Richard Durbin

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown) and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, as we begin the Congress and prepare to welcome President Biden and Vice President Harris, I find myself thinking of the words of the 13th century Persian poet, Rumi. He wrote, ``Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.'' For the moment that we are living through, I would edit his words slightly. I would say: Out beyond the ideas of right versus left, out beyond the rigid confines of our current polarized politics, there is a field of common good and common purpose. I hope we will all find the courage to meet there, to work together in this place. At another moment of dangerous division in America, Abraham Lincoln prayed that the ``better angels of our nature'' would help us to rediscover our common bond and pull back from the brink of a civil war. Today, the Union, preserved through that war, is battered and divided. For the first time since the Civil War, thousands of Federal troops stand guard at our Nation's Capitol to protect it from attack by American citizens. Carpenters and other crafts people are still hard at work repairing the doors and windows and furniture smashed to bits less than 2 weeks ago by the insurrectionist mob. We must be better than this or we risk losing our democracy. I believe that beyond the killing field of weaponized politics, there is still a field of shared dreams, which brings me to a specific reason I take the floor of the Senate today. I come to thank a remarkable woman who has devoted countless hours over many years trying to help the Members of this Senate, Democrats and Republicans, find that field on which we can work together. Reema Dodin has been a member of my staff for more than 14 years. She started as a law school intern in my Chicago office, and over the years, she rose through the ranks: legislative assistant; research director; Judiciary Committee staff member; floor counsel; and finally my deputy chief of staff. For years, my person on the Senate floor has been this woman, this amazing woman. I am grateful for her service to the Senate and her service to the people of Illinois and to our Nation. But tomorrow Reema begins a new challenge as Deputy Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. This daughter of immigrants will make history as the highest ranking Palestinian-American woman ever to work in the executive branch of the President of the United States. As the liaison to the U.S. Senate, she will continue to help the Senate search for common ground on which to build a better future; only now she will be doing it from a different office, with a much better boss. I know that she will be a tremendous asset to President Biden and the Nation. In these divided times, it is rare to find a public servant like Reema, whose excellence and integrity is so widely admired on both sides of the aisle. No one understands better than Reema--well, perhaps two people in the Chamber might understand better--how this Senate works but only two. As the saying goes, she wrote the book on it, coauthoring an insightful tome entitled ``Inside Congress: A Guide for Navigating the Politics of the House and Senate Floors,'' published in 2017 by the Brookings Institution. It came this close to being a New York Times bestseller. But maybe still, with this speech today, it will reinvigorate sales. As floor director for the Senate Democrats, Reema has worked closely with staff and Members on both sides of the aisle to whip bills and overcome hurdles. No matter how long or pitched the debate, she has always remained friendly, decent, optimistic, and dedicated. It was not unusual to find her still at her desk at midnight or 2 in the morning, sending her final whip alert or email of the day to Senate staffers summarizing the day's activities and the next day's Senate agenda. Reema acquired her political and diplomatic acumen through hard work and partly, it seems, through genetics. Her grandfather served as Social Affairs Minister for the Kingdom of Jordan under King Hussein and was involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in the 1970s. As I mentioned, Reema, like so many Americans, including myself, is a child of immigrants. Her parents both came to the United States as college students from Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. Reema was born in North Carolina and grew up in Orange County, CA. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, earned her law degree from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and we made her an honorary daughter of the land of Lincoln. She also is a Truman National Security fellow; a New Leaders Council fellow; an Aspen Socrates alumnus; a former term-member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a member of the Jenkins Hill Society, a consortium of women in politics supporting women politicians. Reema loves the Senate, and she loves the challenge of this great Chamber. She loves to give tours in this Chamber to those who want to know the procedure and the history of this beautiful room in American history and the Capitol of our Nation. She cares about the people who protect and preserve this building, including the maintenance people, cafeteria workers, and everyone who works here. Even after so many years of climbing the marble staircase from the Senate floor to my office, she and I remain in awe of those time-worn steps, the colorful Minton tiles that brighten the Senate floors, and the majestic Brumidi frescos that adorn the walls. During the recent siege of the Capitol, Reema worried for the safety of Senators and their staff, police officers, and troops who were defending this building, but she also worried about the priceless paintings, statues, and other historical treasures that had been passed down from one generation to the next as part of our national legacy. Most of all, I know that Reema reveres the Senate as the place where men and women representing all of the people and all of the competing interests of the United States can reason and work together for the common good of our Nation. In her personal inscription to her book on the Senate, Reema thanked me for taking a chance on folks with only dreams and no connections. Well, Reema, tomorrow when you join the staff of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, you will have the best connections in Washington, and I know that you will use whatever opportunity presents itself on this new assignment to bridge the gaps in America and bring together the people of this country in a better, more caring nation. I will forever be grateful for your many years of brilliant, loyal service, and I wish you the best. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, before I make my prepared remarks, I would like to note the fact that this is the first time that I am returning to the floor of the Senate since the events of January 6. It was in the early morning hours of January 7 that we concluded our business and left this Chamber to return to our homes for the interim period. We left, knowing that something terrible had happened in this building on January 6, but we didn't know the extent of it. As Members of the Senate, we were largely protected from this terrorist insurrection, which took place in this building. It was about 2:15 p.m. on that afternoon of January 6, when Vice President Pence was presiding over the Senate and most of us were in our seats, that there was a commotion at the Chair and the Secret Service came in and literally pulled the Vice President away from that podium and took him out the door. We weren't sure what was happening. It all unfolded quickly. There was an effort to make a quorum call to determine which Senators were on the floor. It was interrupted when a representative of the Capitol Police stood where the Presiding Officer is now seated and instructed us to stay in this room, in this Chamber, in the Senate, in our chairs. The staff people and surrounding offices were going to line the walls. This was going to be a safe place of refuge for whatever was going on. I remember that moment particularly because something happened, which is etched in my memory. Two plain clothes officers came down into the well of the Senate and stood there, just a few feet from where I am standing. One of them had an automatic weapon around his neck. I couldn't imagine what was going on, where, in the U.S. Senate Chamber, it was necessary to have that kind of firepower. He stayed there for a few minutes, and then we were told to leave and leave quickly. We filed out the