- fully amortized our pension fund. we had no pension fund. we amortized within about ten years. did all kinds of things, all kinds of budget reforms in order to get us on the right track. now, i've heard some of my colleagues say that states got themselves in a mess. they're going to have to get out of it. they can file for bankruptcy. they are badly managed. my state is a aaa state. we got a aaa rating when i was governor. never lost it. never lost it even to this day. most states are better run fiscally than the federal government. you only have to look at the way we spend money around here, not just in the middle of a pandemic. look at the year before the pa pandemic. how much our nation's deficit was in debt, was increased. but even fiscally responsible

well managed states like delaware and other states represented on this floor right here find themselves in a situation that one could not have imagined just a few months ago. that's especially true when we have an administration that's simultaneously asking state and local governments to shoulder the burden of responding to the coronavirus. leader mcconnell and secretary mnuchin say that states don't need more money because they haven't used the coronavirus relief funds that congress provided in the cares act. well, unfortunately that's just not true. a survey conducted by the national association of state budget officers shows that states have already allocated nearly 75% of these funds already to fight the epidemic and help struggling families and small businesses through this crisis. and states across this country, mr. president, see a resurgence in infection rates. the cost of addressing the health and economic crisis are not going down. they're going up. at the same time that the cost of addressing this pandemic have

skyrocketed, businesses have shuttered, tours of commerce have come to in many places a stand still. that means hundreds of billions of lost revenue for states and local governments have occurred. delaware is certainly not alone. so let me be very clear. this is not a red state or blue state problem. it's a united states problem. it's not a consequence of poor management either. over the past couple of months, weeks, i've had conversations literally as my colleagues know with dozens of them on both sides of the aisle about what states and local communities across our country are facing as a result of covid-19. in those conversations with my democratic and republican colleagues time and time again, i've heard a familiar refrain. the pandemic has caused state and local government revenues to plummet in a way that none of us have ever experienced or would have, could have foreseen. income tax revenues have fallen as unemployment numbers reach

unprecedented levels over the course of just a few months. and delaying federal tax deadlines while it was the right thing to do has wreaked havoc on the ability of states to balance their budgets. sales tax collections and revenues from tourism, gas taxes, tolls have dried up as the virus has compelled many people to just stay at home. and states highly dependent on oil and gas revenues, as the presiding officer's state is, have been hit by a pandemic in global energy markets. unlike the federal government, state and local governments have to balance their budget u -- and this means the governor, state and city and county counsels have had no choice but to make deep cuts that will inevitably hurt their communities to recover. state and local governments have

lost 1.5 million jobs. since the pandemic hit our country, state and local governments alone have lost 1.5 million jobs. that's not private-sector jobs. that's not federal government jobs. that's just state and local, county jobs, state teachers, firefighters, police, and more. this staggering statistic is bad enough on its own, but what does it mean if you aren't one of the ones in one out of eight. it means larger class sizes, fewer bus drivers, fewer custodians at a time when schools are struggling to figure out how they will reopen safely this fall. i've talked earlier this week to a number of our finest state superintendents in delaware. and we talked about, you know, they're struggling with how to open up, reopen schools, it is a

turns out, they're going to have to hire more bus drivers because kids have to be separated. can't put as many kids on a school bus. they're going to have to hire substitute teachers. if somebody gets sick, they aren't able to come to works, they're going to have to hire substitute teachers and pay for them as well. and nurses, it's the same way, to be there to help administer whether it's taking people's temperatures or administering 92 test d. administering tests and that kind of thing. cuts to first responder budgets means that people must wait longer for e.m.t.'s and firefighters to arrive in emergency situations. ment cuts in transportation budgets means canceled our delayed transportation infrastructure projects and fewer construction jobs, just as we're in the middle of a summer construction season. these cuts impact all of us and create a -- really at ripple effect across the brought

economy. that's why economists can across the political spectrum agree that state and local budget cuts will weigh down our path to economic recovery, not just for a couple of weeks, not just for a couple of months, for years to come. in fact, based on evidence from the last recession, one recent economic report found that every dollar in cuts costs the overall economy $1.50 to $2. that's one reason why the u.s. chamber of commerce has called for additional federal aid for states and for cities. the chamber also recognizes that this lost revenue will force officials at the state or local level to either miss payments or raise taxes in order to make up the shortfall. we know that this is impacting every part of our nation. the longer we wait to get much-needed assistance to the more our communities will suffer and the more at risk we put our entire economy. we're here. we're sort of like almost in

overtime. we're looking -- in fact, we are in overtime when it comes to the supplemental unemployment insurance benefits having expired. but we don't have time to wait. let's pass long overdue assistance. let's pass it so that our hometowns and our states don't take an even bigger hit, a hit that we can't afford, but a lit -- but a hit that's avoidable. i want to yield to some of my colleagues. some of my colleagues are here to present their own perfects. the first one right out of the starting block, former governor of new hampshire and, like me, a recovering governor, and a terrific united states senator, maggie hassan. i'm happy to yield the floor to senator hassan from new hampshire. maggie? ms. hassan: thank you, senator

carper for the very articulate overview that he just gave of the challenge before us and the importance, mr. president, of providing aid in this next relief package to state and local governments. they have been at this forefront of our nation's response to covid-19. they provide people and businesses with vital support, scouring the world for personal protective equipment, setting up testing centers, and providing emergency relief for families and businesses. they also employ millions of essential employees who are on the front lines of this crisis, including first responders, teachers, and many, many others. unfortunately, as this crisis rages on, state and local communities are facing uncertainty, mounting costs, and a devastating loss of revenue. for too long, the senate majority leader, senator

mcconnell, stalled action on an additional relief package, which has only made matters worse. now, as negotiations are finally under way, we must ensure that the next relief bill provides significant additional federal resources to support state and local governments' efforts to save lives, protect the public's health, and keep the economy moving. mr. president, as my colleague from delaware mentioned, i am a he a former governor. i understand the challenges that state and local officials are experiencing. in new hampshire, following public health guidance, local and state officials took necessary steps to close down portions of the economy in order to save lives. they're now feeling the impacts of revenue shortfalls directly related to those actions. all while keeping up their efforts to provide the frontline services necessary to save lives

and provide economic relief. in a virtual roundtable with mayors and municipal leaders from all across the granite state last month, officials described to me the dire situation that they are up against. dover mayor bob carrier stated, and this is a quote, the tsunami of lost revenue son its way. -- is on its way. claremont mayor charlene lovett noted how there is an added burden of increased expenses and loss of revenue, claremont risks falling behind on much-needed infrastructure improvements like fixing roads. and a number of mayors explained their challenges with budgets for the upcoming school year. as educators and parents make decisions about whether schools will be in person, remote, or a hybrid version, local officials are facing deep uncertainty about what the operational costs for schools will be.

mr. president, situations like these are playing out in the cities and towns all across our country. without additional funding from the federal government, states will be forced to slash education, to slash infrastructure, and to slash public health budgets, which would be devastating. especially in the midst of a pandemic. and it's not just a loss in the services that people depend on. millions of additional jobs would be lost as well. not only the jobs of public workers, by the way, but, for example, the private vendors who often do some of this work. think about construction workers on an infrastructure project. moody's athletics reported that without significant support from state and local governments, four million more people -- four million more people could lose their jobs.

that loss would be catastrophic. and the ripple effect would be felt throughout our entire economy. so we can't let that happen. mr. president, senate democrats are focused on providing significant economic relief for state and local governments throughout our country because we recognize that it is essential for economic recovery. and as part of our efforts to support economic recovery, we must enshould you are that states have the flexibility to use this funding to backfill revenue loss due to covid-19 and preserve jobs. providing this funding will mitigate some of the economic damage caused by this pandemic in addition, as we've heard from local leaders, from educators, from parents, it's vital that we provide separate, dedicated funding for schools. senate democrats have proposed $430 billion to help address the

challenges of students who have fallen behind and provide quality education to all students, regardless of how the schools reopen. our approach stands in stark contrast to the inadequate proposal put forth by senator mcconnell, which provides too few resources to schools and would actually withhold aid if schools don't fully reopen in person, even as the administration has failed to provide supplies and a strategy that would support such efforts to reopen. mr. president, we need our republican colleagues to work with us and deliver sufficient relief without any further delay. and we need to provide state and local governments, as well as our schools, our first responders, our teachers with strong bipartisan support from the federal government. mr. president, i know that right

now in new hampshire, even as teachers face uncertainty, they're making lesson plans and trying to figure out how they're going to make sure that their children engage in their remote learning at home if their school system doesn't reopen while providing services to their students as well. allate cross our state, i know that -- all across our state, i know that if today's ref i -- heavy rains caused flooding, our public workers will be out there protecting our communities. i know that our law enforcement, our firefighters will continue to respond to calls whether or not they have enough personal protective equipment, because that is what they do. they protect and they serve. they do it with dedication and they do it with commitment, and they provide essential services that keep our communities safe and healthy. it's never been as important as it is now. all we are asking is that we

come together across party lines, with the white house, and support our state and local governments in this time of need so that we can continue to fight this pandemic and so that we can continue to mitigate the economic harm that is ravaging our country. that's what state and local aid will provide to the people of new hampshire and the people of our country. that is what this moment, this moment of the worst health care crisis that we have seen in 100 years and the worst economic crisis since the great depression, that is what this moment demand. the livelihood of millions of americans and the lives of millions of americans depend on us taking action right now. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor to my colleague from ohio. mr. brown: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio.

mr. brown: i thank senator hassan and her leadership and she speaks about state government and local government so well because she was governor of new hampshire. and she's one of only two women in american history that have been a governor and a senator -- a governor and then aer no. thank you for your leadership. senator carper thank you for leading this effort. for months, you know, senator mcconnell's office is down the hall there. for months we've been begging -- begging senator mcconnell, begging president trump to doing is, to actually let us do our jobs. we wanted to legislate. we wanted to do the things that senator hassan has just talked about. now, i don't -- i'm not really sure how mitch mcconnell has spent his summer. what i do know is that in may the house of representatives passed the heroes act. it helped local governments, it helped people stay in their homes so they wouldn't be evicted, it helped our public school system, it provided $600 to unemployed workers. and, mr. president, what's

remarkable about that is that even during this pandemic, we haven't seen the poverty rate go up in this country because of the $600 per week that -- that millions of unemployed workers are receiving, which they have earned. so the dhows that in may. i don't know what -- so, the house did that in may. i don't know what senator mcconnell has done since. through may, june, july, now into august. finally -- finally he comes up with something. but he comes up -- we've asked him to extend the unemployment insurance for literally the hundreds of thousands of workers in my state, the thousands of workers in nevada, the thousands of workers -- tend of thousands of workers in hughes lewis. we've asked the president and the majority leader to extend that unemployment insurance. put you know what? it's pretty unbelievable to hear people on this side of the aisle making $175,000 a year as u.s. senators -- most of my colleagues are millionaires --

and they complain if these unemployed workers are getting $ 00 week. they complain that these workers are getting too much money as we earn $175,000 a year. last week senator mcconnell finally came up with a plan. does nothing to extend the $600 a week. it does nothing to keep people in their homes. and help them pay the bills. the -- the last thing we should want is a tidal wave of evictions so people go into crowded homeless shelters or sleep in their cousin's basement because they don't have a place to live. that bill does nothing to help state and local governments. it does nothing for clark county, ohio or clark county, nevada. ohio's governor announced $750 million in state budget cuts, including in education and medicaid. counties and cities and towns are facing similar impossible choices. we know with hundreds of

thousands of ohioans out of a job, if they don't get $600 a week, it will mean more will go into poverty, more of them will have trouble feeding after their families and more will go to homeless shelters. let's be clear if we don't get more funding. it means layoffs of teachers, layoffs of firefighters, layoffs of children services workerses, it means -- workers, it means less money for schools. school costs have gone up. they have to make the school buses safer and cafeteria safer and the technology for remote learning and the classrooms safer, it means fewer resources for schools to expand for small band and close the digital provide. it means putting critical infrastructure construction on hold and it means sales hikes increases. i spent a good chunk of my time, and i know my colleagues do, on virtual round tables and

conference calls. i talked to teachers, firefighters, chambers of commerce, university college presidents. i was on the phone yesterday with 100 county commissioners. i did a call in richland county, my hometown chamber of commerce. last week it was the cincinnati chamber, probably mostly republicans, ohio college presidents, another with ohio educators. i hear the fear if people's voices in the demand that we do something, we don't just walk away like president trump and mitch mcconnell are doing. they are either going to raise taxes on ohioans that are hurting or lay off workers an cut services people are relying on. one thing that comes up, over and over again is communities are set back years in our fight against addiction. the addiction crisis didn't go away.

