Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1319) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 5.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, more than a year has passed since the coronavirus was first detected in the United States. In that time, we have lost over half a million people to this relentless virus. We are a nation in mourning for our lost loved ones, our neighbors, and, indeed, our colleagues.

As we mourn, much of American life is unrecognizable. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their safety, and their security, and 10 million jobs that were lost have not been returned.

This is the hard reality across this Nation and in every single congressional district across our country.

Through all this pain, our care for one another is still recognizable. We have seen this in the countless hours our health heroes have spent caring for the sick. We have seen other essential workers who have kept our grocery aisles stocked and our mail delivered. We have seen the care of neighbors, indeed, helping neighbors.

Today, Congress acts in the same spirit of care for our fellow Americans by delivering on the relief our constituents, always with humility, have been asking for.

This is not about dollars and cents. This is about lives that are at stake. We can save them by passing this bill. We will get shots into arms faster. We will help families stay housed and, indeed, put food on their tables. Most importantly, this package will help families avoid impossible choices.

The Ways and Means Committee, which has written half of this legislation--and I must tell you, in all my years, I am really proud of what we did, and a reminder that it was the CARES Act that saved the American economy 1 year ago. Full of proven policies, it will fight both for public health and, simultaneously, the economic crisis.

We will not get back to economic recovery until we defeat this virus.

We are balancing immediate relief and sustained support to keep Americans afloat and ready to bounce back stronger than ever. We will make good on our promise of an additional $2,000 from the $1,400 that we promised. We will enhance and expand the refundable tax credits for low- and middle-income workers and their families.

Combined, these benefits will provide an average income boost of 33 percent for the poorest 20 percent of American households. This will be life-changing, and it will lift millions of children in this Nation out of poverty.

For families, this bill offers massive savings in childcare expenses, which have been a major barrier to returning to the workforce, particularly for women.

For millions of jobless Americans, we are ensuring that they can afford life's necessities until this economy rebounds by extending pandemic-related unemployment benefits and increasing that benefit.

Access to affordable, comprehensive healthcare is critical, so we have included provisions to contain costs, particularly for unemployed workers. We will include help for nursing homes to crush the virus.

Mr. Speaker, we shored up the multiemployer pension plans, and you should know I am really proud of that as well. Thirty Republicans in this House have voted for this legislation on two different occasions. Those plans were jeopardized by COVID, and we intend to correct that.

Delaying is not an option. This is an opportunity to take bold action that will keep struggling Americans afloat and give them the peace of mind that better days are still to come.

For those who ask, Is this too much?

The answer is, No.

Economists left, right, and center have agreed with what we are about to do. They know that too little is not enough as we fight the pandemic. We will continue to fight the virus like the grave enemy that it is and give people a fighting chance to make it through the pandemic. And we must give them a chance for opportunity as we get to the other side, and that is what we intend to do with this legislation.

I remind my colleagues that this is not the time for partisan rancor. And I

must say that the debate in the Ways and Means Committee was superb. We must go big. We must be bold. And we must rise to this challenge because the American people this evening are counting on us.

Mr. Speaker, I support this plan, and I urge the rest of our colleagues to support it as well, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation providing a technical explanation of section 9674 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and request that the Joint Committee post the letter on their website as well.

Congress of the United States,

Joint Committee on Taxation,

Washington, DC, February 26, 2021.

Hon. Richard E. Neal,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal: You asked the staff of the Joint

Committee on Taxation to prepare a technical explanation of a

provision to modify the exceptions for reporting third party

network transactions provided by Internal Revenue Code

section 6050W. The specific legislative text is new section

9674 of subtitle G of title IX of the American Rescue Plan

Act of 2021, as amended by the proposed manager's amendment.

Enclosed please find the Joint Committee staff's

description of present law and technical explanation of this

proposal.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Barthold,

Chief of Staff.

Enclosure.

Technical Explanation of the Modification of Exceptions of Reporting Third Party Network Transactions in New Section 9674 of Subtitle IX of

the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, as Amended by the Proposed

Manager's Amendment

(Prepared by the Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, Feb. 26,

2021)

Modifications of Exceptions for Reporting Third Party Network

Transactions

Present Law

Present law requires persons to file an information return

concerning certain transactions with other persons. The

person filing an information return is also required to

provide the recipient of the payment with a written statement

showing the aggregate payments made and the contact

information for the payor. These returns are intended to

assist taxpayers in preparing their income tax returns and to

help the IRS determine whether such income tax returns are

correct and complete.

Returns relating to payments made in settlement of payment

card and third party network transactions:

Starting in 2012 (for payments received in 2011), payment

settlement entities are required to report the gross amount

of payments made in settlement of payment card transactions

and third party network transactions to the IRS and to

businesses that receive these payments.

Specifically, the statute requires any payment settlement

entity making a payment to a participating payee in

settlement of reportable payment transactions to report

annually to the IRS and to the participating payee the gross

amount of such reportable payment transactions, as well as

the name, address, and TIN of the participating payees. A

``reportable payment transaction'' means any payment card

transaction and any third party network transaction.

A ``payment settlement entity'' means, in the case of a

payment card transaction, a merchant acquiring entity and, in

the case of a third party network transaction, a third party

settlement organization. A ``participating payee'' means, in

the case of a payment card transaction, any person who

accepts a payment card as payment and, in the case of a third

party network transaction, any person who accepts payment

from a third party settlement organization in settlement of

such transaction.

For purposes of the reporting requirement, the term

``merchant acquiring entity'' means a bank or other

organization with the contractual obligation to make payment

to participating payees in settlement of payment card

transactions. A ``payment card transaction'' means any

transaction in which a payment card is accepted as payment? A

``payment card'' is defined as any card (e.g., a credit card

or debit card) which is issued pursuant to an agreement or

arrangement which provides for: (1) one or more issuers of

such cards; (2) a network of persons purpose, unrelated to

each other, and to the issuer, who agree to accept such cards

as payment; and (3) standards and mechanisms for settling the

transactions between the merchant acquiring entities and the

persons who agree to accept such cards as payment. Thus,

under the provision, a bank that enrolls a business to accept

credit cards and contracts with the business to make payment

on credit card transactions is required to report to the IRS

the business's gross credit card transactions for each

calendar year on a Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party

Network Transactions. The bank also is required to provide a

copy of the information report to the business.

The statute also requires reporting on a third party

network transaction. The term

``third party network transaction'' means any transaction

which is settled through a third party payment network. A

``third party payment network'' is defined as any agreement

or arrangement: (1) that involves the establishment of

accounts with a central organization by a substantial number

of persons (e.g., more than 50) who are unrelated to such

organization, provide goods or services, and have agreed to

settle transactions for the provision of such goods or

services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement; (2) that

provides for standards and mechanisms for settling such

transactions; and (3) that guarantees persons providing goods

or services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement that

such persons will be paid for providing such goods or

services. In the case of a third party network transaction,

the payment settlement entity is the third party settlement

organization, which is defined as the central organization

which has the contractual obligation to make payment to

participating payees of third party network transactions.

Thus, an organization generally is required to report if it

provides a network enabling buyers to transfer funds to

sellers who have established accounts with the organization

and have a contractual obligation to accept payment through

the network. However, an organization operating a network

which merely processes electronic payments (such as wire

transfers, electronic checks, and direct deposit payments)

between buyers and sellers, but does not have contractual

agreements with sellers to use such network, is not required

to report. Similarly, an agreement to transfer funds between

two demand deposit accounts will not, by itself, constitute a

third party network transaction.

A third party payment network does not include any

agreement or arrangement that provides for the issuance of

payment cards as defined by the provision. In addition, there

is an exception for de minimis payments that applies to

payments made by third party settlement organizations but not

to payments made by merchant acquiring entities. A third

party settlement organization is not required to report

unless the aggregate value of third party network

transactions with respect to a taxpayer for the year exceeds

$20,000 and the aggregate number of such transactions with

respect to a taxpayer exceeds 200. If a payment of funds is

made to a third party settlement organization by means of a

payment card (i.e., as part of a payment card transaction),

the $20,000 and 200 transaction de minimis rule continues to

apply to any reporting obi igation with respect to payment of

such funds to a participating payee by the third party

settlement organization made as part of a third party network

transaction.

