HEALS Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, every day we can see that this public health crisis is also an economic crisis. During the shutdowns, some employers shuttered completely, and others were forced to lay off workers. Tens of millions of jobs were saved thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program and other CARES Act provisions, but millions of other Americans lost their jobs and remain unemployed.

While job numbers have improved since the more dire days of March and April, there are still many Americans facing unemployment. Talks are continuing to determine how best to modify and extend a Federal supplement to State unemployment insurance programs, but those talks are going miserably slowly.

These State programs and the extra Federal aid have been important safety nets for folks who have lost their income, but they are only a piece of what we can and should do and what a bill before the U.S. Senate lays out. It is called the HEALS Act, put forth by our leader.

As the leader said yesterday, we know that these programs shouldn't pay someone more to stay home than essential workers are making by working hard. We also know that most people would prefer to have a reliable job and avoid layoff entirely. That is why Republicans, as part of the HEALS Act, have put forward several additional proposals to help already unemployed Americans and prevent others from getting laid off in the first place. That is why these talks ought to speed up, so we can get some of these other things in place as well as the unemployment issues that we are talking about.

We extend and significantly expand the employee retention tax credit that was included in the CARES Act so that employers can keep more people on the payroll instead of laying them off. It supports businesses that hire more workers as the economy continues to improve.

We expand the work opportunity tax credit to support employers who are helping those currently receiving unemployment insurance find a new, safe, and steady job. Bringing in new employees and expanding the workforce can be complicated, especially in times of a pandemic. Both employers and employees want to maintain safe working environments. It is important for employers to have the resources to keep their workplaces clean and their employees protected. Republicans then proposed a new tax credit for these expenses, like additional cleaning expenses, personal protective gear, and even office reconfigurations that keep employees and customers safe.

The HEALS Act also provides for another round of economic impact payments. An average family of four would receive $3,400 to help cover expenses. These payments will help any family or any individual who has had to deal with layoffs and are in addition to any unemployment benefits they may receive.

These tax provisions serve as a complement to the unemployment insurance program that is being negotiated right now, with no evidence of progress. There ought to be progress. These programs do set up an extra layer of protection for workers and those already out of work.

Together, these proposals provide a responsible approach to help employers reopen businesses so that employees can safely and effectively return to work to continue fueling the Nation's economic recovery.

Why can't we get these important issues resolved for the American people, particularly for the American people who are hurting? And they are hurting because we were faced with a virus pandemic. As a result of the virus pandemic, the government, for the first time in 240 years, shut down the economy of the United States, and then immediately, in the middle of March, after that happened, we made a point of passing the CARES Act to open up the economy, to give people confidence that what the government did that was bad for the economy and for people and hurting people, unemployed--that we were going to take a lead in getting them back. And we are still in this situation. We shouldn't be debating as long as we are to get these issues taken care of.

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am here to join my colleague from Iowa, Senator Ernst, in this effort.

We ought to get this unanimous consent request accomplished, and we ought to get this bill passed because it is unjustified that we don't get the cooperation that it takes to keep a person who has committed a felony from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States.

I joined Senator Ernst in reintroducing Sarah's Law on January 31 of last year, and that was the third anniversary of Sarah Root's death. Sarah was from Council Bluffs, IA, and as my colleague said, Sarah was tragically killed in Omaha, NE, on the very night of her graduation. An illegal alien struck and killed her while he was driving drunk. He was three times over the legal limit of the amount of alcohol you can have in your blood to be a safe driver.

It is a travesty that the previous administration refused to take Sarah's killer into custody. He was not considered a priority. Can you imagine that? Her killer then disappeared. Obviously, being a smart person who is in violation of the law, he is not going to be seen. So he remains at large. I have said before that Sarah's senseless death is a tragic reminder of the serious improvements that we need in border security and in interior immigration enforcement in our United States of America.

It is outrageous that many innocent Americans have been seriously injured and, in some cases, killed as a result of the actions of criminal illegal aliens.

It is even more outrageous that criminal illegal aliens, like the one who killed Sarah Root, are not subject to mandatory immigration detention. Sarah's Law would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the mandatory detention of an illegal alien who is charged with a crime resulting in the death or serious bodily injury of another person.

This bill is common sense. A lot of times, common sense doesn't prevail in Washington, DC, and the long time to get this very important legislation passed is evidence of the lack of common sense. This bill is long overdue.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of the bill and to support Senator Ernst's unanimous consent request. I gladly thank her for her leadership in this area.

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