Susan Collins

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise this afternoon in support of the amendment that Senator Rubio and I have introduced to extend and strengthen the Paycheck Protection Program. It would allow our Nation's hardest hit small businesses to get a second forgivable PPP loan that they so desperately need. Our amendment would make available $258 billion for new PPP forgivable loans. Madam President, as I know you are aware from your experience in West Virginia, the Paycheck Protection Program has been hugely successful. In the State of Maine, three out of four of our small businesses have received forgivable loans totaling $2.9 billion. To put that in context, that is equal to approximately half of the entire State budget. Most important of all, those loans have helped to sustain the jobs of more than 250,000 Mainers. Nationwide, the PPP has been a critical lifeline for more than 5 million small employers, helping to sustain upward of 50 million American jobs. As the Washington Post wrote in June following a dramatically better than expected jobs report: ``Give some credit to the government relief efforts, especially the Paycheck Protection Program, for bringing back jobs.'' This program has provided one-time loans sufficient to support 8 weeks of payroll plus a limited amount to help cover certain overhead expenses, which were completely forgivable as long as borrowers retained and paid their employees. Our purpose was to help small businesses save jobs and pay their workers, keeping that all-important employer-employee relationship intact so that, when businesses could reopen and Americans could go back to work, it could happen quickly when the pandemic subsided. When Chairman Rubio and I, together with Senators Ben Cardin and Jeanne Shaheen, put the PPP together at the onset of the national emergency, none of us could have envisioned that the pandemic would be so persistent, that here in October it would still be forcing shutdowns and mitigation measures that many months later. Yet, the cruel fact is that the virus is still spreading, and many of the steps taken to fight it, while necessary to protect public health, threaten catastrophic damage to many small businesses and their employees who have been sustained by the PPP loan funds, but they are still unable to return to normal operations. According to the NFIB, our Nation's largest advocacy group for small business, 84 percent of its small business members exhausted their PPP loan funds by mid-August. Many fear that they will have to lay off their employees--the last thing they want to do--or even cease operations altogether if more support is not forthcoming soon. In a key letter in support of our amendment circulated today, the NFIB also said that its most recent survey shows that 49 percent of its members anticipate needing some sort of additional financial support in the next 12 months. Let me give you an example. I recently learned of a T-shirt printing shop in Maine that received a PPP loan. It provided a lifeline to get this business through the past several months, but with many youth sports leagues and school activities still suspended, this business and its employees need more help to sustain them until springtime, when they hope to once again be printing T-shirts for little league teams and other sporting events. The impact of the pandemic has been critically acute for our hotels, our restaurants, our B&Bs, and our seasonal businesses that rely on a strong summer to pay their bills throughout the year. A State like mine, which is so dependent on tourism, has been particularly hard-hit since many of our tourism-based businesses lost the first part of the summer. A recent survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association showed that, if we do not act and act soon to provide additional assistance, 74 percent of our Nation's hotels will be forced to lay off more workers, and two-thirds could even be forced to close their doors entirely. The same is true in my State of Maine. An article published last month in the Bangor Daily News reports that the State could stand to lose two-thirds of hotels and direct lodging jobs if Congress doesn't approve more aid soon. Our restaurants are also struggling. While tourists finally started to return to Maine in August, this summer season has understandably been one of the slowest on record for my State. With the warm weather gone and outdoor dining no longer feasible, many of our restaurants can accommodate only about half as many customers as they used to be able to accommodate and still comply with the CDC guidelines. They fear that they may not be able to make it through the winter without further help. A few days ago, I received an email from a couple who owns an award- winning restaurant in Portland, ME. This couple told me that they would have closed without the PPP loan but that they haven't taken a paycheck since March and simply cannot make it through the winter without a second round. They put it as follows: [We] love that PPP enabled us to keep in contact with our staff, even when they were not able to work in the beginning [due to the State restrictions]. Furthermore, it helped us to be able to hire them back so that we could reopen immediately. [But] at this point, we are staying open only to support our employees. The new PPP would give us the needed funds to limp through winter, while still keeping our staff employed and our customers safe. I am sure that many other Members of the Senate are seeing the same in their States, and that is why it is so important that we renew once again this very successful program. As you know, we went through the first $359 billion in just 13 days. That is what the demand was like. Then we passed additional legislation to replenish the program with $320 billion, but we only extended the date to August 8 for applicants for the program. We need to reopen it up to those who didn't apply the first time and now find themselves in need and to allow the hardest hit businesses to receive a second PPP loan. We also need to do this to help our nonprofits that are also struggling to survive, and that is why we simply must put aside any partisan politics. This program was the product of bipartisan negotiations that went on day after day, night after night, and we came together. Let me describe the key points in this proposal. First, the amendment would allow those small employers that have seen their revenues decline by 35 percent or more in the first, second, or third quarter of this year compared to the same quarter last year to receive an additional Paycheck Protection Program loan. Second, because we want to target this additional assistance to the businesses that need it most, we generally limit eligibility to entities that have 300 or fewer employees, rather than 500. Third, we expand the list of forgivable PPP expenses in some very commonsense ways. We allow forgiveness for the supplier costs and investments in facility modifications and personal protective equipment for the business to operate safely for its employees and its customers. Examples would be those plexiglass guards--the shields we are seeing everywhere--masks for employees, of course, and patio insulations and related outdoor furnishings. This is especially important to restaurants facing dining restrictions and those struggling to get the high-quality food supply needed to operate because they have fallen behind in their bills. Fourth, we extend PPP to small 501(c)(6) organizations that are not lobbying organizations and that have 150 or fewer employees, such as local chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and tourism offices. They are doing a great job representing their members through this crisis. Fifth, we would allow forgivable loan funds to be spent through December 31 and clarify that borrowers can apply for loan forgiveness at the time of their choosing after 8 weeks from the loan origination. Sixth, we greatly simplify the loan forgiveness process for smaller borrowers. Those who make a good-faith effort to comply with the program's requirements would be able to use a one-page, simplified loan forgiveness form if they borrowed no more than $150,000. We also make the loan forgiveness process less complex for borrowers of loans between $150,000 and $2 million. Seventh, we provide the SBA with $50 million in additional audit funding to ensure that it has the resources necessary to protect the program against fraud. Regrettably, there are always going to be those who attempt to exploit a program, and that is why we want to beef up the audit capacity. Finally, our amendment includes a series of set-asides to ensure that smaller borrowers and underserved communities get the help they need. These set-asides include money for borrowers with 10 or fewer employees; $10 billion for community financial institutions, such as small community banks and credit unions; and $10 million for the Minority Business Development Agency. In addition, the amendment directs the SBA to issue guidance addressing barriers to accessing capital for minority, underserved, veteran, and women-owned businesses. The Paycheck Protection Program is the result of a bipartisan commitment to support our small businesses, our nonprofits, and their employees during this pandemic. It has been a tremendous success, but many small businesses and nonprofits simply require more help now in order to survive, given the length and persistence of this pandemic. This amendment provides that help. It is supported by the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the International Franchise Association, and HospitalityMaine Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the letters of support for our amendment at the conclusion of my remarks. Madam President, I urge our colleagues to support this amendment, to do so now, even if you disagree on other issues that may be taken up. Surely, we can come together and extend this bipartisan, highly successful program to secure the jobs of small businesses and also to ensure that these small businesses stay afloat. We want to make sure that small businesses, which employed the majority of people in this country, are able to keep their employees employed. We can continue to work to find common ground--and I am involved in those efforts--on other policies to help support the health and safety of Americans and the safe, responsible opening of our communities. We need more resources for tests and vaccine development; for aid to municipalities and schools; for assistance to our lobstermen, our fishermen, our farmers, our loggers, and to our aviation and motor coach industries. We need more assistance for childcare and for the U.S. Postal Service. Now is the time to move forward on this bill, on this proposal, to extend and strengthen the PPP before we lose more small businesses, before their employees are forced out of their jobs. So let's act today. It is past time to put aside partisan bickering to provide this much needed relief for the American people. I urge all of our colleagues to join us in support of this important action to renew and strengthen the PPP program

