On May 15, 2020 the House passed the Heroes Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act), H.R. 6800, by a vote of 208-199.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the bill as "a very strategically planned piece of legislation that is tailored strictly to meet the needs of the American people regarding the coronavirus pandemic."  The bill has a price tag of $3 trillion, which the RNC notes is "the largest Congressional bill in history."  It contains many timely and worthwhile provisions such as nearly $1 trillion for local governments, more money for testing, and more direct payments to individuals but it also unfortunately includes other elements unrelated to relief.  House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy called it a "multi-trillion dollar liberal wishlist" and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell termed it "an 1,800-page seasonal catalog of left-wing oddities."  In short this bill is not going to become law and the path forward on relief measures is uncertain.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
MAY 15, 2020 PRESS RELEASE

Pelosi Floor Speech in Support of The Heroes Act

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 6800, The Heroes Act, urgently-needed legislation to address the unprecedented coronavirus health and economic crisis.  Below are the Speaker’s remarks:

Speaker Pelosi.   Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.  I thank the distinguished Chair for yielding and thank her for her tremendous leadership.

My colleagues, a horrible virus has made a vicious attack on the lives and the livelihood of the American people, and indeed on the life of our democracy.  We have, again, a momentous opportunity and, therefore – a great opportunity to defeat the virus and to do so in a way that brings us together and takes us forward to a stronger America.

Today, the House will consider The Heroes Act, to honor those who are on the front lines.  Our health care workers, our first responders, teachers, sanitation workers, food providers, transit workers and other essential workers.  Many of them have risked their lives to save lives, and now they may lose their jobs.  For many of them, this is just what is happening right now as governors across the country are planning their budgets.

As the coronavirus takes its vicious toll on the lives and livelihood of the country, it has also taken a toll on the states to deliver services to the people.  Governors are forced to either cut services, increase taxes or both.

The Congress must honor its responsibility to the American people to lessen the blow of the coronavirus by making the same serious investment of The Heroes Act to our state, local, tribal and territorial governments.  The plan that we are voting on today will make a tremendous difference not only in the budgets in the states, but in the lives of the American people.  The public health, education of our children, the sanitation that is so important in defeating the virus, with the support of so many essential workers.

Actually, the distinguished gentleman on the other side of the aisle talked about the cost of the bill.  The cost to the states, localities, territories and tribal governments is less than the cost of the Republican tax break, which gave 83 percent of the benefits to the top one percent.  We think this is a major investment in the lives of the American people and in the budgets of our states and localities.

Setting aside how we got here, we must approach this tragedy with the deepest humanity, Mr. Speaker.  All of our hearts are broken by the 87,000 Americans who have lost their lives, and the nearly 1.5 million who have been infected by the coronavirus.  The number of 36 million or more Americans who have filed for Unemployment Insurance is almost unimaginable.

This is a moment when our fellow Americans are in deep suffering.  We must have empathy for our heroes, the health care workers, for how exhausted they must be and how stressed they are in doing their jobs.  And, again, they're at risk of losing their jobs in this economy.

We must also emphasize the pain of families who do not know where their next meal is coming from or how they're going to pay next month's rent.  It is imperative that we address the needs of the American people with clarity as we proceed.  It's always interesting to me, Mr. Speaker, to see how much patience some people have with the pain and suffering of other people.  A tolerance level that is not acceptable in a great country like America, with a sense of community and concern for each other.

We can all agree that we must open the economy.  For sure.  As quickly as we can.  But we must do so based on science and data.  The key to opening this door is testing, tracing, treating and social distancing.  Overwhelmingly, the scientific community agrees.  The Heroes Act has a strategic plan, something that has been lacking thus far.  A strategic plan with a vision to end this plague.  A strategic vision, a goal, a timetable, milestones, benchmarks put forth by the Energy and Commerce Committee.  Mr. Pallone, thank you.  And that is really important.  You have to have a plan to succeed.

As families are devastated by the loss of life, this legislation – of putting money in the pockets of the American people, which is also a stimulus for the economy, is essential.  They're suffering so much, in so many ways.  We want to lessen the pain for them.

As the Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said, ‘Additional fiscal’ – now this is very important because it isn't one of us saying it to each other, the authority of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board – ‘Additional fiscal support could be costly, but it's worth it if it helps avoid long-term economic damage and leaves us with a stronger recovery.  The tradeoff is one for our elected representatives,’ he says, ‘who wield powers of taxation and spending.’  As elected officials, he indicated us, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to think big, as he advised, and act now For The People.