So, for example, if a business that provides a web-based

rental platform for short-term travelers is considered a

third party settlement organization, it does not have to

provide a Form 1099-K to property owners participating on

their web-based site who have received payments of $20,000

or less. On the other hand, if that company is considered

a merchant acquiring entity, it would have to issue a Form

1099-K to all payees participating on its platform who

have received payments of any amount starting with the

first dollar.

There are also reporting requirements on intermediaries who

receive payments from a payment settlement entity and

distribute such payments to one or more participating payees.

Such intermediaries are treated as participating payees with

respect to the payment settlement entity and as payment

settlement entities with respect to the participating payees

to whom the intermediary distributes payments. Thus, for

example, in the case of a corporation that receives payment

from a bank for credit card sales effectuated at the

corporation's independently-owned franchise stores, the bank

is required to report the gross amount of reportable payment

transactions settled through the corporation (notwithstanding

the fact that the corporation does not accept payment cards

and would not otherwise be treated as a participating payee).

In turn, the corporation, as an intermediary, would be

required to report the gross amount of reportable payment

transactions allocable to each franchise store. The bank

would have no reporting obligation with respect to payments

made by the corporation to its franchise stores.

Another rule provides that if a payment settlement entity

contracts with a third party to settle reportable payment

transactions on behalf of the payment settlement entity, the

third party is required to file the annual information return

in lieu of the payment settlement entity.

The payment settlement entity is required to file the

information return to the IRS on or before February 28th

(March 31st if filing electronically) of the year following

the calendar year for which the return must be filed. The

statements are required to be furnished to the participating

payees on or before January 31st of the year following the

calendar year for which the return was required to be made.

The Secretary has exercised authority under these rules to

issue guidance to implement the reporting requirement,

including rules to prevent the reporting of the same

transaction more than once.

The reportable payment transactions subject to information

reporting generally are subject to backup withholding

requirements. In addition, the information reporting

penalties apply for any failure to file a correct information

return or furnish a correct payee statement with respect to

the reportable payment transactions. Any person who is

required to file an information return or furnish a payee

statement but who fails to do so on or before the prescribed

due date is subject to a penalty that varies based on when,

if at all, the correct information return is filed or

furnished. There are penalties imposed for failure to file

the information return, furnish payee statements, or comply

with other various reporting requirements. No penalty is

imposed if the failure is due to reasonable cause. Both the

failure to file and failure to furnish penalties are adjusted

annually to account for inflation.

Explanation of Provision

This provision lowers and modifies the threshold below

which a third party settlement organization is not required

to report payments to participants in its network. Under the

provision, for any calendar year, a third party settlement

organization is required to report third party network

transactions with any participating payee that exceed a

minimum threshold of $600 in aggregate payments, regardless

of the aggregate number of such transactions.

Third party network transactions include any commercial

transactions settled through a third party payment network.

The provision also clarifies that third party network

transactions only include transactions for the provision of

goods or services (e.g., personal gifts, charitable

contributions, and reimbursements are not included).

For example, an individual who has registered for a mobile

payment service and uses such a service to reimburse friends

or relatives for expenses, or on occasion sells a used item

to another person, would not be engaging in transactions that

are subject to reporting requirements. However, if that

individual were to register with such mobile payment service

for the purposes of engaging in commercial transactions, such

as regularly carrying on a trade or business through use of

that service, the mobile payment service would be required to

report under the provision.

Effective Date

The part of the provision that lowers and modifies the

reporting threshold is effective for returns for calendar

years beginning after December 31, 2021.

The part of the provision that clarifies that reporting is

not required on transactions which are not for goods or

services is effective for transactions after the date of

enactment.

Mr. Speaker, let me also note on this proud day that it happens to be the 95th anniversary of the creation of the Joint Committee on Taxation, and throughout its history it has provided the Committee on Ways and Means with invaluable advice, and I suspect that is something we can all agree on.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, the residents of my district and of districts all over America are jumping for joy. They are jumping because they see this bill like manna from heaven. There is money for COVID testing; money for vaccines; money for their pockets; money to help reopen schools; unemployment checks; tax credits for children; money for hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, daycare centers, State, county, and local governments; money for poor families, poor children, homeless youth, small businesses, restaurants, rental assistance and mortgage payments so they can stay in their homes. You name it, Mr. Speaker, it is in this bill.

Joe Biden to the rescue. Thank God for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, and especially the people in Georgia. I will vote for this bill. I will vote ``yes.'' Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will vote to rescue and save America.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), a member of the Ways and Means Committee who has had a profound influence on the child credits in this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Let me begin by recognizing the extraordinary work that has gone into this legislation by the Ways and Means Committee staff, the Office of Legislative Counsel, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and many others: Morna Miller, Amy Hall, Kara Getz, Andrew Grossman, Melanie Egorin, and Alice Lin, to name but a few of the superb staff members that we have.

They have worked long hours under immense pressure, all while facing the same challenges of remote school, lack of child care, and concern for family members that Americans everywhere face. There are too many names to include here, but let it be known that your counsel is unparalleled and your expertise is unmatched.

Mr. Speaker, tonight, we recognize that a half a million people have died. Millions have been affected by this dreadful disease. Ten million jobs that were lost have not been returned, and 18 million members of our family are receiving unemployment benefits. People who never imagined that they might be relying on a food bank are lining up weekly, and they are part of the unthinkable number of children that still go hungry as we meet.

With this legislation, we are taking bold action, and, yes, it is sweeping. I want to thank Joe Biden for his courage and vision in helping to bring us to this moment. Yes, it will be costly, but if crushing this virus and ending the suffering that Americans are currently facing, if it is not worth this investment, then I ask: What is?

Over the Speaker's rostrum there is an extraordinary quote by a son of Massachusetts, and I think that it compels us to this moment. Mr. Webster asked, ``Let us develop the resources of our land and call forth its powers and build up its institutions, promote all of its great interests, and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered.''

Tonight, as we vote for this legislation, we are going to achieve something that will be worthy to be remembered.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter listing business leaders in support of this bill

180 Business Leaders Sign in Support of the American Rescue Plan

(By Jana Plat, Feb. 24, 2021)

Washington, DC--Today, 180 CEOs issued a public letter to

leaders of Congress, urging rapid, bipartisan adoption of a

stimulus package on the model of the American Rescue Plan.

The following is the text of the letter and the full list of

signatories.

Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, Minority

Leader McConnell and Minority Leader McCarthy: We write to

urge immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address

the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19

pandemic. More than a year after the first coronavirus case

was reported in the United States, our nation is still

struggling to combat the spread and reverse its economic

fallout.

Previous federal relief measures have been essential, but

more must be done to put the country on a trajectory for a

strong, durable recovery. Congress should act swiftly and on

a bipartisan basis to authorize a stimulus and relief package

along the lines of the Biden-Harris administration's proposed

American Rescue Plan.

Strengthening the public health response to coronavirus is

the first step toward economic restoration. The American

Rescue Plan mobilizes a national vaccination program,

delivers economic relief to struggling families, and supports

communities that were most damaged by the pandemic.

More than 10 million fewer Americans are working today than

when the pandemic began, small businesses across the country

are facing bankruptcy, and schools are struggling to reopen.

The most vulnerable Americans--including women, people of

color and low wage workers--are experiencing the worst of the

pandemic, with unprecedented job loss, childcare burdens and

food insecurity. States and cities have been crushed by

pandemic-related expenses and revenue losses.

The American Rescue Plan provides a framework for

coordinated public-private efforts to overcome COVID-19 and

to move forward with a new era of inclusive growth. The

country's business community is prepared to work with you to

achieve these critical objectives.

Sincerely,

Yo Akatsuka, President & CEO, Nomura Holding America Inc.;

Ellen Alemany, Chairman & CEO, CIT Group Inc.; Simon Allen,

Chief Executive Officer, McGraw-Hill Education, Inc.; Jeffrey

H. Aronson, Managing Principal, Centerbridge Partners; Neil

Barr, Managing Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Rich

Barton, Co-Founder & CEO, Zillow; Candace K. Beinecke, Senior

Partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP; Charles R. Bendit, Co-

Chief Executive Officer, Taconic Investment Partners LLC;

Stephen Berger, Chairman, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC;

William H. Berkman, Co-Chairman & CEO, Radius Global

Infrastructure, Inc.; Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Executive

Officer, Fiserv; Jeff T. Blau, Chief Executive Officer, The

Related Companies, L.P.; Kathy Bloomgarden, Chief Executive

Officer, Ruder Finn, Inc.; Lora Blum, Chief Legal Officer &

Secretary, Survey Monkey; Adam M. Blumenthal, Managing

Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners; John Borthwick, Founder

& CEO, Betaworks; Ari Buchalter, President & CEO,

Intersection.

