[inaudible conversations] >> binge watch booktv this summer. saturday evenings at 8 p.m. eastern settle in the watch several hours of your favorite authors. saturday we featured programs with the late award-winning author toni morrison. watch next saturday, august 22 as we featured programs with award-winning biographer robert caro. binge watch booktv all summer on c-span2. >> we take you live to the senate floor. no deal has yet been reached on the next covid-19's relief

bill despite talks on capitol hill last week. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says lawmakers will be given 24 24 hours notice to return to capitol hill to vote if a deal is reached. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god our refuge and strength, give us reverence for your greatness. guide our senators around the pitfalls of their work, enabling

them to have hearts sustained by your peace. may they surrender their will to you, as they trust you to guide their lives. lord, give them the wisdom to receive your reproof with the understanding that you chastise those whom you love for their good. make their lives productive for the glory of your name. mighty god, protect the oppressed and helpless, preserving them from evil. we pray in your great name, amen. the presiding officer:

join me in reciting 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. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., august 12, 2020. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby point the honorable roy blunt, a senator from the state of missouri, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: chuck grassley, president pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i spoke about the disconnect between discourse here in washington and the pain and uncertainty that american families are feeling all across our country. i spoke about the human toll of

the democrats' choice to play politics with billions and billions of aid and block it all over non-covid-19-related wish list items. it's been clear for some weeks that the speaker of the house and the senate democratic leader are treating this crisis like an ordinary political game. "the new york times" said speaker pelosi is, quote, playing hardball. "politico" says she is taking a huge risk as she remains almost entirely unyielding in her demands. more than 160,000 americans have been killed by the worst infectious disease outbreak in more than a century. more than 16 million americans are out of work. an entire school year for our kids is in limbo. the democrats are playing political games like this for some run-of-the-mill typical

negotiation. partisan gamesmanship and playing politics. those are house democrats i'm quoting on the house democratic bill. yesterday literally a few minutes after i said on the floor that democrats should stop treating this crisis like a game, the democratic leader came to the floor to talk about who, quote, ran down the clock; who, quote, tossed up an airball; and, who, quote, subbed themselves out of the game. so, look ... the democrats aren't taking this as a serious issue. they aren't acting like this is serious, and the american people are hurting in the meantime. let's get outside the beltway and listen to how this crisis has impacted real american families and how the democrats' stonewalling continues to hurt them. since we passed the cares act, i've been visiting health care

facilities in high home state of kentucky -- in my home state of kentucky, place like kings daughter's medical center in ashland, always wearing a mask and social distancing, of course. i've thanked the frontline workers and heard how the senate's last rescue package has helped them save lives and stay safer themselves while doing it. that's because the cares act provided $1.3 billion for kentucky health care providers alone on top of more than $120 million we'd already sent for testing. but kentucky's incredible nurses, doctor, and hospitals are not finished fighting the battle on behalf of their communities. and congress must not be finished helping them do it. that's why senate republicans proposed major new investments in health providers. we want to send tens of billions more to expand testing, to reimburse health care facilities for unplanned pandemic expenses, to speed the development and

rapid distribution of covid-19 treatments, and to find a vaccine to finish this fight once and for all. that's what republicans would like to do, but democrats have blocked all of it over non-covid-related liberal demands. let's talk about the p.p.p. the historic program that that is kept main street alive and kept millions of americans from losing their jobs. this program has been transformational for kentucky. our small businesses and their workers have received more than $5 billion in payroll support, as the director of the dare-to-care food bank in louisville told me, p.p.p. fund something what has allowed his facility to keep its entire workforce precisely what our community needs were the greatest. and i heard from the director of a kentucky museum, quote, the p.p.p. program was the one hope that we had to keep our business alive.

but these small businesses and nonprofits are now nearing the end of this help. p.p.p. had to close its doors last saturday for new applications, and many employers are exhausting the money they had already received. our country is approaching another small business tipping point and workers could begin getting pang slips instead of paychecks. that's why senate republican wrote up plans for a whole new round of p.p.p., a full second draw tort hardest-hit businesses. house democrats left it out of their bill and slings turned their backs on those benefiting from p.p.p. but republicans want to keep helping main street workers. one woman-owned small business in northern kentucky shared that, quote, we're grateful for the $465,000 in the p.p.p. but we've used all of it for payroll and employ-related costs, 18 expenses. we are seeking more help to keep

our most treasured asset -- our people -- employed. and the president of an inspection company in louisville says this. you have no idea how much this second draw on p.p.p. will help us. we were actually in the process of figuring out how we were going to make it through to our fall work season. if we get this, that second tranche, if we get this, we can make it into our season with no layoffs. republicans want to get more aid to these workers but senate democrats have blocked every bit of it over non-covid-related liberal demands. let's talk about our university presidents. our k-12 school boards want legal protections so they can reopen. so republicans proposed billions for education. actually, even more than house democrats in their bill. but now democrats are blocking it all over unrelated liberal

demands. republicans want another round of direct checks -- direct checks -- to households across kentucky and across america. i just heard from one constituent who said with my first one i was able to get an eye exam and new glasses. i appreciate all you can do. some of us are hurting and need help. i want to put more cash in her pocket right now. but democrats are blocking every penny over unrelated liberal demands. so, mr. president, do you see the pattern? kentuckians need more help. americans need more help. the american people are not done fighting this virus. and republicans are not done crafting policies to help them. but the difference between now and march is that democrats seem to be finished being reasonable. the speaker of the house, the senate democratic leader have cut all their colleagues -- all of them -- all of their

