Ed Markey: “I echo what the Senator from Illinois has said and what the Senator from Ohio has said. We have a national emergency. We…”

“I echo what the Senator from Illinois has said and what the Senator from Ohio has said. We have a national emergency. We should have already finished this phase of dealing with this crisis, for there are many more phases to deal with. As part of this debate, we should ensure that there is sick leave for every single worker in our country. That is not in this package that is coming through right now. We have to make sure everyone is covered. We need unemployment insurance, and we need to ensure that it extends to workers in the gig economy--tip workers, domestic workers, and contractors. We have to cover people so they stay home. We have to let them know that unemployment insurance is going to extend to them during this crisis. We cannot allow our inaction--our thinking through of what we have to do--to shut down any potential for this crisis' not growing to a level which we are seeing in other countries. We can do it, but it is the Senate that has to be here. It is the Senate that has to deliberate on these issues, find the solutions, and deliver them to the American people. They are desperate for answers right now. They are being told to go home right now. Waiters, bartenders, and contractors are being told to just go home. What is going to happen to them if they don't have sick time? What is going to happen to them if they don't have unemployment insurance? What are they going to be doing in terms of caring for their families?…”