Ms. COLLINS. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am delighted to commend Mary Snow Elementary School in Bangor, ME, on being named a 2019 National Blue Ribbon Exemplary High Performing School. Serving 240 students in the fourth and fifth grades, this outstanding school is one of only 367 schools across the country this year to receive Blue Ribbon recognition from the U.S. Department of Education. Created in 1982, the Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private schools that are either academically superior in their States or that demonstrate significant gains in student achievement. The schools singled out for this national recognition are models of high educational standards and accountability. The Blue Ribbon designation continues a tradition of quality education in Bangor. Last year, the pre-kindergarten through third grade Fruit Street Elementary School, which sends students to Mary Snow, was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School. Although students attend Mary Snow School for only 2 years, teachers and staff strive to build positive relationships with students and their families and create a welcoming atmosphere. The school involves families by hosting 10 events each year that encourage parents and guardians to become involved in their child's education. The Bangor School Department's mission is ``Academic Excellence for All.'' At Mary Snow, students are encouraged to develop their full potential. The core curriculum of language arts, math, science, and social studies is rigorous, yet provides the flexibility for individual students to learn at their own pace. Mary Snow is committed to helping students pursue their interests and to discover new ones. Strong visual and performing arts programs encourage creativity. Physical education encourages healthy lifestyles. Technology is integrated into the classroom so that students develop the skills to succeed in the 21st century economy. Faculty, parents, and community members are committed to both academic excellence and each child's social, emotional, and physical health. Faculty work to ensure a safe and secure learning environment and to develop strong and collaborative relationships with parents and community members. An active parent-teacher organization supports enriching educational activities and promotes excellence and innovation by funding special projects and initiatives. I applaud the administrators, teachers, staff, and parents of Mary Snow Elementary School. Together, they are succeeding in their mission to build students' confidence and generate momentum for learning. I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has selected Mary Snow Elementary School for this well-deserved honor, and I congratulate the entire school community for this outstanding achievement.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am delighted to commend Pond Cove Elementary School of Cape Elizabeth, ME, on being named a 2020 National Blue Ribbon Exemplary High Performing School. This outstanding school is one of only 367 schools across the country to receive Blue Ribbon recognition from the U.S. Department of Education. Created in 1982, the Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private schools that are either academically superior in their States or that demonstrate significant gains in student achievement. The schools singled out for this national recognition are models of high educational standards and accountability. This prestigious designation continues Cape Elizabeth's tradition of quality education. Last year, Cape Elizabeth High School was awarded its second Blue Ribbon. Many high school and middle school students serve as volunteer mentors for elementary pupils, making a strong and positive impact on young learners. Pond Cove serves 530 pupils from kindergarten through the fourth grade. This award recognizes the hard work and determination of students, teachers, and staff. It is a top-performing school on State- required assessments, and educators at the school use assessments throughout the academic year as a tool for improving and customizing instruction. A strong commitment to professional development ensures that teachers and staff, as well as students, are lifelong learners. Pond Cove excels as a school built on a foundation of the school district's values of community, academics, passion, and ethics. Through a unique tradition of adding links to a paper chain throughout the school, teachers and staff recognize students who demonstrate those values, instilling a sense of individual and school pride. In addition to a rigorous core curriculum and a focus on world languages, the school is known for its extensive extracurricular activities in academics, athletics, and the arts, and students are encouraged to pursue their interests. A comprehensive health and wellness program emphasizes good nutrition, physical activity, and stress management. The schoolwide peacemakers curriculum helps students develop the skills to work collaboratively and to respect others. Students learn the value of community service through a variety of opportunities, such as supporting the local food pantry and connecting with senior citizens. Family and community support is one of the school's greatest assets. The Pond Cove Parents Association and other community organizations provide supplemental funding and resources. Just last year, parents, staff members, and local businesses joined together to create a new playground and outdoor learning center with outdoor classrooms, vegetable gardens, and nature observation areas. This Blue Ribbon Award is a tribute not only to the students, but also to the administrators, teachers, staff, and parents of Pond Cove Elementary School. Together, they are succeeding in their mission to generate excitement and momentum for learning. They are making a difference in the lives of their students, helping them reach their full potential as independent, responsible learners and citizens. I congratulate the entire Cape Elizabeth community for this well-deserved recognition.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am delighted to commend Easton Elementary School in Easton, ME, on being named a 2020 National Blue Ribbon Exemplary High Performing School. Serving 128 students from pre- kindergarten through sixth grade, this outstanding school is one of only 367 schools across the country this year to receive Blue Ribbon recognition from the U.S. Department of Education. Created in 1982, the Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private schools that are either academically superior in their States or that demonstrate significant gains in student achievement. The schools singled out for this national recognition are models of high educational standards and accountability. Easton is a rural community of 1,300 residents in Aroostook County, just 20 miles from my hometown of Caribou. It is a small town with a big commitment to education. Easton Elementary School's mission is to achieve academic excellence in a safe and nurturing environment of fairness, respect, and caring. All students are provided with personal enrichment opportunities and work with teachers and staff to set their own learning goals. The core curriculum is math, literacy, and social studies, with a particular focus on science. Students regularly visit the renowned Francis Malcolm Science Center in Easton, which has a planetarium, interactive laboratory, and nature studies area. In addition to strong theater and music programs, the school places an emphasis on helping students develop healthy lifestyles. The relationship between the school and the Easton Recreation Department provides students with opportunities for traditional sports programming, as well as cooking lessons and babysitting courses. Citizenship is an important part of the curriculum. Students participate in activities to support polio vaccine distribution, cancer research, and Down syndrome awareness. Easton is an agricultural community, and the school continues the Aroostook County tradition of starting the school year early to accommodate a 3-week break in the fall so students can help local farmers with the potato harvest. An active parent-teacher organization helps to forge a strong bond between the school and the community. I applaud the administrators, teachers, staff, and parents of Easton Elementary School. Together, they are succeeding in their mission to build students' confidence and generate momentum for learning. I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has selected Easton Elementary School for this well-deserved honor, and I congratulate the entire community for this outstanding achievement.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, shortly, we will be voting on whether or not to extend the Paycheck Protection Program, which has been hugely successful in helping our small businesses keep their employees. In Maine, three out of four small businesses have received $2.3 billion in forgivable loans. Most important, these loans have helped to sustain 250,000 jobs in the State of Maine and 50 million jobs nationwide. A bipartisan group of us--Senator Rubio, Senator Cardin, Senator Shaheen, and I--put this bipartisan program together in March. We added funding in April, and we extended it in June until August 8. The pandemic, unfortunately, is still forcing shutdowns and mitigation measures months later. Many of the small businesses that were sustained by their PPP loans are still unable to return to normal operations. Without more assistance, without being eligible for a second PPP loan, many of the hardest hit small businesses, including our restaurants, our gift shops, our hotels, and our B&Bs, will be forced to close their doors, and, worse yet, lay off their workers. That is why it is so important that we reach bipartisan agreement quickly to provide further assistance to small businesses and nonprofits that have been kept alive by their first PPP loan, that have been able to retain and pay their employees but now are still struggling to survive due to this persistent pandemic. The amendment that we are about to vote on would provide approximately $258 billion in funding to allow eligibility for a second PPP loan for the hardest hit small businesses and nonprofits, while also expanding and improving the program in some commonsense ways. This is all about keeping Americans employed. This amendment is endorsed by the NFIB, the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the International Franchise Association, HospitalityMaine, the United Fresh Produce Association, the National Fisheries Institute, and the International Foodservice Distributors Association. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this important step to renew and strengthen the PPP program to save our small businesses and their employees' jobs. Thank you.