it got layered on top of this catastrophe. if we don't get states additional tuck, they will cut mental health services. you know the number of child abuse cases have gone up during this but not reported cases because we don't know about them because kids aren't going to schools and kiz aren't going to church and teachers and people in the communities an ministers report cases of child abuse and the workers have been laid off, the social workers that go into the homes. we need to be clear about what mass layoffs means. it means if a county in ohio cuts staff at their schools, it's not just the individual educators who get hurt, obviously, our kids suffer, the economy suffers. it goes on, it meebs a longer -- means a longer recession, a deeper recession, yet senator mcconnell said 20 people on his side of the aisle will walk away, not even willing to help schools, unemployed workers, for

people about to be closed on or evicted, or local governments. but, you know, the stock market's doing okay. the stock market is not the economy. we won't have a real recovery until we invest in the real economy in communities in ohio, nevada, in arkansas and across the country, ohioans shouldn't have to fend for themselves in the middle of a once-in-a-generation crisis. that's essentially what the trump mcconnell plan, if you even call it a serious plan, what the trump mcconnell plan tells ohio communities, you are on your own. you are on your own. we must pass a recovery bill. it must include new flexible funding, trust the communities. trump and mcconnell don't trust local communities. they send a few dollars here and there, they put strings -- they attach strings on it because they don't trust local communities. i trust local communities, i trust my county commissioners, local mayors, we have to get them help. they know what is best for their communities. let them do their job, senator

mcconnell, president trump, let us do our jobs. i yield the floor to one of the senators from nevada. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada is recognized. ms. rosen: thank you. i rise today because our states, cities, and tribes are in trouble and they desperately need our help. state, local, and tribal governments are on the front lines in this coronavirus pandemic. we have seen our leaders step up during this difficult time to do what is necessary to mitigate the spread of this virus to protect the health and well-being of their residents and to prevent the critical industries and institutions from failing. their goal is the same as ours, to protect the lives and livelihoods of the people that they represent. i know this to be true in nevada where dedicated heroes are

working tirelessly to combat the covid-19 pandemic in every corner of the silver state. however, this proactive and necessary response has not come without a cost. in addition to the coronavirus, nevada must also deal with an alarming budget shortfall, exacerbated by a struggling economy that relies on tourism and a massive drop in tax revenue. before this crisis began, nevada had not mismanaged its state's finances. the state had a record low unemployment rate of 3.6% and we had a rainy day fund for emergencies, but we have needed to use hundreds of millions of dollars from that rainy day fund in order to try to address our budget shortfall. nevada has a tough road ahead and difficult choices to make and nevada's not alone.

many states across the country are identical. they are in similar situations. red and blue states are facing this very challenge due to no fault of their own. cities and towns, they are struggling to contain the health and fiscal impacts of this pandemic. during a special session of the nevada state legislature, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved legislation for the president to fund state, local, and tribal governments to offset a $1.2 billion budget shortfall caused by this pandemic and they need the flexibility to spend it based on local needs. nevada's governor offered a stern warning, one that applies to the whole nation. without additional federal support for state and local

funding, states will be, and i quote, forced to make impossible decisions regarding funding, critical public health, education, and more. unquote. without additional state and local from congress, our state's budget shortfall will make it overwhelmingly difficult to provide health care to everyone who needs it to fund our local school systems, pay our first responders, and it would leave countless nevadans in distress who rely on public programs. the cares act, established a coronavirus relief fund to support states, tribes, and large local governments, and in nevada that funding has helped and has helped to provide support for medicare providers that allowed continued health care for our seniors an treatment for those high-risk covid-19 patients. it's provided enhanced testing and contact tracing in our

communities. it's provided for child care programs used by essential workers. it's provided home delivered meals, home health care, and support for families and their caregivers. it's provided p.p.e. and critical supplies like gloves and masks and sanitizers. does any of this sound unnecessary to you? this crisis isn't over and those needs are still here. i spoke -- i've spoken to mayors and county commissioners across nevada and they are worried. they must make it through to the other side of this crisis. they want to protect, they want to secure their communities, they are counting on us, they are counting on congress to have their backs in this effort. congress must ensure that we support and that all the support reaches all americans at every kind of community. one of the cares act relief

fund's shortcomings was that it provided no direct support to cities and loalts -- localities with populations under 500,000. for states like nevada, that means except for las vegas, every other city in the silver state was excluded from direct funding from the federal government. that's why in april, senator cortez masto and i joined senator heinrich in introducing the coronavirus community relief act, legislation that would provide $250 billion in new stabilization funds directly to cities and counties with populations under 500,000. we know state and local leaders are the ones best to quickly respond to their community's needs. and they desperately need the resources to do this. unfortunately, leader mcconnell has refused to allow the senate to take up the heroes

act, legislation passed by the house that provides continued support for state, local, and tribal governments, including those cities and counties with under 500,000 residents, recognizing that the pandemic continues to damage our communities and that this recovery will take time. the heroes act would allow states to pay for front line health care workers, first responders, teachers, other workers and continue to provide those essential services to all of our residents. the house passed the heroes act over 80 days ago -- 80 days ago, and the majority leader's own proposed legislation, the heals act, does absolutely nothing -- absolutely nothing to address the critical issue of state and local funding. without actions, states across the nation will face consequences that's will have

devastating on countless lives. history will judge the way we treated each other during this pandemic. each of us -- each of us in the united states senate is in a position to do something -- just something. and i implore my colleagues to consider the lives of their constituents, to really pay attention, to really hear what is happening in their communities and in communities across this nation. in town after town, in city after city, and i want them to remember that we are all in this together. thank you. i yield back my time. i yield my time to the great senator from the state of nevada, my senior senator katherine cortez masto. the presiding officer: the senior senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: thank you, mr. president. as you can hear, the passion,

not only in my colleague who i am proud stand side by side to represent the great state of nevada, but senator rosen, her passion -- but all of the passion that i've heard from the senators on the floor about this particular issue, mr. president. you know, at kitchen tables all over the country, including in nevada, families, they are sitting down and they are pouring -- forking over their -- poring over their budgets. too many of them are trying to figure out how to stretch that budget with no income and they are making difficult decisions on which bills need the most urgent attention. well, our state and local and tribal governments across this country are doing the same thing. with the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, state and local governments have less revenue at a time when they need those resources to combat the virus and keep nevadans safe.

that's why when congress passed the cares act in march, democrats fought so hard for state and local and tribal governments. we wanted to make sure that state and local governments had enough cash on hand to cover the urgent cost of the pandemic so that they could keep services run and expand their response during this crisis. we needed to guarantee these governments could cover the costs of emergency shelters for covid patients. we had to make sure that front line responders had enough personal protective equipment on hand for them to do their jobs. and we wanted local governments to help people stay in their homes. we allocated $150 billion from the coronavirus relief fund for state, state and local, and tribal governments in march. that was a compromise. we came together, we worked together to solve that problem. i heard on the floor of the senate today that there's bipartisan support for this funding as well. but we all knew back in march

when we passed the $150 billion as part of the cares act that it wasn't going to be enough. we weren't sure, but now we know it's not enough. and we've got to do something about it. we're seeing across the country how local governments and states are dealing with this pandemic. senator rosen just noted in nevada we're in the middle of a special session. the governor had to call a special session of our legislature because we have a budget hole of about $1.2 billion related to covid-19 pandemic. and the impact that it has had. and what is that impact? it's the impact we have all asked across this country. we are in the middle of a health crisis. until we have that vaccine, we've got to keep people safe. and the one thing we have asked them across the country, including in the state of nevada in every county is that if you shelter in place, if you go home, if you shut your business

and help us stem the spread of this virus, we'll take care of you. we'll help you put food on the table. we'll help you pay your rent. make sure you have a roof over your head. pay your utility bills. we'll put money in your pockets. oh, by the way, we'll make sure that those small businesses have access to liquidity so that when we can come outside and outdoors again safely and securely, our economy will spring back that much quicker. unfortunately, when we asked everyone across the country to follow that advice and stay safe, we made a commitment to them as well. a long-term commitment. that we would continue to work together in a bipartisan way to solve this problem and make sure people and individuals had money in their pockets and businesses add access -- had access to liquidity so that we could get

through this crisis together. you know, in nevada -- and we have seen this conversation happening across the country -- schools are opening in just a few short weeks. and many of the leaders in my state at the state and local level, they're looking to washington for help. you know, mr. president, most states aren't allowed to borrow to meet these expenses. and i know our esteemed majority leader has thought that bankruptcy is an option for them. but i can tell you that from the -- in nevada this is not an option. it just cannot happen. in the state of nevada like most states, they're required by law to balance their budgets. tribal councils, county commissions and the nevada state legislature are doing what families have been asked to do. they're coming together to ask themselves how can they pay the most urgent bills in that big stack of bills that are coming due right now.

