{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2020-12-31-pt1-PgS7987-2", "2020-12-31", 116, 2, null, null, "LEGISLATIVE SESSION", "SENATE", "SENATE", "SLEGISLATIVE", "S7987", "S7990", "[{\"name\": \"Bernard Sanders\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Mitch McConnell\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Richard J. Durbin\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Richard Blumenthal\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"116\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"6395\"}, {\"congress\": \"116\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"6395\"}, {\"congress\": \"116\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"9051\"}, {\"congress\": \"116\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"9051\"}]", "166 Cong. Rec. S7987", "Congressional Record, Volume 166 Issue 223 (Thursday, December 31, 2020)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 223 (Thursday, December 31, 2020)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S7987-S7990]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION\n\n                                 ______\n\n  WILLIAM M. (MAC) THORNBERRY NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR\n           FISCAL YEAR 2021--VETO--MOTION TO PROCEED--Resumed\n\n  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the\nSenate will resume consideration of the veto message on H.R. 6395,\nwhich the clerk will report.\n  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:\n\n       Veto message, a bill (H.R. 6395) to authorize\n     appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities\n     of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and\n     for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to\n     prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year,\n     and for other purposes.\n\n  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont\n\n           Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 9051 and H.R. 6395\n\n  Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, let me briefly respond to some of the\npoints that Majority Leader McConnell has made, to his inaccurate\nstatements.\n  Now, I am delighted that, after years of talking on the floor of the\nSenate about socialism for the rich, apparently, that has gotten across\nto my Republican friends. Of course, that is what we do every single\nday. That is why we have the incredible level of income and wealth\ninequality that exists in this country, because, decade after decade,\nwe have used this body to provide massive tax breaks to the rich and\nprovide corporate welfare to corporations that don't need it. That is\nsocialism for the rich. The majority leader is right, but let's talk\nabout, in fact, what is in this bill.\n  According to the Tax Policy Center, fewer than 1 percent of the\nbenefits of the direct payments--that is the $2,000 per working-class\nadult that Senator Schumer and I are talking about--would go to the top\n5 percent of Americans. Virtually nothing would go to the very, very\nrich. The overwhelming majority of those funds would go to the middle\nclass, the working class, low-income people, who in the midst of this\npandemic are in desperate economic condition.\n  Again, I am delighted to hear the majority leader talking about\nsocialism for the rich, and I hope we will continue that discussion in\nthe next session. Let me talk about the socialism for the rich that the\nmajority leader is enthusiastically supportive of as the majority\nleader helped to lead this body to pass Trump's tax bill.\n  Now, do you want to talk about socialism for the rich, Mr. Majority\nLeader?\n  Under that bill, Charles Koch--one of the very richest people in\nAmerica, who has a net worth of $113 billion--received a $1.4 billion\ntax break.\n  Mr. Majority Leader, that sounds, to me, like socialism for the rich.\nAh, but that is not all.\n  In Nevada, you have a gentleman named Sheldon Adelson, who is a major\ncontributor to the Republican Party and a big funder for Donald Trump.\nUnder that same tax bill led by the majority leader, Sheldon Adelson\nreceived a $560 million tax break. A guy who is worth $34 billion\ndesperately needed that tax break of $560 million.\n  Do you want more tax breaks for the rich? Do you want to talk about\nsocialism for the rich?\n  Senator McConnell had no problem giving a $104 million tax refund to\nAmazon over the past 3 years despite the fact that the company made $30\nbillion in profits. So the argument that this bill, in any significant\nway, benefits the rich is just not accurate, but let us talk about whom\nthis bill does benefit.\n  This bill benefits tens of millions of Americans who, as a result of\nthis pandemic, have lost their jobs and have lost their incomes. Some,\nin fact, have lost their lives. These are people who are going hungry\ntoday. We are seeing today a recordbreaking level of hunger in\nAmerica--the richest country in the history of the world. All over this\ncountry--and I receive emails from people all over this country--people\nare frightened to death that they are going to be evicted from their\nhomes. Think about what a $4,000 check or a $5,000 check would mean to\nthose struggling families--husband, wife, kids. In fact, let me give\nyou an example.