Demonstrating once again a clear contrast between the failed leadership of a clueless Donald Trump, who only knows how to politicize, attack and destroy, Vice President Joe Biden is calling for the US to lift sanctions on Iran, which is undergoing one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in the world. “America should lead. We should be the first to offer help to people who are hurting or in danger… To stop this pandemic effectively, every country on earth will need to work together.” Here is Biden’s statement: –Karen Rubin, news-photos-features.com.
In times of global crisis, America should lead. We should be the first to offer help to people who are hurting or in danger. That’s who we are. That’s who we’ve always been. And, in the midst of this deadly pandemic that respects no borders, the United States should take steps to offer what relief we can to those nations hardest hit by this virus — including Iran — even as we prioritize the health of the American people.
Iran is struggling to contain one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in the world. While the Iranian government has failed to respond effectively to this crisis, including lying and concealing the truth from its own people, and it continues to act provocatively in the region, the Iranian people are hurting desperately. It is bad enough that the Trump administration abandoned the Iran nuclear deal in favor of a “maximum pressure” strategy that has badly backfired, encouraging Iran to become even more aggressive and restart its nuclear program. It makes no sense, in a global health crisis, to compound that failure with cruelty by inhibiting access to needed humanitarian assistance. Whatever our profound differences with the Iranian government, we should support the Iranian people.
There are already humanitarian exceptions in place for sanctions, but in practice, most governments and organizations are too concerned about running afoul of U.S. sanctions to offer assistance. As a result, our sanctions are limiting Iran’s access to medical supplies and needed equipment. The Trump Administration should take immediate steps to address this problem and streamline channels for banking and public health assistance from other countries in response to the health emergency in Iran.
Specific steps should include: issuing broad licenses to pharmaceutical and medical device companies; creating a dedicated channel for international banks, transportation companies, insurers, and other service firms to help Iranians access life-saving medical treatment; issuing new sanctions guidance to these groups and international aid organizations to make it clear how they can immediately, directly, and legally respond to the tragedy in Iran, without fear of penalty; and, for entities already conducting enhanced due diligence, it should issue comfort letters to reassure them that they will not be subject to U.S. sanctions if they engage in humanitarian trade with Iran to support its COVID-19 response. The administration should also consider similar steps to ensure that U.S. sanctions do not inhibit live-saving medical assistance to other countries hard hit by the virus.
The administration’s offer of aid to Iran is insufficient if not backed by concrete steps to ensure the United States is not exacerbating this growing humanitarian crisis. Whatever our many, many disagreements with the Iranian government, it’s the right and the humane thing to do. And Iran also should make a humanitarian gesture and allow detained American citizens to return home.
To stop this pandemic effectively, every country on earth will need to work together. We must address COVID-19 outbreaks wherever they occur, because as long as this virus is spreading anywhere in the world, it is a danger to public health everywhere. Artificially limiting the flow of international humanitarian assistance to pursue a political point will not only allow the Iranian government to deflect responsibility for its own botched response, it will increase the threat this virus poses to the American people, now and in the future.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the formation of a new
hospital network Central Coordinating Team to facilitate a more coordinated and
strategic approach among the state’s healthcare system in combating the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The program could become a model for other states, indeed, a model for a national approach to providing necessary personnel and equipment to address coronavirus hotspots as they emerge around the country as Cuomo called for unity.
The coordinating team will help implement the statewide
public-private hospital plan, which the Governor announced yesterday,
to share information, supplies, staff and patients among hospitals across the
State. The team will be responsible for organizing upstate to downstate
staffing; assisting Elmhurst Hospital and other stressed hospitals; setting
patient thresholds for hospitals; organizing patient transfers to other
hospitals and the USNS Comfort; coordinating State-City stockpiles
and individual hospital stockpiles; and facilitating staffing recruitment.
The team will be led by the State Department of Health and
includes the Westchester, New York City and Long Island healthcare systems, the
Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New
York State. The team will also work with FEMA and the federal government.
Governor Cuomo also announced the State is launching
an online portal that will help connect hospitals and healthcare fasciitis
across the state with the nearly 80,000 healthcare workers who have volunteered
to work on a temporary basis during the COVID-19 pandemic. The portal will
prioritize the deployment of workers to hospitals with the greatest need;
volunteers are expected to be deployed as early as this Thursday.
“As we continue to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we
have two missions – preparing our hospital system so it is not overwhelmed when
the apex of the curve hits and ensuring people stay home so they don’t get the
virus in the first place,” Governor Cuomo said. “We are
following the mathematical projections of the experts and preparing for the
main battle at the apex by procuring as much equipment as we can, increasing
our hospital capacity and supporting hospital staff. We met with the entire
state hospital system for the first time ever and established an unprecedented
new approach to work cooperatively as one unified, statewide healthcare
system to defeat this virus. This virus does not discriminate — no one is
immune to it — and people must continue to be cautious, think of others and not
leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.”
The governor soberly gave “the blunt truth of this situation”
saying: “Total number of people tested, 200,000. Population of 19 million,
is not going to give you a random sample, but it’s been helping us track down
on the positive cases. Number of positive cases, 9,298. Total cases 75,000
cases. You see the predominance in New York City, then Westchester, then
Nassau, then Suffolk, then Rockland. So you can see it’s that area of density.