they're working around the clock to get nevadans the support they need to deliver the services they expect, everything from fighting wildfires that are happening right now in nevada and across the west and rethinking how we address and open our schools safely. for our kids, for our staff, for the teachers and the administrators. but those repairs that are required for our roads and bridges, the work that still needs to be done on a daily basis has to continue. and so governments across this country are continuing to juggle those many needs. on top of all of that, we know we want them to all securely hold 2020 elections. we want to make sure that also our families are connected to school and work and that there is no homework gap, that medicaid benefits to those in need are available, and that we need to keep e.m.t.'s on the job and help businesses comply with safety regulations during the

middle of this pandemic. and with all these demands, states haven't been able to keep up with those essential bills. i will tell you this. i have talked to in my state like many of us do, we go home or when we're here, we make sure that we're communicating with so many people across our state. in nevada we have beautifully diverse communities and we have urban and rural areas. i have talked to the leaders of all of our counties, our city governments, our governor, whether they're republican or democrat or independent, there's still one thing in common. it's that they want us to come together to find a solution to help and support them during this time when there's no revenue coming in because our economy has been ground to a halt as we address this health crisis. and they have all, me and jackie -- senator rosen, please continue to fight for us and

make sure that the money is not only there and available because we need it to keep our constituents safe but make sure it's flexible. make sure we have the opportunity not just to work through the state but the money goes directly to some of our local governments who i have found -- and i don't know as you all go home -- but i have found that the money we did give to them through the cares act, they have put it to good use. because you know why? because local and state governments and tribal governments know what their community needs. so why should we dictate to them if they want to use that money to help people that need rental assistance at this point in time or if they want to use that money to put food on people's tables because they're not working. isn't that what this is about? all of us working together to help our families across this

country, to make sure we can all stay safe but still pay those bills and still keep our families safe and make sure our businesses are taken care of. but i know this. at the end of the day in the middle of a crisis, our governments at the state, local, and tribal government level, they're the social safety nets. where do you think our constituents go when they need that help? and so i think and know we have an obligation at the federal level to continue to work with our state and local governments and our tribal governments to provide them the necessary resources that are needed right now in the middle of this pandemic because our economy has been ground to a halt. so, mr. president, i think it is time for our body to come together and do what the american people expect of us. it's to work in a bipartisan way

to solve this problem and really look at how we can continue the funding that is necessary for our state and local governments. families not only in nevada but across this country expect that of us now. so i would hope the majority leader would be willing to bring to the floor whatever bil bill s appropriate to have this discussion. i will tell you there's three out there right now. there's the heroes act. there's the smart act which has bipartisan support. and the coronavirus community relief act. there's three bills. let's bring them to the floor. let's have this discussion with the focus on coming together to get the funding to our state and local governments and our tribal communities that are needed right now. thank you, mr. president. and i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. a senator: thank you, mr. president. we are on the precipice of a depression because of politics. right now every single state and most counties and most cities are experiencing a budget crisis like they haven't seen in generations. mr. schatz: tax revenues are down due to high unemployment. rising health care costs and the drop in consumer spending and emergency relief costs continue to skyrocket. and that means our states, our cities, and our towns have run out of money or are quickly running out of money. but in the latest proposal, the republicans allocate nothing at all to state and local government. you heard that correctly. in the midst of the biggest

public health crisis in a century, republicans will not send a single dollar in emergency aid to our states, our cities, and to our counties. now, economically, this is just ridiculously bad. it will cost roughly four million jobs and it will have a direct impact on g.d.p. and on the programs and services that we need in order to come out of the other side of this pandemic. budget shortfalls among state and local governments are approaching half a trillion already and for my home state of hawaii, we're confronting over a billion dollars in losses. now, unlike the federal government, our state and local governments are operating within finite amounts of dollars. they don't have an unlimited line of credit. and a majority of states require a balanced budget by the end of the year. and so it's one thing for states and counties and municipalities to juggle and survive for a few

months by moving money around, using cash flow management, paying bills late, relying on rainy day or reserve funds, but they can't do that forever. by now many have burned up their reserves and the cupboard is bare and the bills are due. and the decisions that the reaction are making right now -- republicans are making right now, the official policy as it relates to funding local governments is to force millions to be laid off in the middle of the worst pandemic in a hundred years. refusing to send aid to states and local governments isn't just cruel, it's bad economic strategy. moody's released a report projecting that it could shave as much as three full percentage points from real g.d.p. three full percentage points from real g.d.p. there are certain things that are not within the united states senate's control as it relates to g.d.p. but this is a choice we're about

to make to lay off public service workers, to actually -- i mean, we passed the p.p.p. program which basically subsidizes keeping people employed. we passed the expanded unemployment insurance which as senator cortez masto pointed out, we mandatorily said stay open and we'll take care of you. now the official public policy of the republican conference is to lay off firefighters and nurses and teachers. and i know that we get real heated in terms of our rhetoric sometimes on the senate floor, and we accuse the other side of things that maybe are shading the truth in ways that are unfavorable. but i just want to point out that is the official public policy of the republicans right now is that states and counties and cities get zero. firehouses get zero. public health nurses get zero. teachers get zero. and that if they -- if they had

their way, that they would pass a coronavirus aid package that forces us to laypeople off, public health nurses, public school administrators, public sanitation workers, teachers in the middle of a situation when the virus is much worse than it was three months ago and the economy is much worse than it was three months ago. and so i reject the premise that this is some sort of democratic ask. now i could go through the list of the national conference of mayors, the national governors association, the national conference of state legislation turs -- legislatures, all of the organizations on a bipartisan basis represent governments. they all want state and county relief to come into this package. i could go through that. but i just rejected premise on a human level that we have to demand as though it is some sort of progressive wish list -- it's not a carbon tax, right?

it's not criminal justice reform. it's not a gay rights. this is allowing firefighters to stay employed. this is allowing our public hospitals not to lay off people in the middle of a pandemic. this is allowing our school systems not to lay off teachers. this isn't a democratic ask. this is an american ask. and i reject the premise that the leader of the senate, mitch mcconnell, is going to treat some as something that is to be traded for. we don't trade for keeping our firefighters employed. we don't trade for keeping our nurses employed. we just do that because it's the right thing to do. and we especially do that in the middle of the worst public health crisis in a century and the worst economic situation we've had in almost a century. i reject the idea that leader schumer and leader mcconnell and speaker pelosi and secretary mnuchin have to cut a deal on

state and local funding. every single member of the united states senate as soon as this ends up in the bill is going to take credit for it. they're going to take credit. look, i got you money. but let the record reflect that the proposal from the republican conference was states, counties, municipalities get zero. and that is not tenable. i yield the floor. mrs. shaheen: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: thank you, mr. president. i wanted to join my colleagues on the floor today to support legislation that would address the needs that we're hearing from state and local governments. and that would support bipartisan legislation to address this pandemic. that's what we've had to date and there's no reason why we can't get there this time.

as you know so well, last week the united states crossed a devastating milestone. more than 150,000 americans, including 417 granite staters, have died due to complications from covid-19. and sadly as we all know, those numbers keep increasing -- increasing. the coronavirus pandemic has also wreaked havoc on our economy. the commerce department reported on friday that our gross domestic product had shrunk to nearly 33%, the sharpest economic decline in modern american history. for months, my colleagues and i have been coming to the floor week after week urging the majority to take up proposals that would provide critical changes to our health care system and comprehensive relief for our economy. but what we've gotten is a package of bills that fails to

address many of the concerns that i have heard from granite staters. the bill that was presented to this senate by the republican majority doesn't provide dedicated funding to help nursing homes and long-term care facilities, which are the most vulnerable to covid-19. in fact, in new hampshire, 80% of our deaths from the coronavirus have been to people in long-term care facilities. the highest percentage in the country. this package doesn't include housing protections and it pressures schools to reopen in order to receive assistance. and important, the bill lacks any support for state and local governments that are struggling to maintain essential services while they are also on the front lines of battling this pandemic.

every day, mayors and community leaders tell me about what they are facing. the massive reduction in local tax revenue and increased costs due to covid-19 response efforts. these challenges have left our state and municipal governments in dire straits. i'd like to read, mr. president, an excerpt from a letter that i received from mayor joyce craig, which is the mayor of manchester , new hampshire's largest city. she says, and i quote, prior to the covid-19 pandemic, manchester was thriving. over the past two years, we saw over $250 million in new private investments and economic development. we expanded air service from the manchester boston regional airport, and we were seeing a continual decrease in opioid overdoses. but due to the covid-19 pandemic, our bright path

forward has grown foggy, and i am concerned about what lays ahead for my city. mayor craig goes on to say that since the pandemic began, manchester's revenue is down by over $3.5 million, including a $1.6 million decrease in property taxes that are collected. in total, the state of new hampshire expects to experience a budget shortfall of nearly $540 million. that's about a 20% drop in state revenues. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the letter that i quoted from mayor craig of manchester be entered into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. shaheen: thank you. today i also spoke to the mayor of nashua, new hampshire's second largest city. jim dungess, the mayor, told me he expects to lose 10% to 20% of

the revenue base in nashua. so that's $7 million to $15 million. it means that services would be affected and workers would have to be laid off. in fact, he told me he had to take all of the savings that he would need to achieve from the revenue losses from just one agency, it would result in laying off half of the entire police department in the city, or laying off 150 to 200 teachers. obviously, that's not tenable. i also heard from the mayor of berlin, paul grenier, the mayor of new hampshire's northernmost city. he told me that because of the impacts of covid, the state of hall of fame is also facing revenue shortfalls. as i said, they are expecting about $540 million in revenue losses. as he said, if the federal

government doesn't provide some help to state and local communities, that his city of berlin is expecting to lose not just any potential funding at the federal level, but state funds that it had budgeted for because it was opening that it would get state funding as it usually does. so losing help from congress in any covid 4 package would have a double impact on the city of berlin and other cities and municipalities across new hampshire. so i've heard from mayors, from town administrators, from local leaders, from our republican governor, chris sununu. all of them are grappling with whether they will be able to fund the services that they have committed to, whether they will have to lay off first responders or firefighters, police and teachers if federal assistance doesn't arrive soon. and new hampshire's not alone. we just heard senator schatz

talking about the impact on hawaii. and senators cortez masto and rosen talking about the impact on nevada. everyone who has been to the floor is talking about what will happen in their states if we don't do something to help. no state could have anticipated the economic fallout from this pandemic. that's why it is essential that congress provide federal support to help state and local governments as they respond to this crisis. we've done that before in the bipartisan cares act. new hampshire was able to receive $1.25 billion to help reimburse the state for its covid-19 response. these funds have been used in new hampshire to create relief programs for county and municipal governments, for small businesses, for nonprofits of all sizes, for frontline workers, and for health care

providers, but, of course, as we know, that money is running out, and so more needs to be done. we need state and local funds to provide additional support for families who are experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness, minority and women-owned small businesses and individuals in recovery are in need of mental health services. new hampshire has been severely affected by the opioid epidemic. and people who have substance use disorders are feeling the impact of this coronavirus, perhaps more than their neighbors and other people in our state. in addition to providing dedicated funding for state and local jurisdictions, the next relief package should remove bureaucratic restrictions, preventing governments from using emergency relief funds as they see fit. and unlike the cares act, congress should also provide dedicated funding for counties,

for cities, for municipalities with fewer than 500,000 residents. they need access to this funding because they are just as much on the front lines, the rural communities that dot my state, as the biggest cities in this nation. communities of all sizes are facing substantial losses in tax revenue due to covid-19. they need our help. local leaders are calling out for help. we can't just sit idly by and let these governments go bankrupt as the majority leader suggests, and this shouldn't be a partisan issue. we all have a common interest in preserving as much of our economy as possible so that we are positioned for a full and robust recovery once we get this coronavirus behind us. so i would hope that all of my colleagues in the senate would recognize the urgency of the

situation that we are in, that we will take up and pass legislation that will provide assistance to state and local governments and provide the relief that americans are calling for. the house passed legislation more than two months ago. too much time has been lost, and it is time for congress to act now. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: thank you very much, mr. president. we are -- for the more than 150,000 americans we have lost in this pandemic. we are grateful for those on the front lines, the doctors, the health care workers who have served and sacrificed, and we are committed to finding a better way forward. there is no excuse to how this virus has spread here in the

united states. we have the capacity, the expertise, but we have not demonstrated the coordinated strategy or presidential leadership to overcome this pandemic and economic disaster. instead, the president engages in a pattern of denial and delay, downplaying the scope of this crisis. this failed approach has led to thousands of premature deaths, double-digit unemployment, shuttered businesses, and spiking infection rates throughout the country. the economy won't snap back until we get covid-19 under control and until states and communities have the resources they need to get a handle on this public health emergency. the cost of fighting covid-19 is rising. state and local budgets are now under severe strain while demand for essential public services,

including medical care, safety, and sanitation, is going up and up and up. moreover, schools need additional resources to reopen and support students, and the revenue that is coming into our states and our cities and our towns is insufficient. without more help, they will be forced to make drastic cuts which in my state could mean cutting critical funding for hospitals and nursing homes in a state with one of the oldest populations in the country. zeroing out the state's job training programs. closing a prison facility. cutting medicaid eligibility for vulnerable adults. and ruing child care reimbursement rates, impacting working families and child care providers throughout the states. with state and local governments forced to lay off more workers, the unemployment crisis worsens.