\n  This is a problem taking place all over this country. It is taking\nplace in Vermont. It is taking place in Senator Schumer's State. It is\ntaking place in Kentucky. In fact, the State of Kentucky--a very\nbeautiful State; I have had the pleasure of being there a number of\ntimes--a beautiful State--is the State in which 10 out of the 25\npoorest counties in America exist. I am sure Senator McConnell is aware\nthat, throughout his State, you have thousands and tens of thousands of\npeople living in economic desperation. I am talking about counties\nwhere 30 to 40 percent of people are living in poverty and where many\nthousands of residents are trying to survive on less than $20,000 a\nyear.\n  I am just using Kentucky as an example because that is the State\nSenator McConnell represents, but it is true all over this country.\n  In Kentucky, over 22 percent of the children are living in poverty.\nDo you think they might need a little bit of help?\n  In the State of Kentucky, more than 190,000 workers are making\nextremely low wages, and over a half a million people earn less than\n$15 an hour. Somebody might want to ask those people what a $2,000\ncheck per adult would mean. I am talking about Kentucky, and I will\nnever forget this because I visited Kentucky and talked to some of the\npeople there. Kentucky has suffered from a particular opioid crisis. I\nwill never forget talking to a football coach who told me that a bunch\nof the kids on his football team were living with their grandparents or\non couches because of the opioid epidemic.\n\n  In other words, the people in Kentucky, the people in New York, and\nthe people in Vermont are hurting. They need help.\n  So I say today to Senator McConnell, the leader here, let us address\nthe horrendous economic crisis facing tens of millions of Americans.\n  The pandemic today is worse than it has ever been. Hopefully,\nhopefully, the vaccine will make a profound difference, but, right now,\npeople are hurting, and they are looking to this institution. They are\nlooking to Congress. The House did the right thing. They are now\nlooking to the Senate. They are looking to Senator McConnell.\n  After all is said and done and after all of the legalese--and I am\ngoing to be introducing some legalese in a moment--it comes down to one\nthing: Senator McConnell disagrees with the proposal that Senator\nSchumer and I are making. I got it. That is fine. This is a democracy.\nHe has the right to his point of view. I would love to have the debate\non the floor with Senator McConnell about this legislation. All that we\nare asking is to give us the opportunity to vote up or down on whether\nor not working families in this country should be able to receive a\n$2,000 check. Senator McConnell disagrees.\n  Come to the floor. Tell us why you disagree. Then we will do what\nthis institution is supposed to do. We will have a vote.\n\n[[Page S7988]]\n\n  The truth is, in the House, Senator McConnell knows that 44\nRepublicans voted for the House bill, which won, by the way, by a 2-to-\n1 majority. Two-thirds of the House voted to make sure that working\nAmericans would get a $2,000 check. Right here in the Senate, there are\na number of Republicans--it is not clear how many--who have already\ngone public in saying they think it is a good idea that we go forward\nwith the House bill.\n  So all that I am asking Senator McConnell is to give us a vote. What\nis the problem? You can vote no. By the way, we need 60 votes--a\nmajority. There is no question in my mind that a majority of the\nSenators will vote yes, but because of house rules, we need 60 votes.\nSo we are going to have to get 48 Democrats--that is what we have--plus\n12 Republicans. Can we get 12 Republicans? I don't know--maybe we can;\nmaybe we can't--but give us a vote. What is the problem? What is the\nproblem with having the American people see how their Senators vote on\nthis issue of such enormous importance?\n  As Senator Schumer indicated, Senator McConnell has some other\nconcerns.\n  He is concerned about section 230 of the 1996 Federal\nTelecommunications Act. I am sure that this is absolutely on the minds\nof everybody in Vermont, in New York, and in Kentucky. It is probably\nall that they are talking about, the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Fine.\nIf he wants a vote on that, bring it to the floor. Let's vote on it as\na separate bill.\n  Do you want to talk about election security? Senator Schumer is\nright. There are a lot of issues out there. I am concerned about voter\nsuppression. I am concerned about people waiting online for 5 hours to\ncast a vote. I am concerned about voter intimidation. Senator McConnell\nhas different points of view. Let's have that discussion. Put together\na commission. No problem. Bring that bill to the floor. Yet everybody\nunderstands that, when you combine all three elements, this is a poison\npill designed to kill that legislation.\n  After everything is said and done, all of this comes down to one\nsimple fact: Will Senator McConnell, the Republican leader of the U.S.