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[Pages S1642-S1643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORONAVIRUS
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on COVID, as our country continues to
experience the spread of coronavirus, COVID-19, the effects are
beginning to be more acutely felt. First and foremost, our hearts go
out to the families of those who have lost loved ones during this
illness. Second, our healthcare systems are under tremendous stress,
businesses have been forced to cut back, and the virus is already
starting to take a toll on the economy. As the impact of the
coronavirus spreads, the administration appears to have shifted its
focus, holding a press conference yesterday to talk about measures the
administration might pursue to calm the markets.
[[Page S1643]]
I would remind the White House: By far, the best way to ensure
economic security for the American people is to deal directly with the
coronavirus itself. Again, getting a handle on the crisis and
addressing the virus itself is by far the best way to respond to any
negative effects on our economy.
The administration seems to believe that the answer to any problem is
another tax cut. And no matter what they say about it when they put it
together, it always seems to benefit the wealthy and the big and
powerful corporations. This is a healthcare crisis; it demands a
healthcare solution.
To borrow an expression: You must treat the disease, not the
symptoms.
Mr. President, do you hear that? You must treat the disease--the
coronavirus--not the symptom, which is the result of the coronavirus,
which is the economy.
The President wakes up to a problem only after it has an effect on
Wall Street, and his solutions are often aimed, misguidedly, only at
calming the nerves on Wall Street. The real answer in this case is to
protect the American people, focus on their health and economic
security, and competently respond to the public health crisis at our
doorstep.
Speaker Pelosi and I have mentioned several actions we could take,
from paid sick leave for impacted workers to unemployment insurance,
food and housing security, and protections against price gouging. But
one thing the administration must focus on right now, above all, is
fixing the problems we are having with testing.
The most powerful tool in responding to a virus is to know precisely
where it is and how it is spreading. Because the administration took
weeks before they developed an accurate test and because the
administration was slow to ramp up the number of Americans tested and
is now having trouble turning around the results of those tests at a
fast enough pace, we are now far behind where we ought to be in
understanding how far the virus has already spread.
The United States has the best hospitals, doctors, and scientists in
the world. Yet, currently, we are lagging far behind other countries
when it comes to testing our citizens. We are behind the United
Kingdom, behind France, behind China, behind Switzerland, the
Netherlands, Israel, Japan, and Italy. Every day we read a new story in
the press about Americans having difficulty getting a test for
coronavirus even though they are displaying symptoms. Our own Health
and Human Services was unable to say how many Americans have been
tested.
It is shocking; it is infuriating. If other countries can do this,
why can't we? If other countries do it right, why can't we? South
Korea, which has far more prevalent amounts of coronavirus, is already
seeing the number of new reports go down because they have done
extensive, thorough, and accurate testing.
The result here--why we are not doing as well as other countries is a
direct result of the colossal failure of leadership and planning from
this administration and this President. One word describes the Trump
administration's response to the coronavirus so far: ``Incompetence.''
I know there are hard-working CDC scientists and experts trying to
help the American people. The political appointees are the ones who
don't seem to get it and are putting politics over the safety and
security of the American people. And it goes right to the top. In the
midst of a public health crisis--a serious and dangerous public health
crisis--the President has repeatedly pushed unscientific claims about
the coronavirus, the availability of a vaccine, and given bad advice--
bad advice--to Americans who might have symptoms.
If the President would just keep quiet, it would be better than what
he is doing, which is negative. What we really need is leadership. More
than ever, we need the President to drop the conspiracy theories, end
the Panglossian optimism, and the unscientific speculation. Now more
than ever, we need President Trump to lead our government's response
with competence and to be truthful with the American people. As I said
yesterday, we are all rooting for that, but the President and his
administration must take a hard look in the mirror, focus on the
problem at hand, not the side effects, and get to work on fixing them.
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