the customer base for main street shrinks. and the economy slides even further away from rebuilding. indeed, the united states economy shrank at a 32.9% annual ized pace between april and june. we must break this vicious cycle by passing another emergency relief package that is right size to the challenge. the cares act was about $1.7 trillion. a huge number, difficult to fathom. it wasn't enough. not even close. in fact, the price tag was smaller than the 2017 republican tax bill. and those who now claim we can't afford to help the unemployed and the communities throughout america are the same who quickly approved that $1.9 trillion tax

bill in 2017, which benefited big businesses and the very wealthy at the expense of the average taxpayer who needs our help now. if there was a will then to spend so much so quickly on an ill-conceived and misdirected tax bill, the majority should have no qualms about spending whatever it takes now to beat this virus that is attacking our citizens and our economy. for starters, we need improved testing and contact tracing, more support for our hospitals and health care providers, and an effective approach to vaccine development and distribution, all while preserving as much of our economy as we can to have a strong foundation from which to rebuild and rebound. as federal reserve chairman jay powell said last wednesday, the

path of the economy is going to depend to a very high extent on the course of the virus, on the measures that we take to keep it in check. we can't say it enough. that's why we need additional and flexible federal assistance for state and local governments that are fighting this virus on the front lines while also trying to keep their local economies afloat. i said before the cares act passed we needed $750 billion for state and local governments to do both. the cares act included $150 billion. and i have new legislation to provide $600 billion more. we should support our state and local governments because they support our economy and just as importantly they protect our constituents from covid-19.

by standing in the way of additional federal funds for state and local governments, republicans may force these governments to raise taxes on our constituents, make additional cuts to critical services, or worse, do both. let's avoid more such self-inflicted pain. getting a handle on covid-19 also means keeping families in their homes and avoiding waves of evictions and foreclosures that will lead to a major spike in homeless which would likely mean more infections. at the same time, we should continue expanded unemployment benefits and provide nutrition assistance so people in desperate circumstances, through no fault of their own, can afford to pay their bills and eat. we must provide relief for the hardest-hit businesses, many of which will continue to be shut down for the foreseeable future,

including relief to it the transportation sector. any agreement should also include more help for child care providers, public schools, and college campuses to safely reopen and support to libraries to keep our communities connected. we must do all of this so that once we've gotten a better handle on the coronavirus, we have enough workers and businesses with which to rebuild our economy. we also can't lose sight of the need to safeguard our election infrastructure. our nation and our economy can't take any more uncertainty. hand in hand with that is supporting the u.s. postal service and its employees who play an integral role in delivering mail ballots and are continuing to provide a lifeline to americans. mr. president, for the past 60

consecutive years, democrats and republicans have come together to strengthen our national security by passing the national defense authorization act. i hope we can carry the same spirit of urgency and cooperation as we craft the next fiscal relief package. indeed, our national security also depends on the critical pillar of a strong and vibrant economy. we need to act sooner rather than later on a comprehensive and robust fiscal package. with that, mr. president, i would like to yield the floor in the hope that we'll move quickly to legislation that will satisfy the needs of our cities and towns of all americans, so we can move forward together. thank you.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that emily salmons, an intern in my office, be granted floor privileges through the remainder of the week. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. capito: thank you. mr. president, i rise today to honor and thank a very good friend of mine, mayor george carose of the city of martinsburg. i said his name wrong, and i don't want to say that because he is a good friend of mine, george carose. he was always really great to work with and was always -- and always gave credit to his staff. george is the son of greek immigrants who did not speak english when they came to this country and they moved to martinsburg before he was born. he was born in the early 1930's. he has called martinsburg his

home his entire life. he worked on patterson street all his life. over time he worked his way up in the ranks taking over the soda fountain and eventually worked as an assistant in the pharmacy section of the drugstore. george did leave martinsburg briefly when he served his country in the u.s. naval hospital corps where he was stationed at both bethesda naval hospital in maryland and also quantico marine corps base in virginia. he eventually returned home to his home that he loved, to martinsburg, and he returned to pattersons drugstore which he later bought and operated until his retirement in 2015. he then began a career as a public servant. george was first elected to the city council as a councilperson at large in june of 1974 where

he served for 26 years. following this, he decided to run for mayor of martinsburg, and he served as the merit for about 20 years and will retire this year at the age of 88. george and i started our careers together. i started as a congresswoman and george started at mayor. mayor carose truly made martinsburg a better place to work and live. i have had the honor to live and work closely with mayor carose. we had a field hearing in martinsburg and i remember the mayor being there and welcoming us. i've seen him on many ribbon cuttings and openings. i've been to his drugstore to be served at the counter. he is just a wonderful, wonderful man. one of my proudest moments with him is when we successfully secured the funds for the infrastructure improvement, like

the trolley street expansion project. george helped create the martinsburg initiative most recently which is a program i have spoken about before on the senate floor. this initiative is spearheaded by the martinsburg police department, the berkeley county schools and shepherd university as well as a wide array of local partners such as the boys and girls clubs of the eastern panhandle. the goal of the program is to stem the horrible opioid addiction problem by identifying and trying to eliminate the basic causes of drug abuse in at-risk families. the mayor has been dedicated to this. the program is extremely successful and has made a tremendous impact in the martinsburg community. it's also a perfect example of how a community can come together at different levels and work together to create a lasting and impactful solution to a big, big problem. through the actions taken under mayor carose's administration,

countless children in the martinsburg area have now seen there is a life away from illicit drugs and opioid addiction. george exemplified hard work, dedication, and loyalty. he still does. this is evident just by his length of time serving his community but through the results that came from his vision and his collaboration with so many others in martinsburg. the rest of the state has agreed with this, because george was named mayor of the year and public official of the year. but this came as no surprise to me and many, many others. george's favorite mottos are, plan your work and work your plan. that's what the mayor did. and his second motto was something i think we could probably use around here -- a closed mouth catches no flies. these were the words george followed every day when he was working as mayor. they helped keep progress moving

and they perfectly describe how george conducted himself eve and every day -- each and every day, which is why he was react willed many times but also so beloved in his community. after 46 years of devoted service to his city and the mayor and the community, mayor carose is retiring. while i'm sad that this chapter is coming to a close, i'm grateful for the opportunity to work together with him to better the city of martinsburg. his leadership, successes, and his life memos -- his life mottos will serve as an example to follow. i really thank mayor carose for being a good friend, for letting me g.e.d. to know him -- for letting me get to know him. i wish him the very best in his retirement. i yield back. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i heard the chance to hear the end at least of senator capito's

speech. i want to the thank her for the work she's done on the opioid issue. it's one of the examples of bipartisanship. i know west virginia, like rhode island had a pretty horrible situation. i appreciate her comments. but i'm here today for the 269th time with my increasingly battered time to wake up poster to try to alert this chamber to the threat of climate change, something obviously louisiana knows very well, and to the forces that are blocking action on climate. in these climate speeches, i have talked often about the insidious encroachment on american government of special interest power, which is what is behind all this climate denial and obstruction. it didn't happen on its own.

the fossil fuel industry's political forces used the cover of anonymous funding -- what we call dark money -- and they use phony front groups and clever propaganda to accomplish their aims. in effect, these fossil fuel political forces have run a covert operation against our own government. we observe the disturbances, we hear the rustling in the leaves, we see strange sights, but many of us haven't connected the dots. those who are familiar with some of the elements may not put the whole story together. some are so accustomed in this sinister behavior, they think it's normal. some folks are like a city dweller in the jungle meeting a field biologist to identify the behaviors going on around them. so let me give you this field

biologist's overview. we understand pretty well the crew of bad actors lurking behind climate denial. democrats in the senate have repeatedly called out and reported on this web of denial funded by the fossil fuel industry. investigative journalists like jane mayer and scholars have dug into this scheme. there's actually a robust academic sub-specialty that analyzes this as an economic and political phenomenon. the covert special interest machinery behind that effort is not just dedicated to opposing climate legislation. another covert operation it runs is chronicled in our recent senate democrats' report here that examines the bad actors

behind the special interest court capture operation. this operation has crept forward over years, even decades. the republican party is more a tool of this effort than its principle. big donors are behind it. the goal here is to fashion for the donors a supreme court that will not just rule for but reset society's ground rules to favor the big donors behind the scheme. on yet another front, there's been recent public reporting revealing the bad actors rushing to stand up a new and improved republican voter suppression apparatus as they start to panic about the november election. earlier in year, longtime partisan court fixer leonard leo stepped down from his formal role as executive vice president

of the court capture command center at the federalist society and at the same time a mysterious new project called the honest elections project began voter suppression work in swing states like florida, nevada, wisconsin, and michigan. it ran ads accusing democrats of cheating with mail-in ballots. it sent threatening letters to election officials, challenging voter rolls. and it filed legal pleadings -- lots of legal pleadings -- arguing for more voting restrictions ahead of november. but in their hurry, they did a weak job of covering their tracks. reporters quickly uncovered that the honest elections project is a rebrand of the judicial education project, a key cog in that same leonard leo's machine.

as the guardian reporters who broke the story observed, by having a hand in both voting litigation and the judges on the federal bench, leo's network could create a system for conservative donors have an avenue to both oppose voting rights and appoint judges who will back that effort, end quote. last, we pretty well know who funds the massive and often anonymous political operation that props up the republican party. take 2016, for instance. when the fossil fuel billionaire koch brothers operation spent $2 million on ads targeting viable democratic candidates in just two senate races -- ohio and wisconsin -- over a year before the election. over a year before the election they were already at work

bombing those candidates. they didn't use their names. they hid behind phony front groups. it took years to dig this out. but that's what happened. the anonymously funded u.s. chamber of commerce spent nearly $40 million in 2016 and 2018 supporting republican house and senate candidates. dark waves of untraceable dark money pour everywhere into republican elections. from slips and leaks and investigative reporting, we can see enough overlap across these four efforts to state the general proposition, it's the same crew. if you look at it as a covert operation run by special interests against their own country, it has at least these

four programs. but it has one set of interest behind it. they run the climate denial covert on, they run the caption covert on, they run the voter suppression covert on and they use it as their front. if this operation was not covert, if it was obvious. if the press and public could readily connect the dots, it wouldn't work. people would know it was fossil fuel polluter money. they'd get the joke. that's why it has to be a covert operation, and that means it needs dark money, anonymous, untraceable funds. a little galaxy of 501-c-4 groups, donor trusts and other screening tools has been crafted to anonnize the donors.

