with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, over the past week and a half, speaker pelosi and i have been engaged in serious discussions and negotiation -- in negotiation with the white house over another round of emergency relief for the american people. our motivation is simple. americans are crying out for americans are crying out for our motivation is simple americans are crying out for relief . bases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to climb. acthe snowball of economic impact continues to roll downhill. this morning we learned another 1.2 million americans filed for unemployment. far more than at any time during the great recession that began in 2008. our two parties to agree on many things. that's no secret.

the trump administration has bungled this crisis from the beginning and even now is careening from one self-inflicted crisis to the next. democrats believe congress has a moral obligation to step into the breach to help americans put food on the mytable and keep a roof over their heads. to save our economy from a deeper recession and longer recovery. to fight this disease with all the resources and wherewithal a great nation can bring to bear so after the senate republican majority failed in spectacular fashion to put together a bill even its own members could support, democrats have engaged in arduous negotiations with the white house trying to impress upon them the gravity of the situation. we have made progress this week but not enough and the biggest reason is that president trump and his aides and party in progress are not truly awaketo what's happening in this country .

the trump administration and senate republicans badly mauled the body politic. the american economy and american healthcare . we democrats believe the patient needs a major while republicans want to apply a band-aid and we won't let them just, go home and leave america bleeding. that's the difference right now on so many issues . our republican counterparts refuse to acknowledge americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own might need assistance with rent. the republican leader warns of an epidemic of lawsuits that hasn't materialized . what will materialize soon is an epidemic of evictions unless we extend the moratorium and pass rental assistance

between 19 and 23 million households, one in five r rental household will be at risk of election by the endof l september unless we do something . unless our republican colleagues wake up . our republican counterparts refuse to acknowledge date local and tribal governments that the trump administration abandoned in the early days of this crisis might need federal support to help teachers and bus drivers from being laid off. public services from being slashed at the worst problem possible time. leader mcconnell just states that states should go bankrupt. that's not leacceptable. i republican counterparts refuse to acknowledge running an election in the middle of a pandemic is going to be difficult, that state election systems will need more resources and staff must be prepared to manage an election that will see more voting by mail than any before. yesterday the republican leader scoffed at the idea of extended and enhanced unemployment benefits because it would mean americans without work would be paid more than our essential workers.

conveniently the republican leader did not mention democrats have onproposed for months that wegive our essential workers additional hazard pay and he and his party continue to block it . our friends on the other side are worried about how little many of our essential workers are making as we are idaho they put their money where their mouth is and support our proposal to give them hazard pay. when it comes to elections in education, food assistance for hungry children and mind-boggling late when it comes to healthcare testing and medicaid our republican friends continue to pinch wpennies during a national emergency. again, this is the reason our negotiations with the white house have been so difficult . the president and his aides and party in congress are not even awake to the crisis. president trump doesn't have a plan, doesn't engage in negotiations and still manages to undercut negotiations at every turn.

there is no leadership from the white house at atime of great crisis. historians will look back and say this is one of the greatest crises americans have felt in the white house is nowhere to be found . it never happened before. back in march after we passed the cares at the senate republican made a dangerous gamble. leader mcconnell said he was putting the senate on paul's to see what would happen. senate republicans swallow the president ridiculous assertion that the disease would just disappear hoping they wouldn't have to do maanything. the republican majority of the senate on ice for 4 long months. only yesterday leader mcconnell admitted his delay allowed us to learn the coronavirus mysteriously disappear. the look, at this late stage after months of republican delay as the country got worse and worse after republicans in the senate able to generate a proposal that even their own caucus or president could support,

democrats are now in the room . we're the ones in the room trying to negotiate a bill that would meet the country's needs. and while some of my stfriends on the other side of the island are looking for an outcome, any outcome so they can vote on something and go home we are not going to agree to an inadequate bill that doesn't address the challenges in our country. and we are not going to give up. they're going to keep fighting until we achieve the caliber of legislation the american people during this t time of great crisis need and deserve. going to keep working until we get it done. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum class and one week since senate democrats fourth benefit for jobless americans to expire. senate republicans tried everything to prevent the laughs. monday we rolled out a comprehensive proposal for another rescue package that would have kept exa