It spreads out from that area of density. The march of coronavirus across the
State of New York continues. We’re down to just two counties that don’t have a
case. The overall numbers, 75,000 have tested positive. Ten thousand people in
our hospitals, 2,700 ICU patients. Good news, 4,900 – almost 5,000 –
discharged. That’s up 771. So people come in, they get treated, they go home.
“New York is at 75,000 cases. Next state is 16,000. California is
at 7,000. So you can see New York, there’s a magnitude of difference more than
any other state. Fifteen-hundred fifty deaths. That’s up from 1,218 yesterday.
Again, we’re studying the charts. We’re trying to study the data, follow the
data. The data is uneven. It bounces. Numbers often bounce in any model. There
are variables in this model. The hospitals are reporting it, so what every
hospital reported, were they busy, are they combining a couple of days in one?
It’s an imperfect reporting mechanism.
“You see the basic line is still up. What the statisticians will
tell you is you basically draw the straight line that columns indicate and you
see that we’re still going up which is what we see on the overall trajectory,
that we’re still going up. Number of intubations was down, not much, but it was
down and that’s a good sign. You also see the number of discharges going up and
that’s consistent. The longer people are in, they either get treated and leave
or they get put on a ventilator and the longer you’re on a ventilator, the less
likelihood you will come off the ventilator. That is the blunt truth of this
situation.”
With the realization that New York is still 14 to 30 days from
reaching the apex – that is, the peak of number of cases on a given day – after
which there would still be the descent before the crisis is ended, Cuomo said, “In
general, I am tired of being behind this virus. We’ve been behind this virus
from day one. The virus was in China. We knew it was in China. Unless we assume
there’s some immune system variation with Asian people, it was coming here and
we have been behind it from day one since it got here and we’ve been playing
catch-up. You don’t win playing catch-up. We have to get ahead of it. The
second rule is never underestimate your opponent, and we underestimated this
virus. It’s more powerful, it’s more dangerous than we expected, and the third
point is plan forward. Get ahead of it. Get ahead of it, fight the fight today,
yes, but anticipate the next battle and plan for the next battle.
“And the main battle is at the apex. We’re still going up the
mountain. The main battle is on the top of the mountain. That’s where the main
battle is going to be. The apex of the curve and then we come down the other
side of the mountain. We are planning now for the battle at the top of the
mountain. That’s what we are doing. Get a staffing plan ready now for the
battle at the top of the mountain. Equipment stockpile now – we’re gathering
equipment that we don’t need today because today is not the day of the battle.
The battle is when we hit the apex, depending on who you believe, 14 days to 30
days from today.
“And also we need a social acceptance of the time expectation.
We’re all anxious. We’re all tired, we’re all fatigued. It’s been all bad news
for a long time. Our whole lifestyle has been disrupted. Everybody knows wants
to know one thing, when is it over, nobody knows. Well, President said by
Easter; this one said by this – nobody knows. You can have a hypothesis, you
can have a projection, you can have an opinion but nobody knows, but I can say
this, it is not going to be soon. If our apex is 14 to 21 days, that’s our
apex. You then have to come down the other side of the mountain once you hit
the apex, so calibrate yourself and your expectations so you’re not
disappointed every morning you get up.”
Cuomo described the “balkanization” and “fragmentation” of the
state’s health care system – private hospital chains, public hospitals,
downstate and upstate, city and suburbs and rural communities, rich and needy
and now federal hospitals – and said that he was creating a network where
staff, supplies and patients would be allocated as needed.
“That has to be our mentality. We laid out a full plan on how to
do facility development, how to move people among hospitals so nobody gets
overloaded, shifting patients, shifting staff, shifting supplies. None of us
have enough supplies. Okay, then let’s pool our supplies and let’s put them out
for the people who need them. Just because one hospital happened to have found
a vendor from China who delivered 5 million masks, let’s share those masks.”
Getting ahead of the virus means gearing up for the projected apex
and stockpiling vital equipment like ventilators for the day when they will be
needed – a remark intended to blunt Trump’s veiled accusation that Cuomo was warehousing
4,000 ventilators while complaining that he needed 30,000.
And he continued to appeal for mass testing as critical to not
only determining who is sick, but who has the antibodies and therefore no
longer at risk.
The crisis ends, he said, “when we get a fast track test, an at
home test, 15-minute test, and people can find out when they can go back to
work because they’re negative. We’re working on additional testing. As I said,
the department of health has a new test, but that’s when this ends
“We’re also working on the new medications. We’re leading the
country in many of these developments. We have saliva testing. We’re working on
the antibody testing and plasma testing at the same time.”
Cuomo added, “We know what to do. We just have to do it. It is
individual discipline to stay at home. That’s what it
is, it’s discipline. No social distancing. It’s discipline. Well, I’m
bored. I know. I’m bored. It’s discipline. Making this healthcare system work,
that’s government skill, that’s government performance. That’s saying to that
healthcare system, I don’t care how it worked yesterday, I don’t care whose
turf this is, I don’t care whose ego is involved, I’m sorry, we have to find a
way to work, a better way. Time to say to that federal government and to FEMA
and HHS, you have to learn how to do your job, and you have to learn how to do
it quickly. Because time is not our friend. It’s about a social stamina. This
is not one week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, six
weeks, okay? This is not going to be an Easter surprise. Understand that
and have the stamina to deal with it.
