[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H1232-H1233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     KEEP US SAFE FROM CORONAVIRUS

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve a 
coordinated, fully funded response to keep us safe from the 
coronavirus. But instead of taking the situation seriously, the 
President has mounted a confusing and chaotic response.
  He designated Mike Pence to lead the public health response, Mike 
Pence, a man whose terrible public health polices as Governor of 
Indiana allowed the worst HIV epidemic in the State's history to take 
root in 2015.
  The President's budget earlier this month slashed almost $700 million 
from the CDC. He has left vacant critical positions responsible for 
managing pandemics, and now he has proposed raiding funds that were 
appropriated by Congress for other life-threatening public health 
emergencies.
  To be blunt, the President's response has been a disaster.
  The American people deserve better, and that is why the House will 
advance

[[Page H1233]]

a strong, strategic funding package that fully addresses the scale and 
seriousness of this public health crisis.
  Let's hope the President follows our lead.

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