Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4112
Floor Speech
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Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise today to join Senator Murray and my Democratic colleagues in calling for substantial additional funding for childcare and education as our country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In New Hampshire and across the country, this pandemic has turned families' lives upside-down. As classrooms shifted to living rooms, many parents have had to take on new roles, balancing teaching their children with their own day-to-day work. Other parents, including those who are on the frontlines of responding to this crisis, have had to figure out new childcare arrangements to ensure that their children are cared for while they go to work. Teachers and educators have had to adapt and find new, innovative ways to meet the needs of all students.
With cases rising across this country, there is significant uncertainty facing families and educators who are trying to navigate what our systems of education and childcare are going to look like in the coming months.
The legislation being offered by Senator Murray today would be a strong step forward in helping families and educators prepare for the road ahead, and, as with all preparation, timing matters. Delaying necessary actions doesn't address the new challenges educators and families face; it just makes it harder for them to get their jobs done.
The Coronavirus Childcare and Education Relief Act, which am I proud to cosponsor, is a comprehensive bill that would help meet the needs of students and childcare centers, K-12 schools, and institutions of higher education.
Among its many provisions, this bill makes significant investments in childcare. Childcare centers have already been hit hard by lost revenue during the pandemic, and now they face added costs in implementing new health and safety policies to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. This legislation would provide them with much needed relief.
In addition, this legislation would bolster emergency funding for K- 12 schools. This funding would help address challenges with students who have fallen behind. It would help schools institute public health protocols, and it would give schools more resources to ensure that all students--all students--get a quality education, whether it is in person, remotely, or a combination of both.
As we have worked to ensure that schools can effectively educate all students during this pandemic, I have also been focused on preventing students who experience disabilities from being overlooked. Before COVID-19, students with disabilities were already more vulnerable to disruptions in their education since the additional resources they need are often scarce. This pandemic has exacerbated the challenges students with disabilities face, and many have lost meaningful access to the critical services that make their education possible.
We know that large numbers of students will require remedial help when they return to school, and these challenges will be particularly acute for students with disabilities. To address this, Senator Murphy and I have been calling for additional dedicated funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and I am pleased that this legislation meets those calls, providing $12 billion in funding to help ensure that students with disabilities receive the same educational opportunities as do their peers.
Finally, to address the challenges facing institutions of higher education, this bill provides colleges and universities with critical emergency funding, helping strengthen emergency financial aid for students as well as bolstering support to help these institutions follow public health guidelines. It also provides key funding for community colleges as well as career and technical education programs.
This upcoming school year will look different than any other we have ever seen before, and we must be prepared so that students do not fall further behind. The legislation that Senate Democrats have brought forth today will give schools and families some needed certainty, and this certainty is critical for the planning that needs to happen now. Delay in this moment is irresponsible.
I am grateful to the Senator from Washington for her leadership on this bill and on all the efforts that we make to strengthen education for all of America's children.
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Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Rhode Island and my other colleagues on the floor for their comments.
I rise to join Senator Casey and our colleagues in calling for additional action to protect nursing home residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
I begin by thanking the Senator from Pennsylvania for his leadership on this issue. I note that the senior Senator from New Hampshire is here, and I know that she will be addressing this issue as well and has been fighting for action to protect people all across our State and across our country who reside and work in nursing homes.
Nowhere is this pandemic being felt more acutely in this country than in nursing homes. Across the United States, 43 percent of COVID-19 deaths have been linked to nursing homes, and in New Hampshire, roughly, 80 percent of our State's deaths from this virus have been in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The grief of losing a loved one, compounded with the fact that families could not be at their sides, is unimaginable. I know that frontline staff are working as hard as they can to keep their patients and residents safe, but in talking with them, it is clear that these essential workers need more support.
In particular, frontline staff tell me they still do not have sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment. Months into this pandemic, there is still no robust Federal strategy to support the residents and employees of nursing homes. That is inexcusable.
With respect to the argument that I have heard some of my Republican colleagues make--that we have already passed the CARES Act and that it had money to go toward nursing homes--it doesn't address this issue. If the previous bill were sufficient, we wouldn't still be seeing this rate of death in our nursing homes. We need to address the pandemic based on the goals we set and the results we want, not just on how hard we think we have worked or how much money we think we have spent.
The bill that Senator Casey has put forward today would make a significant difference for nursing homes in New Hampshire and across the country. The Nursing Home COVID-19 Protection and Prevention Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, would help save lives and improve safety among residents and employees in nursing homes.
Specifically, this bill would provide $20 billion in emergency funding for nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, and psychiatric hospitals to support costs related to staffing, testing, PPE, and other essential needs. It would also require the Department of Health and Human Services to collect and publish data and analysis on COVID-19 cases and deaths in these facilities, which would give us a clearer picture of the situation we are facing. In addition, I will continue working to ensure that we are doing all that we can to keep residents and employees of nursing homes safe.
Last week, I joined with Senators Casey, Warren, and Schumer in calling for answers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, about nursing home and long-term care facility access to personal protective equipment--what we commonly know now as PPE--following reports that FEMA was shipping insufficient and defective personal protective equipment to these facilities. These reports are deeply alarming. Equipment arriving with mold on it cannot continue.
As we continue to address this pandemic, the challenges facing nursing homes must be a top priority. Delaying vital assistance to these facilities will have dire consequences for people in New Hampshire and all across our country. I urge my Republican colleagues to support this legislation. I urge them to come to the table and work with the Democrats to strengthen the Federal response to this pandemic.
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