The coordination of the state’s health care system is but one step
in what Cuomo called for as “unity” – coordination and cooperation among
states.
“Let’s help one another. New York needs help now. Yesterday I
asked for healthcare workers from across the country to come here because we
need help. We will pay you, and more importantly, we will return the favor.
This is going to be a rolling wave across the country. New York, then it’ll be
Detroit, then it’ll be New Orleans, then it will be California. If we were
smart as a nation, come help us in New York. Get the equipment. Get the
training. Get the experience. And then let’s all go help the next place, and
then the next place, and then the next place. That would be a smart national
way of doing this. And showing that unity. And, unity meaning, we’re not, I
know this is a political year, and everything is a political backdrop, and
Democrats want to criticize Republicans, Republicans want to criticize Democrats.
Not now. Not now. There are no red states, there are no blue states. The virus
doesn’t attack and kill red Americans or blue Americans. It attacks all
Americans. And keep that in mind, because there is, there is a unifying wisdom
in that.”
The Governor confirmed 9,298 additional cases of novel
coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 75,795 confirmed cases in New York
State – among them, the governor’s own brother, Chris Cuomo, who anchors a news
program on CNN. Of the 75,795 total individuals who tested positive for the
virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
Today, as the nation is too consumed with the coronavirus pandemic to mark Equal Pay Day, Lilly Ledbetter, for whom the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed as Barack Obama’s first order of business as President upon taking office 2009, endorsed Joe Biden for President of the United States:
“This is the first time in more than 12 years that I am at home on Equal Pay Day. I’m usually in some part of the country with a huge crowd of women and men who are dedicated to closing the pay gap. Instead I am staying home, watching along with so many other people as the current president shows Americans just how little he cares about working families.
“As Equal Pay Day reminds us, women are paid far less than men. This pandemic is only increasing the inequalities facing women in this country. As the majority of the health care workforce, women are on the frontlines of this crisis, at times putting their own health at risk or separating from their families, while taking care of our country’s sick and vulnerable. And, as this crisis forces women to work from home, work fewer hours, lose their jobs, many at the same time are taking care of their families or trying to teach their kids at home. Yet they still face paycheck discrimination, just like I did so many years ago.
“I know Joe Biden. He understands what it’s like to be a single parent. And, he will fight for equal pay and working women, just as he always has. That’s why I am proud to endorse him to be our next president.”
Ledbetter won a historic gender pay discrimination case against her employer, Goodyear Tire and Rubbery Company, after she was paid less than her male counterparts simply because she was a woman. When the Supreme Court overturned the case, she took her fight to Congress and lobbied for a legislative fix. She is the namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first piece of legislation signed into law during the Obama-Biden Administration.
Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into 2020 the average woman has to work to make what the average white man made in 2019.For every dollar a man makes, the average woman makes 82 cents. For a woman who works full time, year round, that’s a gap of more than $10,000 annually and over $400,000 over a forty-year career. The pay gap is even wider for women of color.
The pay gap has significant impacts on American families and our economy overall. If women earned as much as men, the poverty rate for working single women and the children who live with them would be cut in half.
Biden for President has previously announced more than 2,500 endorsements from national, state, and local leaders, including current and former U.S. senators and representatives, governors, state elected officials, community leaders, and national security professionals.
As Trump uses daily press briefings as political rallies to spin away his monumental failure to combat coronavirus and save lives, Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden is cut off from the ability to effectively campaign. Here he offers five questions that should be posed to Trump, that underscore the difference in leadership. This is from the Biden campaign: -Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.
1. Why did you tell governors pleading for help from the
federal government that you “haven’t heard about testing being a problem” and
that you haven’t “heard about testing in weeks” when many Americans are still
unable to get tested for coronavirus and earlier testing delays allowed the
virus to explode across the country?
In a call with governors today, according to the
New York Times, Trump claimed that “I haven’t heard about testing
being a problem” and that he hasn’t “heard about testing in weeks” — even
though countless Americans are still unable to be tested for the coronavirus,
fatally undercutting our response to this crisis?
Trump’s baseless claim comes just days after a bombshell
report by the Times showed how his failure to quickly deploy an
accurate coronavirus test resulted in a “lost month” that left America blind as
it tried to combat the virus’ spread, and that his administration “squandered
[America’s] best chance of containing the virus’s spread.”
2. Why did you make the unfounded claim that first
responders and health care workers in New York were stealing masks, and will
you heed Vice President Biden’s challenge from last night to use the DPA within
48 hours to secure life-saving personal protective equipment?
In a bizarre rant yesterday, President Trump claimed, without evidence, that
first responders and health care workers in New York were responsible for the
theft or hoarding of huge numbers of masks. This unfounded claim was Trump’s
latest attempt to avoid taking responsibility for his failure to get
life-saving equipment to people on the front lines of the fight against the
coronavirus.