doors and down the steps and walked across through the tunnel to the Hart building, where Members of the Senate were safely protected. That is one of the reasons I wanted to say a word this afternoon and this morning. The Capitol Police, throughout this, were heroic. They were overwhelmed by this massive insurrectionist mob. The Capitol Police, as well as the others who joined them--the DC Metropolitan Police and other law enforcement agencies, which I don't know the names of as I stand here--I want to thank them all for literally risking their lives for me, for Members of the Senate, for our staff, and visitors. It wasn't until the next day that we learned--that many of us learned--that a Capitol policeman had been killed--killed by this mob. My heart goes out to him and his family. I thank him and all of his colleagues, men and women, who each day get up in the morning, put on their uniforms, and come to this building to protect me and protect the other Members of the Senate and the House and all of the staff who work here. We will never be able to repay them in any words for what they sacrificed and risked on January 6, but let us never, never demean what happened that day. It was a terrorist attack--homegrown American terrorist attack. I know we are going to spend some time discussing who provoked that attack. The Republican majority leader laid the blame, as he should have, at the feet of the President, who invited this group to Washington and then urged them to come march on Capitol Hill. I know we will go into this matter with more detail at a later point. But the fact of the matter is, we endured a great travesty and a great violation of our Republic on that day. To think that in this building--this building that we value so much--so many people came in hell-bent on death and kidnapping and destroying this great Chamber and the building around it. It is inconceivable that this happened in America, and we have to come to grips with it in honest, truthful terms and not say: Oh, that was yesterday's newspaper, and we have to move on. But there is good news--good news in light of the bad news that I have just recounted. The good news is that by this time tomorrow, we will have a new President and a new Vice President of the United States.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Vice President, in March of 1861, a Springfield lawyer caught a train to Washington. His name was Abraham Lincoln. It wasn't his first trip there. He served as Congressman 15 years before and returned in the beginning of the Civil War to serve as President. It was a different place than he knew as a Congressman. In 15 years, it had changed a lot. The Sprigg's boarding house across the street, which is now the Library of Congress, was gone. And this building was changing--big changes. They were building a dome on the Capitol. But they were also in the earliest days of war, and President Lincoln was counseled: Stop building the dome. It costs too much money. We can't spend any more time on it. And he said: No. We are going to build that dome, and we are going to finish it. That dome and this building will be a symbol of this country that will survive this Civil War and come back strong. So they built the dome. They won the war. And since those days, that dome and this building have been a symbol to this country, a symbol of unity and of hope. Tours come through here--before COVID-19--by the tens of thousands. If you have ever noticed their tours, they are often shushed. People are saying: Show some respect for this building. We know this building and the Rotunda as a place where some of the greatest American heroes of both political parties lie in state, and we go there to honor them. We know this building because we work here. We enact laws here that change America. We gather for State of the Union messages from Presidents and honor the people in the gallery. This is a special place. This is a sacred place. But this sacred place was desecrated by a mob today, on our watch. This temple to democracy was defiled by thugs who roamed the halls and sat in that chair, Mr. Vice President, the one that you vacated at 2:15 this afternoon--sat and posed for pictures, those who were roaming around in this Chamber. What brought this on? Did this mob spring spontaneously from America? No. This mob was invited to come to Washington on this day, by this President, for one reason: because he knew the electoral college vote was going to be counted this day. He wanted this mob to disrupt the constitutional process which we are part of. This mob was inspired by a President who cannot accept defeat. If you wonder whether I am going too far in what I say, just read the transcript with the secretary of state from Georgia and listen to this President's wild conspiracy theories, one after the other, swatted down by that Republican-elected official and his attorney as having no basis in fact. This President begs, he coaxes, he even threatens that secretary of state to find the votes he needs. In any other venue, that would be a simple, obvious crime. The lengths he will go to are obvious. The Texas Senator says to us: Well, many people still agree with him, you know, when it gets down to the bottom line. Many people have fallen for this Presidential position that it must have been a rigged election if I lost. Well, I would say that after--we have lost count--57 lawsuits, 62 lawsuits--I have heard so many different numbers--after 90 different judges; after this President took his case, the best he could put together, to the highest Court in the land across the street, where he had personally chosen three Justices on the Supreme Court--and I say to the Senator from Texas that he knows much more about that Court than I do--I don't believe they let that paper that he sent up there even hit the desk before they laughed it out of the Court. And that is the best he had to offer--no evidence whatsoever of this rigged election and this fraudulence. The Senator from Texas says: We just want to create a little commission, 10 days; we are going to audit all of the States-- particularly the ones in contention here--and find out what actually occurred. And it really draws its parallel to 1876, to Hayes and Tilden. Don't forget what that commission--that so-called political compromise-- achieved. It was not just some ordinary governmental commission. It was a commission that killed reconstruction, that established Jim Crow, that--even after a civil war, which tore this Nation apart, it re- enslaved African-Americans, and it was a commission that invited voter suppression we are still fighting today in America. Let me close by saying this. The vote we are going to have here is a clear choice of whether we are going to feed the beast of ignorance or we are going to tell the truth to the American people. We saw that beast today roaming the halls. Let's not invite it back.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Would the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. DURBIN. I would like to ask a question of the Senator from Vermont through the Chair. I have listened to the Republican analysis of the bill, which you and Senator Schumer are asking for a vote on. It is a bill which passed the House and would give $2,000, basically, in allotments or payments to families across America, with certain income restrictions. And I have heard from the other side of the aisle, repeatedly, that this is socialism for the rich, that this is fundamentally unfair, and that we should do things in a targeted way. That is the argument that is made over and over again. And reference has been made repeatedly to the COVID-19 bill that passed last week with 92 votes, including many of the Republicans-- virtually all of them. Not all of them but virtually all of them. And so that bill, if I remember correctly, had a $600 payment included in the bill, and I asked my staff: Would you please analyze the formula for distributing the $600 and compare to it the formula for the $2,000, which is part of our bill. And lo and behold, they discovered it is the same formula. So if there is some fundamental, moral injustice in the distribution of these funds, then I am afraid all but six of the Republicans are guilty of the same immorality because they all voted for that formula last week when it was $600 and now are scandalized by the notion that the same formula they voted for would be used for a $2,000 payment. I am sure I have missed something in the translation here. I would like to ask the Senator from Vermont to explain this faux outrage from the Republican side of the aisle.

