mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12:00 noon friday, january 1. further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, morning business be closed, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. finally, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the veto message on h.r. 6395. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the >> the senate today is continuing work on the overriding president trump's veto of the 2021 defense programs and policy bill. it will have more live in senate coverage with the back in two session here on "c-span2". and here's a look at some of

today's debate. >> is today the senate was finally able to proceed to this year's national defense authorization act. if you are democratic calling simple out all the stops to holdback this crucial bill. but last night, a big bipartisan majority evading the senators who voted to proceed. there should be nothing controversial about giving our brave men and women's and uniform the tools and training they need to stay safe. this should be nothing controversial about continuing the work of rebuilding and modernizing our capabilities and it should be a nonpartisan proposition that america should keep pace with russia and china. rather than slip behind. we've enacted an annual 59 straight years and counting. and in the next few days, and easy way or the hard way, we're going to do her job once again. in this body will fulfill our

responsibilities to the men and women who protect our country. so this and it will be here until we finish this bipartisan legislation. andon after several days, we've heard some senators say that congress must send more cash to the household who have not seen any income destruction. during this covid-19. the colleagues report to be the champions of the morgans now say that was struggling people really need is for congress to stop focusing on targeted relief and specifically and to instead send thousands of dollars to people who do not need the help. experts from across the political spectrum agree that her colleagues from vermont is dead wrong on this. socialism for rich people is a terrible way to help the market families that are actually struggling. so let me say that again. from our grandkids to do socialism for rich people is a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it.

watching the democrats to secured it so the checks would benefit even more households per unit a family of five for the parents are in a $250,000 per year and not seen any income loss this past year. speaker pelosi and senator sanders want to send than $5000 from uncle sam. make a quarter of a million dollars. it nobody's out of work. but her so-called progressive frenzy the household needs survival checks. if i can believe in of five should have turn $350,000 before the spigot of government money would stop entirely. the socialism for rich people. that is what speaker pelosi and senator sanders have sketched out. that's a terrible way to help those who need it. and experts across the political spectrum agree that the liberal

editors of the washington post have blasted the progress of demanding and on targeted giveawayd that would with huge amounts to perfectly comfortable families . larry summers around the treasury department for president clinton, and the economic council for president obama said there is no good economicte argument. for more on targeted checks with no linkage to need. in the liberal new york times reported this morning that a majority of the households they get non- targeted checks do not end up spending them on urgent needs but rather just add to their savings. and that we know the pockets of the needy are sing one economist. and putting money there, would be much more efficient use. unfortunately, madam president, the sum of our callings it seemed have forgotten that's exactly what we did, only a week ago. is been less than five days

since president trump signed into law another bipartisan rescueo package targeted to americans who actually need the help. we passed entire second round of ppe loan to save small business jobs targeted to the hardest hit. wearing a multiple times of additional federal benefits are employed workers including an extra $300 supplement. every week. there are billions targeted food assistance, billions for targeted rental assistance in any billions of dollars for vaccine distribution so that we can finally meet this virus and reopen the economy in full. and these are the kinds of targetedhe emergency programs tt directly help the most vulnerable. just forged almost another trillion dollars into them, sn five days ago. and along with more directed checks that are already arriving in the households accounts.

and that meant imprisonment is what we did just five days ago. this crisis is not affected everyone equally. the data shows that any upper middle-class americans have kept their jobs, works for mostly and remained totally financially comfortable. on the other hand some of our fellow citizens have had their entire existence turned upside down and continue to suffer terribly. we do not need to let the speaker of the house through the socialism for rich people in order to help those who need help. our duty was to struggling americans in the taxpayers is to focus on targeted relief that will have a maximum impact and help the people who needed the most . that's what the experts say that we should do. and that is where there is brought apo bipartisan support d that's exactly what we did less than one week ago when nearly

$900 billion more targeted relief was signed into law for our people. >> momadam president. >> democratic leader. >> the senate me today for a rare new year's eve session and for one reason one reason only. the republican leader has refused to allow us to vote on legislation to provide the american people to thousand dollar checks. it is twice objected to my requests to set a time for both on the measure . claiming that yesterday with the direct stimulus checks were clearly targeted. in the addenda some of the checks ♪ ♪ into the hands of democrats rich friends who do not need the help.

