taiwan. >> i think we have just speeded we will take you live to the senate floor. no deal reached yet on the next coronavirus relief bill despite talks on capitol hill last week. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said lawmakers will be given 24 hours notice to return to capitol hill to vote if a deal is reached. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. our father, we wait in reverence before your throne. turn and answer us. cleanse us from sins, creating in us clean hearts

while renewing a right spirit within us. lord, help our lawmakers today to discern your voice and do your will. give them the ability to accomplish your purposes on earth. speak to them your wisdom, guide them with your spirit, and sustain them with your might. lord, restore joy to our hearts for we trust your unfailing love. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. 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., thursday, august 13, 2020. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john boozman, a senator from the state of arkansas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: chuck grassley, president pro tempore.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: the senate was supposed to spend this week finalizing another bipartisan rescue package for the american people. millions of laid off workers needed more federal assistance to weather the storm. small businesses needed more support to make payroll. schools and families need more funding, tools, and certainty with reopening dates fast approaching. doctors, nurses, and health care

workers need more backup as they hold the line against this disease. and we all need more gas for the race toward more testing, better treatments, and the vaccine that will finish the fight. so last week i canceled the first week of august of our august state work period in the hope that the speaker of the house and the democratic leader would put aside their ideological demands with no relation to this pandemic and finally let congress legislate. unfortunately, mr. president, the democrats have continued to let working families down. they're still rejecting any more relief for anyone unless they get a flood of demands with no relationship to covid-19. it's been more than two weeks since senate republicans put out a trillion-dollar plan, trillion-dollar plan to help

america reopen, recover, and stay on offense against this virus. republicans did the same thing that worked back in match. we set up the same process that built the unanimous cares act in a matter of days. laid out a strong marker built by our chairmen and our committees, fitted to real fact-based needs of our nation and then invited the democrats to negotiate. we want to know the -- we want another round of direct cash payments for american families. we want to send $105 billion to help schools and universities safely reopen and billions more to help working parents with child care. we want to create new incentives for retaining and rehiring american workers and for businesses to improve workplace safety. we want to create the smart legal protections that small businesses and university presidents are pleading for so they can reopen safely for students and workers without

paying a ransom to the trial lawyers. these are the strong policies we proposed. because these are the policies our nation actually needs. we want to take second runs at the best and most successful parts of the bipartisan cares act while adding in bold new steps for this new phase for our nation's battle. but as i said right from the outset, republicans had no illusion that our initial marker would become law. that isn't how divided government operates. it was never any question that bipartisan compromise would be needed to get an outcome. so i expected that just like in march, the democrat ranking members would sit down with our chairmen, bring some of their own serious ideas to the table, and work together to build a bipartisan bill. that's what happened back then. but instead the country got something else entirely.

instead of working with our serious framework, the speaker of the house and the senate democratic leader spent weeks insisting on a completely, completely unrealistic far-left proposal that even their own democratic members mocked as a go nowhere messaging stunt the instant it was first released. instead of letting their committees and members discuss substantive issues across the aisle, they said nobody could negotiate but them. instead of staying focused on the real -- held the talks hostage for weeks now. weeks. over noncovid-related ideological items which the political left wanted since well before this virus hit our shores. you know what i'm talking about, mr. president. by now the whole country knows what i'm talking about. the absurd issues which the democrats have turned into sticking pointsz.

the bizarre parochial left-wing favors democrats put ahead of help that working families need right now like the massive tax cuts with the highest earners in the bluest states, an idea that supposedly progressive economists said, quote, not a good idea. the trillion-dollar is slush fund that only spent 25%, 25% of the billions we sent them back in march. totally out of proportion to any estimate of urgent pandemic shortfalls. the socialist insistence on the federal government paying people more not to work, not to work, than essential workers earn when they're on the job. go to any kitchen table in america, mr. president, outside of a few skyscraper penthouses and put these bizarre demands up against the trillion

dollars of real practical relief that republicans wanted to get out the door weeks ago. no family in middle america is saying thank goodness, thank goodness the democrats are blocking cash payments to me, money for my kids' school and money for vaccines until manhattan millionaires get a tax cut. no working people are saying thank goodness the democrats are blocking the next small business rescue plan money for testing and rehiring incentives until malibu, california, gets federal money to keep buying more electric cars, which they wrote to congress demanding. families aren't saying this outside of speaker pelosi and leader schumer, even washington democrats aren't saying this. while press tries its hardest to praise speaker pelosi for playing, quote, hardball, her her own house democrats are rebelling. they are saying they are

frustrated and angry that relief efforts are being held up over what is a quote, political wish list. end quote. the heroes act went too far, another quote. this is a democrat talking about the heroes act. even the speaker's own members are not buying their political spin. they want what republicans want, what the administration wants, what american families everywhere want. we need to get an outcome. the secretary of the treasury and the white house chief of staff have given ground. they put new issues on the table that democrats wanted. they worked to find commonality, but the democrats are barely even pretending to negotiate. barely even pretending. the speaker's latest spin is that it's up to some -- that it is some heroic sacrifice to lower her demand from a made-up