Martin S. Burger, Chief Executive Officer, Silverstein

Properties. Inc.; Chris Cartwright, President & CEO,

TransUnion; Anthony Casalena, Founder & CEO, Squarespace,

Inc.; Timothy Cawley, President & CEO, Con Edison, Inc.;

Guillaume Cerutti, Chief Executive Officer, Christie's; Brian

Chesky, Co-founder & CEO, Airbnb,

Inc.; H. Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell

LLP; Maria Colacurcio, Chief Executive Officer, Syndio

Solutions; Richard A.C. Coles. Founder & Managing Partner,

Vanbarton Group LLC; Marc Cooper, Chief Executive Officer, PJ

Solomon, L.P.; R. Cromwell Coulson, President & CEO, OTC

Markets Group; Linda Darr. CEO of the American Council of

Engineering Companies; Todd C. DeGarmo, Chief Executive

Officer, STUDIOS Architecture; Annemarie DiCola, Chief

Executive Officer, Trepp, LLC; William R. Dougherty,

Chairman, Executive Committee, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

LLP; Russell Dubner, President & CEO, Edelman US; Douglas

Durst, Chairman, Durst Organization Inc.; Blair W. Effron,

Co-Founder, Centerview Partners; Joel S. Ehrenkranz, Partner

& Co-Founder, Ehrenkranz Partners L.P.; Douglas F. Eisenberg,

Founder & CEO, A&E Real Estate, LLC; Steven M. Ellis,

Chairman of the Firm, Proskauer.

Helmy Eltoukhy PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Guardant

Health; Alexander Farman-Farmaian, Vice Chairman, Portfolio

Manager, Edgewood Management LLC; Ziel Feldman, Chairman &

Founder, HFZ Capital Group; Laurence D. Fink, Chairman & CEO,

BlackRock; Peter Finn, Founding Partner, Finn Partners; John

Fish, Chairman & CEO, Suffolk; Winston C. Fisher, Partner,

Fisher Brothers; William E. Ford, Chairman & CEO, General

Atlantic LLC; Lynne Fox, Board Chair, Amalgamated Bank; Paul

Fribourg, Chairman & CEO, Continental Grain Company; Ryan

Gellert, CEO, Patagonia; Pat Gelsinger, Chief Executive

Officer, Intel Corporation; Dexter Goei, Chief Executive

Officer, Altice USA; Timothy Gokey, Chief Executive Officer,

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.; Perry Golkin, Chief

Executive Officer, PPC Enterprises LLC; James P. Gorman,

Chairman & CEO, Morgan Stanley; Barry M. Gosin, Chief

Executive Officer, Newmark; Jonathan N. Grayer, Chairman &

CEO, Weld North LLC; David J. Greenwald, Chairman, Fried,

Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Efraim Grinberg,

Chairman & CEO, Movado Group, Inc.

Stewart KP Gross, Managing Director, Lightyear Capital;

Robin Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue Airways

Corporation; Leslie W. Himmel, Managing Partner, Himmel &

Meringoff Properties, Inc.; Linh Hoang, Chief Executive

Officer, Boston Microfluidics; Barbara Humpton, President &

CEO, Siemens USA; Frederick J. Iseman, Chairman & CEO, CI

Capital Partners LLC; Kenneth M. Jacobs, Chairman & CEO,

Lazard; Jerry Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer, Delaware North

Companies, Inc.; John Josephson, Chairman & CEO, Sesac; Jared

Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer, OppFi; Brad S. Karp, Chair,

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Charles R.

Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Warburg Pincus LLC; Jason

Kelly, Founder & CEO, Gingko Bioworks; Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.,

Chairman & CEO, Visa Inc.; Anthony S. Kendall, Chairman &

CEO, Mitchell & Titus, LLP; Richard A. Kennedy, President &

CEO, Skanska USA Inc.; Michel A. Khalaf, President & CEO,

MetLife, Inc.; Brian Kingston, CEO of Real Estate, Brookfield

Asset Management; Scott Kirby, Chief Executive Officer,

United Airlines.

Kip Kirkpatrick, Co-Chief Executive Officer, The Vistria

Group; Philip Krim, Co-Founder & CEO, Casper; Barbara Armand

Kushner, President, Armand Corporation; Christopher Larsen,

Chief Executive Officer, Halmar International, LLC; Michael

Lastoria, Founder & CEO, &pizza; William P. Lauder, Executive

Chairman, The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc.; Rochelle B.

Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide;

Richard S. LeFrak, Chairman & CEO, The LeFrak Organization;

Rich Lesser, President & CEO, Boston Consulting Group; Max

Levchin, Founder & CEO, Affirm, Inc.; Aaron Levie, Chief

Executive Officer. Box; Jeffrey E. Levine, Chairman,

Douglaston Development; Pamela Liebman, President & CEO, The

Corcoran Group, Inc.; Martin Lipton, Senior Partner,

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Robert P. LoCascio, Founder &

CEO, LivePerson, Inc.; Charles Lowrey, Chairman & CEO,

Prudential Financial; Roger Lynch, Chief Executive Officer,

Conde Nast.

Mehdi Mahmud, CEO & President, First Eagle Investment

Management, LLC; Anthony Malkin, Chairman, President & CEO,

Empire State Realty Trust; Anthony E. Mann, President & CEO,

E-J Electric Installation Co.; Sandeep Mathrani, Chief

Executive Officer, WeWork; Peter W. May, President & Founding

Partner, Trian Partners; Bill McDermott, President & CEO,

ServiceNow; Tom McGee, President & CEO, International Council

of Shopping Centers; Andrew McMahon, President & CEO, The

Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; Anish Melwani,

Chairman & CEO, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.; Avner

Mendelson, President & CEO, Bank Leumi USA; Heidi Messer, Co-

Founder & Chairperson, Collective[i]; Marc Metrick, President

& CEO, Saks Fifth Avenue; Danny Meyer, Chief Executive

Officer, Union Square Hospitality Group; Michael Miebach,

Chief Executive Officer, Mastercard; Edward J. Minskoff,

Chairman & CEO, Edward J. Minskoff Equities, Inc.; Steve

Mollenkopf, Chief Executive Officer, Qualcomm; Linda Moore,

President & CEO, TechNet; Tyler Morse, Chief Executive

Officer & Managing Partner, MCR Development LLC; Deanna M.

Mulligan, Chief Executive Officer, DM Mulligan, LLC.

Daniel Neal, CEO & Founder, Kajeet; Martin Nesbitt, Co-

Chief Executive Officer, The Vistria Group; Suzanne Neufang,

Chief Executive Officer, Global Business Travel Association;

Liz Neumark, Chair & Founder, Great Performances; Jon

Oringer, Founder & Executive Chairman, Shutterstock, Inc.;

Doug Parker, Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines;

Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global; Michael

Phillips, President, Jamestown Properties LLC; Sundar Pichai,

Chief Executive Officer, Google; Patricia ``Patti'' Poppe,

Chief Executive Officer, PG&E; Penny Pritzker, Chairman, PSP

Partners; Deirdre Quinn, Co-Founder & CEO, Lafayette 148 New

York; Daniel Ramot, Co-Founder & CEO, Via; Scott H. Rechler,

Chairman & CEO, RXR Realty LLC; Jack Remondi, President and

CEO, Navient; Christiana Riley, Chief Executive Officer,

Deutsche Bank Americas; Brian L. Roberts, Chairman & CEO,

Comcast Corporation; Michael Roberts, President & CEO, HSBC

Bank USA; James D. Robinson, II, Co-Founder & General

Partner, RRE Ventures; Robert Roche, Founder & President,

Roche Enterprise.

James A. Rosenthal, Chief Executive Officer, BlueVoyant;

Michael I. Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group; Steven

Roth, Chairman & CEO, Vornado Realty Trust; Steven

Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Communications, Inc.;

William C. Rudin, Co-Chairman & CEO, Rudin Management

Company, Inc.; Kevin P. Ryan, Founder & CEO, AlleyCorp; Scott

Salmirs, President & CEO, ABM Industries Inc.; Charles

Scharf, President & CEO, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.; Ralph

Schlosstein, Co-Chairman & Co-CEO, Evercore Partners Inc.;

Michael Schmidtberger, Partner & Chair of the Executive

Committee, Sidley Austin LLP; Alan D. Schnitzer, Chairman &

CEO, The Travelers Companies, Inc.; Dan Schulman, President &

CEO, PayPal Holdings, Inc.; Alan D. Schwartz, Executive

Chairman, Guggenheim Partners, LLC; Stephen A. Schwarzman,

Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone.

