Richard Durbin

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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, yesterday I came to the floor with some optimism about what we could be including in the legislation currently being considered in the Senate to respond to the coronavirus public health emergency. I laid out priorities ranging from shoring up the hospital systems to measures to provide direct assistance to students, workers, businesses, and families through this economic crisis. Since that time, Leader McConnell has released the Republican draft of his offering for this third package. It is a 250-page bill that some estimate will cost $1 trillion. That is a daunting pricetag, except when you put it in context of the American economy and what it takes to keep us on track or put us back on track. Our top priority must be immediate, direct relief to the healthcare sector--our heroic doctors, nurses, first responders, lab techs, and the hospitals and health clinics they support. Yesterday I spent an hour on the telephone with the Governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, talking about the reality on the ground in my home State and the choices he faced. It is a tough job being Governor-- never tougher than when you have to make a decision about the lifestyle of families and individuals, about the businesses and their future, and, literally, a life-and-death choice in terms of policy. No one willingly accepts that, but when you run for high office, there is always that possibility. He is concerned--and I share his concern--about the capacity of our hospitals and clinics in Illinois to deal with the infections that are becoming more and more common in our State. The numbers of infections are growing as the number of tests are increasing, which is an indication that there are many undiagnosed people in our midst, and that number is likely to continue to increase. Those who administer the hospitals of Illinois have given us some yardsticks to measure the future. They suggest to us that if 20 percent of the population of my State should become infected for a 12-month period of time, they will need 88 percent of our hospital resources to respond. If that same 20 percent becomes infected over a 6-month period of time, it will be double that capacity; in other words, 176 percent of our current hospital capacity. It would push our system beyond the breaking point. If the infection rate, though, is double that--40 percent for any period of time--our hospitals, as good as they are, as big as they are, as prepared as they are, can't handle it. If that is the situation in our State, it is the situation in many other States. At that point, we will be dealing with serious overcrowding and triage decisions being made under heartbreaking circumstances. That is why many of us on this side of the aisle feel that this third package offered by the other side really needs to be changed and improved so that we do have what Senator Schumer is calling a Marshall Plan for the hospital work healthcare of America. We desperately need it, and we need it now. Waiting to come and face us at a later date makes it that much more difficult. Our health system is currently stretched to its absolute limit: surge staffing, emergency protocols, shortfalls of masks and protective equipment, and cashflow running out in just weeks. The plan that we have before us--the draft plan from the other side--does not address these needs. It has no new appropriations, no real funding or authorization for staffing or equipment and only meager changes when it comes to programs like Medicare. What this pandemic demands is that Marshall Plan for healthcare, an immediate funding boost to our healthcare systems, clinics, and health departments, mass production of masks, respirators, gloves, and ventilators. Two days ago, the President acknowledged that he has the authority, under what I believe is called the Defense Recovery Act, to say to manufacturers: change whatever you are making and make more respirators and change whatever you are making in terms of masks and make more medical-grade masks to meet the needs across this country. I hope the President will use that authority. That is why it was created in the law. We also need to support our workforce. We need to increase Medicaid funding, and we need to put an end to Medicare sequestration and DSH cuts. I am also calling for the inclusion in this package of a bill known as the Rural Hospital Relief Act. I am cosponsoring that bill with Senator James Lankford, a Republican, of Oklahoma. It would keep the most financially vulnerable hospitals afloat during this challenging time by providing them access to the stability of the Critical Access Hospital Program. Every State with smalltown hospitals and rural hospitals should pay close attention to this bill that we put in. It could be a great help to hospitals that are otherwise struggling. Anything less, I am afraid, we will be turning our backs on the selfless and heroic work of the frontline health workers. How can we say enough about these nurses and doctors and healthcare workers-- these men and women--who literally risk their lives for every patient that comes through the door. We need to maintain access to healthcare for people who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic too. We must offer Federal funding to cover the costs of COBRA coverage for people who lose their jobs but want to keep health insurance. Currently, if you lose your job and you have health insurance where you work, you can maintain your current health insurance, but you have to pay for the employer's share since you no longer work there. The premiums go through the roof in those circumstances, and many people can't afford these COBRA payments. Why don't we include in this third package coming before us a subsidy for those families so they can keep their health insurance, even if they are not on the job? We certainly don't want them uninsured. It is not good for them. It is not good for our country. It is certainly not good for our health system. It is bad enough that millions of people may lose their jobs; we don't want to also have them lose their healthcare in the midst of a public health emergency. Let's step up and help them now. I was not included during the drafting of the bill that was presented by Senator McConnell, but I would like to give two pieces of feedback from two colleagues from his side of the aisle. The first said, referring to this package: Relief to families in this emergency shouldn't be regressive. Lower income families shouldn't be penalized. That was a quote from Senator Hawley of Missouri, a Republican Senator. A second Republican Senator said, referring to this draft package: [T]he current bill . . . shouldn't give lower earners smaller checks . . . that's directly contrary to my proposal . . . we need to fix this to ensure lower earners get equal payments. That quote is from Senator Romney of Utah. I agree with both of them. We should make sure that if there is any financial relief coming to people across the country, those in lower income categories should get as much, or more, than anyone else. I cannot agree more with their assessment. The direct cash benefit measure in this plan would give those the most in need of assistance in the lower income categories sometimes nothing at all. Additionally, the bill contains a provision that would allow middle and higher income earners to receive more of a benefit than low to moderate earners. That is upside down. Goldman Sachs released projections this week that unemployment claims may rise to 2.25 million this week. That would be the highest level on record. This proposal that we have been given by the other side falls far short of making sure we have enough resources to deal with this influx of unemployment claims. The bill also lacks any moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, leaving those who are particularly vulnerable at risk of being cast out on the street during a public health crisis. Instead of expanding paid sick leave to more who need it, I am afraid the new bill tries to further limit that protection. The McConnell bill provides no additional