congressional_record: CREC-2020-12-30-pt1-PgS7977
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| granule_id | date | congress | session | volume | issue | title | chamber | granule_class | sub_granule_class | page_start | page_end | speakers | bills | citation | full_text |
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| CREC-2020-12-30-pt1-PgS7977 | 2020-12-30 | 116 | 2 | CORONAVIRUS | SENATE | SENATE | ALLOTHER | S7977 | S7979 | [{"name": "John Cornyn", "role": "speaking"}] | 166 Cong. Rec. S7977 | Congressional Record, Volume 166 Issue 222 (Wednesday, December 30, 2020) [Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 222 (Wednesday, December 30, 2020)] [Senate] [Pages S7977-S7979] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] CORONAVIRUS Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I wanted to come to the floor and talk about what strikes me as something akin to Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is only the day I was born. It is something I feel like we are living through here as we debate the same points over [[Page S7978]] and over and over again, forgetting what it is we have already done-- the good things we have done together on a bipartisan basis. We have already appropriated roughly $4 trillion in response to this pandemic, and it is appropriate that we have done so because this was a true public health crisis. But now this is--we are seeing politics creep back in in an attempt to send money in an untargeted and wasteful sort of way to people who have suffered no financial loss. These relief packages that we passed together have provided hundreds of billions of dollars to support our hospitals and healthcare workers who are on the frontlines. I voted for it, and I think we were right to do so. We have thrown small businesses and their employees a lifeline through the Paycheck Protection Program, and we were right to do so. We have invested in research, development, and manufacturing of therapeutics and vaccines that are currently being administered--thank goodness--throughout the country and, indeed, around the world. And we have sent unprecedented assistance to workers, families, and individuals whose livelihoods have been upended by this crisis. Thanks to President Trump's leadership, Congress has stepped up and met this unprecedented challenge to deliver relief bill after relief bill for the American people. If you had told me a year ago I would have voted this year alone for roughly $4 trillion worth of spending in this pandemic, I would not have believed you. But I do believe this is a domestic equivalent to World War II, where we have to do everything humanly possible to try to help our fellow man, woman, and child during this pandemic. The latest round of relief came, of course, just this week, when President Trump signed the $900 billion rescue package into law. While I am glad Congress was able to send more relief out the door at the end of the year, I am disappointed that it took so long to do so. It is amazing the sense of urgency our Democratic colleagues have today, since at least three times--maybe four times--they blocked our attempts to pass half-trillion-dollar relief bills during the course of the summer. In July, our colleagues introduced the HEALS Act, which would have provided just under a trillion dollars in relief, covering the same types of policies included in the most recent relief bill--direct payments, unemployment benefits, funding for schools, vaccines, and a host of other priorities. Our Democratic colleagues not only complained about the bill, but they called it weak, little, pathetic, and unserious. They refused to engage in the sorts of negotiations that are customary around here when you actually want to solve a problem or consider anything short of the House's multitrillion-dollar bill, which they knew had no chance of passing in the Senate because of things like tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, which had nothing to do with COVID. So our Democratic colleagues dragged their feet--July, August, September, October, November. Months went by, and the cases soared, and the economic squeeze tightened, and our Democratic colleagues refused to accept any sort of compromise. That was until a few weeks ago, when they finally changed their tune right after the election. I am sure it comes as no surprise that once the holdout agrees to negotiate, things can move pretty quickly, and that is what happened here after the election. Democrats, Republicans, and the administration agreed to a $900 billion package, which looks very similar to the one they dubbed pathetic just a few months ago. In recent days, the President has expressed an interest in doing more, and I have no doubt that we will do more in this area, but Speaker Pelosi's bill goes far beyond what the President is talking about. For one, it would dramatically widen the pool of recipients, enabling wealthy households to qualify for relief checks. This is unacceptable and wasteful. When Congress provided the first round of direct payments through the CARES Act, we did so in a way that sent relief to the hardest hit Americans. Individuals who made up to $75,000 received the full $1,200, and the amount gradually declined as income increased and completely phased out at $99,000. We kept the same formula for the $600 payments provided for under the omnibus and further targeted the relief. Once again, those who made up to $75,000 will receive the full amount, and the amount phases out completely at $87,000. Under the CARES Act, a family of four earning up to $150,000 received $3,400, and in the most recent rescue bill, the same family would receive an additional $2,400. This was the most effective and targeted way to ensure that assistance goes to those who actually need it while avoiding sending taxpayer dollars--borrowed, I might add--to those who don't. The House-passed legislation would provide $2,000 payments, but it doesn't have a similar structure to keep these payments targeted. Let me give you an example. If this bill were to become law, a person making $100,000 a year would receive a $750 check from the Federal Government, whether or not they lost income during