Frank J. Sciame, Chairman & CEO, Sciame Construction, LLC;

Suzanne Shank, President & CEO, Siebert Williams Shank & Co.

LLC; Tarek Sherif, Co-Founder & CEO, Medidata Solutions,

Inc.; Stanley S. Shuman, Senior Advisor, Allen & Company LLC;

Mike Sievert, Chief Executive Officer, T-Mobile US, Inc.;

Jonathan Silvan, Chief Executive Officer, Global Strategy

Group, LLC; Jacob Silverman, Chief Executive Officer, Kroll;

Joshua Silverman, Chief Executive Officer, Etsy, Inc.; David

M. Solomon, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs; Jeffrey M.

Solomon, Chair & CEO, Cowen; Rob Speyer, President & CEO,

Tishman Speyer; John Stankey, Chief Executive Officer, AT&T;

Robert K. Steel, Chairman, Perella Weinberg Partners; Alan

Suna, Chief Executive Officer, Silvercup Studios; Steven R.

Swartz, President & CEO, Hearst.

Paul J. Taubman, Chairman & CEO, PJT Partners Inc.; Owen D.

Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Boston Properties; Jonathan

Tisch, Chairman & CEO, Loews Hotels & Co.; Daniel R. Tishman,

Vice Chairman, AECOM & Principal, Tishman Realty; Jean-Marie

Tritant, Chief Executive Officer, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield;

Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, Global Markets,

IBM Corporation; Ellis Verdi, President, DeVito/Verdi; Hans

Vestberg, CEO, Verizon; Pamela S. Wasserstein, President, Vox

Media; Philip Waterman II, Managing Partner, WatermanClark;

Charles Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer, EisnerAmper LLP;

David Winter, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Standard Industries

Inc.; Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New

York City; Rudolph M. Wynter, President-Elect, NY, National

Grid; Tony Xu, Chief Executive Officer, DoorDash; Eric Yuan,

Chief Executive Officer, Zoom; Strauss Zelnick, Partner, ZMC;

John Zimmer, Co-Founder & President, Lyft, Inc.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 166 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Madam Speaker, today the Rules Committee met for over 10 hours and reported a rule, House Resolution 166, providing for consideration of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, under a closed rule.

The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chairs and ranking minority members, or their designees, of the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Ways and Means.

The rule self-executes a manager's amendment by Chairman Yarmuth and provides one motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, since the emergence of the coronavirus, our Nation has been in a perpetual state of mourning. The number of Americans killed by this pandemic is nearly equal to one death a minute every minute for a year.

Every corner of society has been impacted: More than 18 million Americans are receiving unemployment benefits; nearly 24 million Americans are going hungry with roughly 12 million children living in households with food insecurity; up to 40 million Americans cannot afford to pay rent; 8 of 10 minority-owned businesses are on the brink of closure; and I could go on and on and on, Madam Speaker. This is a time to act and to act boldly.

That is why we began work on the American Rescue Plan nearly 1 month ago. Nine committees have now marked up portions of the bill, spending more than 100 hours debating more than 400 amendments. We have acted swiftly, Madam Speaker, but we have also acted deliberately, guided by the reality that the American people need us to act urgently.

More vaccines need to get to more people, so this plan will set up community vaccination sites nationwide. Our schools need to safely reopen, so this bill will deliver new resources to help them do so. Working families need more immediate relief, so the American Rescue Plan also provides an additional $1,400 per person and direct assistance. That will bring the total amount of direct assistance recently provided to $2,000 per person.

This bill also extends unemployment benefits and boosts the Federal minimum wage so that 27 million workers get a raise. Sadly, the Senate rules will cause this provision to be removed when it is considered there.

But I want the American people to know this, we, on the Democratic side, we will not stop fighting to make a minimum wage increase a reality. No one, and I mean no one, who works full time in the richest nation on this planet should have to live in poverty.

There is also nutrition assistance included to combat the growing hunger crisis. And support for local communities on the frontlines of this health emergency. There is aid here for small businesses, expanded PPP eligibility, and resources for our first responders, for our teachers, for our transit workers, and so much more.

This is what it looks like when Congress acts in a way that matches the scale of the problem that we face. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans support this plan. More than 150 leaders of our Nation's top businesses came out this week in support of this plan.

Republican officeholders like the Governor of West Virginia have encouraged Congress to go big here. And local Republican leaders, like the mayor of Miami, and so many other Republican mayors across this country from red States, support our President's proposal. This is a bipartisan response to the coronavirus crisis.

We all joined together on the Capitol steps on Tuesday to mark the 500,000 lives lost to the coronavirus in this country. We didn't stand as Democrats or Republicans, but as one Congress. We mourn the empty seats at dinner tables, and the missed graduations, and weddings the same way, not from our partisan corners, but as one American family.

Through our grief, we should respond here the same way. United in our purpose to defeat this pandemic and rebuild our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to stand together and with the American people in support of this plan. Let's act big. Let's act bold. Let's crush this virus.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter), who is a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an article from The Washington Post, titled ``Biden is winning Republican support for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. Just not in Washington.''

[From the Washington Post, Feb. 14, 2021]

Biden Is Winning Republican Support for His $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus

Relief Plan--Just Not in Washington

(By Griff Witte)

The pandemic has not been kind to Fresno, the poorest major

city in California. The unemployment rate spiked above 10

percent and has stubbornly remained there. Violent crime has

surged, as has homelessness. Tax revenue has plummeted as

businesses have shuttered. Lines at food banks are filled

with first-timers.

But as bad as it's been, things could soon get worse:

Having frozen hundreds of jobs last year, the city is now

being forced to consider laying off 250 people, including

police and firefighters, to close a $31 million budget

shortfall.

``That,'' said Jerry Dyer, mayor of the half-million-strong

city in the Central Valley, ``is going to be devastating.''

The looming cuts explain why Dyer's eyes are fixed on

Washington, where President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus

relief plan dangles the tantalizing prospect of a reprieve.

Though Dyer is a Republican, he's rooting for the president

to successfully push through federal aid that, after a

nightmarish year for Fresno, will ``help get us to the end.''

The first-term mayor's stance reflects a broader split, one

that gives Biden and his fellow Democrats a key tactical

advantage as negotiations near an expected climax early next

month.

Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly oppose the relief

bill, casting it as bloated and budget-busting, with some

heaping particular scorn on a measure to send $350 billion in

assistance to states and cities. Should Biden go ahead

without their approval, GOP leaders say, it will prove that

his mantra of bipartisanship rings hollow.

But to many Republicans at city halls and statehouses

across the country, the relief package looks very different.

Instead of the ``blue-state bailout'' derided by GOP

lawmakers, Republican mayors and governors say they see badly

needed federal aid to keep police on the beat, to prevent

battered Main Street businesses from going under and to help

care for the growing ranks of the homeless and the hungry.

``It's not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue,'' said

Dyer, who became mayor last month following a long career as

the city's police chief. ``It's a public health issue. It's

an economic issue. And it's a public safety issue.''

Surveys show that a broad majority of Americans support the

assistance, including large numbers of Republicans. Only a

minority among Republican voters agree with GOP lawmakers

that the aid package is too large, polls have found.

Biden on Friday highlighted the rift, inviting a bipartisan

group of mayors and governors to the White House to discuss

the specifics of the bill.

You folks are all on the front lines and dealing with the

crisis since day one,'' he told the group, which included the

Republican governors of Maryland and Arkansas, as well as

Republican mayors.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) later told reporters from

the podium in the White House briefing room that he had

spoken with Biden and Vice President Harris more in the first

several weeks of their administration ``than I had spoken to

the prior administration in the entirety.''

Biden said he brought the group to the White House to ask

``what do they think they need most.''

To many mayors and governors, it's a long list.

``I don't know of any city that hasn't been affected

negatively,'' Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt (R) said. ``Some

may be worse off than others. But we have all had to make

cuts.''