funds to the military. We have a supplemental appropriation which is supposed to be taken up. Why isn't it married into this bill? Why don't we do it all at once, get it done? We know we are going to need it, and there is no point in delaying it. We need to help our military, and we need to provide resources to many of our States that are high and dry because of the cost of dealing with this public health crisis and the additional claims on their unemployment benefits. We need the National Guard and the Defense Department pushing assistance to every level of government during the pandemic. That means supplying masks and ventilators and beds to communities that need them. I am also, with Senator Duckworth--my colleague of Illinois--reaching out directly to the Department of Defense. I want to find out if we can start building field hospitals in the parking lots of major hospitals across our State. We have done it before when we had to--particularly when dealing with the Ebola crisis overseas--and we need to do that right here at home and take the expertise of the Army Corps of Engineers and other professionals at the Pentagon. They are ready to move at a moment's notice to build a field hospital, if needed, for our men and women in uniform. Let's take that same willingness and expertise and translate it into more bed capacity and room capacity at the hospitals most in need. The protective equipment across this country still is not at the level it should be for the men and women in the military as well as those in civilian life. The proposal before us ignores the desperation we are hearing from cities and town and States. Without tax revenues coming in, they are running out of cash to keep operating services and meeting payroll. We need a surge of Federal funding through current programs with flexibility for States and localities to allow them to keep paying their workers and ensuring things like transit, airports, schools, and housing. The McConnell plan also does not provide much needed education assistance to deal with the increased expenses related to closing schools and moving to online learning. We have to make sure that this new technology keeps our kids learning, even though they may be home in the process. It provides nothing for these emergency needs. That bill, I hope, will be improved today as the Democrats get a chance to sit down with Republicans for the first time and talk about compromises. The Republican majority leader himself said this is a public health crisis with an economic crisis strapped to its back. I couldn't agree more. Where are the test kits? Where is the protective equipment? Where is the assistance for working families? Let's get it done. The Senator from Kentucky is giving us a deadline to do it by tomorrow. I think that is ambitious, but let's try to meet it and do it on a bipartisan basis. I couldn't agree more that some affected industries--like the airlines and hospitality, along with small and midsized businesses-- need to be assisted. We can also take care of American workers and families at the same time. I think it is incumbent on us to do both. In short, the Senate needs to act now to fix the major flaws pointed out by both Republicans and Democrats in this third package. I stand ready to work on these fixes. Just a few minutes ago, I left one of the working groups, and it was a very positive atmosphere and attitude in which the two sides were sitting down and trying to work out their differences. For the dark time ahead, we need to continue reminding American people that we can rise to the challenge--both political parties--not to politically fight but to find political answers and compromises that solve these problems I have outlined here today. The bottom line is, people are sitting at home. Some are even following C-SPAN in their absolute boredom, trying to figure out what to do with their lives, and they are listening to our speeches. My report is this: We passed two major pieces of legislation involving billions of dollars. We have done it in record time. We have done it on a bipartisan basis. Both have been signed by the President. This third measure that may reach a trillion dollars in cost is a challenge, for sure, but one we can meet again on a bipartisan basis. We owe America, at this moment in our history, nothing less. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor today to thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and all of my colleagues who help support the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That measure was signed yesterday by President Trump. As I understand from Leader McConnell, work is underway on a third coronavirus package in the form of an economic stimulus to provide more support to families, businesses, and to the healthcare community, including our hospitals. This morning, I spoke to the Governor of Illinois--we have been speaking on almost a daily basis, sometimes almost several times a day--and asked him about the State of the situation in our home State of Illinois. Unfortunately, we are still desperate for testing kits. Illinois has about 5,000 more kits that were provided yesterday by a private company at the urging of our Governor, but we have never seen the number of test kits that we believe are necessary to measure the current state of this coronavirus in our home State of Illinois. The official count--and I might add that word ``official''--is that we have had 288 Illinoisans infected and 1 fatality. I believe that the number of infections in the official report grossly understates the exposure in my home State of Illinois. Once more tests are administered and we receive the results, I am afraid we are going to see a dramatic increase in that number of reported infections in the State. One hundred and twenty-eight new cases were announced yesterday in our State. It is the largest single 1-day increase since we have been reporting. We have 2 additional counties that have now been touched out of the 102. We are now up to 17 counties with the infections. An additional 20 people at the DuPage County long-term care facility tested positive, bringing it to a total of 42--30 residents and 12 members of that staff--in that one facility. Forty-one thousand unemployment insurance claims were filed in Illinois in the past 2 days. To put that in perspective, during the same 2 days last year, 4,445 were filed. That is roughly 10 times the number of unemployment claims that have been filed this year. As I mentioned, that is 10 times the level of the same 2-day period a year ago. The Department of Labor reported this morning that 281,000 people filed unemployment insurance claims nationwide last week, and that number is likely to grow. Oak Park--just to the west of Chicago--is the first town in Illinois to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents, which will last until April 3. Mayor Lightfoot for the city of Chicago announced the city would temporarily suspend debt collection practices and nonsafety-related citations, as well as penalties for late payment. I might add that we learned last night that two Members of the House of Representatives have tested positive for the virus: Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ben McAdams of Utah. Both developed symptoms last Saturday, just hours after voting on the coronavirus response bill with hundreds of other Members. I have joined with Senator Rob Portman of Ohio in proposing that we take into consideration the fact that we have critically important work to do in the Senate, but gathering in groups, as we have done historically, poses a health risk not just to us as Members and our families but to the staff as well as their families, the staff in the Senate and their families. We ought to be more thoughtful in terms of our own families and the people who work in the U.S. Senate. Yes, do our job, but do it in a sensible and thoughtful way. Senator Portman and I are exploring possibilities for remote voting by Members of the Senate. Why is it required that we be physically present on the floor, closer to one another, than perhaps we should be at this moment during a public health crisis? Senator Portman and I, on a bipartisan basis, are trying