why? because the blood pumping through the beasts giving this life is dark money. if we expose the dark money, the whole beef shrivels up. no dark money, no covert operations. that's why the efforts to expose the covert donors has reactions from the mouthpieces like the wall street editorial page. i have experienced these hysterical reactions over and over. indeed there was one in the news today. this speech might provoke even another. but at the end of the day, as americans, i believe we share the proposition that nothing could be more corrupting than large flows of anonymous money and politics -- in politics. that sort of money doesn't even

have to be spent to be corrupting. the mere threat of a political attack can do the job and the donor saves the money or it could be a private promise of unlimited support. once a political weapon is permissible, private threats and promises to use or with hold that weapon are inevitable and they are inevitably corrupting. but don't think the prospect of corruption daunts the schemers. a political regime that allows their corruption and helps cover up their covert operations is precisely what the dark money donors want. why else would we do nothing about climate change when it's so obvious? why else would we ignore every

respectable scientist in the field? why else ignore warnings of financial meltdown looming from bankers and economists from across the country, even across the world? why else ignore the fires that are burning up siberia, for pete's sake, and closer to home the flood warnings along our coasts and the droughts and the floods and the storms across our states? when astronomers see celestial bodies behave inex policably, they -- inexplicably, they look for the dark hole. dark money is the dark star, the evil star influencing congress's behavior, or i should say misbehavior, on climate change.

so preview of coming attractions here. the dark money funded race to capture the court is also a race by the schemers to establish a new constitutional doctrine protecting their dark money schemes. such a doctrine is already being grown in the dark money-funded ideological hot houses, a theory that dark money is protected by association and petition, a theory giving powerful interests the constitutional right to run covert operations against their own government, leaving regular citizens beguiled or bewildered. that theory may seem ludicrous and, indeed, this notion only got the one vote from justice thomas in citizens united. but, remember, that thomas is the dark money's crowd leading crater on the court -- indicator

on the court. this is popping up all over the corporate right wing. twice so far i've had corporate entities from whom i requested information about their dark money dealings plead the first in response to my questions. the game is on whether we realize it or not and one of the stakes in the game is climate action. we cannot be idle about this. groups that run covert operations against their own country are not to be trusted with that country's welfare. what a foul convergence it would be if the dark money schemers used dark money to fund a court capture operation that delivered a court-created doctrine hatched in dark money hothouses,

protecting that dark money from disclosure for eternity, permanently etching into our constitution this pathway of corruption. as i have said over and over, take away the corrupting dark money weaponry from the fossil fuel industry and we solve climate change. we have lost a decade to citizens united, the decision that gave this industry the weaponry to kill climate bipartisanship. it is a decade we and our children will rue having lost. let's lose no more time. let's once and for all root out the corrupting dark money machinery, expose it's nefarious and crooked covert operations, shut it down and start running a real democracy around here

again. and if we can't do this now, then let's pray for an election that let's us do it soon. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: mr. president, i have six requests for committees to meet today during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leader. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. portman: i'm here on the floor today to talk about some positive news and some positive news that happened just today. it's not about coronavirus, it's not about politics, it's not about hurricane isais. it has to do with some urgent and historic help for our national parks, something that

is really important to all of us. we all love our parks. today president trump signed into law the landmark great american outdoors act that will protect and conserve our public lands. i'm happy to see this effort finally cross the finish line because the natural beauty and rich history of america is something we must reserve for future generations. a big part of the new law is bipartisan legislation that is called restore our parks act that i've worked on for more than three years with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. senator mark warner of what what was my partner as well as lamar alexander of tennessee and senator king of maine. it involves stewardship of our national parks which i've spent more than a dozen years working on. i guess i shouldn't admit that. sometimes things take a long time around here. back to my days of office of management and budget, i started focusing on this issue of the

backlog of maintenance projects at our national parks. it's alarming. it's been growing. it now adds up to over $12 billion. far more than the parks could ever afford to take care of based on our annual budgets we provide them from congress. by the way, the annual budget from congress for all operations, all maintenance is less than $3 billion, and, yet, there's a $12 billion maintenance backlog. when teddy roosevelt started the national parks, he wanted to preserve some of the most beautiful, pristine lands in america. he wanted to be sure they would be there for public use. it was a good decision. we now have 84 million acres of parkland all around the country. some are the most beautiful, pristine places likeo settlementy and yellowstone and the tetons, but others preserve our history. we have historical parks around the country. we have battlefields that we have preserved around the country to tell the story of our

country, good and bad. we have presidents homes that have been preserved to be able to help, again, tell the story of america. recently i was at one of our national park sites in ohio and it's the home of an individual who was the first black colonel in the united states army. he was also the first black superintendent of a national park. that home was also a site on the underground railroad. so it's a place where people can go and see where escaping slaves were harbored and understand more of the history, not just of slavery, but also of the cooperation an seek to freedom that comes out from the underground railroad. this is the charles young home near xieny, ohio. so our national parks are important for so many reasons. and, yet, during the past couple of decades we haven't taken care of them as we should and this backlog has built up. people appreciate our parks.

we've had 185 million increase to our national parks. more are coming every year. why? it's a relatively inexpensive vacation, they are beautiful. people from all over the world know about our national parks and it's one of the things they love about america. the problem is when people visit our parks, they will find that we haven't kept up with the needs. so the water systems, the bathrooms, the visitors centers and many of the trails are in bad shape. some are closed. when you go to a national park, you may find a facility is sloafd because of a -- closed because of a lack of funding. we haven't done the improvements need to stay functional. the other week i saw this first hand at cuyahoga valley. it is the 13th most visited national park. it runs between cleveland and akron, ohio. it suffered from the deferred

maintenance problems for years. i saw crumbling trails, i saw trails falling into the cuyahoga river and rusting train tracks that run through the park, it's a tourist train track that runs through. i saw a bridge that was really unsafe to be on and has to be restored. it's an historic bridge. we want to preserve it, but the costs are just too high given the annual budget for that park. their maintenance backlog for that park alone is $50 million, yet their annual budget is $11 million which goes to the rangers, programs, and major operations but it is not enough to take care of the big problems. in a way by not fixing these problems, we're also increasing the costs. think about it, these costs compound year after year. in your own house you think about what happens if you don't fix the leak in the roof. what happens is the drywall

begins to have problems. you might have mold, the floors begin to get wet and the wood floors begin to couple. you have additional costs, if just you had fixed that roof you wouldn't have. that's where we are with the parks. if we take the time and the effort to make the fixes now, we'll save money over time for taxpayers because you won't have the compounding costs. every day it gets worse and worse. now, finally, we've come up with a way to deal with it. congress has asked our parks over the last few years to give us their deferred maintenance projects with spes specificity. what are your priority projects, what are the top priorities? we asked them to lay it out in detail. it's been very helpful because we now know we have over $12 billion in maintenance needs but about $6.5 billion of that is high-priority projects, the projects most in need of

immediate -- they have been vetted. we are proposing a source of funding to be able to deal with that because the annual appropriations process doesn't come near enough to matching what we need to have done. the highest priority needs at the parks is about $6.5 billion, and in this legislation now law of the land royalty income is taken from on-shore and off-shore oil and gas and some of that is directed toward this use. the next five years enough of that funding will be there to deal with the $6.35 billion, half of the maintenance backlog. we'd like to do better but this is historic. never have we been able to deal with these backlogs that have built up over years. it's really a debt unpaid. that's how i look at it. so it's something that we should have been doing all along. we weren't. the costs have now snowballed and now we need to deal with it.

so it's not so much a new responsibility as it is stewardship we never did in the first place. so it's a debt unpaid. second again it's going to save us money over time assuming we want the parks to be working. we want the trails to be open. we want the visitor centers to be welcoming, all of course we do want and we must have. the bill is not just important for our parks but also our economy, too because these projects are infrastructure projects. we're talking a lot about that here, how to get more jobs into our economy right now with the impact of coronavirus on our economy. we need more opportunities out there. infrastructure is one. well, these are infrastructure jobs. over 100,000 new jobs just with this legislation alone and again these projects are shovel ready. they're vetted. they are ones that congress, thanks to our asking the park service for the information, knows what jobs are out there and what projects need to be done. it's a long-term investment, too. as of 2019 visitor spending in

communities near our parks resulted in $41.7 billion of benefit to the nation's economy. and supported 340,000 jobs. so it's new jobs in terms of construction but it's also ensuring the parks continue to be able to be attracting these visitors which adds such a big economic boost to our economy. i'm proud that congress has come together. as republicans and democrats in a nonpartisan way to support this important initiative. and i'm thankful for the president and his support. he showed bold leadership by saying you know what? we're going to do this. other presidents have talked about it in the last three or four administrations we've talked about it. again, i've been working on it for a dozen years. now we've actuallien able to do it. i -- been able to do t. i want to thank reduce vought for his help -- russ vought for his help, the secretary of the interior, david bern hart and other members of the president's team including ivanka trump would has always been supportive of our national parks.

this is about responsible stewardship. we're finally addressing them before the costs increase. our parks have stood tall for more than a century now as the embodiment of american history and our shared commitment to preserving some of our most magnificent lands. thanks to restore our parks act, we will now ensure that those parks stand tall for centuries to come. mr. president, i also want to talk this afternoon a little about the heroes legislation, the heals legislation, and some of the commonalities i see between the two. on the floor of the senate this week, there's been some discussion about the need for us to come together in a bipartisan way to put together a package to deal with the coronavirus. some have called it the covid 5.0 panel. it's probably 8.0. we've done a lot of legislation already but there are things that still need to be done and some urgent matter, including dealing with the expiration of

the unemployment insurance. i'm on the floor today to talk about how i see the opportunity for us to move ahead by looking at some of the commonalities between the democratic support and the republican support for different legislation. as we all know, the discussions over the past week have not moved forward as quickly as we would like. in fact, it's pretty discouraging. despite the fact that many people thought the heroes act was really a messaging bill, "politico" wrote a story, one of our news media sources up here, they said a messaging bill that has no chance of becoming law. others made the same comments. why? because it was a $3.5 trillion price tag for legislation which would make it by far the most expensive bill ever passed by either house of congress. but also at a time when we had $1.1 trillion left over from the cares package and states only allocated an average of 25% of

their cares act funding, it seemed like pushing taxpayers to foot the bill for the costliest legislation in history maybe wasn't the right way to go. also, it had virtually no support from republicans. also, this legislation included a lot of stuff that had nothing to do with covid-19. so the sense was, yes, it's an important messaging bill for democrats. that's out there. but that we needed to figure out a way now to come together as republicans and democrats. leader mcconnell also introduced legislation. that legislation is called the heals act. now, it's time for us to figure out how to come together and figure out a solution going forward. and we -- particularly with regard to some of these urgent matters like unemployment insurance, we're already past time. unemployment insurance expired last friday. so we've got to move forward with that. we should not be playing politics with people's livelihoods and making this a political football. last week and again today, my colleague from arizona senator

mcsally introduced what i thought was a very commonsense idea. let's extend the existing unemployment insurance $600 per week federal supplement for another week while we continue these negotiations so that people aren't going to see their unemployment insurance checks decrease substantially. they would lose all the federal benefit unless we do that. they'd still have the state benefit but lose the $600 per week. unfortunately, senate democrats said no. objected to this commonsense idea. i don't quite get that. i think we ought to keep the $600 in place while we negotiate for the next week and we ought to be sure and put the interest of the american people first and come to a commonsense solution. now isn't the time for games. it's the time to get it right. i also note that with regard to unemployment insurance, there are lots of ideas out there. for the last few months i've been proposing the idea of a return-to-work bonus. maybe that's not the best idea.

