mrs. loeffler: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mrs. loeffler: i ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks before the 12:30 p.m. vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. loeffler: madam president, eight weeks ago today the senate passed the cares act, an unprecedented $2.2 trillion package as our country responded to the threat of covid-19. previously we passed legislation for free access to paid leave and to support the federal agencies leading our pandemic response. the cares act was designed to support the help of our citizens and of the economy. it included direct payments to american families, grants to hospitals and the paycheck protection program, forgivable loans to small businesses to keep their employees on the payroll. the program was so successful that a month later congress approved the additional $310 pl for -- billion for p.p.p. loans and $25 billion for testing. georgia hospitals has received over $1.7 billion, including -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mrs. loeffler: under the cares a

mrs. loeffler: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mrs. loeffler: i ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks before the 12:30 p.m. vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. loeffler: madam president, eight weeks ago today the senate passed the cares act, an unprecedented $2.2 trillion package as our country responded to the threat of covid-19. previously we passed legislation for free access to paid leave and to support the federal agencies leading our pandemic response. the cares act was designed to support the help of our citizens and of the economy. it included direct payments to american families, grants to hospitals and the paycheck protection program, forgivable loans to small businesses to keep their employees on the payroll. the program was so successful that a month later congress approved the additional $310 pl for -- billion for p.p.p. loans and $25 billion for testing. georgia hospitals has received over $1.7 billion, including -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mrs. loeffler: under the cares a

mrs. loeffler: my first priority in the covid-19 pandemic has been to keep all americans safe and heeled. while at home in georgia the last two weeks, i see the measures we need to take to fight this unprecedented health crisis has created dramatic economic and societal impacts. one in five georgians is unemployed. in the last six weeks, the georgia department of labor has issued more unemployment payments than in the previous four years combined. hotels in the golden isles were seeing 80% to 90% occupancy rates at the beginning of march, the start of peak season for our beach communities. as the number of tourists plummeted, the president of our visitor's center described the economic impacts as absolutely devastating. school districts like forsyte county schools are giving food pickups for those who rely on eating breakfast and lunch at school. then there is the emotional toll the coronavirus has taken. a police officer has told me his department has seen a dramatic strike in domestic abuse calls. an emergency hotline run by the substance abuse and mental services administration saw a 1

mrs. loeffler: my first priority in the covid-19 pandemic has been to keep all americans safe and heeled. while at home in georgia the last two weeks, i see the measures we need to take to fight this unprecedented health crisis has created dramatic economic and societal impacts. one in five georgians is unemployed. in the last six weeks, the georgia department of labor has issued more unemployment payments than in the previous four years combined. hotels in the golden isles were seeing 80% to 90% occupancy rates at the beginning of march, the start of peak season for our beach communities. as the number of tourists plummeted, the president of our visitor's center described the economic impacts as absolutely devastating. school districts like forsyte county schools are giving food pickups for those who rely on eating breakfast and lunch at school. then there is the emotional toll the coronavirus has taken. a police officer has told me his department has seen a dramatic strike in domestic abuse calls. an emergency hotline run by the substance abuse and mental services administration saw a 1