to find a way to achieve this goal and to still protect the integrity of the voting process in the U.S. Senate. Yes, it is new. Yes, it is different. Yes, it reflects the 21st century and reflects a challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Tomorrow that challenge may be another public health crisis, some other national emergency, or maybe even a terrorist attack. Shouldn't we be ready to make sure the Senate can still do its business if it is difficult, impossible, or not advised for Members of the Senate to come physically to the floor and announce their vote each time it is needed? We believe we should explore this on a bipartisan basis, and we are urging the leaders on both sides to look at it seriously at this moment. I might add as well that Governor Pritzker spoke about the issues that they are facing and said to me, more than once, that we need Federal guidance as to what we should do in our State. I want to salute him and the other Governors who are doing the best they can in drawing their own public health conclusions based on the advice they have received. I would think we need to be sensitive to the reality of the hospitals that are facing real challenges today that are likely to increase. What we have seen over the past few weeks from our healthcare workers on the frontline is nothing short of heroic. The nurses, the doctors, the technicians, the lab experts have done work above and beyond their call of duty that we hope for in these times of challenging crisis. I commend every hospital employee for their selflessness and quality work. What I am hearing from Illinois health officials is that hospitals are being stretched to the absolute limit. One hospital executive in central Illinois told me that his cashflow runs out in a matter of weeks and his hospital may be forced to close. In downtown Chicago, our academic medical centers have activated emergency protocol and are burning through protective masks, respirators, and other equipment. As of Tuesday, three-fourths of the 2,600 intensive care beds in Illinois were already occupied, and 40 percent of our 2,100 ventilators were being deployed. For the next package that we are considering here--CV-3 or phase 3, however you characterize it--Congress must step in with direct, immediate assistance to recognize the extreme financial burden and equipment shortfalls of hospitals and healthcare workers. This has to be priority No. 1, period. Prior to this coronavirus challenge, one in four rural hospitals across America were already facing closure. If a rural hospital closes in your home State--whether it is Nebraska or Kansas or Ohio or Illinois--jobs will leave, businesses close, and the community's healthcare needs are in peril. As part of the measure that we are presently considering--this phase 3 or CV-3 measure--Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a Republican, and I are calling for inclusion of our rural hospital relief act, which will provide immediate relief to the most financially vulnerable rural hospitals. These hospitals are the backbones of our health system in rural America. As we know, as well, many people soon may lose their jobs, if they haven't already, because of this pandemic. In so many cases, losing your job means losing your health insurance. That is why I am working to ensure individuals who lose their job as a result of this coronavirus do not also lose their healthcare. Under current law, COBRA coverage allows individuals to remain on their employer-sponsored health insurance plan after they lose their jobs and otherwise become ineligible. There is a basic problem with COBRA. It costs too much and the employee--now severed from their work--has to pay 100 percent of the premiums with no employer contributions. Many people just can't afford it. I think it is imperative that Congress step up and offer Federal funding to cover the costs of COBRA coverage for individuals who lose their jobs as a result of this pandemic. Loss of a job is bad enough. We can't also sit by while millions of people lose their health insurance. Democrats are working on a robust funding package to help our U.S. military defend our country against this pandemic. It includes substantial increases in the capacity of military healthcare that will benefit the troops, their families, retirees, and members of the public. We need more resources to provide the National Guard with the means to tackle this crisis. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,000 Guardsmen are active in 54 States and territories. The number grows each day. The women and men of the National Guard are working hard, distributing meals, transporting medical professionals, assisting with planning, and much more. Our States are paying for this emergency mission work out of their own pockets. This is a national emergency. States need Federal assistance as the role of the Guard is likely to grow. Some may be surprised there are just over 4,000 beds in the entire military medical system. Some projections say we will need triple that number, and I want to make sure that the funding is there if, God forbid, we need it. We also need to take immediate action to address the threat COVID-19 poses to inmates and staff in our Federal prison system. Just yesterday, two Federal Bureau of Prison staff tested positive for COVID-19. It is only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread within these correction facilities, if it hasn't already. Despite this threat, the Trump administration has not requested any additional funding for the Bureau of Prisons to prepare for overtime costs. We need to make sure our Federal, State, and local prisons and jails have access to the supplies and personnel and resources they need. We need to do everything we can to safely release or transfer as many inmates as possible to home confinement, particularly those vulnerable and elderly. Our economy is being ravaged by this public health epidemic. The Department of Labor reported this morning that more than 281,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, a 33-percent increase from the previous week. Similar grim news has come out of Illinois that has seen unemployment claims skyrocket, as I mentioned earlier. These figures show us how serious this is for working families, underscoring the importance to move quickly and boldly. Congress must immediately take steps to ensure State unemployment trust fund accounts have more resources to get the benefits to those who need them. This morning, my Governor alerted me to the fact that there is a cashflow problem because of these claims being made on the unemployment benefits account. Nationwide, small businesses and retailers are closing their doors--some, we hope, only temporarily. Restaurants are moving to take-out only or closing up their shops altogether. This morning, I had a webinar with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. We expected about 100 people to participate, and over 500 did. Small businesses across America are very conscious of the threats to their continuing business by this public health crisis. This is going to be a significant hit for a lot of small businesses. We have to be there to help them. I support a proposal that also is being led by my Senate colleagues, Senators Brown Bennet, and Booker, to request that direct cash assistance beginning at $2,000 be sent to American families in need. This will be a crucial lifeline, but it alone can't help these families navigate the crisis. I support what Senator Schumer said earlier about strengthening unemployment insurance for these same families. A second wave of assistance is likely to go out. I support that as well. I don't believe this is a short-lived crisis. We have to see it through and stand by the workers and their families all the way. In past times of economic crisis, we have seen an increase in chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by businesses. Too often, these businesses have been able to manipulate the bankruptcy process to favor creditors and management while leaving the workers high and dry. We cannot let this happen again. For more than 10 years, I have had a bill to reform chapter 11 to improve outcomes for