Mr. DURBIN. If the question is directed toward me, I will answer it.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Jones) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Jones) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I would like to for a moment just reflect on where we are at this session of the U.S. Senate and the choices that have been made. I want to thank Senator Sanders and Senator Schumer for bringing this, with clarity, to the floor of the Senate. We support $2,000 as a helping hand to people across the United States. There is a limitation on the amount that individuals receive if they make more than $75,000 or if their family makes more than $150,000, but we are following the template that has been employed both with the CARES Act and with our own COVID relief act of just a few days ago. We have been told by the Department of the Treasury that if you want to put money into the hands of Americans who desperately need it, this is the best way to do it, the quickest way to do it. There are better ways, I am sure, but in a time of crisis, we need to respond and respond in a timely way. So Senator Sanders and Senator Schumer have brought to the floor for consideration, we hope, a bill that has already passed the House of Representatives. The significance of this is that the House is now in recess and not scheduled to return in this congressional session. So whatever happens over here cannot be a new bill--there is no House to send it to and no time to pass it--but, rather, has to be an up-or-down vote on a bill that has passed the House as is. That is what they have come to the floor now for 3 straight days asking. Senator Schumer has asked repeatedly of Senator McConnell, the Republican leader, a simple request: Whether you are for the House bill or against the House bill, allow the Senate to be the Senate. Allow us to vote on the bill--for those of us who support it, to vote on it. It isn't a lock; it isn't guaranteed that we are going to win and prevail with that vote. There are 48 Democratic Senators, and you need 60 votes. We need help from the other side. Four or five Republican Senators say they support it as well, but we don't know if we have the 12, if all of our Members can be here. In this era of COVID-19, sadly, even some of our Senators have illnesses in the family, which may make it impossible for them to be here. So there is no guarantee we win, but there will be a guarantee that we are recorded and our positions are known to the voters across America. That is a simple request. Yet, time and again, the Republican leader, Senator McConnell, has said no. I am worried about what is happening to this institution, not just in this instance but with what we have seen over the past several years. We will conclude this calendar year having voted on the floor of this U.S. Senate 29 times on amendments--29 in the course of a year in what is supposedly the world's greatest deliberative body. I guess I shouldn't complain--it is a 30-percent increase over last year, when we voted on 22 amendments in the entire calendar year. The Senate is out of business and out to lunch when it comes to legislating, and that is a fact. All we are asking for is the chance to legislate a $2,000 helping hand to families across America. I have heard over and over again that we are just trying to featherbed the rich, that we are trying to give big checks to rich people. Well, Senator Sanders made a point on that earlier. Less than 1 percent of the money we are asking for is going to go to the top 5 percent. When it came time for tax policy and tax breaks, many of the people complaining the loudest about $2,000 were giving away millions of dollars to the richest people in America without any hesitation. Well, today is another day, and today is a different America. Today, we are facing a country that is in the depths of the crisis created by COVID- 19. The numbers coming back to us every night on the news are heartbreaking numbers. I understand--and most of us do--that those wonderful women and men who are in the healthcare business usually are very stoic and calm in reporting the reality of their lives. Not so anymore. More and more doctors and nurses are breaking down on television as they describe the scenes in emergency rooms across this country. They describe the reality of telling families that they cannot be by the bedside of one of their loved ones who is about to die, and they break down in tears and tell us they don't know how much more of this they can take. That is the reality of America. It is not an America of vastly rich people sitting by the swimming pool hoping Congress sends them more money; it is an America of those patients and their families and the people who are out of work and the business men and women who have lost everything, who need a hand from this government. If there is one thing about America, I hope it is clear, no matter what your political persuasion, we are a caring people. If a hurricane hits Florida, I care about it. If a tornado hits the State of Nebraska, I care about it. And we come together on a bipartisan basis to help those families. Now more than ever, those families need us to do something significant in their lives. How can you see the scenes on television every night of the parade of cars lined up in Texas, in Kentucky, in Illinois, hoping they can get some food to give to their families? Are those grifters and chiselers who are just trying to get a free meal? I don't think so. Would you sit in your car for an hour or two for food unless you really needed it? I think those people really need it. Many of them are heartbroken that they are in this situation. Some are even embarrassed--and they shouldn't be--that they have been the victims of this economy. So all we are asking, Senator McConnell, is, give us a chance to vote. You can vote no if you wish. Give us a chance to vote for the $2,000 that can make a difference in a person's life; $4,000 for a husband and wife who are struggling to get by--rent checks, mortgage payments, car payments, utility bills, things that really are basic to families' survival. We are trying to help, and I think we should be given that chance. We have tried time and again. We have the support of President Trump in this effort, and I am glad to have it. I think we have enough support in this Chamber to come up with 60 votes. I pray that we will, if we are given that chance, and I hope the Senate Republican leader is not afraid of that outcome. He shouldn't be. He has two of his incumbent Republican Senators in a runoff election who have both publicly said they want to vote for this, and yet he stops them. He is the one who has put an end to their opportunity. Why? Shouldn't he give them the opportunity to vote yes? He even refuses, in this situation, with this looming election, to bring this matter to the floor for an honest up-or-down, bipartisan vote. I listened to the stories that were told by Senator Sanders and others about the plight of people in this country and how much they count on us and, frankly, how many of them have given up on us. They just don't believe the Congress of the United States is in touch with the reality of America. If we are in touch with the reality in our home States, in our home towns, we should do something--something significant--to end this year on the right note. I plead with the Republican leader, who has the power. The sole Member of Congress of 100 Members--he has the power to bring this matter to a vote and to do it immediately, within the hour. We could call the Members who returned to Washington yesterday together, take a vote soon, in a matter of minutes, and know once and for all whether we have the 60 votes that are necessary to pass this measure. Then we can pass the override of the President's veto of the Defense authorization bill--a critical piece of legislation. That would be the right way to end this year. Let us not end it in suspense as to whether or not we are going to come to the aid and assistance of American families who rely on us time and again to be there when America needs a helping hand. Let's do our job. Let's fill this Chamber with Senators who will actually vote on an issue that makes a difference in the lives of Americans. That is what we were elected to do. We have no excuse if we fail. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I would say in response to my colleague, I know his passionate defense of the notion for immunity from liability for corporations in America. He has introduced a lengthy bill on the subject. I don't believe that is consistent with keeping this Nation safe during a pandemic, and it certainly is not responsive to any onslaught of lawsuits. The Senator might be interested to know that the number of medical malpractice cases filed in the name of COVID-19 since the onset of this current pandemic is slightly higher than the total number of lawsuits filed by Donald Trump in protesting the results of the November 3 election. This is not a tsunami of lawsuits. I believe we can take reasonable measures to support and defend those corporations and companies that are making a good-faith effort to comply with public health standards and protect their employees and customers. His bill, I am afraid, goes way too far

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I listened carefully and watched three occasions on the floor this afternoon where Senators Schumer, Sanders, and Markey have tried to create an opportunity where the Senate would actually come together and vote, where the Senate might make a decision based on the merits of this issue, rather than to keep talking around the issue. What is at stake is a substantial sum of money for families who are in the midst of the struggle of their lives--$2,000--characterized a few moments ago by my friend from Texas as ``Speaker Pelosi's idea.'' Well, I might remind him that it is also Donald Trump's idea and still is. The President has told us this morning that we should move on this as quickly as possible, and although I don't often come to the floor to agree with the President, he is right. In this instance he is clearly right. What are we doing now? We are calling Senators back to Washington from the far reaches across the United States. This morning, I received some email and text messages from some of my colleagues hopping on airplanes at 6 a.m. on the west coast to face a vote. What is this vote all about? Well, first, it is to override the veto of the President when it comes to the Defense authorization bill. This was certainly something that was occasioned by one Senator, the junior Senator from Kentucky, who forced us into a position where that vote needed to be taken here. It could have been handled much more efficiently and to the benefit of all Members if it was scheduled for the weekend when we were assuming a new session of Congress. But he insisted, and we are returning and, frankly, putting in peril again, in the midst of a pandemic, Members of the Senate who are traveling from all the far reaches of this country to be part of this action in Washington But it isn't just the junior Senator from Kentucky who is having us sit here in Washington and wait for things that could be taken care of with dispatch. It is the senior Senator from Kentucky as well. He has decided that we will not get a vote on the House measure to increase the payments to $2,000. Make no mistake, there is only one way to bring this relief to the families of America. It is to pass the bill already enacted by the House of Representatives--a bill which received 44 Republican votes in addition to a substantial number of Democrats, with only 2 voting no. Forty-four Republican votes joined with the Democrats to call for this measure which many have been decrying on the floor here as a class struggle or whatever their argument might be. There is no other measure, including Senator McConnell's alternative, which has any ghost of a chance to help the families in this country with this $2,000 benefit. The only thing that will do it--the only one thing that will do it--is this bill that has already passed the House of Representatives. The House has recessed. When they are going to return is uncertain. They certainly don't have the time to work through the regular order of business to consider any new legislation even if we could send it in time, which I believe is very doubtful. So it is up to Senator McConnell to decide right here and now, are we going to come together as a Senate this afternoon at 5 o'clock, when we are supposed to be back and voting, and get this matter done? Bring it to the Senate for a vote. Let's have this vote up or down, and let the Democrats and Republicans express their will on behalf of the families in this country. I couldn't agree more with the Senator from Massachusetts and his characterization of what families face across this country and, certainly, in my home State of Illinois. I just wonder if any of the Republican Senators who are downplaying this economic crisis facing these families have really looked into the issue. This morning, in the Senator's home State of Texas, they showed an early morning television show and the cars that were lining up for food banks--long lines of people waiting for food banks. They interviewed some of them in Texas who told heartbreaking stories of how they once were volunteers at this same food bank and are now dependent for a helping hand if they were going to be able to feed their families. These are people who are not lazy at all. Misfortune has come their way, and the question is, Will we help? This is our opportunity--today. It is a measure that has passed the House of Representatives, not some theory of some legislation that might be considered tomorrow--today. Let's have this vote today, this evening. When the Senators have returned, let's determine whether or not this House-passed measure of $2,000 is going to be enacted into law, since the President is clearly anxious to sign it. That to me is the reasonable thing to do. In fact, it might even sound like the U.S. Senate is taking a vote on a timely issue after a debate. We do it so seldom around here that I think we have lost our muscle memory when it comes to this activity in the Senate. It is time to return to it. I thank the Senator from Vermont, the Senator from Massachusetts, and, of course, the Democratic leader for bringing this issue before us this afternoon. But it shouldn't end with our great speeches. It ought to end with an important vote for the people of this country.

