mr. mcconnell: another day has come and gone in this once in a century national battle for our country. yesterday more of our neighbors had to say goodbye to loved ones whose lives were claimed by this virus. yesterday more doctors and more nurses worked long shifts on the front lines fighting to heal

strangers and limit a national death toll that now exceeds 150,000. yesterday more workers brought home pink slips. more main street businesses saw the end of their p.p.p. lifelines fast approaching. yesterday more laid off americans filed new claims for unemployment insurance or laid awake wondering about next month's rent. yesterday more school officials wondered what to tell parents, students, and teachers about september. so what happened here in the capitol yesterday, madam president? with the american people fighting all these battles and more, what did the speaker of the house and the democratic leader do with yet another day of deliberations? yet again it was the exact same refrain. it never seems to change. we're feeling optimistic.

we spoke very politely to the administration but we're still nowhere close on substance. it's now been more than a week since senate republicans released a serious proposal for another major rescue package. a trillion dollars for kids, jobs, and health care. but democrats are blocking it all. it's like they expect applause for merely keeping a civil tone with the president's team never mind they're still obstructing any action for our country. senate republicans want to which the democratic leader would not let us extend last week . we want to send another round of direct checks for aid into family pockets. we want to supply generous new incentives, for rehiring american workers. and work place safety.

we want tosend historic money to schools for reopening and invest even more in testing and vaccine research . we want legal protections so schools, churches, charities and businesses can reopen . the democrats say they want many of the same things. i certainly believe that many of my democratic colleagues who serve as ranking members want many of the same things and could easily find common ground with our chairman if the democratic leader would let them talk. but instead we've gotten a full week of the speaker of the house and democratic leader shutting out all of our own members and refusing to move an inch, and inch off of demands that everyone knows are outlandish. the democratic leaders want the entirety of their message far left wishlist. all of it. leader pelosi is stillangling

for strange new special interest programs for marijuana industry . they are claiming they are covid related. she said that with respectto this virus marijuana is a therapy that's proven successful . you can't make this up . i hope she shares her breakthrough with doctor fauci . in the other corner leader shimmer is demanding tax cuts to people in blue states or you won't let any relief become law. these are the kinds of non-german projects that are democratic colleagues are demanding. jobs in healthcare unless the ministration let them check off every left-wing lobbyist christmas list . five months early. let's listen to what speaker pelosi's own house democrats said about this bill when they passed it . his ears what house democrats said about the bill that speaker pelosi and the leader

now say is there absolute red line. one quote was the partisan nature and scope of this film is doomedupon arrival in the senate . another, in response to covid-19 our relief efforts must be targeted timely and transparent. the heroes act does notmeet those standards . another quote, this isn't a plan, it's a wishlist . partisan gamesmanship. some in my own party have decided to use this package as an opportunity to make political statements and propose a bill that goes beyond pandemic relief and has no chance of becoming law and further delaying the health so many . those are quotes from house democrats, these are about the so-called heroes act but now the entire thing is the price of admission for giving urgent americans anymore a real work back in march with the care zach worked where productive and good-faith conversations between german

and ranking member against bipartisan process by members. but this time the speaker and democraticleader have forbidden their members from negotiating at all . the ranking member on health cannot even discuss testing with chairman alexander. the ranking member on small business cannot discuss ppp with chairman rubio. esno, the speaker and democratic leader only one themselves at the table. so behind closed doors they can say that nobody gets another dime of federal unemployment money. nobody gets extra school funding. and nobody gets more money for testing and ppe unless they burn cash on 1000 unrelated things. i'm talking about things like stimulus checks for illegal immigrants. $1 trillion slush fund for state even though states and localities have only spent a quarter of the money we sent them in march . let me say that again.

i trillion dollars slush fund for state even though they and localities have only spent a quarter of the money we sent them in march. in my state the state of administration only spent six percent of the money we sent them. six percent. diverse city, and incursion studies a soil health program and on and on. and on. the hospital does all these things while completely forgetting asecond round of no second round for ppp.ram . and spending less money for schools than the senate bill . this is what they want? and every day the script is the same. and the script is we had a pleasant conversation. but we don't feel like making a deal maybe tomorrow.

here's the problem. every day the democratic leaders repeat the same they're letting down the people in the . they after day americans tried this save layoffs, benefit cuts. threats of eviction. thepossibility of losing a family business forever . count wondering if their main streets will ever come back. school principals with no idea what to tell communities . that's the reality in kentucky and it in all 50 states and none of these people are help one bit , not one bit by the democratic leaders charade . what american families needis an outcome . a bipartisan result. senate republicans have had a roadmap sitting on thetable for more than a week . we didn't put every republican wish list item in history into an 1800 page encyclopedia and insist on

starting there. we built a serious starting place based on the bipartisan programs we passed back in march unanimously by the way and what the country needsnow . our colleagues across the aisle would do the same frankly, if our colleagues across the aisle were even allowed to take part in the discussion, we could get this done for our country. we did it in march. we could do it again on both sides have to actually wanted . >> . madam president i just listened to my friend the republican leader. the republican leader is so tied in a knot by his own caucus and his president cthat all he can do is give alice