workers and retirees, most importantly, by doubling to $20,000 the value of worker wage claims that are entitled to priority payment in bankruptcy. Let's get that reform done as part of the challenge of this crisis. Let's make helping workers the highest priority when it comes to business bankruptcy. We also need to make clear that companies that take Federal bailout money can't turn around and use chapter 11 to try to get rid of their collective bargaining agreements with their workforce. My legislation would prevent this type of gaming. We need to get that done as well. If Congress is going to consider changes to make the bankruptcy process simpler and less painful for businesses, we ought to do the same for workers and families. That includes Americans who are currently being crushed by student loan debt and face their own economic recession even before this one. If we are talking about relieving debts that businesses and individuals cannot pay, for goodness' sake, how can we ignore the crushing student loan debt across America, which compromises the futures of the thousands of Americans? We need to take steps to forgive student debt, like for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges--a measure we continue to fight Secretary DeVos over--and we need to restore dischargeability in bankruptcy for student loans once and for all. In short, bold policy ideas to help families during this time are not exclusive to either political party. I look forward, as we have in the first two measures, to a bipartisan effort and a timely effort to respond. America is counting on us. Now is the time for us to produce I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I come to the floor this morning with sad news. Illinois has lost its first resident to the coronavirus--a pandemic which is threatening our country and the world. Her name was Patricia Frieson, 61 years old, a retired nurse. She was an exceptional person. Her brother said she cared for everyone but herself. She lived taking care of people, and she loved it. She started having breathing difficulties last week and was hospitalized at one of our better hospitals in the city of Chicago and succumbed yesterday to the coronavirus and its complications. She had a history of respiratory illness, but she was taking care of herself and staying home, as she was told to do. The family remembers the last time she left the house was 2 weeks ago to attend a funeral of a friend. She did entertain visitors at her home from time to time. Her two sisters have asked for tests themselves because they were in contact with her. I am sorry to report they have been unable to obtain those tests, at least as of late last night. I have spoken with the Governor of Illinois almost every day, and we are having--through the State laboratories--about 350 tests each day, this State of almost 13 million people. In addition to the State lab tests are the private labs and hospital tests, which account for a number comparable but not much larger than 350. There just aren't enough tests. I am sure our plight is not unusual. We have heard a lot about the tests on the horizon, coming soon--the sooner the better. Until we get into more complete testing, it is going to be difficult for us to measure the extent of the infection and the impact. It is almost impossible to target areas of our State that need more attention than others because of the lack of testing. We had a nursing home over the weekend where there was a patient who tested positive for the coronavirus. The Department of Public Health of the State of Illinois went to that nursing home in Willowbrook as a consequence of the first test and tested all of the residents and staff and found 22 tested positive for the coronavirus infection. Naturally, that raised our numbers dramatically. We now have 160 known cases in our State, in 15 different counties. It is an indication where there is a signal of infection that testing is absolutely essential so we can identify all of those who may test positive. Patricia Frieson's brother Richard was asked what he thought about the news that she was the first fatality in our State. He said it was heartbreaking. But then he said: I tell everybody to take this very seriously, as we should. I think, across the United States, we are coming to realize that this is an exceptional public health crisis and challenge, the likes of which we have never seen. Sometime later this morning or early this afternoon, we will consider the package that was passed by the House of Representatives in the early morning hours of Saturday. It is a package that was designed to provide some help, some financial assistance, to workers and families across the United States who are coping with the illness or losing their jobs or being laid off because of the state of the economy. We on the Democratic side feel--and I believe that feeling is shared on the Republican side--that one of the first things we need to do is to assure those employees who may not feel well that it is best to stay home, and there is a way to do that without sacrificing the basics in life--your home, your food--which your family counts on. We put together this package with the White House on a bipartisan basis that provides family leave and medical leave. It also provides extension of unemployment benefits that are necessary for many workers across this country. Passing this bill this morning or this afternoon is an important step forward to let the people across America know we are doing what we can here in the Senate and in the House to be responsive. Senator McConnell came to the floor this morning and announced the next bill--coronavirus 3, if you wish--which is a much larger undertaking, and it will embark on trying to get the economy on its feet enough to sustain what we are facing with layoffs and business closures. It is a daunting task. The amount of money involved is anywhere from $700 billion to $1 trillion. I have heard these estimates from time to time. That is a massive amount of money by any measure, but when measured against the economy of the United States, it may not be adequate to the challenge. Some have suggested cash payments to individual Americans. I have no aversion to that idea, but I hope it is substantial, and I hope it isn't a one-time helping hand that isn't followed up. Many of us on the Democratic side are working on a program that we think will say to families that we are not just going to send you one check and wish you the best; we are going to stand by you during this very difficult, challenging time. I spent the last several days on the telephone with business leaders across our State. It started with calling one of my favorite restaurants that sent an online message about closing down for business and being not quite sure of their future. It is troubling to hear a person or family member who put their life into a restaurant now facing closure, wondering if they will ever open again. Some of us are buying gift certificates at our favorite restaurant to help them get through this and help their employees during this period of time. My wife is doing that in Springfield. I have done it in Chicago. We will probably do it more. I encourage others who want to make sure that restaurant is there after we weather this storm to extend a helping hand if we can. Some of these restaurants are teaming up with charitable organizations to produce the meals that are needed for schoolchildren and their families. It is a little different assignment, but these restaurants are the best in their profession, and it is great to see them cooperating and working together. I might also add that the Democrats have a proposal that Senator Schumer has spelled out and will undoubtedly speak to again when he comes to the floor this morning. At this moment, we have at least two tracks, two paths toward the third bill to try to help the economy. Senator McConnell has suggested that he will do his exclusively among Republicans, and that may be a necessary starting point, but I urge him and all of the leaders to come together on a bipartisan basis as quickly as possible. The first two measures that we have passed--the initial $8 billion supplemental