The impact has not been as severe as some economists

initially projected, however. When the pandemic first struck

American shores and much of the U.S. economy shut down last

spring, the prognosis for states and cities looked dire.

Analysts warned that cities--some of which had still not

fully recovered from the Great Recession more than a decade

ago--could be forced into bankruptcy.

But some of the worst consequences have already been

blunted by previous rounds of federal aid, as well as by the

nature of the economic recovery, with high-income

individuals--who contribute much of the state and local tax

base--bouncing back relatively quickly, even as poorer

families languish.

When 10 Republican senators visited the White House this

month to lay out their slimmed-down $618 billion

counterproposal to the president's plan, Mitt Romney (Utah)

came brandishing details from a J.P. Morgan analysis showing

that most states had seen only modest revenue declines.

Romney later told reporters that Biden's insistence on $350

billion in state and local aid was the biggest stumbling

block in negotiations.

``That kind of number just makes no sense at all,'' he

said. The Republican plan proposed to cut it entirely.

Yet as the J.P. Morgan analysis shows, the impact of the

pandemic has been unevenly felt, with some states--especially

those whose economies are heavily dependent on tourism or oil

and gas extraction--suffering dramatic declines.

A Brookings Institution analysis in September found that

although income tax revenue had proved resilient during the

pandemic, sales tax and transportation-related revenue had

been hit especially hard. As a result, states and cities were

projected to lose out on more than $450 billion over three

years.

And the pain hasn't only been on the revenue side. New

needs arising from the pandemic have created new costs.

``Cities were confronting some really big challenges even

before this crisis--income inequality, homelessness, housing

affordability,'' said Tracy Gordon, acting director of the

Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

All have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, she

said. But many cities now have fewer resources with which to

address them.

In Oklahoma City, Holt said, revenue has been down by about

5 percent, a sharp departure from the robust growth the city

had become accustomed to before the pandemic. To compensate,

he said, the city has had to leave jobs unfilled and cut

funding for parks and recreation, even as the overall needs

of citizens and businesses have grown.

``We don't do much fluff here,'' he said. ``So whatever

we've had to cut, residents have experienced it.''

Republican lawmakers in Washington have dismissed aid to

cities as a bailout for governments that have long spent

beyond their means.

But Holt called that ``a red herring.'' Most state and city

governments--unlike the federal government--have to balance

their budgets, just as a business would.

But unlike businesses large and small that have received

grants or loans to make up for the damage done by the

coronavirus, cities have been left out.

``In a sense, we're the only employer that hasn't been able

to make an application to anyone to save our jobs and save

our services,'' said Holt, who noted that the city government

is one of his metro area's biggest employers. ``Support for

cities and states is way overdue.''

There has been some relief. The Cares Act, signed into law

by President Donald Trump last March, included $150 billion

for states and for the nation's 38 largest cities. But money

had to be spent directly on coronavirus expenses, creating

logistical hurdles in getting it out the door. Nearly a year

later, some of it remains unspent, a point Republicans make

in arguing for why additional taxpayer dollars should not be

allocated.

The aid proposed by Biden would not have the same

restrictions. Mayors say that will make it easier to quickly

get it into the hands of those who need it and to stimulate

economic growth.

Betsy Price proudly calls Fort Worth, the metropolis of

nearly 900,000 she has led for the past decade, ``a fiscally

conservative city.'' But the Republican said the pandemic has

forced the city government to spend more just to keep people

afloat, doling out small-business support, rental assistance

and help with utility bills.

Price joined more than 400 fellow mayors late last month--

including many Republicans--in signing a U.S. Conference of

Mayors letter that called on Congress to quickly pass Biden's

coronavirus relief plan. She said she had spoken with both of

Texas's senators--Republicans Ted Cruz and John Cornyn--and

made the same case.

``We're not asking the Democrats or the Republicans to put

money into city coffers,'' she said. ``We're asking them to

put it into the community to help people get back on their

feet.''

The National Governors Association has not released a

letter similar to the one endorsed by the mayors. But the

group did call for $500 billion in relief for states last

spring. And individual Republican governors have spoken up to

back Biden's relief plan, which can be enacted without GOP

support. That includes moderates such as Maryland's Larry

Hogan, as well as Trump-aligned conservatives such as West

Virginia's Jim Justice, who has urged Congress to ``go big.''

Suarez, the Miami mayor, has pushed the same message and

has put pressure on Florida's two Republican senators, Marco

Rubio and Rick Scott, to follow through.

The Republican recently co-wrote an op-ed with St.

Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, a Democrat, in which they

addressed the senators directly and enumerated the problems

facing their cities, including unemployment, bankrupt

business and lines at food pantries that look like

``gridlocked freeways.''

``Florida's cities are in agony and are crying out for

help,'' they wrote. ``This is not sustainable.''

In an interview, Suarez said both senators have been

receptive to his message in private, though they also

expressed concerns about the price tag--concerns that Suarez

said he could understand, to a point.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who is the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me just remind my colleagues that 70 percent of the American people support this bill. Republican governors and Republican mayors from all across the country support this bill. The only place where it isn't bipartisan is here in the Congress.

Republicans say, oh, the people can't be trusted to know what is in the bill. The fact of the matter is, people support this because they support more money for vaccinations; more money in terms of direct payments to individuals and enhanced unemployment benefits; and more money for our cities and towns, our first responders, our police and our fire departments, and so many other things.

I know my Republican friends have developed this habit of trying to overturn the will of the American people. Well, enough. The American people want this, and we are going to deliver it for them.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Small Business.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Financial Services.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the U.S. Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta).

I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Madam Speaker, we are in the midst of a pandemic, the likes of which we haven't seen in 100 years. It is catastrophic in every way imaginable. To hear some of my Republican friends try to nickel-and-dime our response, they should talk to an economist. If they did, they would discover what will happen if we don't pass this package now.

We could end up with 4 million fewer jobs this year. That is according to Moody's.

It will take another 4 years of suffering before the GDP returns to its prepandemic levels. That is according to the nonpartisan CBO.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said: ``The smartest thing we can do is to act big. In the long run, the benefits will far outweigh the costs.''

Mark Zandi, former adviser to John McCain, said: ``You don't need a textbook to know this is when you push on the fiscal accelerator.''

Now, let's be clear what we cannot afford. We cannot afford more delay tactics, another lapse in unemployment assistance, or another moment of inaction. This plan is what our economy needs, and it is what America needs, bold, urgent action.

So, let's pass this rule and the underlying legislation, and let's let the Senate do its job and send this bill to the President's desk without delay. This historic crisis deserves a historic response. The American people are counting on us.

Listening to the Republicans debate on the floor and in the Rules Committee has been a disappointing experience. Barely, barely a word of empathy or compassion for those who are suffering or for those who are struggling.

What we have heard are delay tactics. What we have heard are distortions. What we have heard is divisive talk.

My friends talk about bailouts. This is not a bailout. It is a rescue package. My friends are out of touch with the American people.

People are struggling. People right now are trying to figure out how they are going to put food on the table to feed their families. Here on the House floor, what we hear is indifference, what we hear is distraction.

The good news is this. We are going to pass this bill today. This is a big deal. We are going to send it over to the United States Senate, and we have a Senate that is not going to put this in the trash can. It is going to debate it and vote on it, and then we are going to send it to the President.

The good news to the American people is: Help is on the way. We promised you that we would step up to the plate and that we would respond appropriately to this crisis, and that is what we are going to do.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to support this rule and to support this package.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as the Member of Congress for a congressional district that has experienced the worst of the COVID-19 as a public health emergency and economic catastrophe, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1319, the ``American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,'' which provides $1.9 trillion to take immediate and decisive action to crush the virus and vaccinate our people, build the economy back better, reopen schools, and provide needed support and assistance to state and local governments that have been asked to do too much with too little for far too long.

Mr. Speaker, by an overwhelming margin (72 percent), the public wants and is demanding that we act to provide more economic relief to address the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe an additional relief package is necessary, while more than nine in ten (92 percent) Democrats and Democratic leaners say more coronavirus aid will be needed.

Even the most conservative Republicans favor more relief by a 56 percent-44 percent margin.

Nearly nine-in-ten of all adults (88 percent) in lower-income households say an additional package is necessary, while 81 percent of Republicans in lower-income households (81 percent) say additional aid is needed now.