\nSenate, allow this body to vote on a bill which will provide $2,000 per\nperson to working-class families all across this country? That is what\nthis whole debate is about. It is not whether you like the bill or you\ndon't like it. We can have that debate. We have 3 days left in this\nCongress. The House did the right thing. It is now time for the Senate\nto have that vote.\n  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at 3 p.m. today,\nThursday, December 31, the Senate proceed to the consideration of\nCalendar No. 645, H.R. 9051, to provide a $2,000 direct payment to the\nworking class; that the bill be considered read a third time and the\nSenate vote on the passage of the bill; and that if passed, the motion\nto reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; further, that\nfollowing the vote on H.R. 9051, the Senate resume consideration of the\nveto message on H.R. 6395, the National Defense Authorization Act, and\nthe Senate vote on the passage of the bill, the objections of the\nPresident to the contrary notwithstanding, all with no intervening\naction or debate.\n  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?\n  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I object.\n  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection is heard.\n  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.\n  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.\n  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.\n  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order\nfor the quorum call be rescinded.\n  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so\nordered.\n  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I would like to for a moment just\nreflect on where we are at this session of the U.S. Senate and the\nchoices that have been made.\n  I want to thank Senator Sanders and Senator Schumer for bringing\nthis, with clarity, to the floor of the Senate.\n  We support $2,000 as a helping hand to people across the United\nStates. There is a limitation on the amount that individuals receive if\nthey make more than $75,000 or if their family makes more than\n$150,000, but we are following the template that has been employed both\nwith the CARES Act and with our own COVID relief act of just a few days\nago.\n  We have been told by the Department of the Treasury that if you want\nto put money into the hands of Americans who desperately need it, this\nis the best way to do it, the quickest way to do it. There are better\nways, I am sure, but in a time of crisis, we need to respond and\nrespond in a timely way.\n  So Senator Sanders and Senator Schumer have brought to the floor for\nconsideration, we hope, a bill that has already passed the House of\nRepresentatives. The significance of this is that the House is now in\nrecess and not scheduled to return in this congressional session. So\nwhatever happens over here cannot be a new bill--there is no House to\nsend it to and no time to pass it--but, rather, has to be an up-or-down\nvote on a bill that has passed the House as is. That is what they have\ncome to the floor now for 3 straight days asking.\n  Senator Schumer has asked repeatedly of Senator McConnell, the\nRepublican leader, a simple request: Whether you are for the House bill\nor against the House bill, allow the Senate to be the Senate. Allow us\nto vote on the bill--for those of us who support it, to vote on it.\n  It isn't a lock; it isn't guaranteed that we are going to win and\nprevail with that vote. There are 48 Democratic Senators, and you need\n60 votes. We need help from the other side. Four or five Republican\nSenators say they support it as well, but we don't know if we have the\n12, if all of our Members can be here. In this era of COVID-19, sadly,\neven some of our Senators have illnesses in the family, which may make\nit impossible for them to be here. So there is no guarantee we win, but\nthere will be a guarantee that we are recorded and our positions are\nknown to the voters across America. That is a simple request. Yet, time\nand again, the Republican leader, Senator McConnell, has said no.\n  I am worried about what is happening to this institution, not just in\nthis instance but with what we have seen over the past several years.\n  We will conclude this calendar year having voted on the floor of this\nU.S. Senate 29 times on amendments--29 in the course of a year in what\nis supposedly the world's greatest deliberative body. I guess I\nshouldn't complain--it is a 30-percent increase over last year, when we\nvoted on 22 amendments in the entire calendar year. The Senate is out\nof business and out to lunch when it comes to legislating, and that is\na fact.\n  All we are asking for is the chance to legislate a $2,000 helping\nhand to families across America. I have heard over and over again that\nwe are just trying to featherbed the rich, that we are trying to give\nbig checks to rich people. Well, Senator Sanders made a point on that\nearlier. Less than 1 percent of the money we are asking for is going to\ngo to the top 5 percent.\n  When it came time for tax policy and tax breaks, many of the people\ncomplaining the loudest about $2,000 were giving away millions of\ndollars to the richest people in America without any hesitation. Well,\ntoday is another day, and today is a different America. Today, we are\nfacing a country that is in the depths of the crisis created by COVID-\n19. The numbers coming back to us every night on the news are\nheartbreaking numbers.