mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: madam president, last week leader mcconnell called up a bill to the floor of the united states senate. it was a coronavirus relief bill which included a number of components that both sides had agreed needed to be in in a coronavirus relief bill. it wassing a targeted bill. it was -- it was a targeted bill. it was a fiscally responsible bill and it was a bill rooted in reality. in other words, there was a belief that it could be signed into law if, in fact, it was passed by the congress. and so when it was called up, obviously, we talked about the features in the bill, many of which are things, as i said, enjoyed bipartisan support. when i say it was fiscally responsible, it actually repurposed funds from the previous coronavirus bill, from the cares act, that had not been spent, so it took some of those dollars, repurposed them and used them in other ways which i think would be a fiscally responsible w

mr. thune: mr. president if. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: on saturday, thens no announced his nominee to fill the supreme court seat left vacant by justice ginsburg. as the nation mourns the again of this justice, the it is fitting that the president chose an outstanding nominee to replace her. i had the pleasure of sitting down with judge amy coney barrett yesterday. she is everything that you would want in a supreme court justice. she is supremely qualified. like justice ginsburg, judge barrett was first in her class in law school, in this case at notre dame. she was a clerk for judge silverman and then for supreme court justice antonin scalia. she worked at a prestigious law firm and worked at george washington university before accepting a position at notre dame law school. she built a distinguished record. she was published repeatedly in prominent law journals and was chosen by chief justice john roberts to fill on a committee for the federal rules of appellate procedure. she was elected distinguished professor of the year by the

mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. i would say to my colleague from north dakota how much we appreciate his leadership, and he is a relentless advocate for the farmers and ranchers of north dakota and across this country. we share a border, but we have a lot of commonality in the people that we represent. they are hardworking people who work dawn to dusk to feed not only this country but to feed the world. it's been no easy task being in agriculture these last few years, as my colleague from north dakota pointed out, for lots of reasons, whether that -- of course most recently covid, but carry-onically low and depressed commodity prices, coupled with bad weather, coupled with trade disputes and, you know, difficulties with markets around the world. and so agriculture, farmers and ranchers have had a tough -- a tough and difficult road these past few years. and so it's critically important that we continue to be there for them. and as my colleague from north dakota pointed out, there was a concern because we had heard i

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. thune: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. thune: madam president, south dakota veterans in the hot springs community are currently celebrating the v.a.'s announcement that it will rescind its order to close the hot springs facility. this is a hard-fought victory in a battle we weren't sure we would win. it started in 2011 when the obama administration announced it would realign and when i say realign, i mean reclose the hot springs v.a. facility. i was well aware of what the hot springs v.a. facility to the entire community. i was determined there wasn't going to be a closure if i could help it. i knew it would mean putting it out of the reach of rural and tribal veterans. not only rural and tribal south dakota veterans, but rural veterans from neighboring wyoming and nebraska who depend on hot springs for care. traveling to fort meade for care, as the v.a. proposed, would be a real har

david: this long-awaited statement from mr. thune act -- details largely flagged in advance that there's going to be a new program to support jobs. 2/3 of wages the government is now saying it will pay for jobs that they are calling vital. i think you made the point about the creative destruction. he's acknowledging that there is a permanent shift in the british economy. they need to take account for -- forea they are not that. they are not going to prop up jobs that are going to disappear on account of the pandemic. but also a rather bleak , saying at least six months we will see all of these restrictions on the economy. a long, dark winter stretching out ahead for the british people here. what is the historic model here? is this thatcher-like? does this harken back to the torrey -- the tory fear of socialism? david: this sort of thing has never been tried before with the british economy, and particularly from a conservative government, it was extraordinary enough the original furlough scheme. this is now stretching off for longer i

mr. carter and ms. kohler have set on this already. senator thune, i've taken some of your time so you go ahead and take another two or -- threeute spirit minutes. >> let me ask, and this is for any of you. why do you believe the rules about image and likeness should affect the college athletic rhosus. the second question is will it affect the college treatment process? >> it absolutely has the potential and that is why my comments i observed the need to address these issues specifically. i view that in several ways. one, if this activity is around , in conversations that it occur around recruitment and geography and it becomes transactional, i think that is legitimately a concern. the difficult part is whether it is guardrails, fencing or framework and then to monitor that activity in a way that will reduce the activity for recruiting. it is also what i think will be a freer environment for transfer student athlete. that same type of activity transfers itself to college-level under an unstructured atmosphere. >> i am the son of a college athlete my

mr. thune: reserving the right to object on behalf of my colleague, senator lee, who cannot be here to object on his own because he's chairing an energy subcommittee hearing, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i know the senator from south dakota is making an objection on behalf of senator lee, and i've been called to do the same thing from time to time, so i won't assign any political blame to him. but i will say this is a serious mistake and a deadly mistake thor these venezuelans. this is an issue which in many parts of america is red hot. those of venezuelan ancestry or those who are here on t.p.s. status cannot understand what just happened. they want to stay here safely. they don't want to be forced to return to this nation under this dictator that is such a dangerous place. a number of times in the last year -- senator menendez, who is on the floor with me here, has j

mr. chairman. senator thune. >> thank you. mr. sankey, would your to add conference today bere able to , comply with several state laws seeking to address the issue of name image and likeness. >> it would be difficult and confusing and we have one in oua region knowing the competition within my 11 states, i could foresee quickly the other ten, one-upping etch oth one-upping each other. >> is there anybody on the panel that does not believe there is a standard?nyon e nnationwideot >> no. >> i know ms. you kind of sugge mrs. color, to the extent that others are advocated. >> i think it is desirable, certainly. >> mr. drake, when dr. emmert testified before the committee this year he stated that he envisioned each individual division having some degree of control over the rules to alaw athletes to benefit from their s name image a and likeness as lo as they follow the largest set of parameters set by the ncaa 2 board of governors. is that how you envision the rule working. >> they have different rules on scholarships and things so th

