knows that's not true. just take a look at my state of maryland, as people would consider us a blue state. we have a aaa bond rating. the last i checked, the state of kentucky was a single a bond rating. so this isn't a question of whether we want to help states who somehow had difficult financial situations for the coronavirus hit. the reality is o right now thiss not a red state blue state issue. this is an american issue. we all know that the virus has spread throughout the country. nobody can totally escape it. doesn't matter -- >> we take you live to the senate floor. no deal yet has been reached on the next covid-19 will be filled despite talks on capitol hill last week. senate majority leader mitch

mcconnell says lawmakers will be given 24 hours notice to return to capitol hill to vote if a deal is reached. will open the senate with prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, we trust you for protection and peace, for you have promised to guide us by your grace. may we place our hope in you and never forget how you have sustained us in the past. lord, give our senators the wisdom to do what is best for america in

good and bad times. continue to rule from heaven, so that your purposes will prevail on earth. hear the cries of the helpless and do for them through our lawmakers what they can't do for themselves. bring justice and righteousness to our nation and world. as you transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. we pray in your sacred name, amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag

of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: mrs. a. been a lot of -- there's been a lot of focus lately on the drama here in washington. for weeks now, as leading democrats blocked more pandemic relief over unrelated liberal demands, the press has covered their stonewalling like any ordinary political sound-off. who talked to whom? who said what in which meeting? what new metaphor did speaker pelosi use today to explain she was blocking progress? but it does the nation a disservice to act like the last several weeks were just another routine political standoff. it does struggling families and laid-off workers and

stressed-out school professionals and health care professionals a disservice to act like this has just been more washington gridlock. "the new york times" proclaimed a few days ago that speaker pelosi is playing hardball on coronavirus relief. well, that's one way to put it. you could say it's playing hardball to refuse any outcome for the country. you could say it's playing hardball to insist on non-covid-19 related policy changes that the speaker and the democratic leader know would never pass the senate or be signed into you a by the president -- into law by the president. but if democrats are playing hardball, their opponents aren't us republicans -- not really. they're playing hardball against kids, workers, and vulnerable americans who need help. they're playing hardball against our medical system. when the speaker and the democratic leader say they won't

aanother dime for testing, treatments, or vaccines unless they can bring home a massive tax cut for millionaires in san francisco and new york city. they're playing hardball against our nation's ability to detect and fight the virus. they're playing hardball against science when the speaker and the democratic leader say they will not allow another cent for schools to reopen or for the job-saving p.p.p. unless they get a trillion dollars for a state and local slush fund that's completely out of proportion to actual needs. they're playing hardball against children and parents when the speaker and the democratic leader say they will not allow any resolution on any issue unless democrats can pay people more not to work. they're playing hardball against millions of households that ought to get another stimulus check and against the ability of jobless people to get any

federal benefit whatsoever. there are life-and-death matters at stake, but democrats have treated this historic national crisis as a political game. just look at the red lines the democratic leaders have drawn around these negotiations. imagine sitting down with a working family at their kitchen table and examining that these are the kinds of issues over which the speaker and the democratic leader are refusing -- refusing -- to let them have relief. first, as i mentioned, the democratic leader has made clear he doesn't want any pandemic relief to become law unless -- unless -- it carries a special state and local carve-out for high earners in places like new york. just imagine, these democratic leaders from new york and san francisco going anywhere in the middle of the country and telling a working family of four earning $40,000 a year that they aren't getting a relief check

that could increase their income by 10% until millionaires in manhattan get a tax cut. economists on all sides have panned this a huge wealthy tax cut for wealthy people in blue states is not the life raft that struggling people need. even liberal economists have jumped ship. here's what one self-identified progressive told reporters. this is not a good idea. it would not help the economy heal and it would not benefit the people who need help. and these are the economists on their side? but forget about the experts. forget about laid-off people, forget about middle america. the speaker and the democratic leader want to cut off funding for our war with the coronavirus unless they get this special carve-out. here's another one of those dead-on-arrival demands. democrats insist that working families, small businesses, and

health care providers will not get any more help unless a new trillion-dollar slush fund for poorly managed states tags along. bear in mind that states and localities have only spent about a fourth -- a fourth -- of the money we already sent them last spring. even senate democrats seem to acknowledge this. for example, by sponsoring legislation that would extend the deadline for the states to spend down their cares act aid. the states need extra time to spend what we've already sent them? and the serious estimates of the covid shortfall that state and local may face are a fraction of the democrats' trillion-dollar demand. their demands aren't based on math. they aren't based on the pandemic. they want a massive slush fund to make up for decades of mismanagement.

