interested with more on that topic. we have a particular discussion of what we can do to combat this information, particularly on social media. those of you who want more on this, please for free to go there. and i want to take this moment to thank each of you, you are all true patriots enter doing incredible work to safeguard our election system energy marker c. and we thank you for. we thank you for your time here today, we very much appreciate having you. >> thank you. >> listen to c-span podcast the weekly our guest is don richie's senate historian emeritus. he joins us to discuss the constitutional steps that need to be finalized before president-elect joe biden is sworn in. >> congress has until friday to pass a spending bill to

keep the government funded. earlier today senate majority leader mitch mcconnell spoke about how the senate might proceed with the temporary bill chillout negotiations to continue on a full-year spending package also talks about the coronavirus response. the megarich the time of year when the senate has more important outstanding business that we have days to complete i it. delivering for the american people will take focus, dexterity, and genuine bipartisanship. on government funding as i have said for weeks it is my hope that our committees work will bear fruit in a full year funding package will come to the floor in both chambers. i anticipate that the senate will pick up a one-week extension this week so the government doesn't close on december the 11th and work can continue to the end of next week. the nation needs are

democratic colleagues to resist brinksmanship with long settled policy issues are push poison pill routers they know would tank the process. we also o expect to receive on the annual defense authorization. we can continue having nominees in that judiciary and executive branch. we senators are no strangers to the end of your drama. by this time, this time it takes it far higher. we are up against another steeper surgeon covid-19. then resell back in the spring. workers and small businesses are once again struggling to localities step up precautions. and while the latest news on vaccine trials suggest that victory overor the virus may soon be within reach, our work in that area is far from

complete. as one recent article put it, state and local officials plead for vaccine distribution funds. our nation's historic sprint to victory through vaccines seems poised to succeed in record time. the critical getting hundreds of minds of doses out to millions of people is still in front of us. so congress cannot stay on the sidelines. : : : the millions of people who will lose their unemployed men insurance the day after christmas, theec businesses that are trying to decide whether or not they can continue and the

vaccineoa logistics to make sure vaccine is on the road and vaccinating people across america has quickly as possible. those are the threee things you mentioned. those are the three urgent issues he named as examples and ending on on plumbing or extending on a plumbing entrance, helping businesses and funding vaccine distribution. adam president, i do not question the sincerity of our colleagues who i believe is engaged in these discussions in good faith but these comments illustrate perfectly appoint that republicans have been making for weeks. four weeks. these three urgent issues are issues where there is almost total bipartisan consensus. no real disagreement whatsoever. in fact, the framework for a small targeted relief package i put forward last week something which democrats quickly attacked would have it resolved all three of those subjects in all three.

the targeted republican framework extends on employment insurance programs that will otherwise expire and creates an entire second round of the paycheck protection program for the hardest hit small businesses and lays the groundwork to distribute the vaccines that appear to be on the horizon. check, check, check. democratic whip is right to recognize these three subjects are especially urgent because they are especially urgent. that is why republicans have been trying over and over to get them past. that is why republicans have been saying for months that speaker pelosi and the democratic leader should let congress get outcomes in all the places where we already agree and where we already agree, rather than holding everything hostage over there most controversial partisan commands.

but months after month after month it is the democratic leaders who have said that no relief whatsoever can pass, no consensus items can become law unless multiple controversial areas where we don't agree are resolved to the democrats liking. that is why the democratic leader had every single senate democrats vote to filibuster a targeted covid-19 relief package back in september and again in october. that bill would have taken care of small businesses, on women insurance and vaccine distribution months ago, months ago. senate democrats blocked it and if the senate democrat leader would allow it to three things that the democratic whip

mentioned just yesterday, small business reacting on employment and setting up vaccine distribution and would pass the senate in a landslide. in a landslide. targeted compromise of the most urgent items would pass by a massive bipartisan margin. we could easily put together a whole slew of commonsense policies including those like other legal protections at universities and the council on education have been pleading for and bring it to the floor and pass it. everyone knows why this hasn't happened. it is one reason the speaker of the house and the democratic leader has spent months trying to have bipartisan commonsense policies to their most controversial request.

and saying the country can't get the former unless he gets the latter. the strategy has been all or nothing and so, struggling americans have of course gotten nothing and we are down to the wire, madam president, down to the wire. the light at the end of the tunnel is on-site in operation at warp speed seemed poised to deliver vaccines on a historic almost miraculous timetableme ad we have seen some hopeful signs of engagement from our democratic colleagues but we have no reason to thank the underlining disagreements about policy are going to evaporate overnight. republicans and democrats do not need to resolve every one of our differences to get badly needed relief out the door. we just need both sides to finally