\n  I understand--and most of us do--that those wonderful women and men\nwho are in the healthcare business usually are very stoic and calm in\nreporting the reality of their lives. Not so anymore. More and more\ndoctors and nurses are breaking down on television as they describe the\nscenes in emergency rooms across this country. They describe the\nreality of telling families that they cannot be by the bedside of one\nof their loved ones who is about to die, and they break down in tears\nand tell us they don't know how much more of this they can take.\n\n  That is the reality of America. It is not an America of vastly rich\npeople sitting by the swimming pool hoping Congress sends them more\nmoney; it is an America of those patients and their families and the\npeople who are out of\n\n[[Page S7989]]\n\nwork and the business men and women who have lost everything, who need\na hand from this government.\n  If there is one thing about America, I hope it is clear, no matter\nwhat your political persuasion, we are a caring people. If a hurricane\nhits Florida, I care about it. If a tornado hits the State of Nebraska,\nI care about it. And we come together on a bipartisan basis to help\nthose families. Now more than ever, those families need us to do\nsomething significant in their lives. How can you see the scenes on\ntelevision every night of the parade of cars lined up in Texas, in\nKentucky, in Illinois, hoping they can get some food to give to their\nfamilies? Are those grifters and chiselers who are just trying to get a\nfree meal? I don't think so. Would you sit in your car for an hour or\ntwo for food unless you really needed it? I think those people really\nneed it. Many of them are heartbroken that they are in this situation.\nSome are even embarrassed--and they shouldn't be--that they have been\nthe victims of this economy.\n  So all we are asking, Senator McConnell, is, give us a chance to\nvote. You can vote no if you wish. Give us a chance to vote for the\n$2,000 that can make a difference in a person's life; $4,000 for a\nhusband and wife who are struggling to get by--rent checks, mortgage\npayments, car payments, utility bills, things that really are basic to\nfamilies' survival. We are trying to help, and I think we should be\ngiven that chance.\n  We have tried time and again. We have the support of President Trump\nin this effort, and I am glad to have it. I think we have enough\nsupport in this Chamber to come up with 60 votes. I pray that we will,\nif we are given that chance, and I hope the Senate Republican leader is\nnot afraid of that outcome. He shouldn't be.\n  He has two of his incumbent Republican Senators in a runoff election\nwho have both publicly said they want to vote for this, and yet he\nstops them. He is the one who has put an end to their opportunity. Why?\nShouldn't he give them the opportunity to vote yes? He even refuses, in\nthis situation, with this looming election, to bring this matter to the\nfloor for an honest up-or-down, bipartisan vote.\n  I listened to the stories that were told by Senator Sanders and\nothers about the plight of people in this country and how much they\ncount on us and, frankly, how many of them have given up on us. They\njust don't believe the Congress of the United States is in touch with\nthe reality of America.\n  If we are in touch with the reality in our home States, in our home\ntowns, we should do something--something significant--to end this year\non the right note.\n  I plead with the Republican leader, who has the power. The sole\nMember of Congress of 100 Members--he has the power to bring this\nmatter to a vote and to do it immediately, within the hour. We could\ncall the Members who returned to Washington yesterday together, take a\nvote soon, in a matter of minutes, and know once and for all whether we\nhave the 60 votes that are necessary to pass this measure. Then we can\npass the override of the President's veto of the Defense authorization\nbill--a critical piece of legislation.\n  That would be the right way to end this year. Let us not end it in\nsuspense as to whether or not we are going to come to the aid and\nassistance of American families who rely on us time and again to be\nthere when America needs a helping hand. Let's do our job. Let's fill\nthis Chamber with Senators who will actually vote on an issue that\nmakes a difference in the lives of Americans. That is what we were\nelected to do. We have no excuse if we fail.\n  I yield the floor.\n  I suggest the absence of a quorum.\n  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.\n  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.\n  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order\nfor the quorum call be rescinded.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cramer). Without objection, it is so\nordered.\n  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, we are here in the waning hours of\n2020, expectant and hopeful about the coming year, and I want to wish\nall of my colleagues a very healthy and happy new year in the hope that\nwe will fulfill the promise of our constituents, our country, our\nConstitution in moving forward to meet and conquer the pandemic that\nstill ravages our Nation and to renew our economy that still is\nfailing.