The distinguished gentleman said, ‘Oh, my goodness, we put this bill on the Floor.’  Well, let me just do a little history of the last few months.

I too am very proud of the fact that we were able to bring four bills to conclusion in a strong, bipartisan way.  First one, on March 4th, testing, testing, testing.  Not really fulfilled, but nonetheless, intended.  Ten days later, on March 14th, masks, masks, masks, masks.  Again, PPE, not fully realized, but nonetheless, intended.  March 28th, the President of the United States signed the CARES Act, the first CARES Act.  And that was a bill that was developed by the Republican Leadership in the Senate.  They put forth their proposal, we responded, acted upon it and came forth with a bipartisan agreement.

The next bill, the interim PPP bill, was also developed by the Republican Leader in the Senate.  He put forth their proposal, we put forth our suggestions, we negotiated, we came forth with a bipartisan bill.  Don't you take pride in the House of Representatives having the same opportunity and privilege as the Republican Leadership in the Senate for us to put forth legislation in this terrible fight? 

And more than 80 percent of what is in this legislation has already been supported in a bipartisan way.  We've agreed on state and local in other bills.  We've agreed on testing in, at least, two other bills.  We have agreed on supporting hospitals.  We've agreed on Unemployment Insurance.  We've agreed on direct payments. 

So much that is in this legislation has appeared in previous bipartisan legislation.  So, we're not asking people to do something they haven't done before.  But, there are some things that we want to add: the postal system, more for voting – but they did vote for the voting, the vote by mail legislation before – a very strong OSHA regulation that mandates certain conditions, so that our workers will be protected and that our employers will know what the standards are, clearly, that they must honor and, therefore, they're protected as well.

Now, some of the Members say, ‘Let's take a pause.’  Let's take a pause?  Do you think this virus is taking a pause?  Do you think that the rent takes a pause?  Do you think that putting food on the table or the hunger that comes if you can't takes a pause?  This is – the hardship of losing a job doesn't take a pause or tragically losing a loved one.  It doesn't take a pause.

So many lives may have been saved if we had testing and tracing and treatment earlier on.  And, now, that’s a lesson to us that that’s what we must do, so that we can end this.  But we don't end it by pausing in the fight.  This virus is relentless.  It is possibly mutating, changing its nature.  This is a very difficult fight and it gives us a moment that we must admit that the American people are suffering deeply, suffering deeply.

We must have empathy for the heroic health care workers again and again who risk their lives to save lives and, again, are at risk of losing jobs of their own, as I said before.  And we must have empathy for the families who are sick, and parents who are struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table.  And we must have empathy for those who have lost their loved ones.  Can you just imagine losing a loved one so mysteriously, so out of the blue?  And many people cannot even embrace them or say goodbye because of the way the virus is communicated.

We cannot abandon them in this time of need.  To protect lives and livelihoods, Members of Congress, House and Senate, must come together, as we have done responding to the Republicans' bill that they constructed on their own in the Senate, and now we offer back something that contains much of what they offered, a little more because the needs are greater. 

And we must give – we must pass this bill to give the families the relief they need.  These are the American people.  This is our family.  They are suffering.  They need help.  We have the resources and the opportunity to do so.

It's interesting to me, it’s so sad for me as a mother and grandmother of children who are younger and college age, that this is the time that they would have been enjoying graduation.  I have spoken at many, many, many graduations, watching, really, hundreds of thousands of students walk across that stage to see the pride in their families; many of them the first in their families to graduate from college, to see the symbol of success and love and joy that is for those families.  They will be missing that ritual.  Sadly, whether it's college or high school or grade school and even going into middle school.

So, here we are, at a time when these young people – President Kennedy said young children are our greatest resource and our best hope for the future.  They are our hope.  But we must also give them hope as they go forward by alleviating the challenge our country is facing and make the future better for them.  It's always about the children and their future.

I urge our colleagues to consider all of those children all over America, but also in their own states, in their own districts, as they make their decision today that is so important to our country.  And that is why I am so grateful, Mr. Speaker, to our distinguished Chairwoman, Chair Nita Lowey of New York as Chair of the Appropriations Committee.

She and chairs of our committees have been dazzling, dazzling with a depth of knowledge of the subject, the extent of legislative brilliance that they have brought to all of this, knowing, knowing the challenge, understanding the policy, strategically thinking about how we can best accomplish and use money. 

This is not a Christmas tree.  There is nothing joyful about this.  This is a very strategically planned piece of legislation that is tailored strictly to meet the needs of the American people regarding the coronavirus pandemic.  To do anything less would not be responsible.  There's more we could have done, but again, wanting to keep the cost in line. 

