[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 48 (Thursday, March 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1714-S1716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, yesterday, the World Health 
Organization officially declared COVID-19--known as the coronavirus--a 
pandemic, saying that it was ``deeply concerned

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both by the alarming . . . spread and severity, and . . . alarming 
levels of inaction'' by the nations of the world.
  Let me repeat that. They were ``deeply concerned both by the alarming 
levels of spread and severity, and the alarming levels of inaction'' by 
the nations of the world.
  In my home State of New York, members of the National Guard arrived 
in New Rochelle this morning to clean institutions and deliver food to 
the more than 120 sick residents within the 3-mile containment area. 
Here in the Capitol, public tours will be suspended, and by the end of 
the week, the Capitol Complex will be restricted to official business 
only.
  Today the House of Representatives will take up and pass several 
measures the Speaker and I called for earlier this week to alleviate 
the economic pain felt by American workers and families who are 
impacted by the coronavirus, including extension of paid sick leave, 
food security insurance, and an expansion of unemployment insurance. 
The legislation will also provide much needed help to States like New 
York that are overburdened by Medicaid costs. By temporarily modifying 
the FMAP formula, it gives the States the flexibility and money they 
need to fight this problem. I have long fought for an increase in FMAP 
funding, and this is welcome and needed for New York. I am glad it is 
in the bill that Democrats in the House and Senate put together.
  Many of the policies I have mentioned have been enacted by other 
countries dealing with the coronavirus. The policies are targeted at 
workers and families who are directly impacted by the virus, which is 
exactly where the focus needs to be, not on bailing out oil and gas 
companies or the cruise industry or to regulating banks--some of the 
ideas under discussion at the White House, by all reports--but on 
helping the American people cope with the crisis. That is job No. 1.
  We can come back and pass additional targeted measures that deal with 
other economic problems at a later date, but in the immediacy of today, 
the policies the House will pass will provide much needed help to those 
who need help; it will provide significant economic relief by pumping 
money into the economy; and it will provide some flexibility to the 
localities, the States, and to the American people. The Senate should 
pass this bill immediately following the House, before the end of the 
day.
  I plead--I plead--with my Republican Senate colleagues to pass this 
bill now. It has been carefully thought out. Its programs are directly 
aimed at people. They are not ideological, and it is desperately needed 
to show the American people we can do things that actually benefit the 
people who are in trouble and actually help move the American 
economy. To not pass this bill today would be a dereliction of duty, 
and I plead with Senator McConnell: Put the bill on the floor; let 
there be a vote. It will pass, in my judgment. Put the bill on the 
floor. Do not let this legislation that the House passed at a time of 
crisis be just another tombstone in your legislative graveyard.

  Of course, the central problem remains--contending with the spread of 
the coronavirus itself. Our testing regime has been completely 
inadequate. We still lag far behind other countries in both the number 
and percentage of the population we are testing for the virus. There 
are still not enough kits distributed to hospitals and medical labs, 
and the results of those tests are not processed fast enough. From one 
end of the country to the other, those on the frontlines--whether they 
be healthcare workers, mayors, county executives, Governors--are crying 
out for more testing and more speed in bringing the results of the 
tests back immediately. The President didn't mention it in his speech.
  I heard from the mayor of New Rochelle, who is now overseeing a 3-
mile containment area. I asked: What is the No. 1 thing you need? He 
said testing. He told me that one of the reasons the State of New York 
had to impose the containment area was that it couldn't be determined 
who was safe to walk on the street and who wasn't because of the lack 
of testing. If they had the test, they would know who had the virus. 
Those people could quarantine at home, and others could go out and 
about with their lives and shop in the stores, go down the streets, and 
go through their normal activities. The lack of testing has forced many 
in containment areas to quarantine themselves when they may not have 
the virus at all.
  The administration must expedite the approval of labs that are ready 
to provide testing. It must support the use of automatic testing to 
increase the speed and volume, and it must do a better job of 
communicating to hospitals and localities about the number of testing 
kits available. The administration needs to get a handle on this now.
  It has been well over a month since the first case of coronavirus was 
confirmed on our soil, and many places around the country were not able 
to test for the coronavirus with the necessary capacity or speed. The 
most glaring emission in this administration's long list of problems 
has been the way they approach the coronavirus and the lack of testing. 
We need it now. The failure of the administration to anticipate 
problems with testing has put us weeks and weeks behind.
  Last night, President Trump gave his national address about the 
coronavirus, and testing wasn't included. It was amazing to me. The No. 
1 problem was ignored.
  I welcomed that the President stressed the need for hygiene. He 
instructed Americans to stay home if they felt sick, something he 
questioned in the past. I was glad he is no longer calling this a hoax 
and, at least in his speech, not blaming the press or Democrats or 
somebody else for the problem. Blame isn't going to solve anything.
  Yet, sadly and regrettably, the President's speech fell far short of 
what Americans needed to hear. The speech was almost robotic, lacking 
any empathy. The President seemed to show little concern for Americans 
impacted by the virus or for allies around the world fighting it. The 
President did not say how his administration will address the lack of 
coronavirus testing kits, nor did he call for a national emergency to 
free up Federal resources to fight the virus. Calling for a national 
emergency under the Stafford Act would free up lots of FEMA's resources 
to help States and localities. Why he hasn't done it is a mystery. We 
need him to do it, and do it now.
  So many of the President's statements in his speech were inaccurate 
and required no fewer than three corrections by the White House in the 
hours after. The President was not clear or accurate in describing the 
ban on travel from Europe to the United States--that it did not apply 
to U.S. citizens or to cargo. The President's claim that health 
insurers have agreed to ``waive all copayments for coronavirus 
treatment'' was also, apparently, inaccurate. At a time of crisis, one 
would think that the President could give a speech that at least had 
the facts right, that there would be that care and focus. But, 
unfortunately, it wasn't so.
  I don't bring this up to play ``gotcha.'' It is very serious. There 
are many Americans who watched the President but may not have seen the 
White House correct his error-laden speech. As a result, many Americans 
got bad and confusing information. This is very, very unfortunate. At 
all times, but especially during a time of crisis, the President must 
be clear and accurate about his policies and guidance. We need 
leadership that is steady and, above all else, competent. These weren't 
off-the-cuff remarks. This was a prepared speech.
  In this moment, with lives in the balance, Americans must have 
confidence that their President knows what he is doing and knows what 
he is talking about. To his detriment and to the Nation's, sadly, 
President Trump failed to inspire that confidence last night.
  I had hoped the fact that the President delivered a national address 
was a sign that the administration was finally beginning to treat the 
coronavirus with the seriousness it needs. That is why it was so 
discouraging that only a few hours later, the President was back to his 
old tricks--attacking Democrats--when we all know that is not going to 
solve the problem and we all know it is a time to bring us together.
  Congress has already passed major emergency appropriations to ramp up 
our response to the virus. The President's early number $2 billion was, 
fortunately, increased significantly by

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Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate to $8.3 billion. 
Congress is now working quickly and competently on a second package. It 
should get the same quick response from our Republican Senators and 
pass.