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to devastate our public health and our economy, it is far past time that we reach agreement on another relief package that is so desperately needed. It will require good-faith negotiations on both sides of the aisle, not just saying no and turning the tragedy of 200,000 COVID deaths into a partisan political issue. For my part, I believe there should be nine elements in the bill. First, there should be an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, known as PPP. This is a program that I crafted with Senators Marco Rubio, Jeanne Shaheen, and Ben Cardin to provide forgivable loans to our small businesses so that they could pay their employees. I am pleased to report that, in my State, 28,000 small businesses-- that is nearly three out of four of our small businesses--have taken advantage of $2.3 billion in forgivable loans, sustaining 250,000 jobs. It has truly made a difference. Now we need to do a second round of PPP for the hardest hit businesses, those for whom the first PPP loan was the lifeline but they need additional help. So we have set a revenue test such that, if your revenue is 35 percent below what it was in an equivalent quarter last year, you would qualify for another PPP loan. In addition, those who have never received a first PPP loan could apply under the initial rules. This would make a difference in keeping our small businesses afloat, particularly those in the tourism industry that have been so hard hit, and ensuring that their employees will still have jobs. Second, we need to provide aid to our schools. I have talked to superintendents all over the State of Maine, and I have visited schools in Hollis and Houlton. I have seen firsthand the enormous investments they have had to make in order to reopen the schools safely or adapt to a hybrid model, depending on where the location is and the incidence of COVID-19. In one school that I visited, they have replaced all of the round tables around which the elementary schoolchildren would usually be working with desks lined up. It reminds me of when I went to elementary school because that was the style of teaching back then. They are sanitizing and deep-cleaning the schools. They are trying to figure out what to do with the little toys that are used to teach children how to count: How do they sanitize them? Or do they get each child his or her own set of toys to place in individual bins? They are cutting new doors into the nurse's office so that no longer will ill children or staffers have to go through the front office. They are putting up plexiglass shields. They are adding additional bus routes in order to safely separate the children. These changes cost a lot of money, and it is one reason why, in addition to providing direct aid to our schools, we need to provide assistance to our States, our counties, and our communities. I have talked to city and town managers all over the State of Maine. They did not receive much from the initial allocation of funding that went to State governments, and they need help now. Let me give you an example. The city of Auburn has had to freeze six vacant positions because of expected revenue losses. That is two firefighters, a police officer, and three public works employees. These cuts come as the city of Auburn has spent $200,000 in new expenses responding to the virus. I have yet to talk to a city or a town manager who is not experiencing the need due to similar cuts and who experienced delayed or canceled public works projects, like paving local roads. That has a trickle-down effect. It affects the contractor and his or her employees, who will no longer have that work. It affects their suppliers from whom the concrete or the tar is no longer going to be purchased. This is why I feel strongly that the bipartisan SMART Act, which I worked on with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, led by Senator Cassidy and Senator Menendez, needs to be passed. We can negotiate exactly how much money and exactly to whom it should go, but it is essential that aid go to the community level. Fourth, we need to help our airlines. Otherwise, come October 1--just right around the corner--we are going to see massive layoffs. We are talking about between 80,000 and 100,000 layoffs of airline employees and also related jobs in airports, such as concessionaires. It will also lead to canceled service, if there are no longer crews for airplanes and ground crews. We are going to lose airline service to communities all over this country. We need not to forget the motor coach industry, which few people are talking about. They have been hurt by the cancelation of everything from school sports to tours. We need to help them survive this period of economic struggle. Senator Jack Reed and I have introduced a bill with more than 40 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle that would provide that assistance. No. 6, we need to continue investing in testing. That is key to reopening our economy and safely housing people in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. I am excited by the new Abbott Labs test, which will cost only $5 and give a result in 15 minutes. I take particular pride because Abbott Labs has a large facility in my State, and they are expanding from Scarborough to Westbrook in order to produce these tests more rapidly. No. 7, we need to provide limited but important liability protections to our frontline hospital workers, to our small businesses, and to our schools and colleges. One restaurant owner put it this way to me. He said: Susan, what if I get sued despite taking every precaution, following the CDC guidelines, but a customer comes in, later develops the coronavirus, and sues me, saying, I think I got it in that restaurant. Well, I am pretty sure that he didn't, but I still have to pay to defend that lawsuit? Clearly we should not protect anyone who is guilty of gross negligence, but that is not what we are talking about here. No. 8, we need to provide a reasonable Federal unemployment insurance supplement to help struggling families during this difficult time when so many people have lost jobs through no fault of their own, but we need to make sure that we are not creating a disincentive to return to work when jobs reopen. That is why I like the approach of either having an 80-percent replacement of the pre-job-loss wage or figuring out a formula that would approach 80 percent. That is far higher than the normal wage replacement under our State systems, but these are extraordinary times. No. 9, we need an emergency appropriation for the U.S. Postal Service. Otherwise, I am worried that the Postal Service will not be able to meet its payroll starting the second quarter of next year. Think of the costs the Postal Service has incurred. It has had to retrofit every post office, every processing center in this country, as well as provide protective gear to its postal employees who are both essential and frontline workers. Those are the elements that I believe should be in the next coronavirus package. While there are disagreements on perhaps three of the nine elements that I have suggested, by and large, there is agreement on seven of the elements. There may be disputes about exactly how much money should be appropriated, but we can work those disputes out, just as we do in the appropriations process. We simply cannot wait and do nothing and just hope for the best. Hope is not an effective strategy when it comes to dealing with this persistent pandemic. The American people have demonstrated resilience, courage, and compassion during this crisis, but they need our additional help. I hope that next week we will put aside the partisan bickering, the ``just say no'' approach that we have seen, unfortunately, from the Democratic leader, and that we will come together for the good of the American people; that we will come together not as Democrats and Republicans and Independents but as Americans to do what our country needs done right now. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COLLINS

Mr. COLLINS. Mr. President, I have 7 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Foreign Relations The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 9 a.m. to conduct a hearing. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on nominations. Select Committee on Intelligence The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a closed briefing. Special Committee on Aging The Special Committee on Aging is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a closed briefing. Subcommittee on Communication, Technology, Innovation, and The Internet The Subcommittee on Communication, Technology, Innovation, and The Internet of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act. This bill would create a process to seek justice for a group Pan American World Airways pilots who lost their careers and pensions following the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the subsequent bankruptcy and closure of Pan Am. On December 21, 1988, the state of Libya committed an infamous act of terror by bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 innocent civilians. Despite Pan Am's greatly improved financial position in 1988, the media coverage of the terrorist attack wreaked havoc on Pan Am sales leading to its bankruptcy in 1991. In 2008, the United States entered into the U.S.-Libya Humanitarian Settlement Agreement, in which Libya paid $1.5 billion to settle claims by U.S. citizens for Libyan-sponsored terrorism. After payments by the State Department to families of death victims from Lockerbie and the La Belle Disco bombing in Germany, compensation to other victims was to be determined by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. The Commission could only consider further claims referred to it by the State Department. One of these claimants was a group of senior Pan Am pilots, most of whom were veterans, who were over the age of 50 and lost their jobs, pensions, healthcare, and eventually their savings when Pan Am went bankrupt and closed. Due to the federally required retirement age of 60 at that time, and the airline industry's seniority system, they were unable to get new pilot jobs with other airlines. Two of these pilots reside in Maine--Ron Fitch of Poland Spring and Schafer Bean of Diamond Cove--and I have heard their stories and their pleas for Justice on behalf of their own families and the others who suffered as a result of Libya's acts of terrorism. This group's initial lawsuit against Libya, which had been joined with the families of those who died at Lockerbie, was dismissed by the courts due to sovereign immunity. Following the 2008 settlement agreement with Libya, the group of pilots approached the State Department in 2009 seeking the necessary referral to have their claims heard by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. For more than 4 years the State Department failed to refer the group's claims to the Commission, but following bipartisan letters to then-Secretaries Clinton and Kerry signed by myself and more than 60 other Members of Congress, the State Department finally referred the claims in 2013. After an initial denial of claims in a preliminary ruling by the Commission in July 2016, the group of pilots was granted a hearing in December 2016. So many of the pilots and their families attended the hearing that it was moved to a U.S. District Court courtroom in Washington, DC. Three senior Pan Am executives testified at the hearing, including the former Pan Am CEO, Thomas Plaskett; former Pan Am senior vice president for finance, Ramesh Punwani; and former Pan Am vice president of strategic planning, Peter Pappas. Each explained why the Lockerbie bombing and the subsequent media coverage directly caused the airline's collapse. In January 2018, more than a year following that hearing, the Commission ruled against the pilots. Using an undefined standard of proof and applying international law, the Commission argued that Pan Am's demise was not caused by the Lockerbie bombing, contrary to the testimony of the former Pan Am executives themselves. The pilots' referred claim was the very last of the Libyan claims adjudicated by the Commission, and the Libya settlement fund is now exhausted from the claims it approved prior to the final adjudication of the pilots' claims. These terrorism victims were denied an opportunity to even make their case for 4 years by the Department of State, and when finally referred to the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, they were forced to wait another 3 years for a preliminary ruling and another 2 years for a final decision, by which point the Commission had already awarded claims that essentially exhausted the settlement funds provided by Libya. That simply is not fair, and I believe these Mainers and other Americans deserve a quick and fair process to compensate them for their losses. I urge my colleagues to join me in working toward justice for all of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing perpetrated by Libya.