appropriation for the healthcare side of the equation was essential and done quickly on a bipartisan basis. The second measure, which I hope we pass today in the Senate, was also done with the White House, Speaker Pelosi--Democrats and Republicans working together. Each of us had to give. This measure we are voting for is not what I would have drawn up, and I am sure Republicans feel the same, but it is a compromise and one on which we ought to move forward. The third measure we are considering should be nothing less--it ought to be bipartisan from the start. In a press conference yesterday, Senator Schumer suggested that the four leaders in the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, meet with the White House and sit down at the table now to get started on putting together this measure rather than to retire to our sidelines and each work individually or separately. The sooner we come together, the better. One of the provisions Senator Schumer insists on--and I would add my voice in chorus--is that we be sensitive to the reality of the healthcare facilities across America and what they are likely to face in the weeks to come. Hospitals and frontline responders are telling us they are worried they lack the equipment and resources we need. Some experts predicted as many as 1.9 million--1.9 million--intensive care unit admissions from this outbreak will take place over the next several months, swamping existing facilities. There are only 100,000 ICU beds across the entire United States, and we know accommodating 1.9 million will just overwhelm the system. There is also a major dearth of necessary masks, respirators, ventilators, gowns, goggles--all of the things that are essential to protect healthcare workers and to save the lives of those who are facing this illness. What a frustration it is in my State, the State of Illinois, that I still get reports from virtually every level that the so-called national stockpile has not opened up its doors for my State when it comes to basic needs. I mentioned earlier about a nursing home with 22 positive infections in my State. The head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, who alerted me to this, told me that in a very short period of time, they were going to use up the protective equipment and masks and gloves, for example, that they had available. They didn't know where to turn for more. Let's get this together. I believe there is a national stockpile, and I believe it should be open for the States that need it immediately. Our State is one of those. Referring to these ventilators and breathing devices, in a press conference a couple of days ago, the President said the Governors should do their best. We can do better than that. The largest stockpile of this equipment is in possession of the Federal Government, and we should turn to it quickly to help those in need. I am very concerned as well--I will close. I see other colleagues on the floor, and I know they would like to make comments as well. I will close by also saying that as we undertake the next piece of legislation--the $800, $900, $1 trillion bill--I hope the first priority is to make sure we help our hospitals. I have a measure with Senator Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, that will compensate hospitals in rural areas and downstate areas in Illinois. I am fearful they will be the first to be overwhelmed. I hope those representing rural States will come together and join, as Senator Lankford and I have, to try to find a way to make sure they are adequately funded to get through this crisis. I might add that we also need medical professionals in the long term. I hope we will dedicate ourselves to improving the National Health Service Corps as one way of doing that and focusing that in rural areas. Finally, I have a bill with Senator Alexander, Senator Murray, and Senator Blunt to take a survey through the National Academy of Sciences of our dependence on foreign-made medicines and medical supplies and medical equipment so that we can establish, not only during this challenge and crisis but for future challenges and crises--whether we have adequate domestic production capacity or a necessary stockpiles to protect us. We found, for example, that some 20 major drugs were manufactured exclusively in China. As China went through the early stages of this coronavirus crisis, there was a fear that we would be cut off from sources. We have asked the National Academy of Science to give us a survey as quickly as possible I will close by saying that it is interesting, as I follow the emails of my friends and family and hear from my colleagues, that as we are separated with this social distance which we are trying to respect across the United States--as we are separated, it is interesting how much we are drawn together. Our family's emails and phone calls have been more numerous than ever as we think about one another more and reach out as we hear that there is a need within our family. There is more conversation and candor than I can ever recall in our family conversations. Perhaps adversity has a created community. Perhaps this situation, this concern that we have, is leading to more empathy. We are going to get through this. America always does. There will be some painful moments and very difficult ones. I think those who sent us to do this job in Washington expect us to put our party labels at the door, find solutions to the challenges we face, help our Nation through this crisis, and come out strong on the other side. I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, yesterday, the President of the United States and the Centers for Disease Control contacted us individually and at least through the media to advise us to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. It is a reflection of the national emergency we face and the public health crisis that America is facing head-on, as it should. This morning, as we opened the Senate, there were 18 people gathered on the floor of the Senate--3 Senators and 15 staff people. As those who follow all the Senate can tell, our staffers come to work, as they are expected to, but come under circumstances that are more challenging than they were just a few weeks ago. I want to thank each and every one of them here on the floor, as well as the many who you don't see, behind the scenes, who are necessary for the opening of this Capitol and for the protection of everyone who works here. There are policemen and there are people engaged in basic activities here who keep this magnificent structure functioning, and they come here now in the midst of a public health challenge, where most every American has been told to stay home: If you can possibly stay home, do it; for social distancing, make certain that you stay a certain distance between yourself and some other person. Yet they come here, and we thank them for it. The obvious question is, Why are we here under these circumstances? We were called back into a week of legislative activity, which had been scheduled to be a week where we were back home in our individual States. There is a lot for me to do back home, and I am sure that is true for every Senator, from the crises which we had at O'Hare Airport--I was working on that on Saturday and Sunday night--to the issue of closing schools and feeding children, and all of the other issues that are part of this coronavirus challenge. But we were told to come back here this week, to make a trip back, to fly back from wherever, to come to the U.S. Capitol for two reasons. We were told we had to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization because it expired as of last weekend. It turns out that we have found a way to avoid a necessary vote at the last minute. The Senate Republican leader agreed last night, just a few minutes before the scheduled vote, to accept a proposal that had been made to him by Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah last Thursday. The Senate Republican leader did not accept it then. He accepted it last night. The net result was we didn't have to be present. We didn't have to make the journey for that purpose. The second part of our return is equally important and maybe more so in light