\n  We are the greatest Nation in the history of the world, and Americans\nare hurting. This body has taken positive and important steps toward\nmeeting this public health and economic crisis, as well as the hurt and\nharm that continue to plague Americans.\n  In a number of important relief packages, we have helped to meet\nthose needs and enabled the Nation to bridge the gap created by this\npandemic--an economic gap that has become a chasm, a cliff that seems\nwithout end and, for many of our fellow citizens, a time of\nunparalleled and unanticipated pain.\n  The relief package that we passed most recently--I think we can be\nproud to say--is the second largest in our Nation's history, and it\nwill provide a second round of paycheck protection loans, forgivable,\nbecoming grants, so that small businesses can keep their doors open;\nmore aid for our transportation and education systems; money to\ndistribute the vaccine that will be a lifesaver for so many Americans;\nand other important aid, including a $600 stimulus payment for every\nAmerican who is making less than $75,000. That is real assistance for a\nfamily of four--$2,400--because every child, as well as adult, will\nreceive that money.\n  But all of that $906 billion is only a downpayment. It is a life\nraft, and it has to be followed by an even more robust, bigger, bolder\npackage to provide real relief and sustenance for the survival of our\neconomy and, literally, the survival of Americans who are struggling to\nput food on the table and to buy medicine, pay rent and mortgages,\nclothe their children.\n  We have all told our stories on the floor of the Senate during 2020\nabout constituents waiting in food lines, hurting for the funds needed\nto stay in their home or apartment and to pay for the medicine that is\nliterally a matter of life and death.\n  We have told those stories. We have talked about Americans who are\nstruggling. We have the opportunity now to do something about it, so I\nappeal to my Republican colleague very bluntly and simply: Give us a\nvote on the CASH Act. Let us vote on a stand-alone $2,000 stimulus\npayment bill. Allow every one of us to go on record on that $2,000\nstimulus payment bill that would add $1,400 to that $600 already\nprovided--not to minimize the importance of $600, but it is\ninadequate. It is insufficient. It is unacceptable because it fails to\nprovide the basic needs to meet the desperate and dire straits of so\nmany Americans.\n\n  We are talking about families who need that money to buy bread and\nmilk, paper towels and toilet paper, goods and services that are\nnecessary to the survival of their families. Six hundred dollars is\nsimply not enough, and that is why I call on my fellow colleagues to\npersuade their leaders that we should be permitted this vote, because I\nbelieve that if there is a vote, it will pass. Having spoken to\nRepublican colleagues here, I have no doubt--none--that the stand-alone\n$2,000 stimulus payment measure would pass overwhelmingly, just as did\nthe $600 payment as part of the larger bill.\n  The simple fact is, that measure is the only viable vehicle. Any\nother measure loaded with other provisions, whether it is the section\n230 reform or a commission to investigate the last election on\nfictitious fraud, is doomed. It is doomed logistically. It is doomed\nlegally and physically. There is no way for the House to pass it.\n  Only the House bill, if passed, can provide Americans with the $2,000\nstimulus payment that they so desperately need. Only the House bill\nprovides that relief. Any other measure will be doomed because the\nHouse cannot come back to pass it in the time we have left in this\nsession. So the majority leader is essentially blocking a step that\nwill literally save lives, supported by the vast majority of the\nAmerican people, a significant part of his own conference, and every\nDemocrat.\n  Have no doubt--every Democrat will vote for it. We clamored for a\nhigher stimulus payment for months when the majority leader refused to\ncome to the table and then when the President of the United States\nfailed to lift a finger--he was on the golf course--when it\n\n[[Page S7990]]\n\nmight have made a difference in raising that $600 amount higher during\nthe negotiating.\n  Looking forward, there is a way to provide this relief to Americans\nwithout leaving here in a contest of blame but in a new year of mutual\ncongratulation. Pass the $2,000 stimulus payment plan as a stand-alone,\nclean bill.\n  I just want to say that I am probably the only Senator who has\nsupported two measures--one of them actually passed by the Congress and\nsigned by the President to reform section 230 and the other unanimously\nvoted out of the Judiciary Committee. They reformed section 230, and I\nsupport reforming section 230. I have hardly been uncritical of section\n230. There should be major reform of section 230, but it has to be done\nin a careful, deliberate, and considered way as a separate measure, not\nas a meat ax in a totally unrelated bill, the $2,000 payment bill that\nprovides real relief for the country.\n  Loading the CASH Act with poison pills is obstruction. It is not\nconstructive legislating, and it fails to meet the test of this moment.