The American Rescue Plan Act delivers that aid and does it in a way that will crush the coronavirus and build the economy back better.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put children safely back in schools with a strong $170 billion investment and putting money in workers' pockets by raising the federal minimum wage.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put food on the table, by expanding the SNAP program and respecting Black family farmers.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put people back to work by prioritizing funding for transit, airlines and airports, and the disaster relief fund.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put small businesses back on track with robust funding for EIDL and restaurant grants, additional funding for shuttered live venues and expanded PPP eligibility for nonprofits.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put a priority on protecting renters and homeowners, preventing homelessness, and providing $10 billion for the Defense Production Act to procure essential medical supplies and equipment.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put money in people's pockets, with direct payments, Unemployment Insurance, Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and includes pension security and expanded Affordable Care Act coverage.

The American Rescue Plan Act will provide $17 billion in critical funding to help the VA meet the health and economic security of veterans, especially as it relates to the benefits claims and appeals backlog caused by COVID-19.

The American Rescue Plan Act will produce and distribute the vaccine to test, treat and protect all Americans, including communities of color.

The American Rescue Plan Act will provides desperately needed funding for our heroes--health care workers, first responders, sanitation, transportation and food workers, and teachers--in states, localities, tribes, and territories.

Finally, and very importantly, the American Rescue Plan Act establishes the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and provides $45.570 billion the legislation provides in direct funding to major metropolitan cities and local governments.

In my home state of Texas, metropolitan cities are estimated to receive $10.327 billion in direct coronavirus relief funding, while the state of Texas is slated to receive $16.824 billion, for an estimated $27.152 billion total to the state of Texas.

During the Budget Committee markup, I proposed, and the Committee agreed that any effort to strip or reduce this vital funding is to be rejected so major metropolitan cities, like Houston, receive the direct COVID-19 relief funding desperately needed to battle the coronavirus, restore critical services to struggling families, and help save the jobs of essential public servants like teachers, firefighters, and other first responders.

Let me discuss briefly why direct funding to major metropolitan cities and counties is so critical.

The purpose of providing for direct payment to major metropolitan cities like Houston and counties like Harris County, as opposed to the County having to receive an allocation from the State, is so that the local governments, who are in the best position to identify and respond, will be able to tailor the funding to meet the urgent needs of their communities.

For example, under the direct payment provisions in the CARES Act, Harris County received more federal funding relative to the amount that would have been received through the State program and had the flexibility needed for more efficient use of this funding, which was a concern voiced even by State leaders over the restrictive way that the State of Texas distributed CARES Act funding.

By directly allocating funding to metropolitan cities and areas like Houston and Harris County, local authorities were and can work with the community to determine the specific needs of Harris County residents.

As a result, Harris County Commissioners Court approved, for example, the following programs to directly address community needs, and to get money into the hands of residents quickly:

1. Commissioners Court funded Community Programs

2. Census Services

3. Childcare Assistance Program

4. Court Evictions Services

5. COVID 19 Workforce Development Program

6. Direct Assistance Programs

7. Domestic Violence Assistance Fund

8. Rental Assistance Programs

9. Small Business Loan Program (LEAP)

10. Small Business Relief Fund

11. Small Cities Support

12. Student Digital Services

13. UT Health Community Spread Survey Program

Without direct payments to major metropolitan cities, state governments--as we saw here in Texas--would not have permitted CARES Act funding to be used to create or support any of these programs.

In addition, without direct payments to major metropolitan cities and government units, states invariably will succumb to the temptation to place onerous conditions on funding over and above those required by the Federal government.

For example, in Texas, only $55 per capita was allocated to non- direct allocation entities, instead of the $174.49 per capita that was allocated to them by Congress.

Additionally, only 20 percent of the allocation made available immediately to local entities instead of making 100 percent of the allocation available immediately.

Third, direct funding is necessary to prevent state governments from creating specific categories limiting eligibility for medical expenses, public health expenses, payroll expenses for employees in the fields of public safety, public health, health care, human services, or whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Without direct payments to major metropolitan cities, state governments, again as we have seen in Texas, will limit recovery for expenditures to support actions to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 related public health measures or associated with the provision of economic support in connection with the COVID-19, or other COVID-19 related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the fund's eligibility criteria.

I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia who said colorfully just a few days ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.''

The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote:

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan action we took last December was a step in the right direction but only a long-delayed down payment; we cannot afford any more delays, especially since Republican stalling already caused a painful lapse in critical unemployment assistance last year, and additional unemployment assistance is set to expire on March 14, 2021.

That is why the American Rescue Plan Act is absolutely crucial and the right thing to do and to do right now.

The American Rescue Plan Act proposed by President Biden, takes a multiprong approach to tackling the public health and economic crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

No one is better prepared or more experienced to lead the American rescue that President Biden, who as Vice-President oversaw

the implementation of the Recovery Act, which saved millions of jobs and rescued our economy from the Great Recession the Obama Administration and the nation inherited from a previous Republican administration.

And let us not forget that President Obama also placed his confidence in his vice-president to oversee the rescue of the automotive industry, which he did so well that the American car industry fully recovered its status as the world leader.

Mr. Speaker, to crush the virus and safely reopen schools, the American Rescue Plan Act will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and makes the investments necessary to safely reopen schools.

It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments, and addressing health care disparities.

The American Rescue Plan Act delivers immediate relief to working I families bearing the brunt of the crisis by providing $1,400 per person in direct cash assistance to households across America, bringing the total (including the $600 down payment enacted in December) to $2,000.

Additionally, the plan will also provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families struggling to get by, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend and expand unemployment insurance so American workers can pay their bills, and give families with children as well as childless workers a boost through enhanced tax credits.

Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan Act provides much needed support for communities struggling with the economic fallout, including hard-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination.

Finally, the plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers, and other essential workers that all Americans depend on.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic, as did the videos of the unjustified killings of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmed Arbrey, and so many others, laid bare for the nation to see the stark racial and ethnic inequalities exacerbated by the virus.

In my home state of Texas, as of the end of September 2020, there have been more than 760,000 cases of COVID-19 and 16,000 deaths.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Care Services, 70 percent of the confirmed fatalities were people of color.

In Texas, COVID-19 mortality rates are 30 percent higher for African Americans and 80 percent higher for Hispanics overall.

The differences become much larger when accounting for age; for example, in the 25 to 44-year-old age group, African American mortality rates are more than four times higher than White rates, and the Hispanic rates are more than seven times higher.

One factor in Hispanic and African American populations being more likely to contract COVID-19 is employment in occupations associated with public contact and that cannot be done remotely.

The sad fact is that most workers in these occupations are less able to be absent from their job or to have paid time off.

In Texas, people of color are more than 40 percent of cashiers, retail salespersons, child care workers, licensed practical nurses, more than 50 percent of bus drivers and transit workers, medical and nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides, and more than 60 percent of building cleaners and housekeepers.

In addition, Hispanic and African American populations in Texas are less likely to have health insurance and to have a regular health care provider, so less likely to seek or receive early care for symptoms, especially in the first months of the epidemic.

And African American and Hispanic populations are also more likely to have an underlying health condition that makes them more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19.

To respond and mitigate the devastation wrought by COVID-19 on Americans, and especially marginal and vulnerable communities of color, I have introduced H.R. 330, the ``Delivering COVID-19 Vaccinations to All Regions and Vulnerable Communities Act'' or ``COVID-19 Delivery Act,'' which I invite all Members to join as sponsors.

Under the COVID-19 Delivery Act, FEMA will be authorized and directed to lead the effort for vaccine delivery from the receipt from manufacturing facilities to delivery to designated inoculation sites (hospital, clinic, doctors' offices, school, places of worship, community centers, parks, or neighborhood gathering locations.

The legislation directs FEMA to develop and deploy a fully staffed and resourced 24-7 advanced real-time tracking system that allows FEMA to monitor shipments of vaccine units that can provide end-to-end transparency on the temperature, real-time location, origin, and destination data, anticipated time of arrival, and report on changes and update recipients on the progress of their delivery and report on changes that may impact expected delivery or the viability of the vaccine while in transit.

FEMA will provide an advanced communication system that allows public health departments to communicate their vaccine readiness, capability of receiving vaccines, delivery locations, details of facility capability of storing, securing, personnel authorized to receive deliveries, logistics for delivering vaccines to patients, report on vaccine receipts, condition of vaccines, patient reactions, feedback on how to improve the process.