Mr. DURBIN. I am happy to yield.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I yield for a question through the Chair. I have listened to the figures used on the floor about families who would qualify for the $2,000. It is my understanding that an individual with an income of $75,000 or less could qualify for the $2,000 payment, and for a joint return--husband and wife--$2,000 could be given to them if their income is under $150,000. Is that your understanding?

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, as we work to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not forget our Nation's epidemic of gun violence that kills over 100 Americans every day. Even during the holiday season, the deadly toll of shootings has continued. On the day after Christmas, a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley restaurant in Rockford, IL, killing three and wounding three more. Mayor Tom McNamara has shown real leadership in this crisis. I ask unanimous consent that his statement be printed in the Record following my remarks. Thomas Furseth, Dennis Steinhoff, and Jerome Woodfork were murdered in that shooting. Among the wounded victims were a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. We mourn the lives we lost and pray for all the victims and their families. We also give thanks to the first responders who so often rush toward the sound of gunfire so they can save as many lives as they can. In this case, officers from the Rockford Police Department arrived at the scene within 1 minute of the 911 calls and took the shooter into custody. Their conduct may sound routine to some, but make no mistake, their lives were at risk, and their courage was exceptional. We should never take the valor of so many in law enforcement for granted. In the city of Chicago, at least 30 people were shot, 8 fatally, during the Christmas weekend. The victims included a 57-year-old man who was killed while driving in his car, a young man killed while standing in a park at 9 in the morning, and a 24-year-old woman killed while sitting in a parked car. We mourn these victims and pray for their families and for the wounded. But we must also dedicate ourselves to reducing these deadly shootings and to making our streets, our schools, and our neighborhoods safer. This is a national problem. According to the Gun Violence Archive, on Christmas Day and the day after, there were six mass shootings across the country, defined as an incident where at least four people were shot. There have been 23 such shootings so far in December. Has this wanton, deadly violence become so routine that we are numb to it until it touches our homes and our families? We must do better. Have we become so indifferent to gun violence in America that Senators in the highest legislative body in our land refuse to try to make our Nation safer? We must work for reforms like universal background checks and cracking down on illicit gun trafficking. And we must work to support children and families who have faced violent trauma and to address disparities in healthcare and economic opportunity that contribute to increased violence. Too many funerals, too many tears, too many lives lost to the scourge of gun violence. We must do better.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Jones) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is an unusual sight of a Senator in the Capitol between Christmas and New Year's. This is the one time we really try to reserve for our personal and family responsibilities. Our families, like others, look forward to the Christmas season. It is the one time of the year we desperately try to find ways to come together. Of course, COVID-19 intervened and made that more challenging. But, even so, the notion of coming back to Washington this week and staying, perhaps, more than a day to try to finish our work is unusual, and the circumstances surrounding it are extraordinary, as well, not the least of which is the fact that we have two bills that have to be thought of in the context of our responsibilities. First and foremost is the National Defense Authorization Act. This month, both the House and the Senate passed, with overwhelming bipartisan majorities, the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma, a Republican, was on the floor before me. He and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island put in more time than most Members can appreciate to make sure that this bill really served our military and the goal of national security. They came up with a good bill, one I was proud to support it. This annual legislation has been signed into law for six consecutive decades. When the Senate fails to do anything, they always do the National Defense Authorization Act. It shows Congress can come together, at least on this measure, when it comes to supporting our men and women in uniform and keeping our country safe. This year, the bill authorized $740.5 billion in defense spending. It provides another 3 percent, well-deserved, pay raise for our troops. It also recognizes that many in the Armed Forces are on the frontlines here at home, as well, helping fight the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, providing our troops with necessary benefits and protections, including a 10-percent increase in hazardous duty pay. The bill also includes a number of provisions that I authored and supported, including language expressing strong support for the Baltic States and Ukraine, especially in the face of continued, unforgivable Russia aggression. It requires the renaming of military bases in the United States which were once named in honor of Confederate generals, those who served in the Confederacy in an attempt to secede from the Union and to defend the institution of slavery and have been enshrined in the names of these bases for many, many years. This effort to rename them is long, long overdue. It tries to correct and recognize the mistakes of our past and really address the sensitive racial inequities at the Pentagon when it comes to this decision-making. It places restrictions on the transfer of military equipment to law enforcement agencies. We have to address the issue of the militarization of our police at a time when we are, frankly, making an assessment of the role of police to make certain that the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers--those who are good, principled, civic-minded individuals--is honored and that those who fail to meet the test are removed from service. It expands benefits to our veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam war. There are 191,000 Vietnam-era veterans in my State of Illinois. Many of them were exposed to toxins, such as Agent Orange, during their service and now are paying the price. It makes it easier for victims of military sexual trauma to report instances of such crime and expand support for survivors. The most recent, horrible incident at Fort Hood was a reminder of what we need to do to bring the military into the 21st century when it comes to respecting the rights of all people, men and women. It strengthens safeguards against foreign cyberattacks. We know how important that is since the recent revelation confirmed by Secretary of State Pompeo that Russia is at work again in its attempting to compromise our Federal agencies, their data, their information, and the security secrets that they keep for our protection. It authorizes funding for PFAS-related research. If you have never heard of the phrase ``PFAS'' before, I can tell you that you are bound to hear it in the future. This was used as a flame retardant and in some other capacities on many Air Force bases and military bases around the United States. We are finding that it is still there and is still dangerous. We need to put money into remediation to help these military installations, including the Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, IL, where