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act. This bill would create a process to seek justice for a group Pan American World Airways pilots who lost their careers and pensions following the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the subsequent bankruptcy and closure of Pan Am. On December 21, 1988, the state of Libya committed an infamous act of terror by bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 innocent civilians. Despite Pan Am's greatly improved financial position in 1988, the media coverage of the terrorist attack wreaked havoc on Pan Am sales leading to its bankruptcy in 1991. In 2008, the United States entered into the U.S.-Libya Humanitarian Settlement Agreement, in which Libya paid $1.5 billion to settle claims by U.S. citizens for Libyan-sponsored terrorism. After payments by the State Department to families of death victims from Lockerbie and the La Belle Disco bombing in Germany, compensation to other victims was to be determined by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. The Commission could only consider further claims referred to it by the State Department. One of these claimants was a group of senior Pan Am pilots, most of whom were veterans, who were over the age of 50 and lost their jobs, pensions, healthcare, and eventually their savings when Pan Am went bankrupt and closed. Due to the federally required retirement age of 60 at that time, and the airline industry's seniority system, they were unable to get new pilot jobs with other airlines. Two of these pilots reside in Maine--Ron Fitch of Poland Spring and Schafer Bean of Diamond Cove--and I have heard their stories and their pleas for Justice on behalf of their own families and the others who suffered as a result of Libya's acts of terrorism. This group's initial lawsuit against Libya, which had been joined with the families of those who died at Lockerbie, was dismissed by the courts due to sovereign immunity. Following the 2008 settlement agreement with Libya, the group of pilots approached the State Department in 2009 seeking the necessary referral to have their claims heard by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. For more than 4 years the State Department failed to refer the group's claims to the Commission, but following bipartisan letters to then-Secretaries Clinton and Kerry signed by myself and more than 60 other Members of Congress, the State Department finally referred the claims in 2013. After an initial denial of claims in a preliminary ruling by the Commission in July 2016, the group of pilots was granted a hearing in December 2016. So many of the pilots and their families attended the hearing that it was moved to a U.S. District Court courtroom in Washington, DC. Three senior Pan Am executives testified at the hearing, including the former Pan Am CEO, Thomas Plaskett; former Pan Am senior vice president for finance, Ramesh Punwani; and former Pan Am vice president of strategic planning, Peter Pappas. Each explained why the Lockerbie bombing and the subsequent media coverage directly caused the airline's collapse. In January 2018, more than a year following that hearing, the Commission ruled against the pilots. Using an undefined standard of proof and applying international law, the Commission argued that Pan Am's demise was not caused by the Lockerbie bombing, contrary to the testimony of the former Pan Am executives themselves. The pilots' referred claim was the very last of the Libyan claims adjudicated by the Commission, and the Libya settlement fund is now exhausted from the claims it approved prior to the final adjudication of the pilots' claims. These terrorism victims were denied an opportunity to even make their case for 4 years by the Department of State, and when finally referred to the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, they were forced to wait another 3 years for a preliminary ruling and another 2 years for a final decision, by which point the Commission had already awarded claims that essentially exhausted the settlement funds provided by Libya. That simply is not fair, and I believe these Mainers and other Americans deserve a quick and fair process to compensate them for their losses. I urge my colleagues to join me in working toward justice for all of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing perpetrated by Libya.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from Michigan, Senator Peters, in introducing legislation to expand Medicare beneficiaries' access to Medical Nutrition Therapy, or MNT, which is a cost-effective component of treatment for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and other chronic conditions. At a time when we are seeing many diet-related chronic conditions contribute to poor COVID-19 outcomes, increasing access to MNT should be part of the strategy to improve disease management and prevention for America's seniors. Our legislation, the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2020, would make two important changes to support patients, improve health outcomes, and reduce unnecessary healthcare costs. First, it would expand Medicare Part B coverage of outpatient medical nutrition therapy services to a number of currently uncovered diseases or conditions--including prediabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, malnutrition, eating disorders, cancer, celiac disease, and HIV/AIDS. Currently, Medicare Part B only covers outpatient MNT for diabetes, renal disease, and post-kidney transplant. Second, the bill would allow more types of providers--including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, and psychologists--to refer patients to MNT. This is especially critical for a rural State like Maine, where a NP or PA may be one's trusted primary care provider. MNT counseling is provided by registered dietitian nutritionists, RDNs, as part of a collaborative healthcare team. It is evidenced-based and proven to positively impact weight, blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar control, and nutritional counseling by RDNs is even recommended by the National Lipid Association to promote long-term adherence to an individualized, heart-healthy diet. Through MNT, individuals benefit from in-depth individualized nutrition assessments and trusted followup visits for the repeated reinforcement necessary to aid with behavior and lifestyle changes. Seniors deserve improved access to this cost-effective medical treatment, but many older adults are missing out under the current Medicare policy. Marcy Kyle, a RDN from Rockport, ME, shared numerous stories of patients being denied access to medically necessary MNT that illustrate why this legislation is needed. In one story, a patient with prediabetes was referred by his primary care physician for MNT at age 64. At that time, his private insurance covered the service and he booked the first available appointment the following week. But this patient turned 65 that week and transitioned onto Medicare. You can imagine his surprise upon arriving for his appointment that MNT would not be covered. While the outpatient facility changed its process after this case in order to prevent similar situations, it demonstrates how the current restrictions are detrimental for older adults at a critical juncture in their health journey. Another example from Maine was a patient with a new diagnosis of celiac disease complicated by severe weight loss. His private insurance covered MNT as celiac disease is a very controllable disease with proper nutrition. But when transitioning from private insurance to Medicare, this patient lost his opportunity for MNT. We know that early treatment with MNT can prevent future and more serious health complications and chronic conditions in older adults, and conditions such as prediabetes and celiac disease should be covered. The health and financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic makes access to MNT even more important. Seniors with diet-related conditions are suffering more than any other population in terms of the worst health outcomes, including death. Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, in June confirmed elevated risk for seniors with underlying health conditions. Among those hospitalized with COVID-19, 79 percent of patients had hypertension, 60 percent had hyperlipidemia, 50 percent of patients either presented with chronic kidney disease or diabetes. Tragically, of those hospitalized, 28 percent were never able to leave the hospital because they passed away. In addition to the significant health impacts, the economic impact of chronic diseases is staggering. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of the $3.5 trillion the United States spends annually on health care goes to the treatment of people with chronic diseases and mental health conditions. Preventing chronic diseases, or managing symptoms when prevention is not possible, is one way to reduce these costs. This is particularly important for the Medicare Program as more than two-thirds of seniors on Medicare live with multiple chronic conditions. As one registered dietition nutritionist in Maine told me, ``We all know a dollar spent on prevention saves many health care dollars in the long run and is the right thing to do for our seniors at a time when they have limited budgets.'' The Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2020 is supported by more than 30 national organizations, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Diabetes Association, the Endocrine Society, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and the National Kidney Foundation. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation to improve access to cost-effective medical treatment for Medicare patients with chronic diseases.