the pandemic. This isn't someone who used to make that much but was laid off or had a reduction in their income. Someone who is currently earning a six-figure salary would receive an additional $750 from American taxpayers. For families, the income barrier goes higher. As I mentioned a moment ago, if you have a family of five with an annual household income of $350,000 a year, that family would receive a stimulus check under the House-passed bill. Now, that is not being smart with taxpayer dollars, and that is not targeted at the people who actually need it. That is a giveaway to people who have not suffered any financial losses during this pandemic and clearly not targeted at those who need the most help. I mentioned a moment ago that the median income for households in Texas is $60,000 a year, so this family of five is earning nearly six times as much and would still receive a check from taxpayers. That defies all common sense. Even the Washington Post editorial board dubbed this policy as wasteful because of the huge amounts destined for what they call ``perfectly comfortable families.'' Even though Congress has already provided roughly $4 trillion in relief to the American people, our Democratic colleagues are acting as though this is the first and only way to help our country. Like I said, for them, every day is Groundhog Day. They ignore everything we have done in the past and act like this is the only thing we have or could do. It is just not true This debate isn't about whether or not Congress should help families who are struggling. We have. And there is no question we will continue to do so where needed. That is why we provided $1,200 in direct payments to the hardest hit Americans through the CARES Act and an additional $600 through the most recent relief bill. That is why these bills also bolstered State unemployment benefits and expanded them to include independent contractors and the self-employed. That is why Congress passed legislation to provide food assistance to families, keep more hard-working Americans on payroll, and ensure our economy is on track for a strong recovery. Again, we did this thanks to the leadership of President Trump and by working together in a bipartisan way. Countless Texans have told me about the impact of this relief on their businesses and their families, and we can't lose sight of the progress that has already been made. But future relief must be targeted. We need to support those who need it and avoid sending hundreds of billions of dollars, as this proposal would, to those who don't need it. Throughout the year, I have been an advocate for an incremental approach to these relief bills because I think it is hard to spend $3 trillion and know exactly how that bill is going to work. And, indeed, we found out through the CARES Act that the mainstream lending facility, which we funded at roughly half a trillion dollars, wasn't as useful as we would have hoped. Conversely, the Paycheck Protection Program was more successful than our wildest dreams. So I think by seeing what works and what doesn't work, we can be better stewards of taxpayer dollars by spending the money more efficiently and in a more targeted way. [[Page S7979]] This isn't like highway bills or farm bills or defense spending bills where we have an idea about what is needed for individual programs. There was no precedent for this pandemic, no handbook, and no clear way to gauge how long this crisis would go on or what would be needed to sustain our response. After the CARES Act passed, we knew it made the most sense to hit the pause button and see what worked well, what didn't, and where more help was needed. As I said, there were certain programs like the Paycheck Protection Program that almost immediately dried up. If I am not mistaken, in 2 weeks, roughly $350 billion was obligated under the Paycheck Protection Program--a strong indication that we really hit the sweet spot when it came to helping those small businesses. That is why we added more funding in April, another $320 billion, and we extended the program in July and reinvested in the Paycheck Protection Program again in the omnibus. As I said, there were other places where the money went unspent. But, fortunately, in the most recent bill we were able to repurpose hundreds of billions of dollars in unspent funds, again, to target it to where the need was greatest and where it could help the most. There is no question that tens of millions of workers and their families have been hurt by this virus. We all know that. And I think we have all acted together, by and large, responsibly, in trying to respond to that. No one will be left out if we have a means and method of targeting this to those people--whether it is direct payments, enhanced unemployment benefits, incentives to their employers to maintain them on payroll. And now that we have the beginning of the distribution of the vaccine, my hope is that in the coming months we will get back to, if not the new normal, whatever the next normal will be. But we are just a few days from kicking off the new Congress, and I have no reason to believe that our coronavirus relief work is finished here today. As a matter of fact, Vice President Biden said that he expects to send us an additional request for help once he assumes office. Once the legislation we have passed has a chance to benefit the American people, we will see if more relief is needed, and then, if it is needed, we should absolutely do more. I still believe in the wisdom of the incremental approach, and I believe our Democratic friends will join us in responding to the true needs of this crisis without monthlong delays or irresponsible spending. Countless Texans have told me about the importance of the relief we have provided through direct payments, unemployment benefits, food assistance, and other forms of support by the laws we passed throughout this year. I was proud to support each of those policies, which have eased the financial strains on millions of Texans and other Americans. I will continue to work with our colleagues to provide assistance as our war on COVID-19 rages on. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio. ____________________ |