In response, Vice President Biden called on Trump on Sunday night to finally
use the Defense Production Act within 48 hours to
secure enough of the badly-needed personal protective equipment to provide for
every state and first responder who needs it.
3. GOP State Attorneys General confirmed today that they
will continue their lawsuit to roll back the Affordable Care Act and kick
millions of Americans off their health insurance in the midst of a pandemic.
Will you, as Vice President Biden has called for, withdraw your support for
this effort?
The Daily Beast confirmed today that
at least five Republican state Attorneys General plan to continue their lawsuit
to overturn the ACA — threatening the health care of millions of Americans in
the middle of a pandemic.
Ten years ago, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law,
expanding access to quality, affordable health care for millions of Americans.
But instead of standing up for Americans’ health care, Donald Trump continues
to lead fellow Republicans in efforts to do away with the law and the critical
protections it put in place.
20 million Americans have received health insurance through the ACA, and it’s
given better care and peace of mind to countless others — that’s why Vice President
Biden sent a letter to President Trump and Republican leaders
demanding that they drop their efforts to jeopardize Americans’ health care.
4. Why did you claim again this morning on Fox News that
New York already has “more than enough” ventilators and say, without evidence,
that they’re being misused? And, why did it take you so long to head the pleas
of governors and health care workers to use the DPA to secure more ventilators
after wasting months?
During an interview this
morning on Fox News, Trump again downplayed the critical ventilator
shortage in New York, saying “[they] should be fine, based on the numbers that
we see. They should have more than enough.” And that, “I’m hearing stories that
they’re not used, or not used right.” This comes after Trump similarly
downplayed the ventilator shortage during an interview with
Sean Hannity last week.
Across the country, experts and health care workers on the front lines are sounding the
alarm about a critical shortage of life-saving ventilators and
personal protective equipment, but Donald Trump has been slow and erratic at
every step of the way.
5. Why did your administration ignore existing Obama-Biden
Administration plans to combat pandemics and why did you take actions that
reduced our preparedness for challenges like the coronavirus?
POLITICO reports that
the Trump administration tossed out an existing “pandemic playbook” from the
National Security Council that laid out, in detail, steps to take in the face
of a public health emergency like this.
As a result, key problems that the playbook planned for — like the current
logistical challenges plaguing our health care system — went unaddressed,
slowing down our response.
This is only one in a string of missteps by the Trump administration that left
the United States unprepared and vulnerable to a future pandemic. Key positions
across the government have been left
unfilled, or occupied by unqualified political cronies. Similarly, CDC staff in
China was slashed on Trump’s watch, removing important eyes and ears
on the ground that could have given us critical early notice of the
coronavirus’ spread.
Directs State Nonessential Workforce to Work
from Home for Additional Two Weeks Through April 15th
New York’s Wadsworth Lab has Developed New,
Less Intrusive Test for COVID-19
Executive Order Also Allows Schools to Host
Day Care Free of Charge
Following Governor’s Call, Pharmacies Have
Agreed to Offer Free Home Delivery
Announces State, in Partnership with Assembly
Speaker Heastie, Senator Bailey, Assemblyman Benedetto and Borough President
Diaz Jr., is Launching a New Mobile Testing Site in the Bronx
Confirms 7,195 Additional Coronavirus Cases in
New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to 59,513; New Cases in 44 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
today announced all NYS on Pause functions will be extended for
the next two weeks. The Governor also directed the state nonessential workforce
to continue to work from home for an additional two weeks through April 15th.
The state will re-evaluate after this additional two-week period.
In-person workforce restrictions,
which have been implemented through various Executive Orders —202.3
(restaurants and bars, gyms, fitness centers, movie theaters and casinos);
202.4 (local government workforces, school districts; village elections); 202.5
(malls, public amusement facilities); 202.6 (all non-essential reduce 50%);
202.7 (barber shops, salons, other personal care); 202.8 (DMV); 202.10
(non-essential gatherings of any size); 202.11 (extension of school district
closure until April 15, 2020) — are also extended until April 15,
2020 to enable uniform extension and review of such restrictions, and any
such restrictions may be extended by future executive orders.
Governor Cuomo also announced that
New York State’s Wadsworth Lab has developed a new, less intrusive test for
COVID-19. The new test is done through a saliva sample and a self-administered
short nasal swab in the presence of a health care professional. Additionally,
health care professionals can self-administer the test without another health
care professional present. This new test will help conserve personal protective
equipment, or PPE, for healthcare workers, reduce potential exposure of the
virus to health care workers and will allow the state to continue to test as
many individuals as possible in New York amid the national shortage of the more
intrusive nasopharyngeal, or NP, swabs. Self-collection of nasal swabs has been
done before for other respiratory viruses such as flu and it has been shown to
be effective and safe, and collection of a saliva sample is simple and
non-invasive. This new testing will begin within a week.
The Governor also issued an executive order to allow schools
to host day care free of charge.
After speaking with the state’s major pharmacy chains, the
Governor announced that pharmacies have agreed to offer free home delivery to
help reduce long lines for prescriptions at their facilities.