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from Michigan, Senator Peters, in introducing legislation to expand Medicare beneficiaries' access to Medical Nutrition Therapy, or MNT, which is a cost-effective component of treatment for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and other chronic conditions. At a time when we are seeing many diet-related chronic conditions contribute to poor COVID-19 outcomes, increasing access to MNT should be part of the strategy to improve disease management and prevention for America's seniors. Our legislation, the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2020, would make two important changes to support patients, improve health outcomes, and reduce unnecessary healthcare costs. First, it would expand Medicare Part B coverage of outpatient medical nutrition therapy services to a number of currently uncovered diseases or conditions--including prediabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, malnutrition, eating disorders, cancer, celiac disease, and HIV/AIDS. Currently, Medicare Part B only covers outpatient MNT for diabetes, renal disease, and post-kidney transplant. Second, the bill would allow more types of providers--including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, and psychologists--to refer patients to MNT. This is especially critical for a rural State like Maine, where a NP or PA may be one's trusted primary care provider. MNT counseling is provided by registered dietitian nutritionists, RDNs, as part of a collaborative healthcare team. It is evidenced-based and proven to positively impact weight, blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar control, and nutritional counseling by RDNs is even recommended by the National Lipid Association to promote long-term adherence to an individualized, heart-healthy diet. Through MNT, individuals benefit from in-depth individualized nutrition assessments and trusted followup visits for the repeated reinforcement necessary to aid with behavior and lifestyle changes. Seniors deserve improved access to this cost-effective medical treatment, but many older adults are missing out under the current Medicare policy. Marcy Kyle, a RDN from Rockport, ME, shared numerous stories of patients being denied access to medically necessary MNT that illustrate why this legislation is needed. In one story, a patient with prediabetes was referred by his primary care physician for MNT at age 64. At that time, his private insurance covered the service and he booked the first available appointment the following week. But this patient turned 65 that week and transitioned onto Medicare. You can imagine his surprise upon arriving for his appointment that MNT would not be covered. While the outpatient facility changed its process after this case in order to prevent similar situations, it demonstrates how the current restrictions are detrimental for older adults at a critical juncture in their health journey. Another example from Maine was a patient with a new diagnosis of celiac disease complicated by severe weight loss. His private insurance covered MNT as celiac disease is a very controllable disease with proper nutrition. But when transitioning from private insurance to Medicare, this patient lost his opportunity for MNT. We know that early treatment with MNT can prevent future and more serious health complications and chronic conditions in older adults, and conditions such as prediabetes and celiac disease should be covered. The health and financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic makes access to MNT even more important. Seniors with diet-related conditions are suffering more than any other population in terms of the worst health outcomes, including death. Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, in June confirmed elevated risk for seniors with underlying health conditions. Among those hospitalized with COVID-19, 79 percent of patients had hypertension, 60 percent had hyperlipidemia, 50 percent of patients either presented with chronic kidney disease or diabetes. Tragically, of those hospitalized, 28 percent were never able to leave the hospital because they passed away. In addition to the significant health impacts, the economic impact of chronic diseases is staggering. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of the $3.5 trillion the United States spends annually on health care goes to the treatment of people with chronic diseases and mental health conditions. Preventing chronic diseases, or managing symptoms when prevention is not possible, is one way to reduce these costs. This is particularly important for the Medicare Program as more than two-thirds of seniors on Medicare live with multiple chronic conditions. As one registered dietition nutritionist in Maine told me, ``We all know a dollar spent on prevention saves many health care dollars in the long run and is the right thing to do for our seniors at a time when they have limited budgets.'' The Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2020 is supported by more than 30 national organizations, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Diabetes Association, the Endocrine Society, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and the National Kidney Foundation. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation to improve access to cost-effective medical treatment for Medicare patients with chronic diseases.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act. This bill would address a current gap in care for veterans in Maine living with early- stage dementia. Specifically, it would ensure that the VA can waive certain eligibility requirements to allow veterans with early-stage dementia to be cared for in State veterans' homes when it is in the best interest of the veteran. In Maine, we lead the way in caring for our veterans. For more than 40 years, Maine Veterans' Homes has been a vital part of our State's commitment to our heroes. My father, Donald Collins, a decorated World War II veteran, was cared for by the Veterans' Home in Caribou at the end of his life, so I know firsthand the compassion and care that Maine Veterans' Homes provide. In the land of the free, Maine Veterans' Homes help ensure that there will always be a home for the brave when they need care. As chairman of the Senate Aging Committee and representing the oldest State by median age in the country, I have championed policies to help individuals living with dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as America's hidden heroes--our military and veteran caregivers. I cofounded the Senate Alzheimer's Task Force in recognition of the devastating impact that disease has on individuals and families. Our Nation owes America's veterans our deepest gratitude. We must honor our commitment to veterans by continuing to support their needs, including the needs of veterans who are living with early-stage dementia. The State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act would require VA to implement a waiver authority, allowing the VA to grant domiciliary care per diem payments for veterans who meet at least half of the VA's current eligibility requirements and if such a waiver would be in that veterans' best interest. This will provide the flexibility to ensure this vulnerable group of veterans do not fall through the cracks and that VA can help address the growing needs for assistance for these patients. Mr. President, this legislation has the support of Melissa Jackson, the president of the National Association of State Veterans Homes, as well as Kelley Kash, CEO of Maine Veterans' Homes, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in honoring and supporting some of our Nation's most vulnerable veterans by supporting its passage.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act. This bill would address a current gap in care for veterans in Maine living with early- stage dementia. Specifically, it would ensure that the VA can waive certain eligibility requirements to allow veterans with early-stage dementia to be cared for in State veterans' homes when it is in the best interest of the veteran. In Maine, we lead the way in caring for our veterans. For more than 40 years, Maine Veterans' Homes has been a vital part of our State's commitment to our heroes. My father, Donald Collins, a decorated World War II veteran, was cared for by the Veterans' Home in Caribou at the end of his life, so I know firsthand the compassion and care that Maine Veterans' Homes provide. In the land of the free, Maine Veterans' Homes help ensure that there will always be a home for the brave when they need care. As chairman of the Senate Aging Committee and representing the oldest State by median age in the country, I have championed policies to help individuals living with dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as America's hidden heroes--our military and veteran caregivers. I cofounded the Senate Alzheimer's Task Force in recognition of the devastating impact that disease has on individuals and families. Our Nation owes America's veterans our deepest gratitude. We must honor our commitment to veterans by continuing to support their needs, including the needs of veterans who are living with early-stage dementia. The State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act would require VA to implement a waiver authority, allowing the VA to grant domiciliary care per diem payments for veterans who meet at least half of the VA's current eligibility requirements and if such a waiver would be in that veterans' best interest. This will provide the flexibility to ensure this vulnerable group of veterans do not fall through the cracks and that VA can help address the growing needs for assistance for these patients. Mr. President, this legislation has the support of Melissa Jackson, the president of the National Association of State Veterans Homes, as well as Kelley Kash, CEO of Maine Veterans' Homes, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in honoring and supporting some of our Nation's most vulnerable veterans by supporting its passage.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I have listened to the presentations of my two colleagues, Senator Cassidy and Senator Menendez, and I could not agree with them more. We have an opportunity to solve a problem that is affecting each and every community in our country. With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to devastate our public health and our economy, towns and cities across our country are facing increasingly significant new challenges and plummeting revenues at the exact same time. I urge my colleagues to be problem-solvers, to address this crisis as part of the relief package that is now being negotiated. We cannot wait. I have joined with Senators Menendez and Cassidy and others in this Chamber in introducing the SMART Act. It would provide much needed financial assistance to State and local governments while providing safeguards to prevent wasteful spending. It is a lifeline to our communities, just as the Paycheck Protection Program has been a lifeline to our small businesses and their employees. The consequences of local government shortfalls are dire. Without our providing them relief, communities face having to lay off essential employees and reduced services at the worst possible time for working families. What is their alternative? They cannot raise taxes. That would be the worst thing for them to do. Municipalities are already scaling back their budgets, furloughing workers, and postponing needed purchases and projects. These cuts threaten the jobs of our police officers, our firefighters, our EMS personnel, our dispatchers, our sanitation crews, and our public works employees at the time when their services are vitally needed. They are the people who make our communities operate, who make them livable. We need them. We already know about the stresses our schools are undergoing. Do we really want school budgets to be cut and educators laid off at this important time? The CARES Act did provide $150 billion to our States and to very large communities, but those