PFAS was detected earlier this year. Still, despite all of the good things in this bill and the bipartisanship that supported it, President Trump decided to veto the bill--one of his rare vetoes. He prefers we continue to honor the Confederate leaders who committed treasonous atrocities in order to preserve slavery. I don't think that this is reflective of the United States of today or its values, but that is his position. When he was called out for this racist inclination, he changed the reason for his veto. He claimed the bill didn't do enough to fight China or that we should include a measure to address liability issues for tech companies-- never mind that tech company liability matters have nothing to do with the National Defense Authorization Act. He just doesn't like that there was criticism coming down for some of the misstatements and lies and disinformation he has been spreading on social media. The President also fails to recognize that this Defense authorization bill, in fact, does get tough on China. It creates a new Pacific Deterrence Initiative that puts America back in the seat of leadership in that region, where we need to be. The Trump administration could have started this initiative on its own, but it did not, so Congress stepped up and created this security partnership because the White House was asleep at the wheel. At the end of the day, I suppose we can't expect anything more from a President who has denigrated our troops by calling them suckers and losers. I voted to support the fiscal year 2021 NDAA. I will support it again to override this President's unforgivable and reckless veto. I am glad the House did so on Monday. I hope we in the Senate do the same. Coming back to Washington was not something I looked forward to this week. I wanted to stay home. Yet I knew, when it came to funding our troops, I had to be here. Many of my colleagues feel the same. I hope, tomorrow, we can take that up quickly.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, there was then the drama around the COVID- 19 relief bill. It was hard to describe what we went through in the last week to 10 days with messages from the White House. I wish that the President and those around him, advising him, would have called to mind the 335,000 Americans who have lost their lives due to this deadly pandemic and the many more who have lost a family member, friend, or loved one. In Illinois, we have lost 16,000 lives to COVID-19--tragic, historic. I extend my deepest condolences to the friends and families of those who have died or who are fighting this virus. Many are my friends. More than 121,000 Americans spent last night in the hospital--a grim new record of hospitalizations as our heroic nurses and doctors face unrelenting stress from this crisis. I just think, as I reflect on the interviews of these men and women who are on the frontline of healthcare, how stoic they usually are, how controlled they usually are, and how they are losing it now. With the overwhelming numbers they are facing and the terrible prospect of someone's dying with a member of the family being unable to even enter the room in the last minutes of one's life has got to be heartbreaking on a scale that none of us can imagine. Think about doing that every single day. They have done it. I will tell you we will never be able to repay them with our gratitude. They are true American heroes. Many of us returned to Washington this week. As I said, we are celebrating the holidays in a fashion like never before with social distancing, Zooms, FaceTime, and calls with family and loved ones. It is no substitute for the kids being there to open their gifts on Christmas morning, but it is the reality of what we face today. There is some hope on the horizon, and though I have been many times critical of the Trump administration, I do want to give the President credit for the Warp Speed Program. It is amazing, as I read the stories, of what they were able to achieve in discovering two vaccines that can treat Americans and people around the world and keep them safe as they face this coronavirus. It broke all the records in the discovery of these vaccines. As I read about it, I continue to be grateful and want to make sure America recognizes the doctors, the scientists, and the researchers. Barney Graham--I didn't know his name until yesterday--came out of a story published in the New Yorker. He works at the National Institutes of Health. He is given a great deal of credit for the breakthrough in the first two vaccines that have been approved. There are others just like him. I salute Dr. Francis Collins, of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, both of whom have become my friends over the years--and what a job they have done for America. So many more deserve recognition, and I hope there will be an opportunity to give it to them. The fact is, these doses of vaccines are starting to move across the country. Last week, Illinois--I am proud to say--led the Nation. I congratulated our Governor, J.B. Pritzker, yesterday. More than 100,000 healthcare workers received their first shots last week. I asked him why we led, and he said: I don't know. We just put together our own program of distribution, and it worked. Thank goodness it did. Lives will be saved because of it, but there is so much more to do. Progress in administering the vaccine has been slow as we still struggle to reach the hardest hit areas. The rosy projections from the administration have not come to fruition yet, but the fact is, we have two viable vaccines. That is miraculous. I look forward to the new administration's--the Biden administration's--new management in this effort, and I am glad Congress came together to pass a relief bill that included $30 billion for vaccine development and distribution. When the President said he wasn't going to sign this bill, I thought: How can he say that? He should be taking credit, rightfully, for the Warp Speed Program and his role in seeing that program move forward instead of complicating the distribution of the vaccines by threatening to veto the bill. Fortunately, for us, in the end, he signed the bill. On Sunday evening, the President signed the bipartisan annual spending bill and the COVID-19 relief bill. There were complaints about the size of the bill. Well, the entire Federal budget was included in that bill, as well as the COVID-19 relief undertaking, as well as many other bills, such as the Water Resources Development Act. All of these are major pieces of legislation, and they were combined in one bill that went way beyond 5,000 pages. Unfortunately, the President delayed in signing the bill and created needless uncertainty in America, particularly among the unemployed and others who are suffering from this public health and economic crisis. This agreement provides much needed support for many of them, but they will have some delay in receiving their checks because of the President's period of indecision. Enhanced unemployment benefits of $300 a week and an extension of the unemployment program, created under the CARES Act, through March 14 will bring more relief to many millions of families. Possibly the largest single item in the COVID relief bill--$325 billion--went to provide our Nation's ailing small businesses another chance at survival. The Paycheck Protection Program worked in the initial CARES Act, and it was renewed in this undertaking. An extension of the Federal eviction moratorium through January 2021, coupled with $25 billion in emergency rental assistance, will literally mean that people will not be evicted right after Christmas. Approximately, $850 million is going to Illinois to help keep families in their homes during this pandemic. The 15-percent increase in nutrition assistance is certainly needed. It goes through the SNAP program, which was historically known as food stamps, to make sure that families have something on the table. I