these are great jobs as john cornyn just said. it is important for the national security of our country. been, a number of senators up in reaching out, having discussions with the you are aying if long-standing ally of ours, right now you are hurting a lot of our citizens. you are hurting a lot of people we represent. you should not take us for granted. we have a great military that has protected saudi arabia for decades. senator cramer and i have legislation that could change that if they don't start cooperating. we appreciate your leadership with the crown prince, the russians and calling this meeting. this is a great sector of the u.s. economy. once we get through this, and we will, this sector is going to take off again. your administration, you have had a lot to do with the strength of the u.s. energy sector. we need to keep it strong. pres. trump: kevin cramer, north dakota. people don't know what a big producer it is. mr. president, to echo everything and to add a little bit, people here are part of the renaissance of oil a

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john cornyn, a senator from the state of texas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed:chuck grassley, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m., on monday, may 4, 2020.

over to john cornyn. you, mr. president. these are extraordinary times and they test all of us. i want to congratulate your administration for meeting this challenge head-on. to teach uss trying a lot of lessons we better learn -- myut the supply chain state has a double whammy. the coronavirus and oil and gas industry has been decimated. and so, i appreciate your willingness to meet with the leaders of the industry. secretary mnuchin and and the good work being done at treasury to stand up this stabilization that will hopefully provide a lifeline to this industry. in the end, i think we all have realized we need to find a safe way to reopen our economy. the biggest problem the industry has is the lack of demand because the world economy has been shut down. we will get through this together that i just want to extend my appreciation to you and your administration for your leadership and partnership with all of our mayors, partners and those of us that work in washington. president trump: good job. well, it is one of the great ones, go ahead. >> thank you, mr. president. i apprec

i can say of, and this to john from texas, john cornyn, the numbers are that 170-miled stretch, it is like a different world. people used to drive right across, and no one can do anything about it. now we have a tremendous, powerful wall there, and it has been incredible. because a country needs to have borders. if you don't have borders, you have people coming in by the tens of thousands. it has been a great thing. we will sign this right now. i would like to ask if the vice president wants to say anything. and maybe some of the people in the room. they have all been very instrumental in this. they have been great friends of our country. mike? vp pence: well, thank you, mr. president, and thank you to the leadership of the house and senate who are gathered here together and, frankly, the bipartisanship. more help is on the way. small businesses will be able to keep more americans on the payroll while our nation makes it through the coronavirus. critical funding for hospitals, mr. president, we said earlier in the week, we are encouraging hospitals to restart elective surgery, whereve

being they might be a surprise to health agencies around the world, not to critics like senator john cornyno said, well, well, well, after repeatedly defending the accuracy of their data, chinese officials revise the coronavirus death toll in wuhan. even the head of infectious disease at the chinese university of hong kong called the new numbers "quite strange." john? >> sean: thank you for that report. china restricted travel inside of wuhan. couldn't travel to our aroma wuhan if you lived in china, not the rest of the world. remember, while it was spreading in china, multiple news outlets reporting in february, there was a video, actually, showing people in china being forcibly dragged from their homes and also quarantined. we haven't been able to independently verify that video, now in light of bret baier's, and all of his exclusive reporting, we need answers if what is being reported by other people in fact is true. i want to know if that video is accurate. what did washington do -- what can they now do to hold them accountable? what can they do to protect themselves from future pandemi

let me put up a tweet from senator john cornyn, the ink barely dry on the $2.2 trillion act, money not out the door. and schumer and pelosi to seek more spending for spending sake. we need too make sure what we have already done works as intended, then move to fill in the gaps. is it too soon to move on this bill? >> it is not too soon. we're hearing from hospitals, doctors' offices who are in danger of closing because they stopped all elected procedures, they're in debt, they're paying their staff or in some cases furloughing their staff, and they are going to need help. we're also hearing from small cities, towns, counties, that they are going to run out of money as soon as next month because they're not getting their usual sources of income. so we already know that the need will be tremendous. we knew the $2.2 trillion bill was just a downpayment. frankly we need to do whatever it takes to rescue the country. >> speaking of rescues you sponsored a bill for rural hospitals, your district, east of seattle and taco ma, and a large rural area, to get $1,000, if i understand this correct

republican senator john cornyn sounding off. >> that's why it's so important to replenish this fund.s very popular program. it seemed to be working believe he intended, by keeping people connected to their employer. there was more demand than we were prepared for, and that's why it's important react quick quickly. unfortunately senator schumer and speaker pelosi did not have the same sense of urgency. >> melissa: they have reportedly told politico -- even as the legislation is finalized, they reportedly told politico the $310 billion reserved for the paycheck protection program may only last a few days before more funding is needed. marie, what comes with this is their good intentions, often times, behind holding these things up. they were talking about having read the articles, about companies that were huge publicly-traded companies, who qualified to get the program. they said, "this is only for mom-and-pop." that every time you come back to tinker with it, to make it better, it takes longer. and the small businesses have maybe 14 days' cash on hand. it's really worrisome. what are

the university of texas got $172.5 million in that legislation, which texas republican senator john cornyn bragged about. the university of texas didn't take any of that money away from workers, either. and we can hope that the university of texas is using that money honorably and passing it all along to students in desperate financial aid. in the new legislation congress has agreed on today, it will provide $310 billion for the paycheck protection program, $60 billion for the emergency grant and business loan program. $75 billion for hospitals. and $25 billion to support coronavirus testing. joining us now is democratic congresswoman val demings of florida. congresswoman, i went through that story about harvard that president trump was lying about today just to point out that there are always surprises about what happens in the legislation, and one of the big surprises is how much the small business fund is being abused. what can the new legislation do to protect the small business fund to go to people in real small businesses and what can it do to protect people's paychecks? >> well, law