funds came with restrictions, and they did not require direct distributions to municipalities with populations under 500,000. There is not a single county in Maine, much less a city or town, that has a population of that level. The National Governors Association has called for $500 billion in assistance to aid our Nation's recovery. Organizations supporting our towns and our cities and our counties have all endorsed the SMART Act. Moody's Analytics warns that failing to act could shave 3 percentage points from real GDP, from our economic growth, and result in the loss of 4 million jobs. That is the worst thing to happen at this time. This week, the Maine Municipal Association released projections anticipating a combined $146 million in lost revenue from Maine cities and towns by the end of this year alone. We know that the revenues are going to take a while to recover and are going to affect next year as well. This builds on Maine's Revenue Forecasting Committee, which expects a $1.4 billion State budget shortfall from lost sales and income tax revenues over the next 3 years. As people are driving less, we are also seeing our gas tax revenues plummet. I have talked with town and city managers, with mayors and members of town councils, selectmen and -women, all across the State of Maine about the difficult decisions they are facing as they attempt to balance their budgets. These cuts are not theoretical. The harm is not just possible; it is occurring today. Let's look briefly at what some Maine communities are already having to do. The city of Westbrook has announced a hiring freeze affecting all city departments, including the police department. Well, that police department has five open positions that it needs to fill and cannot do so. Auburn, a city in Androscoggin County, has had to freeze six vacant positions because of expected revenue losses--again, vital positions: two firefighters, a police officer, and three public works employees. These cuts come as the city of Auburn has spent more than $200,000 in new expenses to respond to the virus. The town of Falmouth has eliminated four open positions, including a police officer, and can no longer go ahead with the purchase of a much needed new firetruck. The town of Windham has kept seven needed positions open. These are not large communities. This is a large number of positions. Five of these are public works positions, without which, how is the plowing going to be done this winter to keep the roads safe and clear? The town has also postponed $1.6 million in capital projects. That has a ripple effect on the local economy. It means the contractor is neither buying supplies nor hiring employees at this time. In northern Maine, in the northern Maine city of Madawaska, the town manager has shared with my office that the town has had to scrap a $3 million road-paving project and will have to keep at least three positions vacant. This is what they are doing already. It is only going to get worse for these towns and cities as revenues continue to plummet. Senator Menendez made a very important point that I want to reiterate, and that is, the way our bill is structured, every city, every town, regardless of size, will receive direct assistance. Every county will receive direct assistance. They will not be dependent on the largesse of the State. The money will go to them to meet these essential needs. It is common sense to provide the relief needed to avoid these widespread layoffs and cuts to essential services at the local level, where they often are most often needed. These are the public servants who keep our communities and our citizens safe. They are the public servants who keep our communities and our citizens healthy. They are the public servants who keep our communities and our citizens educated. They are the ones who are plowing our roads and repairing our bridges. They are the ones who make our towns, our cities, our neighborhoods livable. Congress must act to provide assistance to every community. This is a problem we can solve. Let's enact the SMART Act as part of the next coronavirus package.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, let me begin by thanking my two colleagues, Senator Moran and Senator Blumenthal, for their tremendous leadership on the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletics Act. I am very proud to be a cosponsor of their bill. This shows what the Senate can do when we work together to accomplish such a critical goal. I salute both of them. This bill takes effective action to end the negligent behavior by some members of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the amateur athletic organizations that oversee Olympic sports that have, on far too many occasions, failed to protect young athletes from truly horrific instances of abuse. Right after the Larry Nassar scandal broke, Senator Feinstein and I introduced the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Assault and Abuse Act. Members of the USA Gymnastics team gave powerful and compelling testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the abuses they had suffered and endured. We learned more about the horrific acts, the crimes committed by Larry Nassar against the members of the USA Gymnastics team. Our bill, which became law in 2018, required prompt reporting of every allegation of sexual abuse to the proper authorities, and it is helping survivors obtain justice and protect our young athletes. Senator Moran and Senator Blumenthal then launched an 18-month bipartisan investigation into the failures of the U.S. Olympic organization. They found that these governing bodies also failed to protect their athletes from acts of abuse committed by coaches and other powerful individuals within their organization. I am delighted that they have led the way and that Congress has continued to focus on this issue to protect the courageous young athletes across the country who have come forward to tell their horrific stories. This bill strengthens legal liability against the Olympic and amateur sports governing bodies for the sexual abuses perpetrated by coaches and employees, and it gives the athletes greater representation on these governing boards. It will also ensure that Congress conducts more systemic oversight. It will strengthen reporting mandates for adults with knowledge of abuse allegations. These young athletes who train to represent our country at the top levels of competition and, indeed, those at all levels of competition and those who aspire to compete should never have to fear victimization by trusted coaches and sports officials. I, too, commend the young athletes with whom Dianne Feinstein and I met and who have worked so closely with Senators Moran and Blumenthal for coming forward. These survivors have told their stories. We are now going to make a difference for them and for future athletes. I hope this legislation will be enacted and signed into law very soon. Thank you

Mrs. COLLINS

Mrs. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from Arizona, Senator Sinema, in introducing legislation to support the operation of a national child abuse hotline. Of all the major national help hotlines, the crisis line for child abuse and neglect, which is currently operated by a national nonprofit, is the only one without a federal authorization and dedicated federal funding. Our bill, the National Child Abuse Help Hotline Act of 2020, would give the Administration for Children and Families the authority to award a grant to a national nonprofit to support a hotline dedicated to the prevention and intervention of child abuse and neglect. The child abuse and neglect crisis happening across the United States has only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. On average, five children die every day from child abuse and neglect. According to the Department of Health and Human Services' Child Maltreatment Report, which was published in January 2020 and reflects 2018 figures, 678,000 children were victims of maltreatment in 2018 and a heartbreaking 1,770 children died--including three in Maine. These statistics reflect an unfortunate increase in both child fatalities and victims of maltreatment, and is the first increase for the number of victims who suffered maltreatment since 2015. Access to prevention and intervention services nationwide has only become more critical in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The current crisis threatens to severely exacerbate child abuse and neglect, and a number of experts predict that child abuse is currently being underreported. In Maine, when schools closed their doors on March 16 and stay-at-home orders went in place, calls to Maine Child and Family Services decreased immediately, falling 32 percent in the first month. Of note, only seven percent of calls were from school personnel, which is a dramatic drop from the 22 percent of teachers and other school staff--more than any other group--who call in typically to report abuse and neglect. With stay-at-home orders, school closures, and high unemployment, families are experiencing financial stress, isolation, and new anxieties at the very time when children have less exposure to mandatory reporters--such as teachers, physicians, and coaches--and safe environments where one may normally escape or seek help. In April, Dr. Larry Ricci, a child abuse pediatrician at Spurwink, located in Portland, Maine, said ``our sense is that not only is abuse still happening at the same rate it was happening before, in all likelihood it has increased.'' Dr. Ricci pointed out that ``We've known for many years that the abuse rate mirrors the unemployment rate.'' And as Michelle Fingerman, Vice President for Childhelp, a national nonprofit and the current operator of the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline located in Arizona, details: ``There is a wide range of fallout from pandemic anxiety and school shutdowns. There is more abuse already occurring in homes where caregivers are melting down from the stress, children are trapped at home with abusers, schools and daycare are closed, and therapists and other frontline providers are now more difficult to access.'' During a time when children are not going to school, day care, or family resource centers, and, therefore, traditional resources may not be as easily accessible, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is a resource that is accessible to children and families across the country. The hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD, saw call volume increase by 33 percent from February to May. Childhelp's text and online chat platform, which is supported by a $1 million ACF Innovation Grant that I have advocated for as a member of the Appropriations Committee, experienced a 66 percent increase in outreach since February. The helpline importantly serves a wide range of individuals in every single state--at-risk children, distressed parents seeking crisis intervention, and concerned individuals who suspect that child abuse may be occurring. In Maine, where one in every 71 children is a victim of abuse, the National Child Abuse Hotline assisted nearly 200 callers in fiscal year 2019. Those in need are connected--either on the phone or by text or online chat--with masters-level social workers who are there to offer confidential crisis intervention and information, literature, and referrals to emergency, social service, and support resources. The bill we are introducing today would provide a small but meaningful federal investment to protect children across the country-- authorizing $1 million annually for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to award a grant to a nonprofit entity to support a 24- hour, national, toll-free telephone hotline that will provide information and assistance to victims of child abuse or neglect, parents, caregivers, mandated reporters, and other concerned community members. This does not interfere with any state-mandated reporter hotlines and can be a resource for these individuals. In fact, the current operator has more than 80 community partners in just Maine alone. The helpline's dedication to the prevention and intervention of child abuse and neglect is both successful and well-documented, and more federal support for this resource will improve our ability to reach children of all ages, as well as parents or caregivers in need. During a time when these supports are needed more there an ever, I believe the existing infrastructure and experience of the National Child Abuse Hotline should be used. Even with just more outreach and communications, we could better support the needs of children and families during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and economic recovery. Action and investment now can help prevent the worst possible outcome-- letting children fall through the cracks during an already traumatizing crisis. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to put the welfare of our nation's children at the forefront of our national Covid-19 response and to support the adoption of this important legislation, which will benefit children and families in the age of Covid-19, as well as after this pandemic passes. Thank you, Mr. President.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, the Paycheck Protection Program of forgivable loans has been a lifeline to millions of our small businesses and their employees. According to a recent census survey, more than 76 percent of Maine's small businesses reported receiving a PPP loan. An estimated 240,000 Maine jobs have been supported by this critically important program, which has brought more than $2.2 billion to our State. Nationwide, more than 5 million small employers have received PPP loans. When Senators Rubio, Cardin, Shaheen, and I developed this program back in March, we had no idea how long economic closures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 would last. Many small businesses have made considerable investments in personal protective equipment and facility modifications to operate safely during the pandemic and yet are still only able to operate at a fraction of their previous capacity. In fact, I talked to an innkeeper in Maine just this morning who told me that in normal times, at this point in the summer, his inn would be nearly full every single night, but this July his business is down by 93 percent. The bill that Senator Rubio and I are introducing would allow the hardest hit small employers--those whose revenue has declined by 50 percent or even more--to receive a second PPP forgivable loan. And to ensure that we are targeting assistance to the employers that need help the most, we limit those second loans to small businesses with 300 or fewer employees. Our bill would also expand forgivable PPP expenses to include investments needed to protect both employees and customers, such as masks, plexiglass shields, and improved HVAC systems. This could include, for example, the expense of expanding outdoor seating, which is especially important to restaurants that are still under dining restrictions. We include a number of other important provisions, such as allowing seasonal businesses more flexibility in calculating their loan amounts and simplifying the loan forgiveness process for smaller borrowers. I hope that our proposal will help advance bipartisan negotiations to extend this vital program before August 8, when applications will no longer be accepted. There are so many small employers and their employees who have been kept afloat by the first PPP loan they received but need a second one to survive this persistent pandemic

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the Senate today with strong bipartisan support, and to highlight a number of its important provisions, as well as amendments that I have authored to support robust shipbuilding and to ensure the Navy is prepared for future pandemics. The NDAA represents one of Congress's most important responsibilities. For the past 59 consecutive years, Congress has come together in a bipartisan manner to craft this annual legislation. The NDAA authorizes funding to support our brave military members serving overseas, including a 3 percent pay raise for our troops in this year's bill, and sets policy for our Nation's military and critical national defense priorities. I commend Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed for their leadership and bipartisan work on this important legislation, which contains many provisions important to Maine and the Nation. Let me emphasize how proud I am of Maine's many contributions to our national defense. I am pleased that the NDAA includes authorization for two Arleigh- Burke destroyers, one of which will be built by the highly skilled men and women at Bath Iron Works. In Maine, we are very proud of the vital role that Bath Iron Works plays in contributing to our national security. BIW is known throughout the fleet for the high-quality of its ships, proving time and again that ``Bath Built is Best Built.'' To ensure we have the ships we need to provide for a strong national defense, the bill also contains an amendment I authored with Senator King as my cosponsor, which would prohibit the Navy from reducing the current 104-ship destroyer requirement unless the Secretary submits a formal certification and report to Congress justifying such a change. This process would require the Secretary of the Navy to certify that any proposed reductions in the number of ships would not jeopardize our national security and that the Navy would be able to mitigate any reduction in anti-air and ballistic missile defense capabilities if the number of DDG-51 destroyers were in fact reduced from current plans. My intention is to ensure that we continue to maintain a strong Navy capable of projecting power and maintaining presence anywhere across the globe. In January, when news began to leak that the Department's budget request would dramatically reduce procurement of DDG-51's in the 5-year budget plan, I sent a letter to Defense Secretary Esper expressing my strong objections. To date, the Navy has still not adequately justified such deep cuts in ship procurement, which would have devastating effects on our defense industrial base, including our private shipyards. This amendment and this bill will help to protect our shipbuilding industrial base, which will be essential to reach the goal of a 355-ship Navy. This bill also includes important provisions for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. The NDAA authorizes $160 million for the first phase of funding for PNSY's Multi-Mission Dry Dock No. 1 extension military construction project, which will be authorized and funded over 3 years due to its large size. This project will ensure our Nation's submarines stay well maintained and at sea for years to come. In addition, the NDAA contains provisions I championed along with Senator Shaheen, which will help our PNSY firefighters develop alternative work schedules and exempt public shipyard workers from DOD's government lodging program when it would adversely affect their mission. In further support of both our public and private shipyards, the bill also includes an amendment I authored that directs the Navy to report on its plans to prevent and mitigate the impacts of future pandemics, including at private and public shipyards, by focusing on the health and safety of the shipyard workers. Amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic, I led a number of bipartisan letters from the Maine delegation and spoke with the Secretary of the Navy to encourage the Department to do more to protect our shipyard workers' health and safety. My amendment continues that effort, and I again thank Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed for adopting it as part of their substitute amendment. This NDAA also makes continued investments in America's air power, authorizing 95 fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and seven CH-53K King Stallion helicopters. The workers at Pratt & Whitney's North Berwick factory are proud of their contributions in making the F- 35's top-of-line engine the best in the sky, and Hunting Dearborn in Fryberg has been making important contributions to both the F-35 and CH-53K programs for years. The NDAA also provides important authorizations for the Maine National Guard, including a provision ensuring that Maine Guard members who were activated to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic can receive transitional health benefits. The Maine National Guard has done a phenomenal job supporting our State during the health crisis, taking on tasks such as fit-testing healthcare workers for N95 masks, helping the Maine CDC inventory its supplies and deliver PPE and ventilators across the State, and setting up an external triage tent outside of the Togus VA Medical Center. This bill also provides authorization for an important perimeter security construction project at the Navy's detachment in Cutler, Maine, which will ensure the security of an important installation that allows Navy commanders to communicate with U.S. and NATO ships, planes, and submarines operating in the Atlantic. This project was the Navy's No. 1 unfunded military construction priority. There are so many other provisions of this bill that I am proud to support. Just to identify a few, the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2020, which I cosponsored, was incorporated into the bill and would authorize important security assistance, energy and agricultural cooperation, and provide other authorities to support our steadfast ally Israel. Another amendment I offered which was incorporated into the bill would require DOD to study its military requirements for negative air pressure room containment systems which are used to isolate patients with contagious illnesses, necessary equipment I believe is essential for DOD to successfully combat and contain future pandemics. The bill also authorizes the creation of a new Pacific Deterrence Initiative to provide increased security assistance and engagement throughout the Indo-Pacific region in response to an increasingly aggressive Chinese Communist Party. Enactment of this NDAA is vitally important for the security of our Nation, our servicemembers and their families. I look forward to the Senate's conference with the House and quickly sending the final fiscal year 2021 NDAA to the President's desk.