it's just how the speaker explained her view of the crisis. quote, this is what she said, this is an opportunity. every crisis is. the same opportunism leads them to another absurd demand. democrats say nobody should get anymore help unless -- unless -- the federal government sends out jobless benefits that pay more than what people made working. republicans support extending a federal implement for unemployment. make no mistake about that. but we share the view of democrats like the house democratic majority leader, the senior senator from maryland, the democratic governor of connecticut, all of whom indicated it should be doable to land somewhere smarter than a flat $600. this is not complicated, mr. president.

both sides want to help unemployed people. republicans never wanted the federal benefit to lapse to zero and tried to extend the money. but as our economy tries to reopen, there is a he no reason uncle sam should take taxes out of essential workers' paychecks to pay other people more to stay home. this is just a flavor of the democratic demands. the two parties should have been able to agree on a huge sweep of subjects, from testing to school money to legal protections to direct payments and more. republicans wanted to reach an agreement everywhere we could and then continue to fight over the contested questions later. democrats said no because they know their unrelated wish list items would have no prayer -- no prayer -- of standing on their own merit. only these hostage tactics could possibly get their bad ideas

across the finish line. so struggling people have waited and waited and gotten nothing. that has been the democrats' decision. reporters can call it hardball, like this was some ordinary standstill. but families are suffering. americans are dying. this is not a washington game. it's a national crisis. it would serve the nation better if the democratic leaders would act like it's a crisis. the president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the

absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president of the senate pro tem. the presiding officer: senate democratic leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, it is so ordered. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, america is living through a crisis more than anything we have seen in generations. others have been able to contain the spread of the disease, but here, the failure of the trump administration to develop or implement a national strategy to

defeat covid on the health front and economically has meant that the disease has raged through our country for seven months, is still spreading, and the economy is in very bad shape. we have over five million confirmed cases of covid-19. it just took 17 days to go from four million americans with covid to five million. unemployment is higher than it ever was during the great recession. more than 150,000 americans have died. small businesses every day are closing and those that are still open are struggling. families can't afford to feed their children. americans can't pay the rent and will be thrown out of their homes. millions are out of work and many more worry that they will be out of work in the month or two to come. this is a huge crisis.

in this time of national emergency, democrats believe we must focus on the health and economic security of the american people. if we don't address the health crisis, nothing else will matter. but we have to focus on economic security as well. we have to keep americans in their homes, put food on the table, prevent them from slipping into further hardship and poverty. that's what animated democrats to develop a 3.4 plan to finally crush the virus an rescue american families. it was based on the needs of our country, both health and economic. the needs of our schools and businesses and workers and our health care system. we democrats tell america we have your back. unfortunately, our republican friends do not. in our negotiations with the white house, chief of staff meadows and secretary mnuchin

were unable to go above $1 trillion and their trillion was far short of the country's needs. democrats offered to come down by $1 trillion. we asked our counterparts -- secretary mnuchin, mr. meadows -- to come up by $1 trillion, meet us in the middle. they said no. so last friday, after our negotiating session with the white house, i made it clear that the reasons are talks have stalled was that the white house had basically declared, quote, my way or the highway. they were unwilling to meet us in the middle. they said that in the room. well, i guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery because now leader mcconnell is blaming democrats for the breakdown in negotiations, using the exact same language. he said democrats are the ones saying my way or the highway.

seriously, that's what the republican leader who wasn't even in the room and won't dare go in the room claims. let's go over the facts. the facts. we said to the white house, we're willing to come down by $1 trillion. will you come up by $1 trillion and meet us in the middle? the white house said no, we are not budging. so to whom does this logic apply? who is intransigent? who is really saying my way or the highway? the answer is obvious. this is not a both sides to blame situation. democrats are willing to compromise. republicans are being intransigent and will not move from their position, which is totally inadequate for the needs of america at the greatest economic crisis we have had in 75 years and the greatest health crisis in 100. that is where we are.