it's a very important issue in my state, the great state of alaska but these are great jobs as john cornyn just said, for all of her states were really important for the national security of our country to and we have been, number of senators have been reaching out and having disgusted with the saudi's saying if you are a long-standing ally of ours, right now you are hurting a lot of our citizens and a lot of people that we represent, you should not take this for granted. we have a great military that is protected saudi arabia for decades and senator cramer and i have legislation that could possibly change that if they don't start to cooperate. again we appreciate your leadership with the crown prince, with the russians in calling this meeting. but this is a great sector of the u.s. economy that once we get through this, we will, this pandemic, the sector will take off again in your administration has had a lot to do with the u.s. energy sector and we need to keep a strong. >> thank you very much. kevin cramer, north dakota, people don't realize how big of a producer you are in north dakot

let's bring in texas senator john cornyn. good morning. the mayor of houston is pushing back and sing your state is not yet out of the storm. is texas really ready to reopen? >> texas is a big place and houston is very different in west texas. so i think appropriately the governor and the mayors are looking at conditions where they are. obviously houston has been the hardest hit but it's the most congested and populous part of our state and so i feel pretty good about where we are. but we are going to have to be careful because public health has to be the paramount consideration. >> ed: absolutely. a quick one on oil prices because your state's economy is already in peril. now you see this play out. you're a quick thoughts? >> the saudis and the russians crushed oil prices around the world by flooding the markets. now thanks to some of the good work done by the administration, now that seems to -- they've agreed to get back about 10 million barrels per day. the problem is because of the coronavirus economic collapse, is not as much demand.

he clerked for judge of skala, for justice scalia, worked for senator john cornyn of texas and is a stalwart of the federalist society. this is a very long way of asking him how does a middle of the vast right-wing conspiracy write a book in support of class actions and plaintiffs lawyers? >> well, thank you for the kind introduction, judge lee. [laughing] the reason that a think conservatives should support class actions is because we have to ask ourselves what the alternative is. and the alternative was told to us in an amicus brief filed by the united states chamber of commerce in 2010. this amicus brief really is what inspired me to write the book that you have in front of you today. the case before the supreme court was called at&t versus conceptual. i suspect many of you know about this case. the question was, a class action waivers that are embedded in arbitration agreements enforceable? and the u.s. supreme court said yes. my old boss justice scalia wrote the opinion and the court says you can ask someone to waive the right to join a class action so long as you do in an arbitration c

wherefore senator john cornyn of texas. so this is a very long way of asking him and as a member of the vast right-wing conspiracy write a book "the conservative case for class action". brian: thank you for that kind introduction. the reason that i think conservatives should support class actions is because we have to ask ourselves what the alternative is. in the alternative was told to us and a brief filed by the united states chamber of commerce and 2010. in this brief really is what inspired me to write the book that you have in front of you today. it is called at&t and sub joan. i suspect many of you know about this case. the question was our class action flavors that are embedded in arbitration agreements are the enforceable. in the u.s. supreme court said yes. my own boss justice and the court says the you can ask some bone waive the right to join the class action so long as you do it in an operation because in any state laws to the contrary are printed. as a parent everybody in 2010, that if you got rid of the class

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john cornyn, a senator from the state of texas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands

>>household texas republican senator john cornyn says many of our front line workers cannot battled thisthout day care for their children, it's not a matter just convenience, it's a matter of necessity that's why cornyn says congress included billion to keep chldcare facilities operating as part of the coronavirus relief package for people who are you know in public safety and the heth care professions, the grocery sres and center nda smith direcr of the bipartin policy center's early childhood initiatives says the money es to states and state officials must decidehow to spend it safely. this is risky rk. >>they are ting the children of ople who are outhere. >>and exposed. so governors are now havi to think through how do we make some of these decisions. texas governor greg bott says the 17,000 acres in the state will nohave to start doinhealth screenings for stafchildren and parents. lynette fraga with ild re aware of america says the money will also go towards cleaning sulies sanitizing equipment. >>making sure at they have are to make sure the bases are safe but she says the 3.5 billi

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john cornyn, a senator from the state of texas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands forma on monday at 10 a.m. eastern. the senate is scheduled to return for legislative work on monday, april 20 at 3 p.m. eastern. the senate live here on c-span2. >> weeknights we're featuring booktv programs showcasing what's available every weekend on c-span2. tonight looks on technology and innovation. >> booktv this week and every weekend on c-span2. >> if you missed any of our live coverage of the government's response to the coronavirus outbreak watch it in time@c-span.org/coronavirus. from daily briefings by the president the president and the white house task force to update from governors in the hardest hit states. it's all there. use the charts and maps to track the virus global spread and confirmed cases in the u.s., county by county. our webpage is your fast and easy way to watch c-span's un

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john cornyn, a senator from the state of texas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed:chuck grassley, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m., on monday, may 4, 2020. later in the week they could work on coronavirus -related legislation addressing lawsuits. house majority leader steny hoyer said the house will not return from legislative work next week. instead it will continueto hold brief pro forma sessions every three days . why partisan negotiations continue on different options for voting remotely in committees and on the house floor . live senate coverage on c-span2 and the house on c-span . >> television has changed since c-span began 41 years ago but our mission continues , to provide an unfiltered view of government. already this year webrought your primary election coverage, the presidential impeachment process and now the federal response to the coronavirus . watch all of c-span's public affairs program on