committees out of negotiations. they're doing this alone. and they've declared that none of the priorities i named will see a single dime unless the two of them have declared none of the priorities i have named will see a single dime unless millionaires in brooklyn and san francisco get a massive tax cut, states get a trillion-dollar slush fund to cover budget problems from long before the pandemic, and we tax essential workers to pay unemployed people a higher salary to stay home. republicans wanted to reach agreement on all of these issues where we could find common ground and fight over the last few issues later, but the speaker and the democratic leader say nothing can move unless every one of these unrelated far-left items tags along. these two individuals are letting the wish lists of wealthy coastal elites stand between every working family in

america and the additional help they deserve. so maybe in a few moments the democratic leader or somebody on the other side will try again to explain how this is all some big political game. well, kentuckians know differently. they need results. all of our states need results. and republicans will fight until we actually get an outcome. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is is reserved. and under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. mr. kaine: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. kaine: mr. president, i rise today to speak about the latest coronavirus emergency aid package, but before i do, as a matter of personal privilege, i want to offer some comments and

praise of a colleague. just as we gather together, regardless of party, to mourn when a colleague dies or be together with a colleague who's undergoing a challenge, i think it's good to gather together and acknowledge when something positive happens to a colleague, regardless of our political affiliation. and this is the first opportunity on the senate floor to offer a word about senator kamala harris, one of our colleagues who in an historic move, was asked by vice president joe biden to join him as his preferred nominee to be vice president of the united states. i've come to know senator harris in her years in the senate, as many of us have, in her service especially in the judiciary committee and the intelligence committee. her public service track record is a significant one worthy of praise from her work as a district attorney, first a line

prosecutor and then the elected district attorney where she focused to trying to keep her community safe to services, broadening the portfolio to include environmental justice and consumer protection and news her work in the senate since 2016. what i find so compelling about senator harris in addition to her track record is her personal story, raised as the child of two immigrants a jamaican father and and indian mother. as so many in this country raised as children of immigrants developing a passion to serve and a patriotic love of country. she's the first nominee -- african american woman nominee ever to be on a ticket. she is at first south -- person of south asian descent ever to be ton a picket. in the year 2020 when we're

celebrating the anniversary of the right of women to vote, i can think of no better than a woman breaking a glass ceiling whereby no woman in this country has ever been a vice president or president. we're so good at so much in this country. in fact we're so good at many things with regard to women in this country. but we're sort of uniquely bad in electing women to higher office in congress right now. 24% of congress is women and that ranks us 76th in the world in terms of our percentage of women. we trail iraq, canada, mexico, and many other nations. regardless of how it all works out between nods and november and regardless of our own political affiliations, this a good day, i believe, for the country and a good day for the senate when one of the 100 is recognized in such a way and introduced to the american

public with an opportunity to serve. -- at a significant level. returning to the latest coronavirus emergency aid package, currently the package doesn't exist. there have been no bipartisan negotiations on it since last friday. that's disappointing to all of us who are here, ready and willing to negotiate and vote for a strong bipartisan relief package. the house of representatives passed its strong package back on may 15. now nearly three months ago. today's august 12. there was some hope that maybe covid cases were ticking downward. at the end of may, there was some hope that maybe the economic devastation was reducing, but covid cases did not tick down over the summer as some had hoped. in fact, they have ticked up in many parts of the country. the senate has not taken any votes on the house bill or indeed on any bill.

that's disappointing. but more than that, it's disappointing for millions of americans who are in the midst of hard times right now and are worried about their own health or the health of their loved ones. they are worried about whether they will receive unemployment benefits or how they will make rent or the mortgage or how their children will get an education. we know in this body we can transcend public as usual to address coronavirus because we did so in march by passing the cares act. even as members of this body as we meet were getting coronavirus as we were having those discussions. even as staffers were getting it, even as senate spouses were getting it, we stayed at the table and found a bipartisan bill that helped us deal with the challenge for a few critical months. but we're here debating this again because the magnitude of the crisis is not a crisis of a few months. no, it's such that the aid provided thus far is running out while americans' hardships continue. and that's why it's essential

that we not give up and that we stay here as long as it takes to come through for the american people. i've heard some in congress, indeed some in this body, say about more federal aid for coronavirus response i just don't see the need for it. indeed, the majority leader has candidly acknowledged that approximately 20 members of the republican caucus will not vote for more aid. well, i want to make the case first that there is need for it. and the need is undeniable because the circumstances that people are living in are dire. last friday, we found out that the unemployment rate in july was 10.2%, which is a number that is higher than at any point during the 2008-2009 recession. the president called this great jobs numbers, but i don't see anything great about one in ten americans who are in the workforce not being able to find work.

