Coronavirus

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I don't think anyone would disagree if I said that 2020 has truly been a difficult year. No one could ever have expected what we have faced this year, and it has been a tough one for Tennesseans. We hear about it regularly. We know it is a tough one for constituents and for our citizens all across the country.

The months of lockdowns will constitute a defining moment for multiple generations of Americans. My kids and I were talking about how we think that, in years to come, our grandkids are going to talk about what they did during the COVID summer and how they went to school during the COVID pandemic.

Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats have decided not to let the opportunity that moment presents go to waste. Democrats are taking advantage of the American people's uncertainty and pain in an attempt to force them to lose faith in their government, in their fellow countrymen, and in themselves. We are hearing from people that this causes them concern because they want to see us work together; they want to see us address these issues that are causing heartache together.

I have to tell you, I think it was so unfortunate that last week, some of our friends across the aisle blocked yet another targeted relief package that would have brought billions of dollars in support to the American people. I think we have to realize that this was not a vote on final passage; this was a vote to end cloture and begin the debate on that package.

Basically, what our friends across the aisle said to the American people last week is this: We don't want to talk about this. We don't want to discuss it. We don't want to debate it.

That is unfortunate. If you look at the bill that the Senate Republicans proposed and brought forward on a cloture vote last week, it is hard to tease out exactly what the problem was with it. It included another round of paycheck protection plan funding. I will tell you, in Tennessee, a lot of our entertainment venues and a lot of our restaurants need this. They need that consideration to stay afloat.

There was funding for vaccine development. Is there anybody who does not think we need a vaccine for coronavirus? I haven't met people who think we don't need to be working on that. Everybody is saying: Let's get this to market as safely and quickly as is possible.

There was support for healthcare workers.

There was support for students and teachers who are still trying to adapt to online learning.

I was just doing a virtual townhall with one of our counties in Tennessee. One of their issues is, when will there be additional funding to help us with technology, because 30 percent of our students elected an e-learning format.

Do you know what? There was even money for the post office. Back in August, our friends across the aisle thought that was a crisis, but I guess it was their drama of the day because they voted against all of this funding.

They voted for weakening the economy, I guess, and they voted against the prospects of American workers. But what they were doing was strengthening the false premise that they are the only ones capable of sparking an economic recovery. This, of course, is demonstrably false.

This week, the Census Bureau released its annual report. I will tell you that the numbers prove that the Trump administration's pro-growth policies are working. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that we passed in 2017 is working. It has spurred economic growth. It has spurred an economy like I have never seen in my lifetime.

In 2019, incomes grew at the highest pace ever recorded. Last year, the official poverty rate fell to an all-time record low of 10.5 percent. Think about that--10.5 percent. A decade ago, there were more people than ever on assistance. Between 2018 and 2019 alone, more than 4 million Americans rose out of poverty. Think about those numbers. That is a good thing. It was the largest reduction in poverty in over 50 years. The Black poverty rate fell below 20 percent for the first time in history, and child poverty also fell to a near 50-year low.

Our record on this is very clear: The Trump administration policies worked. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act worked. That is what the American people are wanting to get back to.

I encourage all of my colleagues in this Chamber to read that report and look at these stats, and everyone should remind themselves of the progress we have made as a nation on growing this economy over the last 4 years.

Politically, everybody talks about how this is a divided nation, but we have to come together and work under an umbrella of policies that will make life better for all Americans. For the life of me, I cannot fathom why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would throw that opportunity away.

Our citizens want us to work on a relief package that is going to help them get back to work, help our children get back to school, and allow our communities, our schools, our governments, and our businesses to safely operate with liability protections.

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