ms. ernst: and working with her and making sure that all of our public health officials are informed and getting the word out to our constituents. so i do hope that all of the other states are working in conjunction with each other. it's going to take a partnership to get through this episode. so, again, we hope to be working together very tightly in the upcoming months. a little different topic. it is sunshine in government week. tomorrow a number of fellow senators and i will be on the floor talking about shedding light in our government and making sure that the public is aware of what we are spending our tax dollars on and making sure that it's done in an efficient and effective manner. so it can be things that we can work together on, as simple as putting a price tag on a government project and letting our constituents know whether it's on time or whether it's overbudget. there are just some simple things that we can do as a federal government to make sure our consumers, our taxpayers are a

ms. ernst: i'm very grateful that we were able to act so quickly on a package that will support the resources necessary to combat the coronavirus. it was a bipartisan measure and very thankful that the president had that signed as quickly as he did. i hope that we're able to continue working in a bipartisan way to work on our way through the coronavirus and all of the following issues. back home in iowa we have a great partnership between governor kim reynolds and the administration, the delegation here in congress. and working with her and making sure that all of our public health officials are informed and getting the word out to our constituents. so i do hope that all of the other states are working in conjunction with each other. it's going to take a partnership to get through this episode. so, again, we hope to be working together very tightly in the upcoming months. a little different topic. it is sunshine in government week. tomorrow a number of fellow senators and i will be on the floor

-- ms. ernst: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no. ms. ernst: thank you, mr. president. with spring aproposing, the days are getting longer and -- with spring aproposing, the days are getting longer and temperatures are heating up. many are hitting the gym trying to get in shape for the beach, including some turtles. that's right. your tax dollars actually paid for a study that put turtles on treadmills. so here we have our turtles on a treadmill. to no one's surprise, it turns out that turtles are really, really slow. okay. that's what our tax dollars went to. in fact, this wasteful study found that turtles moved at nearly the same pace as dead turtles on a treadmill. aren't you glad t

mcconnell, for the senator from iowa, ms. ernst. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. the amendment is so modified. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the deck for the substitute amendment number 1407, as modified. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on amendment number 1407 as modified. to calendar number 357, s. 2657, a bill to support innovation in advanced geothermal research. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk for the underlying bill, s. 2657. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on calendar number 357,

ms. ernst: thank you, mr. president. we have a clear objective right now, which is to get additional immediate relief into the hands of the american worker and to do it fast. and that's what we're focused on, folks. that's what we have been focused on since passing the phase one package, and then the house-led phase two relief package last week. the phase two bill, it was not perfect, but i was happy to support it because it was the right thing to do. it was the support that iowans needed. and since president trump signed that package last wednesday, nearly a week ago, i've continued to hear from iowans, those in our hospital industry, those in the restaurant industry, agriculture, trucking, retail, child care, biofuels. i've heard from all of them, one-on-one conversations about the need for additional and immediate relief, relief for the young families in iowa right now who are feeling very anxious about how they are going to make that end of the month rent payment come april 1. relief for the nurse, like my cousin, an

ms. ernst: mr. president, our country is facing a crisis. maybe i don't need to whisper that, mr.president. our country is facing a crisis. i have served many times over -- many times over -- in crisis. floods, hurricanes, and war in a slightly different suit. we are facing a crisis. we have three states that have had national guardsmen activated in support of the coronavirus pandemic. we are in a crisis. and right now we right here in congress have the ability, the duty to act and to provide additional much-needed relief to the american people. last night, and unfortunately yet again today, have been very, very disappointing displays of putting partisan politics ahead of the immediate needs of the american people. some will call this righteous indignation. i say, no, it's fighting for the american people. my friends on the other side of the aisle delayed -- no, let's say it what -- the way it is. they blocked, they blocked this package to move to cloture, to further debate this bill, this bipartisan relief package. and let me make this clear. the votes we've been taking haven't e

-- ms. ernst: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no. ms. ernst: thank you, mr. president. with spring aproposing, the days are getting longer and -- with spring aproposing, the days are getting longer and temperatures are heating up. many are hitting the gym trying to get in shape for the beach, including some turtles. that's right. your tax dollars actually paid for a study that put turtles on treadmills. so here we have our turtles on a treadmill. to no one's surprise, it turns out that turtles are really, really slow. okay. that's what our tax dollars went to. in fact, this wasteful study found that turtles moved at nearly the same pace as dead turtles on a treadmill. aren't you glad that washington bureaucrats used your hard earned dollars to conduct this study? good grief, folks. now how many of your tax dollars went to this study exactly? well, folks, your guess is actually as good as mine because there is no legal obligation for most federal agencies to publicly disclose the price of government projects even though the american taxpayers are paying for th

mcconnell for ms. ernst proposes amendment numbered 1419 to amendment number 1407. at the end of subtitle c of title -- mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i want to thank all those who just voted for the motion to proceed to s. 2657 and have now called up my substitute amendment which is 1407 which now contains the full text of the american energy innovation act. so we are moving through the process a little slowly here, but we are moving through the process. we now have more than 150 amendments that have been filed to the bill. senator manchin and i are working together with other members to sort through potential votes on the bill. we're also working to see which ones might fight into a manager's package of easy, noncontroversial, worked out proposals. i know everyone thinks theirs is easy, it's been worked out, and of course it's noncontroversial. but we have a hand f