can tell you that I woke up this morning in Springfield, IL, to look at the front page of the newspaper and learn that an anonymous donor had given our local food bank $500,000. The people at the food bank were, of course, appreciative and said they desperately needed it in my hometown and towns all across America. This increase in food stamp assistance is long overdue, and I am glad it was included. The bill includes a number of important measures, but we have to go to work to make sure that we deal with the sharp turn of an emergency response to this bill and do more. We address the needs required to respond to this pandemic immediately, but more will follow. It was a tough negotiation and an honest compromise, and I was happy to be part of a bipartisan group of Senators who may have gotten the ball rolling--at least we think we did--in order to hand it over to the leaders to finish the job. I think what we have achieved, on a bipartisan basis, was largely included in the final bill, and it addressed the major elements that were necessary. One of the most important items that Congress failed to reach agreement on was funding for State and local governments. States and localities are struggling with increased costs and decreased revenues due to the pandemic. By this summer, my home State of Illinois will have lost more than $5 billion in revenues. I can tell you that this is going to cause pain and cutbacks. This is not money that was lost in our pension system, which has its own share of troubles; it is money that was directly attributable to the downturn in revenues because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It isn't just happening in Illinois; it is happening all around the country--in red and blue States. Our neighboring State of Kentucky, to the south of us, is facing the same hardships we are. Federal funding for States and localities needs to be done for our great cities and great States that are struggling, and I certainly hope that the next President, when he is sworn in on January 20, will take this up as one of his highest priorities. Our Nation's economic recovery is slowed down by budget cuts that will be necessary in States and localities because of this cutback in revenues. Now, the most widely discussed measure of the COVID-19 relief bill is a second round of economic impact payments. Just yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the CASH Act, which is a measure that would increase the direct payments to individuals--adults and children--from $600 to $2,000 for those who earn less than $75,000 a year. The measure passed in the House by a vote of 275 to 174. Over the past several months, we have heard time and again from economists that we run the risk of doing too little, which far outweighs the risk of doing too much when it comes to this economic recovery. The head of the Federal Reserve, Chairman Powell, has really instructed us to keep the foot on the accelerator so that our economy doesn't slump into a recession. At a time when so many American families are laid off, unemployed, and simply struggling to get by, there is nothing more invigorating to the economy than to have a cash infusion. Those with limited resources who are battling to pay bills turn around and spend that money quickly. They don't salt it away for some future rainy day. They need it now. That is why we should seriously consider this. By passing this enhanced measure, we can restore the American public's confidence in Washington and by the fact that we are listening and working together, on a bipartisan basis, to respond. This measure that passed the House of Representatives has the support of the President, Speaker Pelosi, House Democrats, as well as many House Republicans. Leader Schumer and my Senate Democratic colleagues support it. So I hope Senator McConnell--the Republican leader--and his colleagues in the Republican caucus will join us and allow us to pass this bill quickly this week. Let's step up to the plate and get this done. The American people have waited too long for this relief. I, for one, am proud of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together and passing a meaningful relief bill, but the time for patting one another on the back is over. Let's finish the job. Let's make sure that we have this authorization bill for the Department of Defense and that we come to the rescue of our families across America who need defense against the vagaries of this pandemic and this economy. We can finally see a slight glimmer of light at the end of this tunnel. If we want to address the needs of Americans in crisis, it starts with passing this legislation. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, before I say anything else, I want to say happy winter solstice. And 2020 is almost gone. It is an announcement I made to my family this morning, and I hope America shares it. We are turning a corner as a nation and to a new year and a new season, and, I hope, a much better day for all of us across this country.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 9 months ago, in March, we created the relief known as the CARES Act, and it passed the Senate by a vote of 96 to 0. It was a measure intended to address the pandemic and the resultant economic downturn in America. I have heard various estimates of the total cost, but it is somewhere in the range of $2 trillion to $3 trillion. It was the largest single investment in our Nation in our history. It was a massive national response to a massive national health crisis, and it worked, at least on the economic front. I believe that it created demand in our economy that otherwise would not have been there, and it gave some businesses a chance to survive. Sadly, all did not, and many are still suffering. But it was necessary. It was done on a bipartisan basis. It was massive, and I believe it achieved its goal. It started us on the course of dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus, and one has to look back and say it only had limited success in that regard. As of today, we have lost more than 317,000 American lives, and millions have been infected. Our hospitals are still overrun with patients. But we did the right thing, and we quickly realized what we did could make a difference. The unemployment compensation, which we provided for millions of Americans, was not only the humane thing to do but, as economists would tell you, it was the best single thing you could do to fight a recession. A person who is unemployed, without a paycheck, will spend virtually every penny they are given into the economy, not bank it away for another day. That spending created consumer demand and gave some businesses a fighting chance. The Paycheck Protection Program, through the Small Business Administration, was the work product of many, but I want to single out Senators Ben Cardin and Marco Rubio for their bipartisan effort. I later saw Senator Collins and Senator Shaheen working to give it another day. But here was a program which extended a lifeline to American businesses--forgivable loans if the money were spent on the necessities: utilities and rent and mortgage and payroll. I will quickly add that we have a responsibility to taxpayers to make an honest assessment of how that program was implemented. I am sorry to say that I have already heard anecdotal evidence that some of the loans were not carefully made. That is to be expected in something of this magnitude. But, by and large, this program was essential. Money that we put into healthcare made a difference. The CARES Act also protected those who were renting from eviction, delayed the payment of student loans, and a litany of other measures that made a difference. That bill--the CARES Act of March of 2020--was really written with a notion that this was a short- to medium-term challenge. Many thought that, by the middle of this year, we would be turning the corner. Sadly, that was not