Coronavirus

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday leaders in the Senate and the House and the Secretary of the Treasury reached a major agreement that struggling Americans have needed for months.

We are going to pass another historic rescue package to help American families through this pandemic. We are going to pass full-year government funding so the Armed Forces and all Federal Departments have the resources and the certainty they need. And we are going to do both of these things as soon as possible.

Senate Republicans have been trying since July--July--to get more targeted, bipartisan relief into the hands of the American people. Back in July, we proposed to send about $1 trillion to priorities including a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program, direct checks for households, and funding for healthcare providers, testing, and K-12 schools--back in July.

Democrats said no. They said they would block anything short of their multitrillion-dollar leftwing wish list. Here was one headline that particularly underscores their view: ``$2 trillion or bust: Democrats draw red line in coronavirus spending battle.''

So, in July and in August, when Republican Senators tried to extend expiring Federal unemployment benefits, Democrats blocked us. Laid-off workers lost their benefits.

In September and again in October, as people kept hurting, the virus kept spreading, and schools tried to find footing, every Republican voted for a multihundred-billion-dollar package. Both times Democrats blocked the relief. Their view was all or nothing.

But a few days ago, with a new President-elect of their own party, everything changed. Democrats suddenly came around to our position that we should find consensus, make a law where we agree, and get urgent help out the door.

In a few days of hard work, we have assembled another historic bipartisan rescue package: just under $900 billion of relief targeted toward our fellow Americans who need help the most.

I will begin where this pandemic will end: vaccinations. Thanks to the genius of science and the leadership of President Trump, Operation Warp Speed has produced safe and effective vaccines. Now, we need to distribute them nationwide.

This rescue package provides many billions more dollars to expand vaccine purchasing and vaccine distribution. Until we have won, we need to keep wearing masks and taking precautions. Even so, more Americans will fall ill, so this legislation continues to fund health providers and COVID testing.

The pandemic has fallen especially hard on children and parents. Our legislation includes major funding--more than $80 billion--for K-12 schools to reopen safely and get kids' educations back on track. There are billions more for childcare providers to reopen safely as well, and new investments in rural broadband will improve both education and telehealth down the road.

Then there are Americans' personal finances, the impossible kitchen table questions that millions of working families have faced this year through no fault of their own.

Back in March, thanks to Chairman Rubio, Senator Collins, and Senator Cardin, we created a Paycheck Protection Program. It saved small businesses and helped millions of American workers keep receiving paychecks rather than pink slips.

It would be insanity for us to have saved these jobs all this time only to drop the ball with the end in sight, so this bill will send more than $280 billion to reopen the PPP for a targeted second round, and we made sure churches and faith-based organizations will continue to be eligible.

Of course, millions have already been laid off, so months after Republicans tried to stop benefits from expiring in the first place, this package will resume a temporary Federal supplement to unemployment insurance, and it extends other programs for the self-employed and gig workers that would have expired.

Thanks to the particular leadership and direction of President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin, households will receive a second round of direct relief checks--$600 per adult and per child. This is just some of the aid that will be heading Americans' way in a matter of hours. No sprawling leftwing wish list, no unconstrained bailouts for State and local government with no connection to COVID needs--just smart, targeted, bipartisan policies, what Senate Republicans have been recommending since the summer.

I cited a figure of $900 billion, but listen to this. The net new cost--new cost--is less than roughly $350 billion. We are recovering more than half a trillion dollars in unspent money that Congress had already set aside and channeling it to these urgent needs.

Thanks to our colleague Senator Toomey, this legislation winds down some of the temporary emergency powers we lent the Federal Reserve to make sure our financial system survived last spring.

A lot of talented leaders helped make this happen. Leader McCarthy has been an invaluable partner. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has been central. Colleagues such as Senators Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Cassidy, and Portman helped prod the Senate toward consensus with their bipartisan work. And I just mentioned Senator Toomey.

I want to give particular thanks to the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary Mnuchin. Before the pandemic, Steven was already a crucial partner for the Republican majorities in Congress. We enacted the most consequential tax reform in a generation. We helped create the conditions for explosive job growth, wage growth, and record-low unemployment. Our country had the strongest possible starting point to weather this storm

This year, the Secretary has been even more essential. He helped Congress develop and pass the historic CARES Act in record time. It prevented a complete economic collapse at the hands of the virus. From drafting CARES to implementing it, to the intervening months, to this latest package, Secretary Mnuchin has been an extremely capable and patient partner. He helped guide our Nation through this dark period toward the daybreak that lies ahead.

On behalf of the Senate and the country, I thank the Secretary for his countless hours of work and his incredible effectiveness in extraordinary times.

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