“There is no state in the nation that is better
prepared or better mobilized to combat this virus than New York,” Governor
Cuomo said. “The number of cases is still going up towards the
apex, and the development of new, faster tests will be critical in flattening
this curve, getting people back to work and returning to normalcy. The state’s
Wadsworth lab has developed a new, less intrusive test that will allow us to
increase our testing capacity, as well as save valuable PPE for our healthcare
workers. We will get through this because we are New Yorkers – we are strong,
we have endurance and we have stability. We have a plan, we’re executing that
plan and we will manage any obstacle that we come across.”
Governor Cuomo also announced, in partnership with Assembly
Speaker Carl Heastie, Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto and
Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., that the State is launching a new mobile
testing site in Co-Op City, the largest public housing development (Mitchell
Lama) in the country. This new mobile testing site located at the Bay Plaza
Mall Parking Lot, AMC Cinema entrance in the Bronx will provide tests by
appointment only and will prioritize symptomatic individuals who had close
exposure to a positive COVID-19 case, health care workers and first responders
displaying symptoms, and those working in or having recently visited a nursing
home who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. To get an appointment, New Yorkers can call
the Coronavirus hotline at 1-888-364-3065.
Finally, the Governor confirmed 7,195 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 59,513 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 59,513 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
Trump’s signing statement to the $2.2 trillion “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or the “CARES” Act relief bill, negates all controls, oversight that the Congress imposed, recognizing Trump’s penchant for misappropriating funds (border wall, Ukraine military aid), using taxpayer money to reward and buy friends or punish and hurt perceived enemies – it is the very definition of “crisis capitalism” that Naomi Klein describes and warned of. This is the statement issued by the White House –Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Today, I have signed into law H.R. 748, the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or the “CARES” Act (the “Act”). The Act makes emergency supplemental appropriations and other changes to law to help the Nation respond to the coronavirus outbreak. I note, however, that the Act includes several provisions that raise constitutional concerns.
Section 15010(c)(3)(B) of Division B of the Act purports to require the Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to consult with members of the Congress regarding the selection of the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director for the newly formed Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. The Committee is an executive branch entity charged with conducting and coordinating oversight of the Federal Government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. I anticipate that the Chairperson will be able to consult with members of the Congress with respect to these hiring decisions and will welcome their input. But a requirement to consult with the Congress regarding executive decision-making, including with respect to the President’s Article II authority to oversee executive branch operations, violates the separation of powers by intruding upon the President’s power and duty to supervise the staffing of the executive branch under Article II, section 1 (vesting the President with the “executive Power”) and Article II, section 3 (instructing the President to “take Care” that the laws are faithfully executed). Accordingly, my Administration will treat this provision as hortatory but not mandatory.
Section 4018 of Division A of the Act establishes a new Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) within the Department of the Treasury to manage audits and investigations of loans and investments made by the Secretary of the Treasury under the Act. Section 4018(e)(4)(B) of the Act authorizes the SIGPR to request information from other government agencies and requires the SIGPR to report to the Congress “without delay” any refusal of such a request that “in the judgment of the Special Inspector General” is unreasonable. I do not understand, and my Administration will not treat, this provision as permitting the SIGPR to issue reports to the Congress without the presidential supervision required by the Take Care Clause, Article II, section 3.
Certain other provisions (such as sections 20001, 21007, and 21010 of Division B of the Act) purport to condition the authority of officers to spend or reallocate funds upon consultation with, or the approval of, one or more congressional committees. These provisions are impermissible forms of congressional aggrandizement with respect to the execution of the laws. The Congress may affect the execution of the laws only by enacting a new statute in accordance with the requirements of bicameralism and presentment prescribed in Article I, section 7. My Administration will make appropriate efforts to notify the relevant committees before taking the specified actions and will accord the recommendations of such committees all appropriate and serious consideration, but it will not treat spending decisions as dependent on prior consultation with or the approval of congressional committees.
Finally, several provisions (such as sections 3511(d)(4) and 3862 (creating section 744N(d)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) of Division A of the Act) purport to require recommendations regarding legislation to the Congress. Because Article II, section 3 gives the President the authority to recommend only “such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient,” my Administration will continue the practice of treating provisions like these as advisory and non-binding.
So far, Donald Trump
has failed to lead – he has begrudgingly followed when shamed into acting by
Governors like Cuomo, Newsome yet still manages to take credit for the “boldest”
“greatest” “historic” “unprecedented” actions for which he had no input. Trump
is taking credit for a $2 trillion aid package that contradicts his own plans
to bail out the Oil & Gas industry and give Treasury Secretary Mnuchin
unlimited power to steer billions of dollars to friends, while his EPA and
Interior Department race to institute rules that overturn Obama-era rules to
reduce carbon emissions that contribute to Climate Change; there is even a
provision in the bail-out specifically barring funds to go to Trump’s own
businesses because of his record of using his office for self-enrichment, in
violation of the Emoluments Clause. Trump’s daily briefings have been turned
into substitutes for his campaign rallies, where he gets to attack “enemies”
(The Press) and spout lies designed to boost his approval and chances for
election. Democratic challengers Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders don’t have the
same bully pulpit, but have nonetheless attempted to draw stark contrasts in
how they would lead the nation out of this coronavirus pandemic, which, in
fact, could be continuing into the next president’s administration. This is
from the Biden campaign: — Karen Rubin, News & Photo Features,
[email protected]
Tonight, Joe Biden is releasing an emergency action plan to save the
economy, laying out three key steps he would take as president to
tackle the ongoing pandemic and safeguard our country’s economic prosperity. In
a new video speaking
directly to Americans, Vice President Biden outlined his emergency action plan
and highlighted the immediate, impactful steps that can be taken to defeat the
virus and protect the livelihood of working families.