the case. As of July, it was apparent that the worst was yet to come. Speaker Pelosi, of the U.S. House of Representatives, introduced a measure known as the Heroes Act in an attempt to have a follow-on relief bill after the CARES Act. It was passed but was not considered in this Chamber. The Republican leader, who spoke earlier today, said at the time that there were two things he wanted to make clear. First, he wanted to measure whether it was a needed follow-on bill. Second, he was drawing a redline that said unless we provided immunity from liability for corporations and businesses, he wouldn't consider another relief act. And the matter stalled. The Speaker went on to pass another bill, a smaller one in size, but nothing happened. She went into conversations with Mr. Mnuchin and Senator Schumer on the Democratic side here, but little was produced from that exchange. We were stuck, stalled. As of the election day of November 3, it wasn't clear that there would ever be another relief bill this year. I want to say a word about what happened next because I know more detail about that than some. It was about 4 weeks ago when a Republican Senator and a Democratic Senator invited six of their colleagues for dinner. It was a bipartisan group. When Senator McConnell mentioned the participants earlier, he only mentioned Republicans. I want to let you know who was in on it on both sides, Democrats and Republicans. Yes, it was Senator Collins, Senator Murkowski, Senator Cassidy, and Senator Romney at the initial meeting; on the Democratic side, Senator Manchin, Senator Warner, myself, and Senator Shaheen. Our ranks changed over the several weeks when we were debating to include Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Angus King of Maine, and Rob Portman of Ohio. For 3 or 4 weeks, we tried to write a relief bill. We did it by phone, by Zoom, and through staff work that was endless. Finally, Tuesday of last week, we were able to announce it. Let me get this number right, a $748 billion consensus bill for relief. We were unable to reach a final agreement when it came to State and local funding, as well as the question of liability. We set those aside, but we produced this $748 billion bill, much of which is included in this relief package we are going to consider today. I want to thank my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, for their patience and determination to reach that point. I really believe that we ended up opening the conversation. The leaders, thank goodness, moved in to follow on and make it a reality. Today, we are going to seriously consider a measure to keep America's economy moving and give us a fighting chance against the coronavirus. I think this bipartisan effort, this grassroots bipartisan effort by the 8 of us--soon to be 10 or 11 before it was all over--will make a significant difference in this Nation. We are going to come through with dramatic offers of relief across the board. It is in the range of $900 billion, is the total. I don't know the exact amount. It is going to provide several more weeks of unemployment compensation. The final agreement, I am told, reduced the number of weeks that we proposed, and I am sorry for that, but it did include a cash payment, which, under the right circumstances--I don't know all the details--could be a godsend for many families across the United States who are desperately trying to survive in troubling and difficult times. It also extends the PPP program I mentioned earlier for small businesses to give them a chance for the kinds of loans and forgivable loans that might give them an opportunity to see another day. Money is there especially for coronavirus vaccine distribution and logistics--testing, tracing, and the vaccine. I would say this. In fairness, I agree with the Republican leader, who gave credit to the Trump administration for the Warp Speed program. That has been a dramatic success. To think that we have come up with not just one but two vaccines that work against this COVID-19 is an amazing achievement, and I am glad that it received the high priority it deserved under this administration and particularly glad that the researchers and scientists who spent countless hours exploring opportunities for this vaccine were ultimately successful. America owes them a great, great debt of gratitude. What is going to happen next? There are some parts of this measure which, as we study it, we will realize are inadequate. Merely extending unemployment benefits for 10 or 11 weeks may not be long enough. We may have to return to take a look at it. Whether we have enough money for logistical support for vaccines remains to be seen. Whether the businesses of Americans need another helping hand, we also have to consider that as well. Let us hope that in the new year and the new President's administration, that we will have a more positive, bipartisan approach. This experience this year was disappointing in some respects, but it ended well with the bill we are going to consider this afternoon. I want to thank all the colleagues, Senators, who joined me in this bipartisan effort, who started the conversation on Capitol Hill last week. We have more work to be done. We are not out of the woods. We have to consider measures that will address the reality of the economy in the future. We want to make sure that Americans have a chance to get back to work and businesses have a chance to survive in this time of COVID-19. By the middle of next year, it has been estimated--this is not for certain, but I hope it is right--by the middle of next year, all Americans who are seeking a vaccination will be able to receive one, and that will be a day when we can finally hope that we will have reached that magic number of herd immunity and turn the corner on this terrible pandemic. I want to thank Senator Schumer for coming to the floor and asking me to say a word or two more. I want to say this about the Members of the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans. There has been more activity on the floor of the Senate in the last several days than I have ever seen. And it isn't just rollcalls; it is Members standing on the floor to discuss the details of this agreement. There were parts we were never going to agree on, that is for sure, but so many times, I would step into a conversation on the floor where they would be hammering out the final details of an agreement. It was heartening. There has been so little of that activity on the floor in the past year or two. It is perilously close to legislating to have Members of the Senate of both political parties working toward agreeable language that can solve America's problems. Let's hope we have more of that. Unfortunately, the Senate has drifted away from its traditional role of deliberation and legislation. This year, for example, we have only considered 29 amendments in the entire year in the Senate, absent the impeachment proceeding. Twenty-nine amendments. The year before, 2019, there were 22 amendments. That is a waste of talent. The men and women of the Senate should come together, hopefully on a bipartisan basis, but regardless, should come together to debate the issues and offer their best ideas and, having offered them, be given the chance to vote up or down. I think that appetite is strong on both sides of the aisle. On the Democratic side, Senator Merkley of Oregon has been a leader in discussing changes in the Senate rules, and we reached out to Republicans as well to engage in that conversation. I think we are a better Senate for it if we do it and a better Nation for it if the debate becomes relevant to the issues of the day from people across America who are watching closely to see if we understand what they are struggling with economically and politically I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Ms. Harris) and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) are necessarily absent.