more than 30 million americans are collecting unemployment benefits, and last week their benefit checks were cut by more than 50%. in virginia, just as an example, unemployed workers are now receiving a maximum, a maximum of $378 a week. that's not enough to pay rent, let alone rent, groceries, child care, electric bills, and many other costs that families face every day. because they lost their jobs and other income, millions of americans are now at risk of eviction or foreclosure. the $600 federal unemployment benefit and federal eviction moratorium were holding this off for many, but with those relief measures expiring, families are unable to continue paying their august or september bills. one estimate is that 12 million evictions will be filed by october. 12 million is essentially the combined population of about six

or seven states. there could be that many evictions filed by october just in -- october. just in virginia, there was a state-imposed eviction moratorium that lapsed in five weeks, and just in those five weeks, nearly 10,000 evictions were filed potentially forcing people out of their homes. three in ten virginia renters surveyed a couple of weeks ago said they were uncertain how they could pay august rent. and it was more than half of all african american renters surveyed said that was the case. housing instability is difficult at any point in time, but imagine losing your housing during a pandemic. what are people supposed to do during a pandemic? the advice is if you can stay home, don't go out, don't be with others. that will help keep you and your family safe, but how can you quarantine at home if you are in danger of losing your home? like the senator, the majority leader who quoted from

constituents in kentucky, i'm hearing from virginia constituents every day. from allison who writes i have exhausted my savings account. i have rent due, groceries to buy, bills to pay. i am now desperate for immediate help. from maurice in mechanicsville. i have three children, one with special needs. my wife can't work now due to covid-19 school closures. i am behind on numerous bills including mortgage, utility and other bills. from dominique in fairfax, my rent is now three months behind, as well as my other bills, and i'm receiving letters threatening evictions and services being turned off. unfortunately, these examples are now not aberrations but they are common. we all know people. we all know people who are at risk of losing their home or being hungry or losing health care. or their savings being depleted because of the absence of work. so we have to make sure that people are not removed from their homes in the middle of a

health crisis. we need to make sure they can continue to pay bills until the health crisis is sufficiently addressed and the economy gets back to where it was. schools and colleges across the country are trying to reopen right now. it doesn't matter if it's in person, online, or a hybrid model, we want them to reopen safely right now, and this is the time to provide schools with the resources they need to deliver quality instruction, not punish them for following public health guidance and data. working families are struggling to find child care options. this is critical to reopening the economy. and child care providers themselves are struggling. virginia and the nation, according to national surveys, is at risk of losing 45% of its licensed child care capacity. that's 130,000 child care slots in virginia without the additional support they would need to help them stay viable, and if we lose child care capacity, that will have a

significant consequence in terms of the ability of people to go back to work so that the economy can start to grow again. on the nutrition front, we're facing an unprecedented rise in food insecurity as thousands of virginians and millions of americans have newly enrolled in the snap program. the brookings institute estimates that nearly 14 million children are living in food food-insecure households, 14 million children. that's nearly six times the number of children who were food insecure just as recently as 2018, and nearly three times as many who were food insecure during the peak of the great recession of 2008 and 2009. i bet all of my colleagues have experienced this because we're all out in our states talking to folks. food banks have been slammed with demand that they have never witnessed before, and it's been harder for food banks to get grocery access because grocery store shelves have also been ravaged as people are going to grocery stores while restaurants

are closed. so what do food banks do? increasing demand and then fewer donations from grocery stores. capital aid food bank purchased 100 semi truckloads of food in april which was triple what the food bank purchased in all of 2019, just in one month. they tripled their entire purchases compared to 2019 and the blue ridge area food bank which serves the western part of my commonwealth saw the number of new families seeking food assistance quadruple from last year, just as of may. so americans are in dire state. their basic needs are at stake. we democrats want to address that hardship. we did address that hardship in the heroes act which was passed in mid may. we want to keep people from losing their jobs and going hungry. i know there are many republicans that share the same goals but the proposals that have been on the table in this body are simply inadequate. there are areas that we agree on. aid to small businesses is important.

broadband is important because as people telecommute or get telehealth or get educational content online, they have to have access to broadband. testing is important. child care is important to open the economy. these are important priorities i believe we can come together on, but the republican plan that the senate g.o.p. introduced in this body, which the majority leader again acknowledges that at least 20 members of the caucus will not support, has large cuts to unemployment aid, no state and local government aid to prevent layoffs, to first responders and vital programs and services. the majority leader characterized state and local government agencies as a slush fund. i was a mayor. i was a governor. i know what's happening in the state and local budgets. when the revenues to state and local governments decline, there is about one place they can go, and the one place they can go is furloughs, waivers, salary cuts, cutting personnel. the overwhelming majority of the first responders in this country work for state and local

governments. it's never a good time to cut police, fire, e.m.t., ambulance, health care workers, never a good time, but the worst time to do it is in the midst of a global health pandemic. it's not a slush fund. it's a necessity that the communities where people live and work have basic services to get through this challenge. the republican proposal had inadequate education aid. no aid for the eviction tsunami that's facing us to provide rent or mortgage assistance. no nutrition aid in the snap program or otherwise to help these 14 million kids who today are living in food-insecure households. the republican proposal did include a comprehensive liability shield to prevent anyone from suing if their employer's negligence causes a virus outbreak. i thought it was interesting that so often on the other side of the aisle in this body when this prospective bill has been

talked about, that has been at the front of the line, as if the worry about lawsuits is the biggest concern that the american people have right now. no one in virginia, when they tell me about their concerns, is putting worries about lawsuits up at the top of the list. they are talking about food and hunger and health care and housing. the liability shield proposal in the g.o.p. goes even further than protecting against liability. it wipes out states' abilities to pass safety regulations. virginia became the first state in the country to do an emergency temporary standard to provide guidance to public places and employers about safety standards that they could use on the job. it's good to get advice about safety standards because most businesses don't have an n.i.h. or a c.d.c. or a health department, so advice about standards that should be followed in workplaces is a great idea. virginia became the first state in the country to do that.