H.R. 330 authorizes FEMA to secure transportation for delivery or use of vaccines, and, when requested, security for the vaccine delivery sites or inoculation locations to ensure the life and safety of personnel and patients who seek to provide or receive vaccinations are free of interference or threat.

Finally, the COVID-19 Delivery Act directs FEMA to conduct public education and patient engagement through the provision of inoculations of persons in areas and locations where vulnerable populations are under performing in getting vaccinations.

Mr. Speaker, I see the disparities in the lives of so many of my constituents who suffer disproportionately from medical conditions that make COVID-19 deadly.

They work low wage or no wage jobs to make ends meet, and they have no health insurance and rely on community health centers or public health services for routine care.

I call them friends and neighbors because they are that to me.

No one is benefiting from the COVID-19 economy.

The U.S. poverty rate has grown at a historic rate over the past five months, with 7.8 million Americans falling into poverty after the expanded $600 a week in unemployment assistance expired at the end of July.

This represents the greatest increase since the government began tracking poverty sixty years ago.

In the city of Houston, nine key service sectors, accounting for 70 percent of all jobs, hemorrhaged more 1,343,600 jobs, which to average folks is another way of saying that more than 1.34 million persons lost their livelihoods.

Houston workers lost jobs in the following areas:

Healthcare: 391,000; Retail: 393,600; Food services: 267,000; Finance: 166,000; Private Education: 63,400; Arts and Entertainment: 37,400; Accommodations: 28,700; Air Transportation: 20,200; Other Services: 115,800.

In addition to these positions, jobs were also lost in other areas, the largest of which was the construction industry, which shut down 30,700 jobs.

Professional and business services followed, with 25,300 jobs lost, although 13,900 were in temporary and provisional jobs in employment services; upstream oil lost 12,300 in March/April; and non-oil manufacturing lost 7,700 jobs.

Americans out of work due to COVID-19 have generated 86 million jobless claims, with new claims being filed in recent weeks topping 800,000.

Millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic have fallen thousands of dollars behind on rent and utility bills, a clear warning sign that people are running out of money for basic needs.

If this is not enough evidence of what is happening just look at the miles of vehicles lined up outside of food distribution centers for assistance, we see nightly on our television screens and in our communities.

Moody's Analytics warned in November 2020 that 9 million renters said they were behind on rent, according to a Census Bureau survey.

The Bureau of the Census reports that twenty-one percent of all renters are behind on their rent, of which twenty-nine percent are African American families and seventeen percent are Hispanic households.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's analysis of persons who were employed prior to the pandemic, 1.3 million of these households are now, on average of $5,400 in debt on rent and utilities, after the family breadwinners lost their jobs.

The new COVID-19 relief legislation passed last week by Congress, and reluctantly but finally signed by President Trump restores unemployment assistance, but cuts that assistance from $600 a week to $300 a week without consideration of the facts on the ground, which are that millions of Americans remain out of work due to COVID-19 public health policy, and have been without sufficient income since August 1, 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that as of February 23, 2021, 28.3 million cases of COVID-19, resulting in more than 503,000 deaths, had been reported in the United States.

What the costs will be to our nation from this destruction of lives and livelihoods have yet to be fully calculated.

It is a tragedy that too many households who have lost a member to COVID-19 are struggling to accept these deaths, but it is also the friends, co-workers, business owners, professionals, students, teachers, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, and grandparents who also are feeling these losses because someone that mattered to them is no longer here.

Each of these lives impacted dozens of other lives, too many of whom were not allowed to be present with them during their final moments on this earth, but whose suffering is too often overlooked because we unduly preoccupy ourselves with only the immediate family.

I strongly support H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, just before I begin, I also want to acknowledge that I had sent the chairman of the Rules Committee a letter earlier in the week, to which he today kindly responded, and I appreciate the prompt response to my concerns about Capitol security.

Madam Speaker, today's rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Throughout this process, Republicans have been completely excluded. I sit on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, I sit on the Budget Committee, and I sit on the Rules Committee, and throughout the markups in each of these committees Republicans offered sincere amendments to improve the bill for the American people.

While only 2 of the 245 Republican amendments offered were adopted, the rule before us today strips out the one amendment adopted by a rollcall vote.

Earlier today in the Rules Committee, over 200 amendments were offered and debated, not a single one was made in order. The American people at least deserve to have the suggestions of Members that they elected to be debated on the House floor. They don't have to be adopted, but they should at least be heard on the House floor. It seems that the Democrats are unwilling to allow elected Members of Congress to do their job and represent their constituents.

With $1 trillion of funding left unspent from the previous--from the

previous--coronavirus response bills, it does seem that we do have some time to do our work, but, instead, we didn't even hold markups on this portion of the bill.

While the Energy and Commerce Committee did hold a markup, all Republican amendments were defeated. This portion of the bill includes changes that will take months to implement, if indeed they happen at all. Perhaps the most startling figure is less than 10 percent of these dollars are actually spent on combating the coronavirus.

Despite spending over $14 billion on vaccines and therapeutics, after $28 billion was just recently provided in the fiscal year 2021 omnibus, this package does not contain any funding--zero funding--for the National Institutes of Health. The National Institutes of Health has been a critical partner in Operation Warp Speed and getting the vaccine through the approval process in literally warp speed time and helping the vaccine manufacturers in developing the coronavirus vaccine that we are now so urgently needing.

This legislation includes many provisions that really should be addressed outside of a coronavirus relief package, like providing a State option for postpartum Medicaid coverage for women. While this is a policy I have long advocated for, it should not be temporary, as this legislation directs it to sunset after 7 years. Let's bring that bill separately to the floor and get this policy right, just as we did in the last Congress.

Furthermore, although there are billions of dollars directed to public health, the Provider Relief Fund is curiously not replenished.

Again, why are we not supporting programs which we know work and we know provide direct, targeted relief?

The Provider Relief Fund is a program that works, and that is why I offered an amendment to add $35 billion to the Provider Relief Fund.

Adding to the partisan nature of this legislation is the lack of any Hyde protections ensuring that none of this funding is used to subsidize abortion. The Hyde amendment is a longstanding, bipartisan agreement. Instead, there is $50 million included for Title X Family Planning, which likely is going to go to Planned Parenthood and has nothing to do with coronavirus relief.

This is a $1.9 trillion partisan wish list that could ultimately increase the Federal deficit to between $2 trillion to $3 trillion without addressing the immediate needs of Americans simply trying to survive this pandemic.

So I would suggest that now is not the time to push through partisan priorities. Barely a month ago, Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law, a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. Combined with previous relief packages, which were bipartisan and which were worked on by both Democrats and Republicans in the last calendar year, there remains $1 trillion in unspent funding.

Why is it so urgent to pass another $2 trillion now?

It is reminiscent of our former colleague, Rahm Emanuel, who said: Never let a crisis go to waste.

Madam Speaker, I urge opposition to the rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), who is a valuable member of the Rules Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), who is another valuable member of the Texas delegation.

Madam Speaker, I thank the Chair for that reminder.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the ranking member of the House Committee on Rules.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack), a valuable member of our Appropriations Committee and a subcommittee ranking member.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), the ranking member of the Health Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).

Madam speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), a valuable member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. C. Scott Franklin).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Lubbock, Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, Republicans will amend the rule to strike the consideration of the Pelosi payoff bill, and instead, consider H.R. 1371, the Crush the Virus Act, introduced by Representative Tom Reed, which is attached, and will provide over $160 billion to expand the administration of vaccines and provide direct relief for the coronavirus.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gonzalez), who is here to explain the amendment.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I recognize the critical work that was done by the Congressional Doctors Caucus on this effort. The thesis was that we are going to crush the coronavirus.

You think that you would want to involve the people who left the world of healthcare providing to come and serve in the people's House.

Unfortunately, those amendments that were thoughtfully introduced were rejected at the Committee on Rules.

We had amendments, such as allowing the FDA to use real-world evidence in their evaluation of the emergency use authorization that is currently pending.

We were going to reduce the Medicaid payment error rate, which seemed like a good idea.

Medicaid home- and community-based services, substance use disorder treatment, and mental health services were to be expanded.

The public health workforce allowing for loan repayment was rejected.

An amendment providing for coronavirus testing at the southern border--we know we have got a problem with increased people coming across the southern border without authorization. President Biden has indicated that he is welcoming that, but as a consequence, we need to be certain that we are protecting Americans from the introduction of the coronavirus. This was a measure to allow for increased testing on the southern border, but we couldn't accept that.

