Kevin Brady

Mr. BRADY

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Riggleman).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, I thank Leader McCarthy for his strong and relentless leadership. I thank him for allowing each of us to bring to the table the pro-growth policies that brought about the strongest economy on the planet as we headed into this challenge. Thanks to our House leaders and to our ranking members on all the key committees: Representatives Granger and Foxx, Representatives Walden, McHenry, Cole, and Chabot. These are Members here today who have engaged in this historic agreement. Thanks to the professional teams who have backed us every moment, night and day, in this endeavor. I want to thank our Democratic colleagues for working with us on this bipartisan bill and our Republican colleagues in the Senate. I especially want to thank Secretary Mnuchin, the point man for President Trump on these negotiations, as well as all of the Cabinet and the White House economic team. I especially want to thank President Trump for his strong and results-oriented leadership at a time of unprecedented crisis for this great country. In times of challenge, I lean on this proverb: Fear knocked. Faith answered. No one was there. Coronavirus has knocked at America's door and with it fear. Faith is answering. We answer with faith in ourselves and our abilities, faith in our free enterprise system, faith in our amazing healthcare system, and, yes, faith that when the chips are down, Congress can come together with our President to help hardworking families and businesses when they need it most. We answer that door at this crucial moment with faith in our creator and faith in our great American spirit. This is the challenge of a lifetime, but if we keep pulling together and if we pass this bill today without delay, then we take another step toward that day when we answer the door and fear is no longer there. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of President Trump and the Republican Congress, we urge support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), my fellow Texan.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Banks).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack), the top Republican on the Budget Committee.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Waltz).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon). Miss GONZALES-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, the CARES Act ensures that all citizens in Puerto Rico are treated equally under the Federal grants and benefits incorporated in this bill, which I strongly support. Puerto Rico has been in lockdown since March 15, and more than 48,000 people lost their jobs already. This bill will help our small businesses, people, and the nutrition assistance program, as well as the health industry, to tackle those issues. Puerto Ricans are ready because we have the infrastructure of a great pharmaceutical and skilled workforce that stands ready to ramp up and deliver medications and devices when backed up by the Defense Production Act. We need to rebuild our American workforce in a domestic territory. That is the reason I thank the President and the leadership of the Senate and the House for putting together this economic health package to give our localities the resources to tackle this crisis affecting our Nation so we can focus on staying safe and healthy. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the leader of the Republican Conference.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup).

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), my good friend.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Gianforte).

Mr. BRADY

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, President Trump's declaration of a national emergency is a call to action to protect American's health and well- being and protect the economy. This bill, thanks to the leadership of Secretary Mnuchin and Leader McCarthy, and working with both sides of the aisle, meets many of these goals. The President has succeeded in working with the private sector to achieve free testing, and now our bill builds on that. Americans in need of lab tests for the coronavirus will get them free. We are making good on President Trump's promise to provide financial assistance for working Americans who are ``ill, quarantined, or caring for others due to coronavirus,'' and it does so using our Tax Code rather than by creating a new entitlement. The original bill contained provisions that would create undue burdens on America's small businesses. I have spoken directly with President Trump, the champion of small business, who agrees that America's small businesses need flexibility and cash flow when providing emergency leave for workers so that they can operate and survive during this economic challenge. In order to help small businesses and their workers, language has been added to this bill, and President Trump is directing the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor to write rules to ensure that small businesses do have the flexibility to provide paid leave for their employees. They shouldn't have to be concerned about cash flow when they work to retain the workers they need to operate and keep serving their customers and our communities. This is vital to America's economic rebound. This bill also protects seniors and those with severe medical conditions by ensuring that the Social Security Administration is not running a new permanent mandate. We were also able to stop some misguided demands. In this bill, the health provisions are now limited to COVID-19 without including unrelated treatments, ensuring that pro-life Hyde amendment protections remain intact to prevent taxpayer funds being used for abortions. Republicans were able to block efforts to add new burdens on hospitals that would have overruled the CDC's science-based guidelines and prevented critical flexibility for our local healthcare providers. These are temporary, targeted measures. They are temporary because we have seen what happens when a bill that is supposed to be ``timely, targeted, and temporary'' drags on for years. It prolongs economic hardship. We will rebound, and we will rebound strongly. Good policies--ones that strengthen our local communities--result in speedy recoveries. In America, we know we are blessed, even when faced with great adversity. We are blessed by an abundance not only of resources but of spirit. It is that very spirit that will get us through the coronavirus and the other challenges we face in the future. While today's bill is not perfect, it is another step in the right direction toward safety and security and a revitalized economy. I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill and then come back to the table so we can continue our work to keep American workers and families prepared, safe, and healthy.

Mr. BRADY

Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, due to conflicts with scheduling, I was needed at my district; my sincerest apologies. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 81 (H. Res. 387) and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 82 (H.R. 4508).