the republican liability shield would not only give people liability protection, but it would take away the ability of the states to do what virginia did to try to create lifesaving protections for workers and customers. that's unacceptable. unacceptable. democrats offered to meet halfway. we knew when the heroes act passed -- we had been around the block a few times -- it wasn't as if the senate republicans would say that's a great idea. we will vote for it. that's not the way things work. the senate republicans would have their proposal just as the house democrats had their proposal. the two proposals had dramatically different price tags. the senate proposal together with the white house came in the neighborhood of a trillion dollars, and the house proposal came in the neighborhood of $3 trillion. so the democrats said -- and there is nothing magic about these numbers, but it is important to understand that willingness to compromise is something that americans expect

of us right now. democrats said okay, you have a package that's worth a trillion, we have a package that's worth $3 trillion, let's split the difference. we'll have to decide how to compose the $2 trillion package, but let's split the difference, and the white house refused. the white house got an offer to meet halfway and said that's not what we're going to do. we insist on the skinny version. the skinny version is inadequate to meet the challenge of the moment. this is the worst economic contraction in the 145 years where we have measured quarterly economic growth in this country, and this is the worst pandemic that the united states has dealt with since the spanish flu of 1917-1918. a narrow bill isn't enough. if you don't like the democratic bill because you think the price tag is too big, how about meeting us halfway? that's the way negotiations so often happen. after the white house rejected the notion of meeting halfway,

the president issued executive orders that he claims break through the logjam. like many things the president does, though, analysis of the executive orders demonstrates there is little substance there. the president proposed to defer payroll tax collections. that doesn't actually get americans more money. it just gives them a larger tax bill next year. because it's a deferral, but the president cannot lift the obligation off either the employers or the employees. it's also very confusing to employers to suggest okay, you should defer but it's likely to start back up again. that is very, very hard for employers, especially small employers, to figure it out. and we all know that the payroll tax is the main pillar of social security. as every generation pays into the system while they are working so that they can enjoy retirement with dignity in their senior years. president trump has said this isn't just a deferral, but if he

has his way and is reelected, he is going to permanently cancel the tax. that would undermine retirement security for all future generations. the executive order with respect to housing did actually nothing. it just ordered agencies to look into delaying evictions and foreclosures but no assistance, no dollars for those facing eviction or for those facing foreclosures. look into can you delay them. governors are already saying that the executive order dealing with unemployment aid is unworkable. it would be very difficult for them to reconfigure their u.i. systems to do what the president has asked them to do and asked them to help pay for in the executive order, even if states could figure out how to launch a completely new system, the benefits would run out in five weeks. on the surface the executive order with respect to student loan relief looks like an automatic extension of the cares

act, but if you dig into it, that's not what it is. the order leaves out eight million federal student loan borrowers and doesn't even mention whether borrowers' credit ratings and credit scores will be protected if they take advantage of what's offered them under the e.o. and what about the millions of students who are struggling to financially find a way to go back to college or the schools that are trying to find a way to still make sure students get an education when they reopen? or the working families that are struggling to find child care? school boards and superintendents around the country have come with a proposal saying to open schools safely would cost about $175 billion. and that's what democrats have put on the table. that is not addressed at all in the executive orders, even as we stand at the threshold of school reopening. in sum, the president's executive orders address virtually none of the hardships,

solve virtually none of the hardship, lift virtually none of the burden that americans are suffering through right now. so we're having a hard times. we're having hard times. and it's our duty to try to address that hardship. democrats are willing to compromise. when we say hey, we've got a plan but we'll meet you halfway to your plan and the white house says no, what are we supposed to do? what are we supposed to do? a skinny version isn't sufficient for the magnitude of the crisis. the senate republican proposal has some elements that we support, but it leaves so many others unaddressed that it's not adequate. the republican white house has rejected compromise. and president trump's executive orders are partly illegal, partly unworkable, and completely insufficient. it doesn't have to be this way. because there are many areas of which we could find agreement. and i no he many in this body are hearing from -- i know many in this body are hearing from

their home states, governors, mayors, local government, colleges, universities, school boardses, housing authorities, food banks, hospitals and the chambechamber of commerce and ye hearing the same thing as virginians. as i look, mr. president, it doesn't have to be this way. we can put together a good bipartisan deal but it can't be my way or the highway. it has to be a compromise between the democratic proposal and a proposal that is acceptable to at least some on the g.o.p. side and the white house. any large compromise in divided government is bound to be imperfect but i am reminded of a quote from fmpleghts d.r. during the -- f.d.r. during the depression years. you never really had to use quotes from the depression because the making tiewld of the depression was different than what i experienced during most of my life. now quotes from the depression i think bear some revisiting. and here's what f. d.r. said. as the administration and congress at the time were doing

everything they would to figure out a way to help out needy americans. better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference. by now everybody knows somebody who's gotten covid-19 or somebody who's gotten sick or even died or somebody who's lost a job or somebody who's worried about rent or food. we all know those people and many of us have experienced this in our own families. are we going to help? or are we going to be frozen in the ice of our own indifference? let's surprise the cynics. let's work together and get this done and with that, mr. president, i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: thank you, mr. president. as i sit and listen to my esteemed colleague from virginia, i can't agree more. now is the time really for us to come together to do what the senate traditionally does best, and that is working on the best interests of the people across this country who are struggling right now. compromise, it is not a bad word. it is time for us to get in a room and really do the job that the american public expects us to do. and that is looking out for their best interests at a time when we have a health care pandemic. now, keep in mind this is a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, once in a lifetime. so that requires us to come together and really focus on how we help americans across this country who are struggling right now.