$3.5 trillion marker that was never going to become law to an equally made up $2.5 trillion marker. she calls this meeting in the middle? mr. president, that's not negotiating. that's throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. people have had serious policy proposals that are fitted to actual needs cannot breezily knock off $1 trillion here and add $1 trillion there. by the speaker's logic, they should have opened with their entire $93 trillion green new deal, then they could have blamed the president for not blamed the president for not meeting them halfway. come on, mr. president, in point of fact the speaker and the leader have not conceded

anything at all. they haven't budged on their absurd demands. they just moved the expiration date a few weeks on the exact same crazy wish list so the price tag comes down without moving an inch on the merits. and they refused republicans' offers to pass everything that we can agree on. the administration has said let's pass things we can agree on right now. republicans don't think the disputed issue should hold up the most urgent aid for working families. but the answer so far from the democratic leadership is no. the partisan games continue, and so the nation's pain continues as well. laid off workers and kids and parents and doctors and nurses

are waiting for help. our people are waiting for help. republicans have been at the table for weeks. we just need seriousness on the other side. american families' livelihoods are at stake. american lives are at stake. democrats must rerun their political calculations and finally, finally let congress act. the presiding officer: 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. kaine: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. kaine: mr. president, here we go again. another day has passed, nothing

has happened. no incremental progress. no compromising. to some, it might just be one day, but to too many americans another day fighting for your health or how you'll pay your rent or how you'll feed your kids is a brutal and terrifying thing. what's one more day to an average american? it might be a day closer to the rent being due without having the money to pay it. it might be another day with insufficient unemployment benefits while bills pile up. it might be another day closer to possibly needing snap assistance or help from a food bank. one more day could mean constrained testing supplies don't pick up as many cases of covid-19 so that carriers can isolate and protect others. one day today means for one of my staffers it was move-in day for his oldest daughter in college, but because she couldn't get her test result

back quick enough, that experience which is an exciting one for a young person, could not happen. these are not l simple legislative days while we follow a negotiation strategy. they are days when americans are struggling and suffering, and we're not responding. democrats are here, we're ready to compromise any day. in fact, we've already offered to meet the white house halfway on the size of the necessary relief effort. our meet in the middle offer was rebuffed friday and it was rejected by the white house again yesterday. i have heard the majority leader today and on other days characterize the heroes act in his remarks as a democratic wish list. so what i'd like to do is walk through the democratic and republican proams side by side -- proposals side by side. at every step i hope listeners will ask themselves which of these agendas is oriented

towards helping americans through hard times. the democrat proposal includes this -- continuing expanded unemployment benefits for the duration of this crisis. cash assistance for struggling families to avoid eviction, to avoid foreclosure rather than just delaying bills and piling up debt. sufficient funding and flexibility for state and local governments so that we don't have a second wave of job loss when those governments are forced to cut their budgets, and so they don't have to cut vital programs and lay off first responders during a global health pandemic. sufficient child care funding to both help working families but also allow child care providers to reopen so we can get back to work. providing k-12 schools with the funding they need regardless of how they choose to reopen so that they can effectively educate students. ensuring every american can have

access to free treatment for coronavirus. helping families keep food on the table by giving an increase in the snap benefit plus additional funding for nutrition programs. continuing support for america's small businesses. protection for the integrity of our elections during a period of uncertainty and fear. those are the proposals that are contained in the heroes act. the republican proposals combining both the heals act, the senate gom proposal, and -- g.o.p. proposal and president trump's executive orders include this -- $1.75 billion to keep the f.b.i. headquarters in d.c. so as to prevent potential hotel competition for the trump international hotel. expanded corporate tax write-offs for business lunches, another top priority for the white house.