Hyde protections, you have heard many people talk about that. That was rejected at the Committee on Rules, with a variety of amendments.

Dr. Miller-Meeks had an amendment to allow for the standardized testing to go on in classrooms this next year, not using it to reduce payments to schools that don't measure up but using it as a diagnostic test. Let's find out how far behind some of our classrooms are.

All of these were thoughtful amendments introduced by the GOP Doctors Caucus. Unfortunately, all were rejected. You would think if you wanted to crush the coronavirus, you would ask your doctor.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, in closing, it doesn't look like this bill is going to open our economy. It is not going to open our schools. It is not going to provide targeted relief to those who need it most. I am willing to talk about nutritional assistance, but what I am not willing to talk about is a gilded underground railway under Silicon Valley.

Madam Speaker, this is one of the most expensive bills in the history of the people's House. And it doesn't prioritize the immediate needs of the American people. Rather than work for the American people, Democrats are working for their own future 2 years from now. I think that is unacceptable.

Look, I recognize that President Biden has worked hard to make vaccines more available, but the very vaccines he's making available are the ones that President Trump worked so hard to get developed and into production.

Let's acknowledge success where it has occurred. I am going to urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question so we can offer the amendment. I am going to urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, a ``no'' vote on the underlying measures.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, let's face facts. Let me tell my Republican friends: We have a terrible hunger crisis going on in this country right now. Fourteen million of our children are going to bed hungry this night.

The American people are crying out: Congress, help us.

We have support of our measure from the American Farm Federation and from Cargill, and we have support of our legislation from God Almighty Himself.

What did He tell you and me?

He said: Feed the hungry and heal the sick.

America is hungry, America is sick, and America is calling on you Republicans to love your people and take care of your people at this critical time of need.

Madam Speaker, as the first African American Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, I am proud that the American Rescue Plan Act provides support for all sectors of agricultural production, including farmers, ranchers, and private forest land owners of color.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spends billions of dollars annually in providing much needed support to American producers. Sadly, Black farmers and other farmers of color have received a small share of the USDA farm loans and payments as a result of discrimination. When these producers did receive loans or payments, many of them were not provided timely or proper loan servicing options due to discrimination, which led to producers of color losing their land and operations.

Sections 1005 and 1006 of the American Rescue Plan Act provide targeted and tailored support for these farmers and ranchers. I note for the record that changes made to these sections in the Manager's Amendment were to ensure that these sections would meet the requirements of section 313 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for consideration in the United States Senate.

The systemic discrimination against Black farmers and other farmers of color by USDA is longstanding and well-documented and continues to present barriers for these producers to participate in the agricultural economy. It is important that we document this history and the continuing challenges for these farmers of color in the Congressional Record.

A 1965 report by the United States Commission on Civil Rights found that Federal, state, and local officials discriminated against Black farmers in agricultural programs and that this discrimination actively contributed to the decline in the Black ownership of farmland.

In 1968, a follow up report from the United States Commission on Civil Rights found that Black farmers continued to face discrimination when seeking farm loans and other forms of assistance.

In 1970, the United States Commission on Civil Rights again found that discrimination continued in USDA program administration. The 1970 report indicated that prior to 1968, no Black farmer had ever been elected to any former Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service committee at the county level in the South. In 1970, two out of more than 4,100 committee members in the South were Black farmers, even though there were 58 counties in the South, where Black farmers comprised a majority of the farm operator population.

In 1982, the United States Commission on Civil Rights issued another report on the rapid decline of Black-operated farms. The report noted that between 1970 and 1980, the Black farm population declined 65 percent, compared to a 22 percent decline in the white farm population. The report also documented numerous discrimination complaints filed against USDA field offices regarding the administration of farm loan programs and noted that for many of these complaints, USDA's Office of Equal Opportunity investigated and found equal opportunity violations at those field offices. The report concluded that racial discrimination was continuing within the USDA, at USDA headquarters, and in the network of field offices that implement USDA programs.

In 1988, Congress passed section 617 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 requiring the USDA to establish annual target participation rates, on a county-wide basis, that would ensure that members of socially disadvantaged groups receive direct or guaranteed farm ownership loans. Congress amended this requirement in 1996, to ensure that USDA's implementation was consistent with the holding of the Supreme Court in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Federico Pena, Secretary of Transportation, 515 U.S. 200 (1995), which held that race-based actions by the government is within constitutional constraints when it is necessary to further a compelling interest such as the ``unhappy persistence of both the practice and lingering effects of racial discrimination against minority groups.''

A 1995 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that socially disadvantaged producers were significantly underrepresented on the county and community committees of the former Agricultural Stabilization

and Conservation Service. Specifically, the report found that while minority producers accounted for nearly 5 percent of the producers eligible to vote for committee members, minority producers only represented 2.1 percent of county committee members in the United States.

In 1997, the USDA formed a Civil Rights Action Team to hold nationwide listening sessions to hear from socially disadvantaged and minority farmers. A report published after the listening sessions documented Black, Hispanic, Asian-American, and American Indian farmers who told stories of USDA hurting minority farmers more than helping them. Minority farmers described how their discrimination complaints were caught in the backlog of appeals or if successfully appealed, were given findings of discrimination that were not enforced. The report acknowledged that discrimination in USDA program delivery continued to exist to a large degree unabated.

Also in 1997, the USDA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report to the USDA Secretary that noted ``a climate of disorder within the civil rights staff at [the Farm Service Agency].'' It was difficult for the OIG to even determine the number and status of civil rights complaints at the agency and department because of that climate. As the OIG later summarized in a 2005 audit, ``it took 12 days longer to complete minority applications, delinquencies were higher for minority borrowers than nonminority borrowers, and minority borrowers were reluctant to enter into FSA offices to apply for loans.''

In 1998, the USDA National Commission on Small Farms further described and documented the longstanding discrimination of USDA towards socially disadvantaged producers. And, it observed that ``discrimination has been a contributing factor in the decline of Black farmers over the last several decades.'' The Commission's report also notes the ``history of under-allocation of resources to institutions that have served minority farmers,'' the ``disgraceful'' ``failure to elect minority farmers to positions on FSA County Committees,'' and more.

During the period between 1997 and 2000, Black farmers, Native American farmers, and Latinx farmers filed lawsuits alleging USDA discriminated against them on the basis of race in processing their farm program applications and that USDA failed to investigate their complaints of discrimination. But settlements resulting from these lawsuits have not provided the relief necessary for these farmers of color to participate fully in the American agricultural economy.

For example, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2012 that payments made to Black farmers under the Pigford settlements were significantly eroded by state taxes, as well as tax debt related to forgiven USDA farm loans.

In 2001, a report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights documented the continued discriminatory lending practices against minority farmers. The Commission found that Black farmers waited four times longer than white farmers for USDA farm loans. The Commission recommended that USDA resolve the backlog of civil rights complaints and document and alleviate discriminatory lending practices. However, USDA continued to struggle with resolving its backlog of civil rights complaints. In 2008, GAO reported that USDA's difficulties in resolving discrimination complaints persisted and that the USDA had not achieved its goal of preventing future backlogs of discrimination complaints.

Recent studies and reports continue to document the challenges and barriers faced by farmers of color due to race or ethnic discrimination or the legacy of such discrimination. A September 20, 2017, study in the Agriculture and Human Values journal described the challenges faced by Latinx farmers due to failure of agricultural agencies to engage in appropriate outreach or account for language barriers.

In 2019, a GAO report observed that socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers had proportionately less agricultural credit than non- socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. This report found that farmers and ranchers of color continued to face more difficulties in obtaining farm loans and highlighted the historic, systemic discrimination against such farmers.

The Market Facilitation Program and Coronavirus Food Assistance Program are recent USDA programs designed to bolster the farm economy; in both programs the majority of funds went to non-minority farmers. For example, the Environmental Working Group reported that nonminority farmers received nearly 97 percent of the $9.2 billion provided by the USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Additionally, the Farm Bill Law Enterprise reported that 99 percent of Market Facilitation Payments went to non-minority farmers.

The systemic discrimination of farmers, ranchers, and other producers of color by the USDA is longstanding and well-documented. I urge my colleagues to support me and the Committee on Agriculture as we work to enable socially disadvantaged producers to succeed in the agricultural economy. Sections 1005 and 1006 of the bill before the House today are critical to that work, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.