they shouldn't be penalized. we've asked them to stay home and shelter in place because we are trying to address how we do the research that's necessary for a vaccine. hopefully one day we have that vaccine. how we ramp up the testing that is needed so everybody can feel safe and comp r comfortable -- and comfortable knowing whether they have this virus or not or the antibody but we're not there yet because more work needs to be done, particularly by this congress. but the american people has heard us. and they are, they are sheltering in place. they're staying home. they've shuttered their businesses. and now more than ever this country needs -- country needs the senate to act. the house has done its job two months ago. they worked a comprehensive package. and i say comprehensive because we can't just pick and choose winners and losers here. this isn't what this is about. this is about making sure we're bringing relief and helping

those across this country and everybody's impacted because we've promised them if you do what we say and we help stem the spread of this virus, we're going to have your backs. we're going to take care of you. but i will say that we have failed at that. this administration has failed. we have failed at that promise. and i know when we all go to our offices or we go home to our state, we are hearing from our constituents. we get e-mails. we get calls. we get letters. i know you all feel the same as i do. and we read them and we listen to them. and i don't know of one state in this country right now that somebody is not suffering from this pandemic that needs our help. and i know that's why i'm here because we have all took the oath. we said we're getting to be here working on best interests of our states and this country to make sure that those individuals

across this country who pay our salaries, those taxpayers expect us to do our jobs and work. and that's what i'm asking for right now. you know, i've been to the floor of the senate this week to talk about the struggles that i see in my state. we all get letters. and i do want to focus today on one. and there are so many. that's why the comprehensive package is necessary. but right now i would love to talk to you about what i am seeing, mr. president, in my home state when it comes to our seniors and those who are in need right now of funding to help nursing homes. and let me just start with letters because i think this is how it starts with all of us, calls into our office, letters coming from our constituents. and there's two calls that i received. and one of them was from a daughter who called in for her father who is in a v.a. nursing home in boulder city, nevada.

and because he isn't showing symptoms, he isn't getting tested. with so many cases there, how is this possible? where are the tests? this is a daughter who's concerned for her father knowing that if we just get people tested, there is that comfort in knowing whether or not you have this virus and whether or not you should be quarantined or how we protect you, particularly those in nursing homes. and then another call i received is a mother. she's also a certified nursing stafnts at a nursing -- assistant at a nursing home and she's telling me that many there quit because they don't have the proper p.p.e. they want to work but they don't want to expose themselves. so what are we doing right now to address all of these needs? listen, there is so much, it's overwhelming. i know it. but that's why we were sent here for the hard decision, not the easy ones. to make sure we're all working

for the best interests of the people in our states. and i know you all feel the same way. but i -- i have to tell you this. there are thousands of nevadans that know the anxiety that comes because there's a spouse, a parent, or a grandparent in a nursing home unable to visit with or hug their loved ones for fear of giving covid-19. you have seen it. you have heard it. i have heard it. too many loved ones have lost their loved ones because of this virus. and they were not able to be there. you know who was there with them in the nursing home? those incredible heroes on the front lines who are sacrificing their own health to be with th them, for those who pass away because of covid-19. there are so many factors that raise a coronavirus risk for nursing home residents. the majority of residents we all know are seniors. many have underlying conditions. they live in closed quarters, and they share common spaces.

and we also know this. residents and staff of these facilities shouldn't be an afterthought. they are a core part of our communities and our health care system. they are our elders and they are the keepers of our stories. we have to do more to have protect them. and we need to protect the workers in these homes, too. many of whom belong to communities of color and who are struggling to provide care to a population with unique needs. and the reason why i bring this up is because there is legislation out there to do just what i'm talking about and what we need in our communities. it's not something new. it's already been introduced. my colleague bob casey introduced the nursing home covid-19 protection prevention act to get nursing and long-care facilities in nevada and across this country more p.p.e., the testing that they need, and the staffing and to help the staff. and those that are in those

communities. these homes need support to slow the spread of the virus and to respond rapidly when it does crop up using all we've learned from combating this virus so far. the bill funds teams of nurses and other critical staff to lend emergency help at nursing homes with outbreaks and to bring the best practices to bear in helping sick residents. this bill ensures folks in my home state and across the country are being taken care of, that families have peace of mind that there is accountability for providers and protections in place for workers. i'm hearing from family members and loved ones of those in nursing homes in my state. i'm hearing from caregivers and health care workers. i know all of you are as well. and one thing that comes from all these people is a feeling of being forgotten. no one, no one, mr. president, in america should feel forgotten

right now. it's time for us to come together. we need to make sure nursing homes follow guidelines and that if they fail to do so, they will be held accountable. but we also must arm them with the tools they need to face a virus that's been relentless in attacking seniors. we should make sure that the next coronavirus package that we should be negotiating and working on right now does everything it can to support the most fragile in our communities because they are also some of our most precious. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. blunt: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senior senator from missouri. mr. blunt: mr. president, i think the president of the united states has done the things he can do within his authority to try to address the issues before us, but the truth

is, his authority just doesn't go far enough. i have frequently questioned the president's view of how broad the presidential authority is, but in these actions he took in the last few days, i've looked at them carefully. i think he had the authority to do what he did, but he'd probably be the first to admit that the authority he has doesn't solve the problem the way it needs to be solved. it's time that the congress stepped up and did its job. and this debate with the president, there's the article 1 view of the government that there's a reason that the legislative branch's article 1, it's -- there's a reason it's our job to pass laws, it's -- there's a reason that it's the president's job to execute those laws. occasionally the president has to act quicker on an emergency basis than the congress and within a fairly narrow ability he has to act on this issue, he's tried his best to step up