maybe people have better ideas. the notion there would be the $600 which is the current federal benefit allows people on unemployment insurance in many cases to have more income on unemployment than they would working. according to studies that have been done, including by the university of chicago, about 68% of the people on unemployment insurance are making more money on unemployment insurance than they were making at work. now most americans, including most members of this chamber, democrats and republicans alike think that's not right. you shouldn't make more not to work. unemployment insurance is meant to give you a little help. in ohio it's about 50% up to a certain cap. but it's not meant to replace your wages plus which is what's happening. on average 134% increase in wages if you're on unemployment insurance. so there must be a way for us to come together and to solve this problem. there are democrats and republicans alike who have talked about perhaps lowering that amount from $600. i heard one of my democratic colleagues on the floor today, a

gentleman from oregon talking about maybe you could tie it to the unemployment in the state. others have -- have talked about the return-to-work bonus. you could take that $600 with you and go back to work which would deal on a voluntary basis the need for people to go back to work because employers are looking for folks. right now in ohio, we have -- we have a lot of jobs open, a lot of manufacturing jobs. i was at a ford plant recently where they are looking for people. they have a 25% absenteeism rate right now. they attribute a lot of that to the fact people can make more money on unemployment insurance. they need the workers badly. their honda plants in ohio, one of our manufacturers, where the white collar workers are going to work on the assembly line because they can't get enough workers coming in. i hear it across the board. i've heard it from those who are involved with developmental disabilities trying to get their workforce back. i heard it from people who are involved with the treatment for opioids so the alcohol and drug addiction boards trying to get

their people to come back to work. i've heard it from our small businesses who are trying to figure out how to reopen and reopen safely but have a tough time getting people to come back to work. so if there's a -- so there's a need for us to figure this out. for the workers themselves it's much better for them to be connected with their employer again, isn't it? after all that's where they're likely to get their health care, if they have it. they're likely to get their retirement savings. they're likely to get the training there to be able to keep up with the times. it's good to have people at work. the dignity and self-respect you get from work is something that's of value. we should all want that. all of news this chamber should focus on this issue and say, okay, the $600 was put in place during a tough summer. let's be honest. a lot of people had a really tough time. some people are still having a tough time. there should still be in my view a federal supment but it can't be -- supplement but it can't be paying people more not to work than to work. it doesn't make sense as we open this economy and open it safely. we've got to figure out a way

forward here. there are some democrats who have worked on this issue. timothy guitner is an example of one who was the secretary treasure under president obama who has put forward with democrats and republicans a proposal that says let's lower the amount and tie it to the unemployment. so this is something that in talking to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including some democratic colleagues who have talked to me privately that, you know, they get it, that this is not working and we need to fix it. so let's do that. it seems to me there's a lot of commonality there and we should be able to figure out a way forward. let me mention some of the other places where i see a lot of commonality. first, both republicans and democrats agree that it's absolutely essential as its people return to work, they do so safely. in the legislation that we talked about earlier, the heals package which senator mcconnell introduced, there is a proposal that's called the healthy workplace tax credit

act. basically what it says is, if a business is willing to put in place safety measures like a plexiglass shield or do testing or have the p.p.e., the gloves and the masks and in some cases the gowns that are needed to stay safe, they should be able to get a tax credit for that. so it not only encourages more employment but it encourages employers to open in a safe way. i spoke to a bunch of restaurants yesterday from ohio. they called in to talk about the legislation. they love this because they've got a lot of costs associated with making their places safe during the coronavirus pandemic. but this legislation again is being -- we can't seem to get to a negotiation. that's one where republicans and democrats could come together. there's another one that makes a lot of sense. the work opportunity tax credit expansion. that also is in the heals legislation. this has always been a bipartisan issue. the work opportunity tax credit we said is simply just as you can get a tax credit to hire veterans or to hire second

chance individuals that have come out of the prison system, you should be able to hire people from unemployment insurance who lost their job because of covid-19 and get a tax credit. this is something that again democrats and republicans should be able to work on together. and then finally in the heals package, we also have legislation that has a lot of appeal to republicans and democrats that is an expansion of the employee retention tax credit from the bipartisan cares act. this is legislation that passed 96-0 around here. and we say let's make this employee retention tax credit work better. we expand the amount you can get in terms of tax credit. expand the amount of time that has to be covered. makes it a much better package for small businesses to use to be able to attract employees and to retain the employees that they have. again, this is a nonpartisan, i would say, and certainly one that can be bipartisan. historically these tax provisions have had bipartisan support. i worked with my friend ben

cardin in designing the employee retention credit back in march, expanding the opportunity tax credit has always had bipartisan support and the healthy workplace tax credit, senator sinema actually has a very similar bill. second, there's agreement on both sides of the aisle we've got to support our schools and businesses so our kids can get back into the classroom and our parents can get back to work. with regard to schools, there's supposedly a big partisan divide. but as i see it, i see schools practically identical in the heals package and heroes act that passed the house of representatives. in fact, house democrats provided around $58 billion for k-12. the heals act actually increases that to $70 billion. so there's actually more money in the heals legislation. on the business front, both democrats and republicans have seen value in the paycheck protection program we introduced in the cares act which is why both bills seek to expand it. albeit in somewhat different ways but there's greater

consensus here than one might think. we just need to sort out the details. my colleague from louisiana is here with me tonight in the chamber. he has talked a lot about the need for us to improve the way we provide funding to local governments, municipalities, and to provide more flexibility. i don't think there's much disagreement about that on either side of the aisle. there may be disagreement on the numbers, the amount of funding, but again the heals package has some funding. the democrats have more funding. but flexibility, that's one where i think there's a lot of bipartisan consensus. so i know it's popular right now to say we're so far apart we can never get together. but as i look at this, when you actually look at individual pieces of this, i see a lot of commonalities. the final one i want to mention is one where i think all of us should be together. and that's addressing the underlying health crisis we face. both the heals package and the heroes act provide increased funding for research into vaccines and treatments, antiviral treatments for this disease. both sides also recognize the importance of increasing funding

for testing which is critical to making sure we can safely and sustainly reopen. there are more points of commonality it the republican and democratic approaches i could touch on like providing another $1,200 sim reduce check for all americans making less than $75,000 a year. that's something i understand both republicans and democrats support. the house-passed heroes act again has a price tag that's just too high, $3.5 trillion. i think most people acknowledge that. and i know that there is a big difference between that and a $1 trillion that was in the proposal from senator mcconnell. $1 trillion. that used to be a lot of money. but again, when you look at the actual details of this, when you look at what's actually in these two pieces of legislation, there is so much commonality. i think it's critical we get this legislation right. we have time to do that. in the meantime, let's continue

the $600 for the next week, as senator mcsally has proposed. let's be sure that we can build on these commonalities we see between these two pieces of legislation. to be in partisan corners at this time doesn't benefit any of us. it certainly doesn't benefit the united states. it doesn't benefit us as an institution. and it certainly doesn't benefit the people i represent. i yield back. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. cassidy: i rise today to speak of a largely unknown aspect of the vietnam war and two neglected aspects. i rise today to highlight air america and its role in military conflicts from the 1940's to the cold war. air america which was previously known as a civil air transport operated under a shroud of mystery and intrigue and at

times purposeful deceit to allow the organization to continue covert operations. its members lived the motto that anything, anywhere, any time professionally. mr. president, if you look at that picture, you think that must be an army helicopter pilot doing a rescue on an active battlefield. no. that pilot was a civilian who was a contractor of sorts with the united states government, flying that helicopter to rescue that soldier or that marine. not an enlisted person. its members again lived the motto anything, anywhere, any time professionally, including rescuing those from battlefields. they garnered respect as a carjacko and airline -- as a carjacko and charter airline -- cargo and charter airline pilots in the secret war in laos in the

1970's. as the war progressed, the u.s. government increasingly relied on air america pilots to conduct search and rescue missions of downed military pilots often in combat areas with no weapons of their own. the daily risk they took to save others earned them the reputation as the most-shot-at airline. next one, please. i shouldn't laugh, but there is kind of i'm sure a sort of gallows humor they felt when they said the most-shot-at airline. here is a depiction of a plaque in richardson, texas, that president reagan dedicated. on that are the names of those who died as air america pilots. and at the plaque dedication in dallas, president ronald reagan said, quote, although free people everywhere owe you more than we can hope to repay, our greatest debt is to your companions who gave the last full measure of devotion.

and when president reagan recognized the contributions that these pilots made to the united states, air america has received mixed support throughout its history. the department of defense and the c.i.a., among others, have argued that air america pilots were not veterans, saying that the heroic rescues of american soldiers were not part of their contracts or wasn't the scope of their mission. so these sentiments that kept air america pilots from receiving veterans' benefits -- veteran status and the benefits that come with the status. this needs to change, and this need to change is based on declassified materials which show that these pilots are deserving of such recognition for their exploits. now, who were these dedicated americans serving in air america? most crews had military training. many bore the scars of fighting on the ground in korea and vietnam. they were former p.o.w. and special forces, all tough as nails.

they were also cropdusters and waterbombers who fought forest fires. they were smoke jumpers and flight mechanics. thousands of personnel were indigenous people, both male and female. air america members came from all walks of life to answer the call to serve. military aircraft were provided to employees to conduct combat-related activity in areas where the u.s. armed forces could not go due to treatments. they served at considerable risk. numerous employees died or were seriously injured. however, their sacrifices were not given the same recognition as military members. lowell perkell was killed when his h.p.g. hit a helicopter and it burned to the ground. when lowell's wife deborah insisted he be buried in arlington, she was informed that lowell was ineligible because he died not in the military but as part of air america. he would eventually be buried in arlington due to his previous

military service, although the work in both engagements was essentially the same. now, let me just pause for a second and look at this -- and look at this poster. from 1962 to 1975, air america inserted and extracted u.s. military personnel and provided combat support across the entire vietnam theater. air america rescued hundreds of americans and stranded vietnamese, including the last out of saigon in april, 197 5. who could forget the dramatic photographs? air america pioneered remote landings during the vietnam war to resupply troops and key allies like the hmung in laos. and air america pilots were the only known civilian employees to operate non-f.a.a. military certified aircraft in combat zones. and lastly, as i previously

mentioned, here is a memorial plaque in richardson, texas, honoring the 146 air america veterans killed. these men served anything, anywhere, any time, professionally. now, again, it has been denied that they actually performed these military duties, but once more, decrassified documents show that the united states owes air america and therefore its members status as veterans. in august, 1965, secretary of state dean rusk wrote, quote, political factors require that air america helicopters continue to assume responsibility for search and rescue operations in laos. a year prior, ambassador to laos leonard ungersted, said, quote, search and rescue is a crucial factor in maintaining the morale of pilots, and there is no prospect at this juncture of

establishing effective search and rescue procedures without the use of both civilian air america and u.s. military personnel. the stories go on, but i will add one more. c.i.a. assistant general counsel james harris wrote to the civil service commission, quote, in the case of air america, it would be virtually impossible to preserve the cover story had all the corporate employees been advised that they were really employees of the united states government. it's time for the u.s. government to set the record state about air america. their service is commended by all who served with them, especially by those service members whose lives were saved by air america. we owe them more than a debt of gratitude. i urge my colleagues to continue the story of these brave pilots and work towards providing the recognition they deserve as federal employees, including granting veteran status and the associated benefits. i yield the floor.

mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding the presiding officer: the senate not in a quorum call. mr. durbin: thank you. in the days since we lost our friend and congressman john lewis, many of us have come to the floor to talk about his tenacity and courage. at the age of 25, he joined 600

civil rights activists to march across the edmund pettus bridge in selma, alabama in pursuit of the right to vote. we've talked about how that day became known as bloody sunday, after john and the other courageous marchers were met with brutal beatings from alabama state troopers now in the state that followed appeared -- and how in the days that followed, president lyndon b. johnson called on congress to pass the voting righted act. it was 55 years ago this week that president johnson set at a desk in the president's room right after this chamber, a room we walk by many times each week, and signed the voting rights act into law. he noted at the signing ceremony -- and i quote -- last march, with the outrage of selma still fresh, i came down to this capitol one evening and asked

the congresses and the people for swift and for sweeping action to guarantee to every man and woman the right to vote. in less than 48 hours, l.b.j. said is i sent the voting rights act of 1965 to congress and in a little over four months, the congress, with overwhelming majorities, enacted more one of the most monumental laws in the history of freedom. those were the words of lyndon john he's signed the voting rights act of 165. well, we made significant progress since that day, thanks to great men like john lewis. the march to enact the voting rights act and the advocates and litigators to bammed for decades to enforce it. but there is a grim reality. insidious voter suppression efforts still continue in america today. these efforts may not seem as obvious as the old-school poll

taxes and literacy tests, but make no mistake -- they are aimed at denying the fundamental right to vote. and all too often they are successful. when i was chairman of the judiciary subcommittee on the constitution, civil rights and human rights, i decided to travel to the states of florida and ohio for public hearings to speak to officials and experts on the ground and determine why those states, through their legislatures, were passing laws -- what i considered burdensome laws -- such as reducing opportunities for early voting. why were they making it harder to vote in ohio and florida? in both states, i asked witnesses, under oath, what evidence of widespread voter fraud prompted these laws that made it more difficult for people to vote, limited the time that they could vote? the answer was simple -- under

oath. what was the evidence of fraud? there was no evidence of fraud. turned out there were a handful of election fraud cases here and there, rarely prosecuted. but that's it. in contrast to the mere specter of widespread voter fraud, we learned that these voter suppression laws really had consequences. we heard over and over again that restrictive voting laws have a disproportionate impact on whom? low-income, black voters, brown voters, young voters, elderly, vulnerable voting populations. when you make it harder to vote, it's tougher for these people to show up and vote. someone knew that. after the hearings, we learned more about the real reason behind these laws. according to news reports, republican consultants and

former officials admitted after the 2012 election that florida law discussed at my hearing was literally designed to suppress the vote, particularly among those leaning toward the democratic column. a year later, the supreme court announced the decision in shelby county v. holder. in a 5-4 vote, the divided court struck down the provisions of the voting rights act that required certain jurisdictions to preclear any changes in their voting laws with the department of justice. the decision effectively gutted the voting rights act of 1965. and in the aftermath, several state legislatures pushed through discriminatory restrictions on voting that previously would have required approval by the justice department ahead of time. an example -- in north carolina, the legislature enacted a massive

voter suppression bill, including a strict photo i.d. requirement, early voting cutbacks and the elimination of same-day registration, out-of-precinct voting, and preregistration for teenagers who were about to turn 18 before an election. what did a three-judge federal panel have to say about this north carolina law? they said, quote, it targeted african americans with almost surgical precision and, quote, enacted the law with discriminatory intent, close quote. mr. president, those are unequivocal words. despite all the press releases to the contrary, the court knew exactly what was going on in north carolina. they were trying to stop african american voters in that state from being counted. unfortunately, litigation targeting these voter suppression efforts has faced an

increasingly uphill battle as president trump has packed the federal courts were partisan right-wing judges, including several with appalling records on voting rights. although the supreme court continues to state that the right to vote is both, quote, fundamental and, quote, preservative of other basic political rights, the court has also continued to permit broad assaults on america's access to the ballot box. let me give you an example. in angers the court first -- in april, the court first forced thousands of wisconsin voters in april of this year to choose between their health and exercising their right to vote in the middle of a covid-19 pandemic. the court refused to extend the deadline for returning absentee ballots, despite the public health national emergency we face. a state official recently said in wisconsin that at least 71 people were infected with covid-19 after voting in person

or working at the polls during that primary election. in june, the court -- supreme court turned down a request to reinstate a texas district court judge order which would have ensured that all voters in the state could ask to vote by mail, in light of the pandemic. and just last month, the same court refused to lift a stay in florida that will prevent hundreds of thousands of otherwise eligible floridians from voting in this month's primary election, simply because they can't pay the fines and fees imposed on them long ago as part of a criminal sentence. what did justice sotomayor say in her dissent about this florida case? quote, this court's inaction continues a trend of condoning disfranchisement. well, it's time for this to end. i'm introducing today a joint resolution. i don't do this lightly. in the time that i've served in

congress, i believe that this is only the second time that i've proposed an amendment to this constitution. i believe -- at least personally, i'm humbled by this document. i know it was far from perfect when written. we've learned that over the years with all the amendments and the history that's followed. but i've never thought myself worthy to add words to that document -- one other time on abolishing the electoral college, a bipartisan measure that i offered. but this is it only the second e i've done it. this joint resolution would create and enshrine an explicit, individual right to vote in the united states constitution and protect all americans who seek to exercise this fundamental right. specifically, the amendment would provide an affirmative right to vote senator every american citizen of legal voting age and in -- in any public

election held in the jurisdiction in which they reside t would also require that any efforts to limit the fundamental right to vote would be subject to the strictest review in the courts. additionally you it would ensure that states could no longer rely on section 2 of the 14th amendment to prevent americans from voting due to an earlier criminal conviction. finally, the amendment would provide that congress has the irrefutable authority to protect the right to vote through legislation. if ratified, this constitutional amendment would protect against nefarious election changes that lead to long lines and people beating on doors trying to get in to vote. these long lines have reduced voter turnout on election day. how in the world can we be a stronger nation if fewer people participate in the most important part of democracy? it would protect against photo identification requirements that disproportionately harm low-income voters and african

americans and hispanics. black lives matter. brown lives matter. american lives matter. and when it comes to vote, this insidious effort to undermine the opportunity for these people to vote has to be called out for what it is. it would also provide a path to end discriminatory criminal disfranchisement laws. they're a relic of the jim crow era and yet continue to strip millions of citizens of their fundamental right to participate in our democracy. some may ask why we should pursue this amendment when there are clear and perhaps easier steps that congress can take right now to protect voteing rights under its existing constitutional authority. let me give you an example. the senate could quickly pass the john lewis voting rights act amendment, which the house passed last year. but that would rely on a decision by senator mcconnell to actually let the senate vote on a measure coming over from

the house. there's little hope that that's going to happen. given the ongoing ruthless assault on voting rights in america, it is clear that additional tools are necessary to push back against widespread voter suppression. i recognize that amending the constitution is no small matter. i'm well aware that introducing this amendment today isn't going to lead to any immediate change, but i also believe this moment represents the next step in a movement, a movement and america that will ultimately lead to the ratification of this amendment. i'm going to work with my colleagues and constituents to build support. i'm going to ask the opponents why they believe that such a fundamental right, preservative of all other rights in america, in the words of the supreme court, should not be affirmatively granted to the american people and literally enshrined in the united states constitution, the right to vote.

i plan to work with grassroots organizations who are fighting for their voting rights to be restored. i'm going to work with representative mark pokan, of wisconsin, who's led this effort in the house, and i plan to work with civil rights leaders, including an old friend named jesse jackson who, for years, has called for this amendment to be introduced in the senate. i want to thank reverend jackson for his tireless leadership and advocacy and i'm proud to have the rainbow coalition supporting this. let me thank senators warner, merkley, van who willen and others i hope will join us. mr. president, by accident i was given a book several years ago entitled white rage written by carol anderson. carol anderson is a professor at emri university.

the boosh emri university -- the book was given to me by my brother-in-law. i was skeptical to read it, let alone like it. i have to tell you, i have read it and recommended it over and over again to my colleagues in the senate, including giving a copy to then-senate majority leader harry reid. he decided it was so good he invited professor carol anderson to come and speak at our caucus. she is an amazing person and great historian. she followed white rage with this book, one person, no vote. in it, she tells the history of voter suppression. it is an eye opener. but after the civil war and all those deaths to end slavery, after the assassination of lincoln and after the effort was made to finally give to blacks in the south a chance to become full-fledged citizens, they ran into jim krow laws.

-- jim crow laws. she talks about something i heard of but knew little about. i'd like to say a word from the book. the question is the efforts made to suppress the black vote in the south, and here's what she writes. this became most apparent in 1890 when the magnolia state passed the mississippi plan, a dizzying array of poll tests, literacy tests, newfangled vote registration rules and good character clauses all intentionally racially discriminatory but dressed up in the garb of, quote, bringing integrity to the voting booth. this was legislative evil genius. carter glass, like so many others, swooned of the mississippi plan to his own

state of virginia, especially after he saw how well it worked. he rushed to champion a bill in the legislature that would, quote, eliminate the darky as a political factor in less than five years, close quote. glass, whom president roosevelt would describe as an unreconstructive rebel planned to, quote, not to deprive a single white man from the ballot but cut four-fifths of the negro voters in virginia. one delegate asked him, will it not be done by fraud and discrimination? glass replied by fraud, no, by discrimination, yes. discrimination is what we propose, to discriminate to the extremity permissible under the constitution with a view to the elimination of every negro voter who can be gotten rid of legally

without impairing the strength of the white electorate. unapologetic. straight in his remarks. his racism was rampant and so was it -- and it was across the country. black lives matter. america matters, and our democracy matters. once and for all, right to vote should be enshrined in our constitution. people have died for it. it's time for us to work hard to show that we care. mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call in progress be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: i want to start by doing something that has become a little controversial. it shouldn't be. the fact that it is reflects a sad time in our nation's history. so here it is. to our nation's police, sheriffs, and all other law

enforcement officers out there, state and federal, thank you. i appreciate you. i'm grateful for your service. why has that become controversial? because all of a sudden, criticizing and demonizing our nation's law enforcement has become the popular liberal thing to do. over the last few days, you have probably seen the liberal mainstream media making wild claims and accusations that president trump has deployed so-called secret police to portland. these allegations got even more attention over the last few weeks because some of my democrat colleagues came down to the floor and made the wildest accusations about how the federal officers were the worst in the world. some of the words they used were bold, sadistic, gestapos, storm

troopers, paramilitary, words designed to stir the emotions of everyone watching. and they were talking about the law enforcement community. they were talking about sheriffs and police. rather than letting these wild allegations go unchecked, let's remember how we got here. for over 60 days, violent demonstrators have laid siege on portland. that's not an exaggeration. they have specifically and deliberately attacked a federal courthouse, attempting to destroy it. now, let's be clear. these are not peaceful protesters. everyone agrees in the first amendment and the support for peaceful demonstrations. we all agree on that. that's not what we're talking about here. it's not what happened when the anarchist groups co-opted the peaceful protests, the fires, lasers, bricks, molotov

cocktails, sledgehammers, and more. we can see the chart. the chart that we have here, the one on the right here was day 53. federal facilities and law enforcement officials targeted and attacked overnight. one officer injured and five arrested. then day 56, last night, six d.h.s. law enforcement officers were injured in portland, to be clear. criminals assaulted federal officers on federal property, and the city of portland did nothing. the response from local leaders, they have caved to the mob and would allow local law enforcement to protect federal property. in fact, they have demanded federal law enforcement leave and surrender to the mob. can you imagine? this is in america this happened.