When you talk about the cost, you have to think about the opportunity lost.  The Chairman of the Fed has told us to think big.  ‘It's never going to be cheaper,’ he said, because the cost of interest is so low.  The cost of credit is so low. 

And I say not to act now is not only irresponsible in a humanitarian way, it is irresponsible because it's only going to cost more, more in terms of lives, livelihood, cost to the budget, cost to our democracy.  As governors struggle, city halls, county executives struggle to make their budgets so depleted by this virus.  So, this funding is to make sure that they have the funds to take care of some of the funding of the coronavirus expenses directly, but also a recognition of the loss of revenue to their budgets because of this assault on our economy by this vicious little virus that we must defeat.

So, as we do that, I thank the distinguished Chairwoman for her extraordinary leadership.  She has a few more bills to go, a lot of time left, a great contribution to make, but I had the privilege of serving with her for decades.  And I'm sorry to see her leave the Congress, but she leaves a tremendous legacy. 

You know, we all believe that a budget should be a statement about our national values.  What is important to us as a nation should be reflected in our budgets and how we allocate our resources.  Chairwoman Lowey has been just that messenger of values as she has put forth her budget, and does so with respect for the Republicans on her committee and in this Congress and in this country.

Bipartisanship is the order of the day.  As a former member of the Appropriations Committee, where I was forged here, and Intelligence, I recognize full well the product, as Mr. Cole said, of appropriators working together.  I always say, left to their own devices, they can get the job done, and they will.  And I have no doubt that this legislation will have bipartisan support.  I just want it to be soon, because these governors can't wait. 

Right now, as I said, they are firing – they have many layoffs, because they don't have the money.  Are they going to raise property taxes?  We can make that go away in large measure if we pass this legislation, because it's not just about their budget.  It's about the services for the people of our country that will be lessened if we do not help. 

What are we here for but for the American people?  How are their services delivered, many ways by the state houses and the state legislatures, the city councils, mayors' offices and the rest.  We have a responsibility to make the strategic spending that we need to do.  That's what this bill does.

It's not for us to praise our heroes.  Everybody praises them and thanks them and honors them.  Words.  We need deeds, and we need real support for them.  We must always – this is the saddest part, all these people who have died.  I know, speaking on both sides of the aisle, hearing our colleagues speak, that all of us will always carry those people in our hearts, 87,000 now.   Hopefully we can curtail the growth of that number with our testing.  But we must make the decision to do so, and that is the decision we have to make here today.

I thank all of my colleagues for their thoughtful and prayerful consideration of The Heroes Act.  I thank all of you for your concern about the American people.  Let us come together and give them a real signal that we care by allocating the resources to meet their needs.  We pray for all of them, all of our constituents, and we pray and thank God for continuing to bless America.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support The Heroes Act and I yield back the balance of my time.

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House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
May 12, 2020

Democrats’ Liberal Wishlist Has No Chance of Becoming Law

Washington, D.C. – House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statement rejecting House Democrats’ multi-trillion dollar liberal wishlist. McCarthy also emphasized that, despite this Pelosi-led pipe dream that stands no chance of becoming law, Republicans will continue to focus on defeating this virus and helping Americans safely get back to work:

“Tens of thousands of Americans have lost their lives due to COVID-19, and more than a million have gotten sick. A record number of Americans are out of work. Yet while Americans are searching for answers, House Democrats are releasing a liberal wishlist that has no chance of becoming law, as even Democrats and the media acknowledge.

“The problems with this 1815-page, multi-trillion dollar messaging bill are plain to see. Its central demands — changing election laws, bailing out mismanaged pensions, and temporarily suspending the cap on SALT tax deductions for millionaires and billionaires — were drafted behind closed doors, predate the crisis, and are not targeted to coronavirus.

“Republicans reject Democrats’ liberal wishlist and will continue to focus on getting Americans back to work and defeating this virus by incentivizing rehiring and removing regulatory barriers to job creation, protecting small businesses from frivolous lawsuits, and returning our supply chain from China. That is the type of focus the American people expect from their government.

“Unfortunately, solving problems is not the Democrats’ priority. Today’s partisan spectacle continues a trend by Democrats that has strained Congress’s relief efforts from the beginning:

• In January, Democrats were too busy accusing President Trump of high crimes and misdemeanors to pay attention to what was happening in Wuhan, China.
• In March, Speaker Pelosi delayed passage of the CARES Act for five days, despite its overwhelming bipartisan support. Her obstruction caused millions to lose their jobs and politicized the process, but changed little in the bill.
• In April, Democrats dragged their feet over replenishing the crucial Paycheck Protection Program for fourteen days, allowing 4.4 million jobs to be lost in the meantime and creating greater uncertainty for cash-strapped small businesses. Just like in March, their obstruction was intentional. As one leading Democrat admitted, they were using small businesses as political ‘leverage.'”