where the congress has failed to step up. my good friend from virginia just said well, the house bill is $3 trillion and the senate bill is a trillion dollars. we should figure out how to compromise at $2 trillion. now i believe in compromise. i think it is the essence of compromise. but it has to be based on some principle of the issue you're dealing with. if the house bill had been $5 trillion, i guess the logic would be that we'd compromise at $3 trillion. if they'd had known that, their bill would have probably been $5 trillion. when the bill was passed, it was described by more than one reporter as a democrat wish list or the ultimate campaign platform, having everything in it. it was described by a whole lot more than one reporter that about a third of their bill has nothing to do with covid and

another third of their bill is about the big question of what we can do to help state and local government. now, let's take -- let's put that issue aside for a minute. it's an issue that clearly the house feels strongly about. clearly there are challenges to governments, particularly at the local level, i think -- and that has to be dealt with in some way, maybe not at the $871 billion level or whatever they've suggested. but that's a different issue that i would first of all concede is very much part of the discussion and should be. but if you take the third of the bill out that has nothing to do with covid, let's get that off the table. i mean, we can have a debate about whether people who are in the legal marijuana trade should get access to banking or not, but i think you've got to work really hard to make that a covid issue. we could have debate about

whether the federal government should require every state in the country to allow ballot harvesting or not, but i think that's very hard to make a covid-19 issue. you a third of the bill, according to many people who have analyzed the bill when it came out, has nothing to do with covid. so let's set aside the other third of the bill that deals with state and local government, us giving state and local government we don't have to replace money they don't have. and i'm not going 10 say that some element -- and i'm not going 0 say that some element of that won't be in a final bill. but let's talk about things that don't need to be in the first bill, which in the house bill were about $1 trillion. now, how do you compromise with the house when you agree with them on a number so they change the number? back to school, a critical part of what ought to be happening right now. and by the way, back to school

money that schools get in december will not be nearly as help as back-to-school money that schools get in august. they need the money now. we need to see back to school, whether it is distance learning which takes some assets and planning that districts need to do more on, or in-person learning where that's possible, where you have to have more expenses for probably more bus routes so don't put as many people on the same bus. more expenses for delayed starting times, more expenses for social substantial and classrooms. but they need that money now. so the house in their bill for elementary and secondary and higher education, the heroes act put $100 billion. we looked at that carefully -- i chair the committee that does that appropriating. we i think know as much in our committee as anybody in the senate about some of the needs that are out there.

we thought the number was $105 billion. as soon as our bill came out, the house decided, no, we really need $400 billion. how do you meet somebody in the middle when they keep changing where the middle is? when the heroes act -- what members on the other side of the aisle have repeatedly said we should pass and pass immediately -- had $1 should -- had $100 billion, we had $105 billion, you would have thought that would be good enough. we can argue on the language. the argument is about republicans never spent enough, according to the democrats. and the democrats seem to have no limit in what they're willing to spend, according to us. in child care, a critical need for people to get both back to school appeared back -- and back to work. and the child care system is

intensely stressed as part of what's going on. people who lose their jobs and take their children out of child care, people who would prefer after they've figured out how to do this another way, no to the put their kids back in child care for a while -- i haven't talked to anybody who thinks the child care system have have more than 50 -- will have more than 50% of the kids willing to come back that were there before. so how do you still make child care work? do you do you believe the child care costs -- do you double the child care costs to make up for the fact that 50% of the kids aren't there? of course not. that doesn't work at all. so the house put in the heroes act $7.5 billion for child care. we put $15 billion for child care. and then the house decides, well, no, we really need $40 billion or $50 billion for child care. pretty hard to compromise in the middle if the middle was

somewhere between $50 -- and i think our number would have prevailed. $15 billion and $15.5 billion. suddenly it is $50 billion. let's get back to school, let's get people back to work. let's do what we can to restore the health care system that's been incredibly stressed during this and let's quick acting like there's this vast disagreement when the disagreement is way more apparent than real. if you look at the third of the bill that dealt with covid-19 that the house passed, we are very close. we're a little ahead of them on testing. testing absolutely essential in my view to get kids back to school, to get people back to work, to -- until we get well into the vaccine period of having a vaccine and getting that vaccine to people, testing is is going to continue to be

critical. we have money for vaccines and vaccine distribution that i think exceeds the house bill money, but we can talk about what is really not a very big difference in a trillion-dollar bill or something a little more than that. we've said in our bill that on testing, on vaccines, on other things, we're going to set some priorities for testing. we said the federal government priority to be sure that everybody gets that test in whatever way they can get it as quick as they can get it. we said nursing homes, child care centers, elementary and secondary education, colleges and universities would be federal priorities. employers are going to have to help with some of the workplace priorities. but we think those are the right federal priorities, and we put in our bill. back to work you have to have child care to get about a being

to work. a second -- to get back to work. a second round of p.p.p., which the senator from virginia agreed this is something we need to do. health care provider assistance. we ask our health care providers to do the two hardest things you can possibly do at the same time. one was stop all of the income you can possibly stop. stop the so-called elective surgeries. and by the way some elective surgeries get less elective the longer you wait until you have them, and we're seeing some results of that right now. but i think there was some logic to stop putting people into the hospital if you don't have to or having them in the surgeon's center if you don't have to until we know what's happening here. and not only stop the income but stand ready for the worst epidemic your community may ever had to deal with or may ever have to deal with at any time in the future. so maintain your future readiness, stop your income.