of this public health crisis, and that was to consider the measure that was taken up by the House of Representatives and passed in the early-morning hours of Saturday. This measure, known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, is the second piece of legislation we have considered and, I am sure, not the last. We are already talking about the coronavirus 3 act, which is likely to be debated and voted on soon. The point I am making is this measure, which was physically sent to us last night with technical corrections, could have been considered as early as last Saturday. By unanimous consent, the Senate can take up a measure before it physically arrives from the House. It has happened many times before. It is not extraordinary. The physical presence of the document is not necessary for this debate or for a vote to consider it. We acknowledge the fact that sometimes the movement of paperwork from the House may take a little longer than the actual time when we physically can take possession of it through other means. So the argument that was made this morning that it wasn't until we received the document last night that we could consider it is not accurate. Under the Senate rules, by unanimous consent, we could have considered it as soon as it was enacted by the House. The question before us now is, What are we waiting for? There was a technical correction bill that was added to it yesterday, after the House overcame the objections of a Republican Congressman. After his objections were set aside or satisfied, they moved forward with the technical corrections. We have the package. It is before us now. The obvious question is, Why aren't we passing this measure immediately? We should because contained in this measure are important changes in the law that will help American families respond to this coronavirus crisis--fundamental questions: Will we provide, for many American workers, medical leave if they decide that they don't feel well and want to keep themselves, their family, their coworkers, and the public safe by staying home? They are afraid that if they don't get a paycheck, they won't be able to meet the needs of their families. So this bill extends the medical leave coverage to more workers across America. I am unhappy that it doesn't go further, and perhaps we can extend it further with the third iteration of our coronavirus legislative package. But there is no reason not to pass this and to pass it now and not to wait a day or two or three before we get around to it. Let's do it. Let's get it done. In addition, we have changes in unemployment compensation. If someone literally loses their job because of this public health crisis, we want to make sure they have something coming in to help their families as quickly as possible. That is a measure I am sure all of us agree on--to change the unemployment compensation laws to help these families through very difficult times. Why would we wait to pass that? We should pass this by unanimous consent today and do it quickly. That is something I hope the Senate Republican leader will consider. There is just no reason for the delay. There are so many other things involved in this. The basic issue of feeding America is now in question. Who is going to feed these students whose schools have been closed across Illinois and across the United States? It is a practical challenge in Springfield, IL, as well as in Chicago. Well, we have issues that are raised by this coronavirus legislation that is before us that will change and strengthen food assistance at this time of public health crisis. Why wait? Let's get this done by unanimous consent. We should be doing it and doing it right now. In addition to that, we provide additional Medicaid benefits to the States to deal with the obvious health challenges. We want to make sure that the healthcare workers--and God bless them for risking their lives for us--are paid. We want to make sure the equipment that is needed by hospitals and clinics comes on board as quickly as possible. In my State of Illinois, we have challenges, from the city of Chicago to rural and small towns. They need help. The Medicaid assistance in this bill will provide help for them immediately. Why wait? Let's pass this and do it this morning. We also have free testing for coronavirus that is set out in the law. Whether you have insurance, whether you are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, you are going to be able to be tested--when the tests are available, I might quickly add--without cost to you. And that is the way it should be. These are things that are basic. They were agreed to not just by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, but by the Trump White House, Mr. Mnuchin. The Secretary came forward and negotiated all the changes I have just described. So they are bipartisan in nature. There is no reason for us to delay this in any way. We should move on it quickly. Putting this off for a day or two or whatever the plan is with the Republican leadership is totally unnecessary and unfortunately requires staff to wait around here when they have been advised they should be home, there should be social distance, and they should be in a circumstance where they are not endangering themselves in terms of their health or anyone else's. Let's get this done. The third issue I want to raise is one which is critically important but I believe is timely. We have to think anew about the way the Senate does business. If we are telling people to do their work from home when possible, teleconferencing as opposed to being physically present at work, what are we doing to achieve the same thing? There has been speculation, conjecture about a coronavirus aid package--the third one in the series. I totally support it. On the Democratic side, we have a long list of particulars of things that we think will be helpful to get this economy back on its feet by starting with families and workers and expanding it to small businesses. It is a long list, it is a comprehensive list, and I am sure there are even more suggestions that could come before us. How are we going to consider those? Are we going to meet as committees as we ordinarily do, in the same room, when we have been advised that is not a good idea from a public health viewpoint, or are we going to do it by teleconferencing and Skyping and using modern technology? It is time for the Senate to wake up to the 21st century and to make sure we are using technology that allows us to communicate with one another without any danger or risk to public health. In addition to that, there is a more difficult question about how we can vote in the U.S. Senate if we are not physically present. I know that is being considered. Senator Klobuchar and I have discussed it. I know she is thinking about it from a Senate rules perspective. Senator Schatz of Hawaii has raised the same question. Others have too. Let's get into this. Let's find a way to do this that protects the integrity of our voting procedure but acknowledges the reality that our physical presence on the floor may not be required to be actually present under the rules of the Senate--at least for the sake of counting our votes. We ought to be discussing that this week and make sure we have a task force that is working on coming up with answers to that as quickly as possible. Finally, I think it is time for us to start meeting as committees by this teleconferencing and Skyping and talking about this coronavirus 3 package--the one that really stretches us beyond where we are. Let's take a look at the first two measures. With coronavirus 1, which was a supplemental appropriation, the President asked for about $2 billion. We came up, on a bipartisan basis in just 2 short weeks, with $8 billion, primarily focusing on healthcare resources, on research, and on developing vaccines. That was a must, and we did it on a bipartisan basis. The second package talks about families and workers and small businesses and how they should respond and how we can help them. The third package I think will take a look at the original two to see if they need to be changed in any way but to expand our reach even more. Let's do it in the context that we are preaching