sharp cuts to unemployment benefits for workers who are suffering and out of work. broad immunity for large corporations even if they're not taking any actions to protect their workers. the effective elimination of state rules, including a rule in virginia designed to facilitate the safe reopening of businesses and the economy. undermining important protections and enforcement of long-standing civil rights and disability laws. punishing public schools who choose to follow public health guidance but still want to provide their students with an education by reopening virtually. pushing a tax credit program that would make donations to private school scholarships, already deductible as charitable contributions, that would make those now preferred over any

other charitable contribution, likely draining money away from other charities and hurt government funding as well. and finally, stopping payroll tax contributions into the social security trust fund, creating huge uncertainty for h employers and employees, but also threatening to undermine the fiscal future of social security retirement benefits. these are elements of the republican heals act and president trump's executive orders. and equally important is what is not in any of the republican proposals, either that are offered in the senate or implemented by the president's executive orders. food aid for hungry kids and families, nothing. rental assistance, nothing. mortgage assistance, nothing. aid to the states and localities where americans live and work, nothing. funding to ensure the integrity

of the upcoming elections, nothing. so i would ask anyone which of these proposals seems more likely to help americans who are experiencing hard times? if anyone's in doubt, and i don't think any are, about what kinds of hard times people are in, yesterday i shared some stories from virginians who had shared them with me just as they are sharing them with all senators. here are a few more of the constituents who have reached out to me. the owner of a small business with 18 employees in northern virginia wrote me my business is struggling, my employees are suffering, and we need further assistance. he went on to describe that this business was completely shut down in the crisis. even now that they are open, they are operating at less than half their normal revenue for the foreseeable future. their p.p.p. and eidl loan funds have run out and now they need congress to act to prevent their

business from shuttering and those 18 jobs from disappearing permanently. a woman from henrico county wrote in as i watch the news it gets harder and harder, we desperately need help. my son had covid. he is still struggling with health issues, and he cannot work. a woman in springfield here in fairfax county has been waiting for information that she needs mailed to her so she can get access to unemployment benefits, but the delays in postal service have left her without the benefits she earned and is entitled to. she is the single mother of five and says, quote, at this point, i'm struggling to feed my family. a woman from dumfries in prince william county. i am asking for help with the aid for the unemployed workers like myself where covid is affected. we're a family of four. i lost my unemployment that we depended upon for groceries. my husband's salary covers the bills, but i work for groceries and insurance. as of now, i may be able to get

$190 a week from the state if they reevaluate my claim. please, i'm asking for bipartisan support on an unemployment package that will help families like mine make it through this pandemic. finally, a woman from alexandria just across the potomac. i'd like to request consideration for more emergency funding for day care and preschools. my 14 month old little girl tends day care five days per week. her day care is wonderful. but it's at the risk of closing in the very near future because it only has one-third of the minimum number of enrollees that it needs to be able to afford to stay open. i'm an essential worker in health care, especially in pediatric care. my husband is an essential d.o.d. employee. if i have to stay home with my daughter, i can't take care of the children of others, and i'm honestly very worried about the prospects of eventually finding a new job as health care facilities are also suffering a

large reduction in their patients. i ask this from the bottom of my heart. please provide funding for our day care and our preschool facilities so that they can be there for us through and after the pandemic, so parents in virginia will be able to continue to work now or return to work when it's safe to do so. mr. president, it's not about politics. it's not about credit. it's about coming through for americans when they need it. it is the case that yesterday, democratic leaders reached out again to the white house and repeated what they had offered last friday. let's meet in the middle. let's meet halfway between the republican proposals laid out in the heals act and the president's executive orders and the democratic proposal passed by a sizable majority in the house nearly three months ago. that's what americans want. negotiate, compromise, meet in the middle, find common ground,

just as we did in the cares act. but the white house response was no dice. they refused the proposal, they said that is not going to happen. days continue to tick by as families face hard decisions. democrats are hearing we are ready. the white house must stop its no-compromise position to meet the needs of american families. let's buckle down, make a deal, and get this done. the american people can't afford to wait any longer. and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the distinguished senator from arkansas is recognized. mr. boozman: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the senate stand in recess subject to the call of the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate stands in recess subject to the call of the chair. is recognized.

mr. mcconnell: the senate was supposed to spend this week finalizing another bipartisan rescue package for the american people. millions of laid off workers needed more federal assistance to weather the storm. small businesses needed more support to make payroll. schools and families need more funding, tools, and certainty with reopening dates fast approaching. doctors, nurses, and health care workers need more backup as they hold the