we need to come back now for the third time and provide money for providers. and, again, money now is much more valuable than money 90 days from now. telemedicine -- we finally have woken up to what the federal government should have been doing for a decade and embraced tellly medicine as part of normal office visits that don't have to happen in the office, at part of behavioral health. and our bill says that the c.m.s. that determines how medicare money is spent can't go back on what they've allowed in the last few months ever. and on some of the things they've had allowed, they can't go back for a significant period of time to see how this works. broadband -- we could deal with this -- we're going to have

telemedicine and telebehavioral health. we're going to have that as well as other kinds of health medicine. you have to have access to broadband. if kids who are learning remotely have the same opportunity that other kids who are learning remotely, you need to have access to broadband and you need it as soon as you can get it. whether that's assistance to get hooked up, which is a little easier than just access -- and we've been working hard in this senate and in our state legislature in my state to get the missourians that don't have access to high-speed broadband, to get that access. so there are areas here that are the areas that we need to be dealing with. most of them we really -- we have to really work hard to pretend there is tea a disagreement. sure you can decide that your education category was really only 25% of what you really

needed. but i think our house friends know that's not right. and we know that's not right. this is probably not the last bill we'll pass, if it turns out we're incorrect on our $100 billion or $105 billion. but $100 billion right now to schools getting -- trying to get started is worth more than $200 billion will be in may. let's give people the help they need when they need it. let's quit arguing about whether the president has inadequate tools to do what everybody knows needs to be done. because certainly that's true. that should be true. under the constitution, the congress has to do its job. and compromise is more than some middle number between an outrageous number and a number that may turn out to be not quite big enough. let's get serious. let's get back to work. let's do our job. let's get back to school in the

country, back to work in the country, back to child care in the country, and do those things we need to do to restore both the health care system and, more importantly, the health of every american we can possibly help. with that, mr. president, i'd yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. cassidy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. cassidy: mr. president, i rise today to highlight recent -- the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr. cassidy: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cassidy: mr. president, i rise today to speak to a very

important piece of legislation which quietly passed this chamber last week. it included several provisions i offered -- i authored and offered based upon my experience as a physician to specifically provide mental health support to america's veterans. mr. president, we all agree we owe the men and women who fought and fight for this country a tremendous debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they make to preserve our freedom. it is dangerous, and our service members answer the call. many carry scars from injuries sustained during that service. but there are scars that we cannot see. service can take a physical toll but also a mental one. too many veterans struggle with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts. about 17 veterans per day from all of our wars put together take their own lives. for comparison, 22 service

members were killed in combat in afghanistan throughout all of 2019. we're losing thousands more veterans at home than we're losing fighting men and women in the field. that is something to ponder. we must do a better job of meeting the mental health needs of veterans. thankfully, this chamber took a big step forward last week when we passed the commander johns scott ha hannon veterans mental health improvement act. it improves outreach to veterans and offers mental health care options in five major ways. first, the bill dollsters the v.a.'s mental health workforce to serve more veterans. it gives the v.a. direct hiring authority for mental health professionals. the v.a. can offer scholarships to mental health professionals that work at vet centers and it provides for at least one suicide prevention coordinator at every veterans administration

hospital. it improves rural veterans access to mental health care by increasing the number of locations where veterans can access v.a. telehealth services. it also offers grants the nonv.a. organizations that provide mental health services or alternative treatments to veterans. the bill strengthens support and assistance for service members transitioning out of the military by automatically giving every service member a full year of v.a. health care when they leave the military. by the way, mr. president, this came to my mind. it turns out that most suicides occur within six weeks of one of our soldiers or sailors or marines leaving the service within six months of that departure is when they tend to commit suicide. but it's about six months before they first access v.a. services. so we've got to have this kind of transition point tightened

and one is to make sure they all know they have v.a. benefits for that first year. it also -- the veterans mental health care improvement act also studies and invests in innovative and alternative science-based treatment options. invest in research on the impact of living at high altitude on veterans suicide risk and on identifying and treating other risk factors for mental illness. it holds the v.a. accountable for its mental health care and suicide prevention efforts. it does this by examining how the v.a. manages suicide prevention resources and how the v.a. provides care and information sharing for veterans seeking mental health care from both v.a. and community providers. mr. president, this bill takes a strong evidence-based approach to meeting veterans' needs that have not always been given priority. it's encouraging to me that this

is bipartisan. at a time when we don't appear to agree on very much, we're able to deliver for our heroes. i'm proud to have worked with my democratic colleagues to write bills that were included in this package. senator tester and i partnered on the promoting coordination for veterans suicide prevention act. this bill, this amendment ensures that a thorough review of veterans who die by suicide within one year of separation from the armed services is conducted jointly by both department of defense and by the v.a. as i mentioned, most suicides occur within six months of separating from service. if that is the case, then the department of defense can do a review of what are those risk factors and have a warm handoff to the veterans administration hospital. and because we made automatic that first year of service within the v.a., that warm handoff can be taken without any

