mr. udall: i wish to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: today we face a pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in over 100 years and today the senate must act to pass the largest relief package for the american people in our history. first i'd like to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone who is personally affected by this coronavirus pandemic. i thank the health care workers who are working long hours and risking their own health to save lives. they are performing a national service. the numbers of infected individuals and the rapidly rising death toll with staggering. if we do not follow public health experts advice, the totals could be truly horrifying. in new mexico we have over 100 diagnosed cases and today the first death in our state was reported, a senior citizens from edy county in the southeastern part of our state passed away. all americans are facing new challenges, a threat to our health, a threat to our economy. my top priority is easing this hardship and making sure new mexicans have what they need to stay h

mr. udall: i wish to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: today we face a pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in over 100 years and today the senate must act to pass the

mr. udall: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president, for the recognition. and let me begin today by commending the efforts of senators murkowski and manchin for working across the aisle to bring an energy bill to the floor. this bill has positive initiatives promoting energy efficiency, modernizing the electric grid, and research funding for clean energy. but the full senate deserves a chance to be heard on the important issues at stake with this bill. namely, energy. most importantly, we must take real action on climate change and address a problematic provision in this bill to limit environmental reviews of massive, potentially toxic mining projects. everywhere we look, we're experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, whether it's hurricanes along the southeastern coast, flooding in the midwest, drought in the southwest, or out-of-control wildfires in california. and we're careening too close to climate change tipping points that scientists warned will doom the planet. the bill before us do

mr. cardin: thank you, madam president. i want to thank senator udall for his leadership on the for the people act. i want to thank senator merkley for his leadership on this bill. this bill contains many provisions that deal with the fundamental values of this country. i also am proud of my colleague in the house of representatives, congressman sarbanes, who is the lead sponsor of h.r. 1, which is the we the people act, which passed the house of representatives a year ago and no action on the floor of the senate as a result of the majority leader's decision not to bring these bills to the floor. as i said, it includes a lot of different bills but all deal with america's values. these are the values that are the strength of this nation -- free and fair elections. that's what we promote globally because we know that is key to a stable democratic society, and yet when you look at the way that we conduct elections in this country, we're not setting a very high example. look at how much money is involved in elections in this country, from the president to o

mr. udall: i wish to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: today we face a pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in over 100 years and today the senate must act to pass the largest relief package for the american people in our history. first i'd like to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone who is personally affected by this coronavirus pandemic. i thank the health care workers who are working long hours and risking their own health to save lives. they are performing a national service. the numbers of infected individuals and the rapidly rising death toll with staggering. if we do not follow public health experts advice, the totals could be truly horrifying. in new mexico we have over 100 diagnosed cases and today the first death in our state was reported, a senior citizens from edy county in the southeastern part of our state passed away. all americans are facing new challenges, a threat to our health, a threat to our economy. my top priority is easing this hardship and making sure new mexicans have what they need to stay h