\nIt is vital that we move forward to provide struggling Americans with\nthis relief, and scuttling the $2,000 stimulus payment bill with a\nhalf-baked, meat-ax evisceration of section 230 is cruel and downright\nstupid. It betrays the mission and obligation that we have in these\nwaning days of 2020.\n  Americans need more help, and they need hope. Help and hope are\nembodied in the vaccine. Unfortunately, the rollout of this vaccine,\ndespite the $8 billion contained in the latest pandemic relief bill,\nhas been hopelessly behind schedule. The number of doses distributed is\nroughly one-tenth of what it should be even under the scaled-back\nschedule that this administration has adopted. Twenty million\nvaccinations were promised by the end of the year. That number was way\nbelow the initial promise, and only about one-tenth of them--probably 2\nmillion--will actually be provided.\n  Instead of taking responsibility or taking control, President Trump\nis still tweeting; instead of action, more talk. Only action will save\nlives, and either he doesn't care enough, or he doesn't really see what\nis necessary to do in order to save these lives, because the\ndistribution of this vaccine is a matter of life and death.\n  Using the Defense Production Act, mobilizing America, making sure\nStates have the resources they need, providing money to hospitals, and\nmaking sure there are the vials, syringes, training for workers, as\nwell as the facilities to transport, store, and distribute this\nvaccine, are essential now. They are missing at this moment, and the\nPresident is where the buck stops.\n  Now I look forward to a 2021 when a new President will expand the\nstimulus payments to individuals and when many of the other gaps left\nunfinished--action that still is necessary--will be fulfilled by\nanother, more robust, bigger, bolder pandemic relief program. I hope we\nwill have the same bipartisan support that we saw at the end of this\nyear for the latest. I hope we will overcome the divisions that\nprevented us from doing what is really necessary and adding $1,400 to\nthe $600 already provided.\n  We need to do more for small businesses. Yes, there will be another\nround of PPP payments, but this chasm faced by restaurants, retailers,\nand small businesses struggling to keep their doors open, keep their\npeople on payroll during the holidays--we have seen them all and talked\nto them. Their stories are riveting and heartbreaking. Businesspeople\nhave poured their hearts and souls and lives into these businesses,\nonly to see them threatened with extinction.\n  This crisis has a racial justice aspect that cannot be ignored\nbecause disproportionately, the businesses that have failed are Black-\nand Brown-owned. Disproportionately, the lives lost have been in Black\nand Brown communities. Disproportionately, the jobs lost have been in\nthose same communities--Black and Brown communities that have suffered\nmore than any other as a result of this pandemic. So we need to make\nsure that they receive the vaccine as well as the therapeutics and\ntesting that are necessary to save lives.\n  We are in the midst of a racial justice moment that affects policing\nand criminal justice, but it also affects our schools, where the ZIP\nCode of a child's residence can mean the difference between a quality\neducation or not; where Black and Brown communities suffer twice or\nthree times the death rate of others as a result of this pandemic;\nwhere job discrimination still exists and where, in housing, redlining\nstill afflicts these communities; and where environmental quality--\nrivers, lakes, air can still be disproportionately contaminated and\npolluted in communities inhabited by Black and Brown people.\n  We are here in the last day of an unprecedented and catastrophic\nyear. More than 342,000 of our fellow Americans are dead as a result of\nthis insidious virus--over 342,000 gifts unwrapped, places at the table\nleft open, and many of them without a final goodbye. This past year\nwill go down as one of the hardest in our history.\n  I think we all hope for a better year, but it will come only if we\ntake the kind of action that apparently my Republican colleagues are\nfailing to provide today, which is to meet the need to match the moment\nof the desperate and dire straits of so many Americans.\n  The failure to approve an additional $1,400 and pass the CASH Act is\na haunting omission. My hope is that the hopes of a hurting nation will\nbe met in this new year, that the calls for justice and relief will be\nheard, and that the ailing and sick--not just physically but\nemotionally--will be met. This crisis has been one of physical health\ncare but also mental health care, and the emotional strains can be seen\nin the rising rates of domestic violence, substance abuse disorder and\naddiction, and so many other areas where mental and emotional stress\nand anxiety have taken a toll. The hopes of a fearful and grieving\nnation rests on our shoulders, and we cannot let them down.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2020-12-31-pt1-PgS7987-2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 12.969139963388443, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}