so that leaves us two options. one completely give in to the mob and let them burn down the taxpayer-funded courthouse. we all know that they won't stop there. or two, send additional federal resources to portland. well, we are a nation of law and order. additional federal resources is the only correct answer here. the department of homeland security doesn't have a choice. they are legally required to protect these facilities. contrary to what has been reported in the media, these federal officers are acting in accordance with the law. they have the legal authority and responsibility to protect federal property as well as detain, question, and arrest anyone in accordance with that. now, specifically, that is found in 40 u.s. code 3015. so they aren't some sort of

illegal police. they are not secret law enforcement doing what law enforcement wasn't being allowed to do locally there, so they took on their responsibilities and performed. last week, governor brown finally conceded -- i guess, i guess they just got to the point where he was willing to -- to be fearful for the people and the injuries and the terrorist activity that was going on, but he conceded and allowed the portland police bureau to clear out the downtown parks, and they were a base -- the base for the agitators and let the state police officers defend federal property. that's the responsible thing to do. it shows the president's commitment to working with state and local law enforcement when additional resources are needed. it could be easy to think that this is an outlier, but sadly

the national defund the police movement. it's a movement in this country now. it was talking about defund law enforcement. it is having a real impact throughout america. the result, shootings have increased in new york by 277%, this year in chicago by 50% this year, and in may, they saw the most violent weekend in modern history. in minneapolis, the murder rate is expected to surpass an all-time high. in fact, as president trump mentioned recently, the 20 most dangerous cities in america are run by democrats. i have to mention this because "the washington post" tried to fact check the president's statement, and do you know what? it's a good thing that they did. the result -- the post showed

that per capita, 19 of the 20 cities with the most violent crime per 10,000 residents were controlled by democrats, and the one that wasn't controlled by democrats, it was an independent, but that independent is a democrat. now, i guess they hoped that they would find -- but only read the headline and not see the data that shows the impact of the lack of leadership. in case you can't tell watching at home, the blue lines on the chart that needs to go up here, what we have here is the -- claiming that the most dangerous cities in america are all run by democrats. they aren't. then they found out they were. here they are. the blue lines are run by the democrats. red lines independents. so that is a problem.

now, good law enforcement officers are enduring several budget cuts from spineless politicians who want to concede to the far left, defund the police movement. they are being overstretched, overburdened. and that doesn't even get into the injuries law enforcement have endured during these violent protests recently. in portland alone, three officers are facing possible permanent blindness after having high-intensity lasers shown -- shone in their eyes. other officers have endured verbal assaults, been spit on, called the most offensive names. at least three officers have been victims of doxing where anarchists share where their families live online so they can have access to them. in fact, since july 4, over 245 federal law enforcement officers

have been injured in. fortunately, president trump has taken action, standing up for our police but also for law enforcement in the communities. last week, he launched operation legend, a federal law enforcement initiative that will work with state and local officials to address the spike in violent crimes, and we're seeing it in too many cities. this is the right approach to restore law and order. the last thing i will leave you with on the floor, two weeks ago, in the midst of sensationalizing statements, the junior senator from oregon challenged me, basically implying that if what was happening in portland was happening in oklahoma, i would feel differently. well, that isn't the difference is how i would feel. the difference between oklahoma city and oregon, i guess. in oklahoma, we respect our police and the sheriffs and the state troopers.

officers in the -- this is a good one here. this gives kind of -- this is in springlake division. walk past this every time -- this is in oklahoma, we go from the station. what a wonderful community we serve here in oklahoma city. you can read the statements of people saying how much we appreciate our law enforcement officers. this is the door that was there. it's covered with hearts on the door. that tells -- that tells the story. the sacrifice they make daily is real. they put their lives on the line to protect and serve our communities, but they also work long hours in difficult conditions. here is a very reminder of that sacrifice. last month -- and put up the two officers here. there are two officers i am going to show you, mr. president. last month, two tulsa police officers were conducting a

routine traffic stop, pulling over a car with expired tags, but as any veteran officer will tell you, there is no such thing as a routine anything in law enforcement. this is no exception. officer zarashan is a rookie. craig johnson had no way of knowing that the man they just pulled over was armed. the man on the left is craig johnson. both officers were shot multiple times. sergeant johnson, who has two young sons, died. officer zarashan, after enduring multiple surgeries, is blessed. he now is stable and making good progress. protect and serve isn't just a phrase for the hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers around the country. it's a calling, a sacrifice for them. too often, officers have to

sacrifice their lives for their communities. and that's why when liberal politicians are tripping over themselves, trying as hard as they can to demonize all police officers, i want to make it clear that some of us are standing up against defunding police and in favor of defending police. i will always stand with president trump in defense of our good, honorable law enforcement officers. they will sacrifice anything for those of us here. to not stand up and defend them is to dishonor them. so in oregon, politicians are clamoring to defend the terrorists who are trying to destroy law and order. on the other side, our president is trying to defend it. god bless america's law enforcement officers and our president. the police and our law enforcement aren't the only things the new cancel culture has come for recently. while not a literal mob trying

to burn down buildings, the online liberal mob is still seeking to destroy our american icons by canceling them, subjecting them to public backlash fueled by the progressive ideology. just before july 4, our national holiday, they came for the national anthem. yahoo music editor in chief wrote that the star-spangled banner seems to be striking a wrong note. the "los angeles times" ran an op-ed titled it's time to cancel the star-spangled banner. this is america we're talking about. why do they do that? in the fourth stanza of the sonl a month ago it had more than one stanza -- they -- it's more than just one stanza, but in the fourth stanza, there is a quote that reads no refuge could save

the hireling and slave from the terror of flight in the gloom of the grave. now, because of that, they want to cancel "the star-spangled banner." now mark ferries, who literately wrote the book on the song, writes that they used the term loosely, contrasting the americans against the british soldiers subject to the yoke of the monarchy. but yahoos article even says if there's tradition that hurts any part of society, it's time to just throw it away. and just -- throw it away has extended to statutes of our founders like thomas jefferson, and mahatma began did ghandi.

it even applies to parts of our culture like "gone with the wind." they want to do away with "gone with the wind." online you can dial up any movie, "done with the wind" is part of it. that happens to be the one that hattie mcdaniel was the first african american to win an oscar. this is again what's going on right now. like so many american families, i watch with shock and dismay as to how many are setting aside critical thinking in favor of an emotional mob that moves closer and closer to a total cultural revolution. -- cultural revolution takeover. we shouldn't have expected anything less from the party, the democrat party, as they continue to run toward socialism and proudly embrace the communist beliefs. remember, we've seen this before

. mao knew that he needed to destroy our four olds -- old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits. the communists in china needed control of the history has stopped in 1966 and the communists here in america need it today. how else could we erase our ideas, culture, and customs in order to impose their radical policies on all of us? and how much longer do we need to wait for their cries of abolish rent to become jail the bushwa landlord. we already see professors -- how long until they're denounced as

class traitors? does a nation have flaws? of course. but what is unique is perhaps the most beautiful part of our nation is that we have the ability to the see those flaws, to change them and to grow. and we do it under the promise of liberty and justice for all. we did that after the civil war. we saw it again after world war ii. we saw the growth in the civil rights movement. the reality of this left-wing cancel culture mob is that there is no goal up for debate. the goal is to shame, humiliate, ridicule, and into conformity, through a vicious attack reminiscent of the chinese communist party obsession. liberty is under siege. so just remember what happened in the opinion page of "the new york times" for merely publishing an opinion that was held by a majority of americans but rejected by the progressive mob. senator cotton put forward a

well-researched op-ed requested by "the times" that advocated the president only as a last resort should use the insurrection act to put down the terrorist activity we saw in too many cities over the past few months. again, a national poll held 58% of registered voters agreed with senator cotton, but some reporters in "the new york times" and the progressive mob didn't, and they raised such a protest that the head of the editorial page issued an apology claiming that it wasn't to the standards of "the times." it was too extreme and that wasn't enough for the mob. he was fired. before the cancel culture mob got further still to embrace their presidential candidate who has gone through enough twists and turns to make sure that he, too, conforms with progressive demands, we should all remember

our nation was founded on liberty, and it will only endure with true liberty. and that means we being willing to live together in the midst of all kinds of diversity, especially diversity of thought. so as we began, we can't forget what this is all about. the terrorists ran unchecked in portlands for 60 days. and no one raised -- raced to stop them. federal officials had to step in because the state and local governments wouldn't allow their law enforcement to police the riots. scenes like we saw in portland won't happen in oklahoma. but they could happen in other cities where lawlessness is pervasive. thankfully we have a president who stands up for law and order and for our law enforcers. and where we would be without a brave police and sheriffs, i hope we never find that out. with that, mr. 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:

the presiding officer: the majority leader of the senate. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: by move to executive session to consider calendar number 645. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will are report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, john peter kron inn, of new york, to be united states district judge for the southern district of new york. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of john peter cronnin, of new york. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the

reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session with senators mer mitd to speak -- permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 240, s. 384. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number, 240, s. 384, an act through the national institute of standards and technology to help facilitate the adoption of infrastructure in the united states and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to the proceeding? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee-reported amendment be withdrawn, the capito substitute amendment at the desk, be agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be

considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m., wednesday, august 5. further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. finally, following leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stands adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the the u.s. senate's gavel blamed out. the improved deputy energy secretarsecretary. may with lawmakers about a coronavirus economic aid package, which we could see in the senate floor this week. a life senate coverage here on

"c-span2". c-span has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events. you can watch all of c-span's public affairs programming on television, online is not a free radio app. be part of the national conversation throughout cspan's daily washington journal program. arthur social media feed. cspan, created by americans cable television company. as a public service. i brought to today by your television provider. this week two hearings before the senate on wednesday at 10:0r acting attorney general on the start of the trump administration, testifying on the russia investigation before the judiciary committee.

at 10:00 a.m. on thursday, ten will come acting secretary for the u.s. department of homeland security. testifying on the deployment of personnel to protest and unrest across the country. watch life on c-span. online cspan.org. partisan life on the free c-span radio app. the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell gave an update on where members of his own party stand with passing another coronavirus relief bill. as negotiations continue everything between the white house and democratic congressional leaders. from capitol hill, this is about 15 minutes.

good afternoon. it will surprise