impediments of is there coverage or is there not. there's also going to be a partnership between the mental health and suicide prevention experts in both the v.a. and d.o.d. that will contribute to improved information sharing and help further close the gap and ensuring high quality, seamless care between these two departments focusing on the service person who's now becoming a veteran. senator tester and i also worked on the research approval efficiency act. this authorizes the veterans administration to leverage a credited commercial institutional review board for use in connection with v.a.-sponsored clinical research. given the v.a. commercial operations for approving clinical trials will need much-needed efficiency and begin to real estate duce the -- reduce the disparities that today lead in clinical trial

administration. if we know that our treatments for those with mental illness often need to be improved, we want to give our veterans access to those improved treatments as soon as possible, but we also want to make sure that those treatments suit the needs of the veteran. you can only do this by encouraging that research activity with full consent of the veteran, full consent, by which she or he may participate in these trials for her benefit, his benefit, but for the benefit of us all. and this reform enables the v.a. to increase the caliber of care it delivers to veterans in a variety of clinical areas. senator sinema and i introduced the improving mental health care care for veterans act. this requires establishing joint clinical practice guidelines for treatment of serious mental illness. this commonsense approach builds

on an already robust library of clinical guidelines that serve to reinforce treatment procedures in other areas and just the point -- if someone is found to be well-controlled on a certain medical regimen and then they transition to another form of care with a different formulary and all the hard work just to find just the right clinical treatment program to keep the patient balanced now has to be changes because the second department has a different set of drugs with which they wish to treat, all the good work done here is lost there. we wish to eliminate that possibility by making sure there's a common set of clinical guidelines so that somebody with stress is passed off and is seamless in terms of the clinical care but also the medicines wit they may take. the passage of the commander

john scott hannon veterans improvement act is the combination of a lot of work of senators both republican and democrat. i urge the house to swiftly pass this legislation so that president trump can sign it into law. this bill will have a direct, positive impact in the care the v.a. delivers to american veterans. they answered the call to serve our nation. now congress must answer the call to better serve them. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. boozman: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are.

mr. boozman: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. i just want to take a second to thank you for the great work that you're doing on the veterans' affairs committee. and as you just spoke earlier, working hard to take these bills and improve them. it's everyone working together, and we certainly appreciate the fact that you have so much experience in a variety of different ways and have added so much to the committee. so again we're very thankful thor that. i also rise today to recognize the significant steps the senate took to improve the mental health care of veterans and save lives with the passage of the commander john scott hannon mental health care improvement act. this moves us one step closer to paving a new path forward in suicide prevention and implementing a new strategy that i believe will give hope and purpose to the men and women who

live with these invisible injuries. more than 50,000 organizations nationwide provide suicide prevention services for veterans. these nonprofits and community organizations play such a vital role and have taken the lead to build effective programs. i've heard from veterans how organizations like the rogers arkansas-based sheep dog impact assistance are encouraging them to live their best life. i've also seen how outdoor therapies like rivers of recovery are supporting the mental health needs of veterans and how service -- -- veterans service organizations are stepping up and addressing mental health care in their communities. we have so many organizations in arkansas and throughout the country that are doing a great job in this capacity. the mountain -- in mountain home, arkansas, the disabled

veterans chapter changed its charge to outreach after reaching the highest veterans suicide rate in the state, one of the highest in the nation. veterans enhanced their connection with the nation. this has reduced the suicide rate in northern arkansas arc. it makes sense that we harness the ideas and successes of this chapter and other advocates into sound policy. that's why i joined with senator mark warner to champion a new strategy that authorizes the v.a. to provide grants to nonprofits in their community. establishing a framework to coordinate these efforts and expand outreach to more veterans. additionally, this legislation will enable the v.a. to establish greater partnerships with communities to better measure the effectiveness of ongoing suicide prevention programs. i appreciate the leadership of

the v.a. committee, chairman jerry moran, and ranking member jon tester, and the assistance of them and their staffs in working with me and senator warner and our staffs to include our proposal, the improved well-being for veterans act. in the comprehensive mental health care package, again, that we just passed in the senate. i especially want to thank rosy hiez, and pat mcgoygan, members of my staff who spent countless hours to find a solution to help advance in idea. the v.a. estimates around 20 veterans commit suicide each day. that number has remained roughly unchanged despite a tremendous increase in funding. interestingly, only aches of those 20 veterans are receiving health care services at the v.a. by sharing information and collaborating with veteran service nonprofits and other commun organizations, we can

expand our network and provide the help that veterans need. and ultimately capture more veterans into our v.a. system. v.a. secretary robert which will key called this approach key to unlocking the veteran suicide crisis. hopefully he's right. i applaud the senate for advancing this bill and look forward to working with my colleagues in the house of representatives to quickly approve this legislation so we can reassure veterans that their best days are ahead of them. and with that, mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk should call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that 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. thursday, august 13. further, following the prayer and pledge, the morning business 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: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so 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. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i spoke about the disconnect between discourse here in washington and the pain and uncertainty that american families are feeling all across our country. our country.

the pain and uncertainty american families are feeling all across our country. i spoke about the human toll of the democrats choice to play politics with billions and billions of aid and block it all over non-covid related wish list items. it's been clear for some weeks that the speaker of the house and senate democratic leader are treating this crisis like an ordinary political game. the "new york times" said p speaker pelosi is quote playing hardball. "politico" says she is taking a huge risk as she remains almost entirely unyielding in her demands. more than 100 60,000 americans have been killed by the worst infectious disease outbreak in more than a century. more than 16 million americans are out of work. an entire school year for our kids is in limbo. the democrats by point political games like this for some run-of-the-mill