FACT SHEET: The Biden Emergency Action Plan to Save the Economy
Congress is close to passing a massive relief bill. When it
passes, it’s all about execution — and filling in the gaps.
If Joe Biden were President right now, here are the three things he would do
now to save our economy and help our families weather the storm. And to
get them done, he would appoint a task force reporting twice-daily to him on
progress.
FIRST, use all available authorities, including the Defense
Production Act to turn the tide on this epidemic. Joe Biden knows that
no economic strategy will work if we don’t stop the virus. In recent days,
there’s been talk that we have to choose between public health and our economy.
That’s not just a false choice. It’s a dangerous one.
It would be catastrophic to reopen everything without a plan, and then have a
spike in cases and shut it all back down. That would just mean more loss of
life and economic pain.
To reopen, public health experts say we need real testing capacity, the ability
to trace contacts if someone tests positive, and the ability to surge equipment
and supplies to any new hotspots. We should listen to them. It’s the quickest,
surest way to getting our economy back on track. And we also need to address
the shortage of items like ventilators and personal protective equipment for
health care workers, and make sure our workforce on the frontlines everyday has
the protections to provide the essential services we will continue to need.
Joe Biden would use the full powers of the presidency and this government
to make that happen.
Joe Biden would end this epidemic and get our economy back on track through
bold action — not by picking an arbitrary date on the calendar and asserting
it’s over.
SECOND, launch a task force reporting directly to me to make sure every
dollar going out the door gets to the people who need it — fast.
Joe Biden led the implementation of the Recovery Act in the last crisis.
He knows it’s all about priorities. Here would be his:
Keep as many people on the payroll as
possible and make Americans whole for lost hours and wages. Joe Biden
would expedite aid to businesses who commit to helping workers stay employed
through the crisis, so they can get back to work when conditions allow.
He would maximize work-sharing, a form of “employment
insurance” we championed in the Obama-Biden administration to keep more
workers on the job. And for those who do get laid off and who’s industries are
out of work, the congressional bill boosts unemployment benefits — Biden would
cut through the red tape to deliver them without delay, and extend them as long
as public health and economic conditions call for it.
Act decisively to keep small businesses in business.
Included in the legislation before Congress is $377 billion for small
businesses. This money will guarantee immediate loans that banks provide to
small businesses to make payroll, pay rent and other costs, and keep their
doors open. But there is a real risk it won’t get out fast enough to make
a difference. So Joe Biden would take unprecedented measures to get it
done Where the government is guaranteeing loans, banks have no commercial
excuse for not making them. So he would call in bank CEOs and tell them that in
this time of crisis, it is a matter of the utmost national interest to get
these loans out the door quickly and efficiently. And if they don’t, he would
seek authority similar to the Defense Production Act to make sure their lending
platforms are giving priority to small business. He would also make clear that
$377 billion is not a cap — we will spend whatever it takes.
Enforce real conditions and oversight on big
corporations. Joe Biden would tell large companies seeking taxpayer
assistance that they need to make hard commitments that the assistance will go
toward their workers, not toward enriching their CEOs or shareholders. He would
hold the strictest line on bans on buybacks and raises for executives. He would
impose the highest scrutiny on payroll plans. And he would impose strict
oversight and enforcement of these conditions by appointing strong regulators
focused on corporate accountability and worker protections in the event of
bankruptcy. Joe Biden will not let companies off the hook, the way the White
House and Senate originally proposed.
THIRD, bring the leaders of Congress together to build the
next deal. This was a good start. But more
must be done. Congress approved direct cash relief — $1,200 per person to help
working families through this crisis. But it’s a one-off. And
Congress didn’t include direct student loan forgiveness, or Social Security
boosts for seniors, or cost-free treatment for COVID-19, full paid sick leave
for our workers, or sufficient fiscal relief to states. Joe Biden would:
Provide for additional checks to families should
conditions require.
Forgive a minimum of $10,000 per person of
federal student loans, as proposed by Senator Warren and colleagues. Young
people and other student debt holders bore the brunt of the last crisis. It
shouldn’t happen again.
Increase monthly Social Security checks by
$200/month, as proposed by Senator Wyden and colleagues. Seniors and people
with disabilities are uniquely at risk right now.
Provide emergency paid sick leave to everyone who needs it,
with no one left out. This should include workers in all industries and all
sectors, regardless of company size, and including gig workers, domestic
workers, contractors, and the self-employed.
Provide all necessary fiscal relief to states so
their workers and communities get the help they need, especially those on the
front lines like New York.
The bottom line is that Congress will have to keep acting.
This is not the last bill. There will be more. And Joe Biden would do
whatever it takes, spend whatever it takes, move heaven and earth to help all the
people harmed by this crisis.