and senator said much the same thing. i don't remember the republican leader and senator complaining about how to trillion dollar across the board corporate tax cut was poorly targeted because of some large company didn't need the help . love, when corporations get a blanket tax break, that is fine by the republican majority, when the amount and an market is helping the government. i hope that every american heard the objections by these republican senators. i hope every american who had their water or heat or electricity shut off, or had eviction notices stapled on top of one another to their door. or they could choose which meal a given day. i hope they know that's the reasonnn they will not receive this $2000 checks is because leader mcconnell thinks he can wind up in the hands of court, democrats rich friends. now let's be very clear.

there's only one way to pass $2000 checks and that is passed house bill. it is the only way to get the market people the $2000 checks the need and deserve. in the house has gone to the session. any modification or addition to that house bill cannot become law. even the senate takes up and passes the house bill for struggling americans will not get 2000 oh checks during the worst economic crisis since the great depression. in leader mcconnell knows this. so he hasha said that the senate can only vote on the bill that combines objects with other unrelated partisan policies. appeal section 230, an investigation into the president dishonest and bogus claims of election fraud. the republican leader claims that president trump insist that they must be addressed in one bill. but of course, the president has made no such demand. president trump could not care

less about how the bill could pass in congress. it's in the republican leader has been invaded and nixies cleaning up or down casino vote on $2000 checks coming to the floor. this maneuver to combine all three issues is intended to kill the possibility of 2000-dollar checks ever becoming law. just to prove it let me make this offer to the republican majority. were willing to on the other issues that president trump mention . all the issues that the republican issues said we can vote on them as long as we vote on them d separately. that way they could become law and we can debate all the mmsuppose and concerns of the president. we can vote on setting up a commission to look at the presidents roundly rejected claims of voter fraud. we also have a commission looking voter suppression and gerrymandering. in that completely unrelated to help americans paying the bills . were willing to take a look at the whole picture. it just vote on the house passed bill so we can get help now to

people who desperately need it. and we can also have a vote on that 230, we can do that today . will use leader mcconnell's exact language. any want to agree to that because he knows that the caucus would not actually support such an act. it unlike the president, some members of this body understand what 230 means. they understand the section 230 was certainly means change, actually enables the president to spew his lies. we all know that the 100 something congress will have to take a close look the relationship between liability infectious speech on the internet prevents leader mcconnell was about on these issues, we are here for it . just give us a vote on the house passed bill. we can vote on whatever right wing conspiracy theory he would like. we can even vote to a set up a special blue-ribbon commission to determine whether george's secretary of state has a brother named - if that would make our republican friends happy. it just do not let these

conspiracy. soment presidential fantasies getting the way way of helping actual people. people's livelihoods havingor tn apart by this pandemic. people whose lives have been mtorn apart by the administration's mismanagement of this pandemic. people who need just j a little direct assistance . the president's term thankfully will end in 20 days . but the term that is been marked by hate, and division and turmoil. so far used his turn to enrich himself inhe the wealthy, less because of the term on a good note . for once, he was to help real people to give americans a leg up . let's allow him to do that . when the chance of the end of this painful year to give americans a reason to have some hope in 2021. the only thing standing in the way is the republican senate majority. and in a, i once again asked consent that the senate set a time for a vote in the house

bill to provide $2000 checks to the american people. and remember, the democrats are willing to vote on all of the other issues the republican say that the present some of the kids back and let's vote on a clean bill for the 2000 checks so the mr. president, amended president i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceeded to the immediate consideration of calendar 645 hr nine oh 51 to increase the recovery rebate amount to $2000 for individuals huntsville the road third time in the senate vote and if passed the motion to reconsider be considered detained an item on the table with no intervening action or debate. >> is there objection . >> object . >> the objection is hurt. >> limit briefly respond to some of the points that the majority leader mcconnell has made. his inaccurate statements . now i'm delighted that after talking on the floor of the senate for

years about socialism to the rich, finally that has gotten across to our republican friends . of course it's what we do everything today. that is what and why we have the incredible level of income and wealth and equality that exists in this country because decade after decade, we have used this quality to provide massive tax breaks to the rich and provide cocorporate welfare to corporations and don't need it. that is socialism to the rich . majority leader wasut right. let's talk about t what is in ts building. and according to the tax policyo system. less than 1 percent of the benefits of the direct payments up to the $2000 for the working class adults. senator schumer and i am talking about. that is 1 percent will go to the top 5 percent of americans. virtually, n