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, first, let me recognize and thank Senator Grassley for his extraordinary leadership on an issue that matters so greatly to the American people, and that is the high cost of prescription drugs. His persistence has produced the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, a far-reaching set of bold proposals that I strongly endorse and that build on the work I have done as the chairman of the Senate Aging Committee. More than half of all Americans and 90 percent of our seniors take at least one prescription drug each month. We should be able to work together to help the American people--particularly our seniors--on an issue that affects their health and their finances. No senior should be faced with the choice of buying food they need, paying a bill for the oil to heat their home, or buying their prescription drug. I remember very well being in line at the pharmacy in Bangor, ME, and the couple in front of me found out that their copay was $113. The husband looked at his wife and he said: Honey, we just can't afford that. They left the prescription that one of them needed that was prescribed by their doctor there on the pharmacy counter. When I asked the pharmacist how often this happens, he said: Each and every day. Every day. That is why we should be working together to pass Senator Grassley's bill, as well as many of the other bipartisan bills that you have heard described today, including legislation that I have advocated to improve the lives of millions of Americans. This goal surely should be beyond partisan politics. In just the last year, three Senate committees advanced legislation to reform our flawed drug-pricing system. I can't think of anything else that we buy where the price is less transparent and is more opaque than prescription drugs. The Finance Committee's bill, the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, would make crucial improvements. As Senator Cassidy just ably explained, one of the most important improvements is to Medicare Part D. It would protect our seniors with an out-of-pocket spending limit. It would also include cost-control measures, such as an inflationary cap to limit price hikes. We have made some progress in this area. I have authored legislation that is making a difference for patients. One of the laws I authored bans gag clauses that had prohibited pharmacists from informing their customers if there were a less expensive way to purchase their prescription drug. Amazingly enough, sometimes it is cheaper to pay out-of-pocket than to use your insurance card--not something that most consumers would ever realize unless the pharmacist informed him or her. My bill also updates a 2003 law requiring drug manufacturers to notify the Federal Trade Commission of patent settlement agreements, giving the agency greater visibility into whether they include tactics such as anti-competitive reverse payments that slow or defeat the introduction of lower cost drugs. Another law I authored is helping to bring lower cost generics to the marketplace more quickly by expediting their approval by the FDA. But clearly there is more that we must do. At a time when economic and health security are more linked than ever, Congress has an opportunity to deliver a decisive victory in lowering costs for patients. In addition to the Finance Committee package, the HELP Committee bill--I serve on the HELP Committee, which is chaired by Senator Alexander--incorporated more than 14 bipartisan measures to increase price competition, including portions of a bill that I introduced with Senator Tim Kaine, the Biologic Patent Transparency Act, which is intended to prevent drug manufacturers from gaming the patent system. Patents are important to encourage the development of earth-breaking, groundbreaking new pharmaceuticals, but the system should not be gamed so that when the patent is about to expire, a host of new patents are filed on the medication in order to block a lower cost generic from coming to market. In October, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review published its first annual report on unjustified price increases of prescription drugs in our country. It should surprise no one that HUMIRA, the poster child for patent gaming, led the list. HUMIRA's price increased by nearly 16 percent from 2017 to 2018, costing American patients and insureds an extra $1.86 billion. Why do we want to wait any longer, and how did HUMIRA do it? It once again put up this patent thicket--its manufacturer did--in order to block the lower price biosimilar. The Judiciary Committee has advanced bills that empower the Federal Trade Commission to take more aggressive action on drug pricing. This year, the FTC charged the infamous Martin Shkreli with a scheme to increase the price of the lifesaving drug Daraprim by more than 4,000 percent overnight, which was the focus of an Aging Committee investigation that I led with former Senator Claire McCaskill in 2016. Floor consideration should also allow for action on other important prescription drug bills, such as legislation that Senator Jeanne Shaheen and I have authored to eliminate incentives that create price hikes, distorting the insulin market. Insulin has been around for 100 years. I realize there is fast-acting and slow-acting insulin, but there is no excuse for the skyrocketing price of insulin. There is another bill that I cosponsored, introduced by Senators Klobuchar and Grassley, that would end pay-for-delay schemes. We must come together on prescription drug legislation without further delay. Three committees have produced strong bipartisan bills, and we should proceed to act and pass this legislation.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill with my colleague, Senator Smith that will help the hardworking loggers across this Nation whose operations have suffered serious losses directly due to the pandemic. In Maine alone, logging has a roughly $650 million annual economic impact, and is the backbone of the forest products economy. The industry is made up of countless multi-generational family businesses, whose survival is being seriously threatened. In Maine and in many places across the Country, the logging industry first felt the effects of COVID-19 in January as exports to foreign markets were significantly limited if not eliminated entirely. Declines in demand for paper products and other wood fiber based products caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted shutdowns, slowdowns, and closures across the globe. As a result, Maine has seen declining demand for wood from mills across the board, and low prices and quotas driven by that lack of demand. And while timber prices have remained relatively stable, mills have drastically reduced their processing capacity--resulting in a ripple effect that has hit loggers and timber hauling companies hard. The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine projects at least a 20 percent reduction in the annual harvest, which would threaten more than 600 jobs and represent the potential loss of $86 million in economic activity in my State. The explosion of a pulp digester earlier this year at a mill in Jay, coupled with the recent shutdown of a paper machine at another mill in Westbrook, have compounded the harm imposed by the pandemic. Although the industry is certainly not alone in its struggles during this time, it faces unique challenges, including high capital costs relative to payroll and the fact that payroll costs do not reflect the amounts paid to independent contractors. And unlike some of our farmers who have been able to access direct payments from USDA and our fishermen who were allocated relief funding in the CARES Act, our forestry professionals have not been provided targeted assistance. The legislation we are introducing today would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to loggers and timber hauling businesses that have experienced at least a 10 percent loss in revenues from January 2020 through July 2020 as compared to the same timeframe last year. The amount would be equal to 10 percent of 2019 gross revenues and could only be used for operating expenses, including payroll. I am grateful for the American Logging Council's support of our legislation, and urge my colleagues to join in this effort to support one of our country's core economic drivers. Loggers and forestry industry professionals were rightfully deemed essential workers during this public health crisis, and we must ensure that they receive the support necessary to emerge from this downturn.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill with my colleague, Senator Smith that will help the hardworking loggers across this Nation whose operations have suffered serious losses directly due to the pandemic. In Maine alone, logging has a roughly $650 million annual economic impact, and is the backbone of the forest products economy. The industry is made up of countless multi-generational family businesses, whose survival is being seriously threatened. In Maine and in many places across the Country, the logging industry first felt the effects of COVID-19 in January as exports to foreign markets were significantly limited if not eliminated entirely. Declines in demand for paper products and other wood fiber based products caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted shutdowns, slowdowns, and closures across the globe. As a result, Maine has seen declining demand for wood from mills across the board, and low prices and quotas driven by that lack of demand. And while timber prices have remained relatively stable, mills have drastically reduced their processing capacity--resulting in a ripple effect that has hit loggers and timber hauling companies hard. The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine projects at least a 20 percent reduction in the annual harvest, which would threaten more than 600 jobs and represent the potential loss of $86 million in economic activity in my State. The explosion of a pulp digester earlier this year at a mill in Jay, coupled with the recent shutdown of a paper machine at another mill in Westbrook, have compounded the harm imposed by the pandemic. Although the industry is certainly not alone in its struggles during this time, it faces unique challenges, including high capital costs relative to payroll and the fact that payroll costs do not reflect the amounts paid to independent contractors. And unlike some of our farmers who have been able to access direct payments from USDA and our fishermen who were allocated relief funding in the CARES Act, our forestry professionals have not been provided targeted assistance. The legislation we are introducing today would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to loggers and timber hauling businesses that have experienced at least a 10 percent loss in revenues from January 2020 through July 2020 as compared to the same timeframe last year. The amount would be equal to 10 percent of 2019 gross revenues and could only be used for operating expenses, including payroll. I am grateful for the American Logging Council's support of our legislation, and urge my colleagues to join in this effort to support one of our country's core economic drivers. Loggers and forestry industry professionals were rightfully deemed essential workers during this public health crisis, and we must ensure that they receive the support necessary to emerge from this downturn.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I see there are colleagues and friends on the floor waiting to speak, and I just want to assure them that I will be very rapid. (The remarks of Ms. COLLINS pertaining to the introduction of S. 4155 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.''