democrats willing to move and meet in the middle, republicans intransigent. republicans declared my way or the highway, and rather than defend their position, they falsely accuse democrats of doing the same. now, rather than trying to break the logjam as a true presidential leader should, president trump sits on the sidelines and just issued a bunch of weak and unworkable executive orders. he slashed the enhanced unemployment benefits, asking americans who are out of work through no fault of their own to take a pay cut. he deferred the payroll tax, which even republicans admit would do next to nothing to help our workers or the economy and would undermine social security and medicare to boot. and the president's executive order on evictions is more like an executive suggestion. it doesn't even guarantee moratorium on evictions.

it merely instructs federal agencies to, quote, review or consider, one, and does nothing to help renters forward the rent. here in congress the senate republican majority delayed for four long months, failed to come up with a proposal that had the support of their own caucus, and then gave up and left it for someone else to figure it out. that's why mcconnell is not in the room. facing the greatest domestic crisis of the 21st century where americans are hurting health wise and economically, the senate republican majority ran down the clock, tossed up an air ball and then subbed themselves out of the game. even now as leader mcconnell claims that democrats are blocking relief, there are 20 members of the republican caucus, according to their own leader, who won't vote for anything. no more relief.

a group of republican senators came to the floor last week to warn america about the national debt. not the health crisis, not the economic crisis, not the looming housing crisis, but the national debt. something that concerned those same members very little when adding nearly $2 trillion to the debt in order to give big corporations a giant tax cut in 2017. listen to this one. the senator from wisconsin, senator johnson, said yesterday, quote, from my standpoint, the breakdown in talks is very good news. i hope the talks remain broken down. let me repeat that. from my standpoint, said senator johnson, reflecting the view of many republican senators, from my standpoint, he said, the breakdown in talks is very good news. i hope the talks remain broke down.

why did he say that? because he doesn't want to spend one more nickel, despite the huge health crisis, huge economic crisis, people losing their jobs, small businesses closing, we shouldn't spend a nickel. this is not both sides. this is one side only. but you know, when president trump called covid-19 a hoax and told the country to go take bleach and other quack medicines, some of my friends here made disappointed noises. but when the president said that the virus would just disappear, it seems the republican senate bought it. after we came together to pass the cares act, republican senators pushed all their chips to the middle to bet with president trump that the virus was going to miraculously disappear. the republican leader said i'm going to put the senate on pause and see what happens.

last week he actually defended that position, saying that his delay allowed us to learn the coronavirus didn't mysteriously disappear. millions more people out of work, hundreds of thousands of small businesses closing, many more people getting covid and some more people dying, and now, after all that the republican leader says his delay allowed us to learn the coronavirus didn't mysteriously disappear. so while president trump and his aides have certainly been an impediment, an awful impediment to an agreement, the republican senate is equally culpable, and the american people know it. they know democrats have their back healthwise, economically. republicans, so many of them are saying don't do a thing.

he don't do a thing. they're glad the negotiations are broken down. we are not. one final matter. millions of americans rely on the u.s. postal service to deliver their mail reliably and on time. and for decades the hardworking people of the postal service has been doing just that. during this pandemic, usps has been providing these critical services day in and day out up until the new postmaster general, mr. did dejoy, with no experience in the postal service was installed at the helm. administering a national election is difficult in normal times. in the time of covid, it will undoubtedly be an even greater challenge. we need to institute policies and devote resources to make sure every american can vote safely and confidently in person and by mail.

and, by the way, even just as important, we need to make sure americans get their medicines on time, that the elderly and those with preexisting conditions who are staying in their homes and not going out are able to get the necessities by the mail. your pills are a week late, i know what that's like, it's happened to me. form i don't have medicines that my life depends on. it causes you huge anxiety about your health. and this postmaster is cutting overtime, cutting employees when at a time of covid we need more help, not less. but elections should certainly concern americans as well. the current issues at the post office alarm every american. the new postmaster general has instituted policies that have contributed to inexcusable delays in mail delivery. but now topping the cake, the postal service has informed some

states they may need to pay a first-class rate to deliver ballots rather than the normal rate, nearly tripling the cost. at a time when people will have to vote by mail in record numbers because they can't or won't go vote in person, the postmaster general is saying we should triple the rate of cost to vote by mail? what a despicable derogation of democracy. what is his rationale? a small amount of money. ballots are a small percentage of the mail that's delivered. it's to discourage people from voting. he ought to be ashamed of himself to even consider this, tripling -- tripling -- what it costs to vote by mail at a time when more people will vote