thune. >> okay, thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. mr. sankey, would your conference today be able to comply with several state laws seeking to address the issue of name image and likeness. >> it would be difficult and confusing. my concern is we have one in our region knowing that the competition within my 11 states, i could foresee quickly the other 10 one-upping each other. i think that's unfair for equitable competition. >> is there anybody on the panel that does not believe there is a need for a nationwide standard? >> no. >> i know you kind of suggested miss koller, not to the extent that others are perhaps advocating. >> it's not an emergency but certainly desirable, certainly. >> mr. drake, when dr. emmert testified before the committee this year he stated that he envisioned each individual division having some degree of control over the rules to allow athletes to benefit from their name image and likeness as long as they follow the largest set of parameters set by the ncaa to board of governors. is that how you envision the rule

mr. chairman, we are way over time. i would note you and senator thune, senator blackman, and i have a data privacy bill that would deal with this issue of covid-19. perhaps on the record, our witnesses might tell us if they have had a chance to look at that, and if they want to go ahead, and on the record, enthusiastically endorse this great piece of legislation. thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman, would you like the witnesses to respond to that question now? sen. moran: i will be glad to. i do not want to intrude on your time. but if they can respond within your constraints. >> let us do it very quickly. a.g. schmidt? based on the sponsors, i have no doubt it is excellent legislation, but i have not had a chance to review it. >> that means you are offending half the members of the united states senate. [laughter] mr. smith? mr. smith: i cannot speak for the commission. we institutionally believe contract tracing legislation would be a big help. consumers need to trust contact tracing apps if they are going to work and after developers need to kno

mr. chairman, we are way over time. i would note you and senator thune, senator blackman, and i have a data privacy bill that would deal with this issue of covid-19. perhaps on the record, our witnesses might tell us if they have had a chance to look at that, and if they want to go ahead, and on the record, enthusiastically endorse this great piece of legislation. thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman, would you like the witnesses to respond to that question now? sen. moran: i will be glad to. i do not want to intrude on your time. but if they can respond within your constraints. >> let us do it very quickly. a.g. schmidt? based on the sponsors, i have no doubt it is excellent legislation, but i have not had a chance to review it. >> that means you are offending half the members of the united states senate. [laughter] mr. smith? mr. smith: i cannot speak for the commission. we institutionally believe contract tracing legislation would be a big help. consumers need to trust contact tracing apps if they are going to work and after developers need to kno

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. thune: my understanding is the senate's in a quorum call. the presiding officer: yes. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: once again this week republicans are bringing forward a proposal to provide additional coronavirus relief to help protect jobs, to get kids and teachers back in the classroom safely and to provide funding for the treatments and vaccines that we need to treat this virus. once again, democrats are objecting. it's the same old song. republicans' bill doesn't spend enough. well, let's talk about that for a minute, madam president. first of all, republicans are not claiming that the bill we put on the floor this week contains the last dollars that we'll need to spend in response to the coronavirus. we may need to spend more. this bill is simply an attempt to direct relief funds to some of the biggest priorities right now, li

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip is recognized. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, at the beginning of september the congressional budget office issued its latest budget outlook. the news wasn't good. c.b.o. announced that next year our country's debt is protected to -- projected to exceed the amount of our g.p.a. g.p.a. the size of our debt will be greater than the size of our economy. that is a very bad position to be in. countries with that kind of debt to g.d.p. ratio faced time-sensitive decisions if they want to avert an all-out economic crisis. greece is one recent example. we all know the kind of economic devastation and accompanying turmoil that greece has experienced in recent years. now, as the united states, we can probably hang on a little longer than most other countries before entering a full-blown debt crisis. it's helpful that our country was surg

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip is recognized. mr. thune: thank you, madam president. madam president, starting this week and tomorrow there will be a vote on a coronavirus relief bill, and it's a bill that is targeted to the areas that really need it. it is fiscally responsible, and, madam president, it is rooted in reality. in other words, it is a realistic approach to dealing with the coronavirus challenges that we as a nation are facing. and the democratic leader, the democrat assistant leader have been down here just now talking about the democrat bill, a bill which passed the house of representatives and a bill that was $3.5 trillion in terms of its price tag, and a bill that was filled with goodies for special interest groups and lots of left-wing priorities, many of which have nothing to do at all with the coronavirus. in fact, madam president, $3.5 trillion is a number that i think was pulled out of thin air. i have no idea how they came up with it. i don't think it was based on any feedback or input that they got from states

mr. thune: we learned that ruth bader ginsburg died on saturday from pancreatic cancer. she had to fight for opportunities that were available to men as a matter of course. her work as a lawyer eventually came to focus around women's rights or as ruth bader ginsburg put it, and i quote, the constitutional principle of the equal citizenship stature of men and women. she argued six gender discrimination cases before the supreme court and as a justice she continued to advance this cause. she served a distinction on the supreme court for more than 25 years and engaged in some of the court's most memorable exchanges over that period. she was known for her work ethic and tenacity as well as kindness and good hiewrm and for -- humor and her love of opera and her love of her husband marty. she disagreed often with her good friend just scalia but never allowed that to affect their enduring respect. her work to secure equal treatment for women has earned a place in american history and her courage and perseverance in overcoming significant obstacles will continue to inspire many.