to America. As we hold the press conferences in Washington and tell Americans ``Avoid going to work physically if you can,'' let's try to find ways to make the Senate work without putting anyone's health at risk. We can do that, but we need to do that together. Let me also say that the Senator from Kentucky said that the Senate will not recess until significant new measures beyond what the House has passed are considered. If there is a plan for that, please let us know. Those of us who are here and worried about whether there will be transportation back home to our families at some point would like to know what the schedule is going to be. If the Senate leader, the Republican leader, has a plan, please share it with us too. All of us are waiting and anxious to know what our circumstances will be for the days ahead. I want to stay here and get the work done, but let's do it in an orderly, safe, and nonrisky way. Let's try to abide by the same guidelines we are preaching to the rest of America. Let's use new technology. Let's use our best thinking and come up with bipartisan answers. That, to me, is the way to manage the Senate in the midst of this national emergency. We shouldn't be returning, as we have this week, and facing situations like last night where our vote was not even necessary. Many of us came here ready to vote and found that there had been an agreement that made such a vote unnecessary. It is time for a greater spirit of cooperation and communication. Just to have the Republican side come up with their list and we come up with ours, without dialogue, doesn't lead us to where we need to be. Let's have that dialogue and do it in a safe and thoughtful way. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we are at an extraordinary moment in our Nation's history. The President of the United States has declared a national emergency. One has to go back to the early 1900s to the Spanish influenza to find a similar public health threat to the United States of America. We are in the midst of not just a threat in our own country but a global coronavirus pandemic. There are more than 173,000 cases nationwide, and more than 7,300 people have died. What you see today on the floor of the Senate is exactly the opposite of what we are being advised as a nation we need to do. What you see today on the floor of the Senate are staff people--thank you for being here--protective forces outside the Chamber, and others who are invisible to those coming and going who are part of the ordinary business of the Senate. You see, we did today what the President has told America we should not do, what medical experts have told us we should not do. We have taken unnecessary airline flights to come here to Washington, DC. I was on a plane this morning from Springfield, IL, to Chicago. There were six passengers on the plane. Most people are listening to the advice of the medical experts and avoiding unnecessary travel. Unfortunately, we were required to come back today from across the United States. Some Members stayed over the weekend because their homes are too far away. Some decided to drive this morning just to be extremely safe. But the fact is, we were asked to take unnecessary airline flights to come back here today and this week and, frankly, expose ourselves to the possibility of some public health risk and ask our staff to do the same. In addition to that, we have been counseled by the leaders--both at the State and the Federal levels--not to gather in groups of more than 10. It looks like we are breaking that rule right here on the floor of the Senate. The obvious question is why: Why would we put ourselves at risk? Why would we put our staff at risk and their families to come back here? There are two issues. The first issue is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was brought up on the floor of the Senate last Thursday, and Senator Lee and Senator Leahy offered the extension of this act for a period of time in return for a few amendments to be debated on the floor. That was rejected. Just minutes ago, what was rejected last Thursday was accepted. We made this trip back here, and it was not necessary. You have to ask yourselves: Are we being respectful of ourselves, our family, our staff? Are we being respectful of our responsibility as setting a model for the rest of America? I am afraid not. Now there is this bill remaining that just passed the House of Representatives, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The coronavirus act was one that was negotiated by speaker Nancy Pelosi and the President of the United States through Mr. Mnuchin. That went on for a week, and the bill was agreed to and supported by both. The President even tweeted his support for it. That shows his level of commitment, I suppose. Speaker Pelosi supported it as well. It was a measure that should have passed by a voice vote here in the Senate over the weekend. Instead, we are still talking about it today. There are measures included in it that are critical for public health. May I gave you one example? When the State of Illinois and the city of Chicago asked for protective masks for healthcare workers so that they can avoid infection, they sent us an allotment of 25,000 masks. A State of 12.5 million people was sent 25,000 masks. Those would protect the people working at one major hospital in Chicago for a month. It is totally inadequate. The last time we faced any kind of epidemic threat like this, we received 1.5 million masks from the stockpile. What is holding up the masks? What is holding up the test kits? Those are legitimate questions. One of the provisions in this bill that is still sitting here somewhere in Senate limbo would authorize new masks to be released across the United States to my State and others. So while we talk, the masks are not being delivered. Why, then, aren't we taking up this bill tonight? The coronavirus bill should be taken up at this moment by unanimous consent. Let those who object to it come to the floor if they wish and object and explain why. If they have an amendment to offer, so be it. But if it is just to let the ordinary course of things work their way through and maybe we will get around to this by Wednesday or Thursday, shame on us. This is a matter of national emergency and a public health crisis in this country. What kind of example are we setting by coming back to this Chamber at risk to our staff and the people and ourselves and our families? We have Members of the Senate going in and out of quarantine. They are self-quarantining themselves, and we are acting like it is business as usual. We will get around to it later this week. What are we waiting for? This is a healthcare emergency. It is time for both political parties to come to the floor--not this empty Chamber--and do our job tonight. There is no excuse for it. If someone has a substantive objection to the bill, state it on the floor. You have plenty of chance to do it. Offer an amendment, if you wish, or just vote no, but for goodness' sake, the American people expect us to do our work. We are here at risk to ourselves and others. We should do our work, and do it quickly. If this is going to end up in some voice vote that is quietly registered tomorrow, a number of us are going to be very upset because we made this trip here because we had to represent our people who elected us and sent us here thinking we would have to vote. If we can do this without a vote, so be it. But couldn't this have been done without exposing all of the staff people and all of the protective forces and everyone else to the obvious pandemic that we think is threatening our country in a massive way? I take this very seriously because I love my family and friends. I wouldn't want any of them to be hurt because of something I have picked up--some virus I have picked up. I have increased my exposure today to be here on this floor, and, tonight, we are going to quietly sneak away and maybe come back tomorrow and actually do some work. We should do it tonight. This coronavirus emergency should be taken seriously by both parties and taken seriously by the U.S. Senate. It is time for us to act. That is what we were sent here to do. Let's do it.