by mail than ever before. if anyone had any thought that this postmaster general was on the level, it's now dispensed. to triple the cost of voting by mail would be an outrageous and insidious policy that would make it even harder and more expensive for states already struggling with depleted budgets from covid-19 to conduct our election safely. democrats will fight this policy with every tool at our disposal. if our republican colleagues care about a free and fair election this november, they should as well. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: thank you. thank you, mr. president. i so appreciate the comments of the minority leader. you know, oftentimes when i am home, when i am talking to constituents in nevada, they look at washington as a bubble. they don't really think that things happen here unless they see it on the news or they have no trust in really us coming together to work on behalf of our constituents. and i think it's time we focus on what needs to be done in the best interest of our country than focusing on political gain or gamesmanship. the reason why i say that is i don't know about you,

mr. president, but i know every single senator comes from a state, and they care about their constituents. they get e-mails from their constituents and letters from their constituents. when we go home, we claim to be in a recess, it's not really a recess. we're at home working, talking to our constituents and the individuals that are there. ened -- and if we're really listening to our constituents, particularly at a time now, when this pandemic has created the worst health crisis we have seen not just in this country but around the world, and has contributed to an economic crisis, then we are hearing from our constituents that they are struggling right now. and the reason why they're struggling is because we have asked them to stay at home and shelter in place to stem the spread of this virus. we said, listen, we don't have a vaccine. we're working on it but we don't have it right away. and we need to ramp up our tests so that we can make sure that you can get it and quickly to

determine whether you have this virus or the antibiotic so we can then quarantine you and shelter you. but until we even get to that point, we've asked everybody to stay home. and they have done it. i know in my state of nevada, we have the highest unemployment rate in the country right now, 25%. businesses have shuttered. people have stayed home to help us stem the spread of this virus. and what we told them months ago was that if you do this, we will be there. our federal government, we will be there to work with you. we will help you. we will make sure that you have money in your pocket so that you can afford the health care, so that you can pay your bills, so that you can pay your rent, you can pay for your food, so that you do not have any economic

insecurity. we made that commitment to them. we promised them. and i have to say we still have to follow that obligation, mr. president. they're doing their part, so why aren't we doing ours? at the end of the day, you and i both know, and all of our colleagues know there is more economic insecurity in this country right now than we've ever he seen before because of this pandemic. food insecurity, housing insecurity, job insecurity, education insecurity. there's a homework gap, we know it. it is happening. so it really is time now for us to stop the posturing, stop the political gamesmanship, and really do what we committed when we swore an oath to this office, when we were sworn in that we were going to do right by people across this country, looking out for their interest. not our interest, but the best

interest of this country. and so i come to the floor today to really ask my colleagues, let's try and do what is right for the best interest of this country now more than ever. i know you get them. i get letters. i have letters from constituents right now, and i can't tell you, i've been inundated with them. a constituent from nevada. i urge you to extend the federal eviction moratorium and include at least $150 billion in funding for emergency rental assistance in the next relief package. this assistance will enable households, including those who have lost jobs or who already were struggling to pay rent before the pandemic, to remain stablely housed and avoid the devastating and long-lasting harms of eviction. that's a constituent. i didn't write that. they sent it to my office. and in this letter, this constituent from nevada goes on to say, it is important to be

kind and compassionate, especially during this time. we have the opportunity to learn and to do better always. no one should be forced out of their home during a global pandemic. those are similar letters i receive. i know you receive them. i think know our colleagues receive them. that's why today it is important for us to focus on so much that is happening, including that economic security. right now i want to focus on one piece of it that we need to address, that should be part of a global piece, which is this idea that right now millions of americans are concerned about being evicted from their homes. in the middle of a pandemic, where people need a safe place to call home, they are concerned that they don't have the money to pay their rent. because we've asked them to stay home. now, i've said this before on the floor of the senate.