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
May 14, 2020

McConnell on COVID-19 Response: “This Half of the Capitol is Doing Our Job”

‘This week, the Speaker published an 1,800-page seasonal catalog of left-wing oddities and called it a coronavirus relief bill… While the Senate was passing the CARES Act, the Democratic House was on the sidelines - substantively, and literally. They had already gone home. Nearly two months later, Senators are back at our duty stations, with new precautions… But the House is still at home. And when they do contribute, it’s not serious.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the COVID-19 response:

“This pandemic is weighing heavily on the American people.

“Roughly 1.4 million Americans have been infected. More than 80,000 have died. Unemployment has not been this high since World War II.

“Just a few months ago, millions of hardworking men and women were thriving and optimistic. They were making big plans across kitchen tables. Now all that is in chaos. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve reports that nearly 4 in 10 American households that earn less than $40,000 per year had somebody get laid off in the month of March alone.

“This emergency is very serious. So the Senate’s response has been serious.

“In March, Senate Republicans designed, and the full Senate passed, the CARES Act. It pushed trillions of dollars to working families, job creators, and medical professionals.

“We sent direct cash to almost 130 million Americans. We delivered hundreds of billions of dollars in paycheck protection loans to small businesses, saving tens of millions of American jobs. We helped state and local governments defray coronavirus costs. We funded healthcare providers and testing.

“Even now, its programs are still taking effect, still coming online, still helping.

“The Senate took a blank sheet of paper and turned it into the largest rescue package in history. We’ve taken this crisis seriously.

“But House Democrats have taken… a different approach.

“While we finalized the CARES Act, the House parachuted in with miscellaneous liberal demands unrelated to COVID-19. Solar energy tax credits. Airline emissions.

“One senior House Democrat called the virus “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.” One Senate Democratic colleague asked: “How many times are we going to get a shot at a $1-trillion-plus program?”

“They told us exactly what they were up to. So we ignored the left-wing wish list and stayed serious. And the CARES Act is still helping Americans bridge these temporary shutdowns.

“Fast-forward to today.

“The Democratic House is still not back in Washington. Their constitutional duty stations are still unmanned. But Democrats cannot stop salivating over the possibilities for partisan gain.

“Former Vice President Biden says he sees this tragedy as, quote, “an incredible opportunity… to fundamentally transform the country.” Speaker Pelosi says, quote, “I see everything as an opportunity.” A co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus has said, quote, “for me, the leverage is that there is enormous suffering.”

“80,000 Americans have died. More than 20 million have lost their jobs. I call that a crisis. They call it leverage.

“This week, the Speaker published an 1,800-page seasonal catalog of left-wing oddities and called it a coronavirus relief bill.

“Here we go again.

“It includes a massive tax code giveaway for high earners in blue states. Working families are struggling to put food on the table, but House Democrats are prioritizing millionaires on the coasts.

“It would print another round of checks specifically for illegal immigrants.

“Can you believe it? We forgot to have the Treasury Department send money to people here illegally! My goodness. What an oversight. Thank goodness Democrats are on the case.

“The Speaker’s bill also tries to use the virus as cover to implement sweeping changes to election laws that Democrats have wanted for years — like forcing every state to embrace California’s sketchy “ballot harvesting,” whether they want to or not.

“And then, the cherry on top. The bold new policy from Washington Democrats that will kick the coronavirus to the curb and save American families from this crisis. Here it is: New annual studies on diversity and inclusion within the cannabis industry.

“Not one study, but two of them!

“Let me say that again. The Democrats’ supposed coronavirus bill includes taxpayer-funded studies to measure “diversity and inclusion” among the people who profit off marijuana.

“The word “cannabis” appears in this bill 68 times. More times than the word “job” and four times as many as the word “hire.”

“Maybe that’s just as well. Because when their proposal does try to treat the economic crisis, it proposes stifling, anti-work policies that would only make it harder for Americans to get their jobs back.

“For example, they literally propose to raise taxes on small businesses. Drain more cash from Main Street during a Main Street meltdown.

“So maybe it’s best if House Democrats focus on cannabis studies and leave economics to the rest of us.

“This is a totally unserious effort. Even the mainstream media says, quote, “neither this bill nor anything resembling it will ever become law. It’s a Democratic wish list.”