The coronavirus pandemic has completely derailed the 2020 presidential campaigns. While Trump has a bully pulpit and turns daily briefings into political rallies, challengers including Vice President Joe Biden cannot compete for visibility or reach. We will do our part, as much as possible, to broadcast their messages so that voters may discern for themselves who should be elected to lead this country. This is from the Joe Biden campaign, which came before Trump, switching focus from the 10 minutes he spent concerned about the spread of the disease and having an adequate health care system, turned again to prioritize the economy, saying he would look to end measures in a matter of weeks (not months) designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 in order to goose the economy. Trump said that the economic impact could become worse than COVID-19 itself. “We cannot let cure be worse than the problem,” causing the medical community to scratch heads.The desire to prioritize economic health over people is echoed by other Republicans and rightwingers. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick saidlots of grandparents would be willing to die in order to save the economy for their grandchildren. This is from the Biden campaign, in advance of Trump’s March 23 briefing–Karen Rubin, News & Photo Features.
Five Questions for Donald Trump
at Today’s Briefing
As Trump Attempts to Spin Away His Historic Failure to
Combat the Coronavirus, Here Are Five Questions He Needs to Answer at Today’s
Press Conference
1. Why do you continue to
support efforts to roll back the Affordable Care Act and kick tens of millions
of Americans off their insurance in the middle of a global pandemic?
Ten years ago today, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law,
expanding access to quality, affordable health care for millions of Americans.
But, even in the midst of a global pandemic, Donald Trump continues to lead
fellow Republicans in efforts to do away with the law and the critical
protections it put in place.
Over 20 million Americans have received health insurance through the ACA, and
it’s given better care and peace of mind to countless others — that’s why Vice President Biden sent a
letter today to President Trump and Republican leaders
demanding that they drop their efforts to jeopardize Americans’ health care.
2. Why did you put the
profits of big corporations ahead of desperately needed medical supplies for
health care workers, first responders, and coronavirus victims?
New reporting today from CNN shows
that Trump abruptly reversed himself on using the Defense Production Act to
speed up the manufacture of critical medical equipment because big businesses
aggressively lobbied the White House out of fear of “profit loss.”
Trump is continuing to put the bottom lines of his corporate cronies ahead of
the safety of first responders and coronavirus victims — even as a bipartisan group of governors
and mayors has demanded that he finally use the DPA to help
secure life-saving gear.
3. Why did you ignore the
repeated warnings of your own intelligence officials in January and February
about the impending risk of the coronavirus and decide to downplay the threat
instead of preparing a response?
The Washington Post reported that
Trump ignored repeated warnings from top intelligence officials in January and
February that the coronavirus was spreading globally and that it posed a dire
threat to the safety of the United States, with one official telling the Post
that “the system was blinking red.”
Instead of preparing for the imminent spread of coronavirus in America, Trump repeatedly ignored experts
and downplayed its significance, claiming, “it’s going to disappear.
One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” The result: a “chaotic” response as
basic needs for tests and life-saving equipment go unmet, and as Administration
officials scramble to cover up for Trump’s lies about the response.
While Trump was ignoring the experts and downplayed the threat of the
coronavirus, Vice President Biden laid out a clear-eyed vision in January for
how we could come together as a country to stop the emerging pandemic and has
built on that with a comprehensive plan to
combat the coronavirus.
4. Why did you take China’s
word and praise Xi’s response for weeks as the coronavirus continued to spread,
ignoring Vice President Biden’s warning about their misleading statements?
Now Trump has laughably pivoted to
criticizing China, attempting to rewrite history and brush aside countlessexamples of him heapingpraise on Xi and
the Chinese government. Moreover, is Trump saying that he wasn’t supposed to
take steps to protect the American people simply because this virus emerged in
another country?
5. Why are you supporting a
$500 billion slush fund for corporations with no strings attached and no
protections for workers?
With America’s economy teetering, and with countless families facing financial
ruin, Trump continues to back a massive corporate bailout package with almost
no conditions, and no restraints on corporations using taxpayer dollars for
executive bonuses and stock buybacks.
That’s why Vice President Biden has called for workers and families to be put
first in any stimulus package — with no blank checks for big corporations — so
Americans will have the financial support they need to weather this storm.
Today, on the 10th anniversary of President Obama signing the Affordable Care Act into law and expanding access to quality, affordable health care for millions of Americans, Vice President Joe Biden sent a letter to President Trump, State Attorneys General, and Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves calling on them the drop the lawsuit against the landmark legislation, which would strip millions of their health insurance and gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions—during a global pandemic. Below is the text of Vice President Biden’s letter:
March 23, 2020
Dear President Trump, State Attorneys General, and Governor
Reeves,
All across this nation, Americans are anxious and afraid about the impact the
deadly COVID-19 pandemic is already having on their lives, their families, and
their ability to pay their bills. Individuals and families are stepping up to
do their part––staying home, taking individual precautions and implementing
social distancing, and making donations to support food banks and other vital
service providers, all to protect those most at-risk from the virus in our
communities. Their level of dedication should be matched by their elected
leaders.