Mr. DURBIN. I am happy to yield.

Mr. DURBIN. I understand the bill has been sent.

Mr. DURBIN. Let me defer to the Senator from Idaho. I have just had this explained by my staff. There is an enrollment correction that was supposed to be taken up on the floor of the House today and sent over with the bill.

Mr. DURBIN. I understand a Republican Member of the House is objecting to the enrollment correction at this point, and it is being held up there because of his objection.

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

Mr. DURBIN. Through the Chair, I ask a question of the Senator from Ohio. The Senator from Idaho, who is a friend, raised a parliamentary issue, and you have gotten to the heart of the matter with the question of how families are going to survive in the midst of the pandemic and what we are going to do about it. The Senator from Idaho raised a parliamentary issue, and we are guided by rules around here. To the knowledge of the Senator from Ohio, in the past, has the Senate entered into agreement on bills posted in the House before the papers actually arrived in the Senate?

Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Senator.

Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for a question through the Chair?

Mr. DURBIN. We have the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that passed the House of Representatives early on Saturday morning, which we could consider--and have in the past on a parliamentary basis--and which I have called for, and others have joined me. We should move on this and move on it quickly. The Senator from Massachusetts has expanded it to other areas that we should be considering. While we are here, let's get some work done. Among the things included in this is the testing. The Senator said there have been 84 tests in the entire State?

Mr. DURBIN. It is obvious that you cannot measure the actual rate of infection until you have enough tests of those who are suspicious--who have a fever or a cough.

Mr. DURBIN. We have faced the same thing with 12.5 million people. We have tested 360 a day for the entire State. It is ridiculous.

Mr. DURBIN. I know. The Governor has told me that we really don't know how many people are infected. We don't know the rate--whether it is going up and at what rate--and whether it is in certain areas of our State and not in others. So, if you don't have testing, you don't have knowledge, and you can't fight a pandemic. I would just say to the Senator that this was the highest priority in this bill that passed the House of Representatives on Saturday.

Mr. DURBIN. We should have been here on Saturday. We should take it up today. What are we waiting for? For goodness' sakes, we ought to do it.

Mr. DURBIN. The other thing is food assistance, and I know your State struggles. There are many people, as you said. It is not paycheck to paycheck; it is week to week. Some of them qualify for food stamps, the SNAP program.

Mr. DURBIN. It starts with testing. It is food assistance, and it is also additional Medicaid money coming back to the State. I am sure the State of West Virginia, like Illinois, desperately needs it. I was surprised to learn today that the capacity of hospitals in the United States is less than 1 million patients, fewer than 1 million patients. In a nation of 350 million people, we have hospital capacity of less than 1 million, and when it comes to the intensive care units, it is a much, much smaller number than that. So that is our fear. If this goes rampant, it could overwhelm our hospital system. Certainly Medicaid money back to your State and mine in this bill that passed the House should be authorized tonight. We should vote on this tonight.

Mr. DURBIN. Medical leave.

Mr. DURBIN. There is no reason. And if the President was credible-- and I believe he was when he called this a national healthcare emergency--we ought to act like it.

Mr. DURBIN. Let's do it.