[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[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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