“But forget about making law, this thing even fails as a messaging bill. That’s what’s so remarkable! House Democrats had a blank slate to write anything they wanted to define the modern Democratic Party. Any vision for society they wanted. And they chose: Tax hikes on small business, giveaways to blue-state millionaires, government checks for illegal immigrants, and sending diversity detectives to inspect the pot industry.

“The House gave themselves no assignments for two months except developing this proposal. Yet it still reads like the Speaker of the House pasted together random ideas from her most liberal members and slapped the word “coronavirus” on top of it.

“An unserious product from an unserious House majority that has spent months dealing itself out of this crisis.

“House Democrats have been missing in action for months. While the Senate was passing the CARES Act, the Democratic House was on the sidelines – substantively, and literally. They had already gone home.

“Nearly two months later, Senators are back at our duty stations, with new precautions. We’ve been back two weeks. We’re holding major hearings on the pandemic, legislating, and confirming nominees. But the House is still at home. And when they do contribute, it’s not serious.

“House Democrats have checked out of this crisis and left governing up to the Senate.

“They even intend to shatter congressional history and jam through remote voting so they can continue to be counterproductive from the comfort of their homes.

“Look — here in the real world, Senate Republicans are working seriously to help the country re-open.

“The crushing unemployment figures even with the CARES Act show us that no amount of federal spending could substitute for the entirety of the U.S. economy. We need to be smart and we need to be safe, but we have to find a more sustainable middle ground.

“This week Chairman Alexander and the HELP Committee heard from Dr. Fauci, Dr. Redfield and other top experts on exactly this subject.

“There are at least two big things our nation will need to start recovering: Stepped-up testing nationwide; and legal liability protections so that K-12 schools, universities, charities, and employers are not invaded by trial lawyers the instant they unlock their doors.

“On testing, fortunately, the Senate has already done a great deal. The executive branch and especially the states are in the driver’s seat, but we have already sent billions of dollars to help scale up testing nationwide.

“On legal liability reform, the work lies ahead of us. As my Republican colleagues and I have made clear, strong legal protections will be a hard red line in any future legislation.

“That’s what is happening in the Senate. Serious leadership on a serious crisis. Like we’ve been doing for months.

“This half of the Capitol is doing our job.”

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Republican National Committee
May 15, 2020

everything but the kitchen sink...

In the dead of night, Nancy Pelosi rammed through the largest Congressional bill in history despite objections from both Democrats and Republicans.
 
Make no mistake, Democrats aren’t being serious with this coronavirus relief bill because it provides for things completely unrelated to the coronavirus.
 
Even Democrats admit the bill “goes far beyond pandemic relief.” That’s no surprise. Pelosi made it clear that she sees coronavirus as opportunity to advance the Democrat Party’s far left agenda and she doesn’t want “too much conversation” to get in the way.
  
Just how out of touch is this legislation? Cannabis is mentioned more times than jobs.
 
Democrats included everything but the kitchen sink in the so-called coronavirus relief bill:
 

• The bill provides $125 million to National Science Foundation, $50 million to Legal Services Corporation, $50 million to the EPA in “environmental justice grants,” $40 million to the USGS, $10 million to National Endowment of the Arts and $10 million to National Endowment of the Humanities.
• The bill prevents deportations, funds sanctuary cities, and allows illegal immigrants to collect Economic Impact Payments.
• The bill also guts election security by preventing states from having voter ID requirements, codifies ballot harvesting, enacts national vote by mail, and federalizes election thereby taking power from states.

 
Bottom Line: House Democrats, including Lucy McBath, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Donna Shalala, Charlie Crist, Cheri Bustos, Lauren Underwood, Elissa Slotkin, Haley Stevens, Angie Craig, Chris Pappas, Josh Gottheimer, Andy Kim, Mikie Sherrill, Susie Lee, Anthony Brindisi, Antonio Delgado, Sean Patrick Maloney, Matt Cartwright, Tom O’Halleran, Ann Kirkpatrick, Josh Harder, TJ Cox, Gil Cisneros, Katie Porter, Harley Rouda, Mike Levin, Jason Crow, Sean Casten, Tom Malinowski, Steven Horsford, Max Rose, Tim Ryan, Jennifer Wexton, Colin Allred, Kim Schrier, and Ron Kind who voted for this bill will have to be accountable to their constituents for prioritizing a liberal wish list that has nothing to do with helping Americans recover from coronavirus.
 
Steve Guest
Rapid Response Director
Republican National Committee

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