i will say it again. in the middle of a pandemic, housing is health care. security in your own home is health care. and yet we have millions of people across the country on the brink of eviction. in mid-july, a quarter of adults reported that they were housing insecure. that's one in four. and in more than half of the states in america, eviction bans have expired. that means across the nation more and more families will have to pack up everything that they can carry in the space of hours. there could be 40 million evictions nationwide by the end of the year. and what we have seen amongst the data that comes into all of our offices is that families of color are likely to be the hardest hit. in my home state of nevada, experts believe that nearly half a million people are at risk of

eviction. perhaps as many as 300,000 of them in nevada by september. among renters, up to 47% face that risk. now, staving off nevada evictions could cost nevada $850 billion in rental assistance over the next year. that's just one state. but, you know what? the states, the local governments, everyone has been impacted by this pandemic. and they are rightly looking to congress to address it. they are desperate for us to pass meaningful legislation to get them money to pay their bills, to enact protections that let them stay in their homes and apartments. and, mr. president, we need to help them now. we can't turn our backs. we cannot turn our backs on americans now more than ever. they need our help. and we need the administration.

we need leadership -- republican leadership -- coming to the negotiating table to get real relief passed, not hollow political gestures. we need a package that will include rental and housing assistance, prevent an epidemic of homelessness and stabilize the housing markets. because if we don't, the consequences are going to haunt families and our economy for years. now, i know this. take it from me. in nevada we saw 200,000 families lose their homes because of the 2008 housing crisis. that foreclosure crisis hit nevada so hard, and it has been a long, long road back for so many nevadans. and i am determined not to ever see that happen again and to bring the relief, if i'm in a position, like we all are here in congress to bring that relief, why aren't we in a room negotiating it? why are we not talking

regularly? we did it with the cares act immediately. we saw the need and we did something about it. you know, nevadans are always already struggling to find work, to afford food, to stay healthy during this pandemic. plus they're helping their children learn, as schools start to reopen. they cannot effectively do that, none of it, without a safe place to stay, a roof over their head. housing is the key to any sense of stability in our chaotic world right now. it's time to end the political games. americans expect it. they need a roof over their heads. and that is why it is so vital we pass legislation, not just to help nevadans but people all over the country pay their rent and utility bills when they cannot safely go to work because of this health pandemic. and we already have legislation

out there. we know it. the house months ago passed the heroes act, which addresses this. senator brown's emergency assistance market stabilization act is out there that can do the job. we can talk about how we bring this bill forward that helps so many families. and it's not just rental stabilization that to help families keep a roof over their head. remember, there is teas a lot of small businesses -- there's a lot of small businesses that are hand lords. there are many businesses that are landlords that are shouldering the missed opportunities and they are having you s&ling. landlords have bills to pay as well. they have mortgages, taxes, insurance, staff, let alone their families that they have to take care of. without assistance, many of them will go bankrupt or will be forced to sell their properties. let's focus on the essentials. the basic need for things like shelter. let's keep people safe and off

the streets. let's pass senator brown's rental assistance. senator reed has a housing assistance fund to help homeowners avoid foreclose. senator menendez, housing counseling bill. there are so many others. they're before us. we have the opportunity to do the right thing here. the senate just needs to do its part by making sure those homes are safe and stable, by passing legislation that's going to have a positive impact on so many americans across this country. so, mr. president, thank you for listening. thank you to my colleagues for at least having the ability and the will to try to do something through the legislation that was introduced. but now more needs to be done. we can't just introduce legislation. now it's time to do our jobs as

senators, to come to the floor of the senate, bring the legislation to the floor and debate it. let the american public actually see us work and do our jobs that we promised them we would be doing. it's okay to debate legislation. it's okay to compromise and come forth with good government and good policy that's going to lift all of us up. that's what the senate should be doing. and that's what i look forward to for my colleagues. so thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: yesterday many parts of my home state of iowa were hit by extreme winds and severe storms. 90 mile-an-hour winds probably along a path, along interstate 80 from the missouri river to the mississippi river. trees were uprooted. roadways are obstructed. crops are severely damaged.

green bends are busted. out buildings lost. some homes hurt and over 400,000 households lost power. just like any other natural disaster, iowa has experienced, is know that iowans are going to ban together and support each other as we recover from this storm. senator ernst and i stand ready to help with any federal assistance iowa may need, and i hope that you will not hesitate to contact our respective offices, both in washington, d.c., and iowa, if you need us. and for sure, if governor reynolds declares this as a disaster area, senator ernst and i will be quick to advise the president to follow the recommendations and requests of

senator -- of governor reynolds. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 11:00 a.m.,

wednesday, august 12. further, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour 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: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.