At a time of national emergency, which is laying bare the existing
vulnerabilities in our public health infrastructure, it is unconscionable that
you are continuing to pursue a lawsuit designed to strip millions of Americans
of their health insurance and protections under the Affordable Care Act (ACA),
including the ban on insurers denying coverage or raising premiums due to
pre-existing conditions. No American should have the added worry right now that
you are in court trying to take away their health care. You are letting partisan rancor and politics
threaten the lives of your constituents, and that is a dereliction of
your sworn duty. I am therefore
calling on each of you to drop your support of litigation to repeal the ACA.
This Monday, March 23, marks 10 years since President Obama signed into law the
ACA. It was—and still is—a big deal for our country, because having
health insurance isn’t just about being able to access health care when you
need it, it’s about the peace of mind that comes from knowing that if your kid
gets sick, you will be able to get them the care they need, or that if you have
an accident, you won’t have to also worry about how to pay your medical bills.
During a public health crisis, it’s part of the assurance that you can seek the
treatment you and your loved ones need. I was proud to stand with President
Obama every day of our Administration, but no day more so than when he signed
the ACA, because of the real security it delivered for every day American
families.
Since 2010, 20 million Americans have gained access to health insurance
coverage. But the ACA also helps tens of millions more Americans across the
country. It is the reason 100 million people with pre-existing
conditions—including conditions like asthma and diabetes that make them at
higher-risk for adverse health impacts from the—don’t have to worry about being
charged more or denied coverage. It is the reason insurance companies can’t
tell patients that they’ve hit an annual or lifetime cap on care.
The litigation you are supporting—Texas
v. U.S.—jeopardizes every single one of those protections and
threatens the peace of mind and access to care for hundreds of millions of
Americans. There is no underlying constitutional flaw with the Affordable Care
Act. In fact, the Supreme Court twice upheld the constitutionality of the law.
The only reason this new case gained traction was because Congressional
Republicans decided to amend the law and zero-out the penalty for not being
insured, and legal experts from across the ideological spectrum have concluded
that this new argument—that this change invalidates the entire law—is legally
unsupportable.
The purpose of your suit is to destroy the ACA. Make no mistake: If the ACA did
not exist right now, in this public health crisis, tens of millions of people
would not have health insurance. 100 million would not have protections for the
kind of underlying conditions that make them even more vulnerable to the impact
of COVID-19. Insurance companies would be allowed to place caps on care
provided to individuals. And if you succeed in killing it next year, you’ll put
countless Americans at risk in the next pandemic.
If there was ever a moment to set aside politics, it is now. I have called for
making all testing, treatment, and any eventual vaccine free of charge,
regardless of whether an individual is insured. That is what is needed to
defeat this virus. The last thing we need right now is people avoiding seeking
care because they can’t afford it. But people will still have medical needs not
directly related to COVID-19, which is why every American needs access to
high-quality, affordable health insurance and the pre-existing condition
protections that the law guarantees.
You have in your power the ability to make life safer, healthier, and a little
bit easier for your constituents. All you have to do is drop your support for
this ill-conceived lawsuit, which is even more dangerous and cruel in this
moment of national crisis. History will judge all of us by how we respond to
this pandemic. The public health imperative we now face is bigger than
politics, and it requires all of us to summon the courage to lead and to do
what is right for the American people.
Joseph R.
Biden, Jr.
47th Vice President of the United States
It is stunning that Grim Reaper McConnell, who held up the first House coronavirus stimulus bill for days, is now attacking Senate Democrats for refusing to rubberstamp a $2 trillion giveaway to corporate insiders and CEOs, raising the alarm (get this) that waiting until noon would mean a whole morning of Wall Street sinking further. A morning in exchange for the health and well being of Americans and the economy. The idea that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, who made a bundle on the misery of the 2008 Bush Great Recession using just these same tactics, will personally decide what companies get bailed out is absurd – and a clear clue is that they want to keep secret who they are handing money to for 6 months.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and the Democrats have a better plan for immediate relief to Americans who will be most harmed financially now and perhaps for the rest of their lives: erase student debt, use the mechanisms you already have: expand unemployment insurance, disability, social security. Instead of simply incentivizing companies to not do anything and still collect up to $10 million in loans that would be forgiven (Mnuchin will choose who gets what), purchase goods and services needed now; evoke the war powers to require factories to reconfigure to produce vitally needed medical equipment and put in purchase orders for future production, say electric cars, long-life batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and especially medical supplies which will give the companies the needed cash flow to get through. Then test everyone to determine who is already immune and can return to work, rather than lock people in for six months, nine months, until the hypothetical “herd immunization” number is reached.
At this point, projections call for 40 to 80 percent of people to become infected, and deaths from one million to two million. Trump and his Keystone Cops administration of corrupt, inept thugs have no clue how to keep the numbers down to a minimum, and keep people and the economy healthy. Vice President Joe Biden, running for president, offered his own criticism and plan in a speech – Karen Rubin, News & Photo Features
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Vice President Joe Biden on Combating Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Good morning.
I hope you and your family are doing well in these difficult, anxious, and confusing times.
Like all families, the Biden family is adjusting to new ways: less time together, more worrying about friends and relatives, concern about those isolated – or suffering – due to the coronavirus.
As Americans, we may be physically apart, but we are truly all in this together.
And let me say something right up front: When we have stood as one, this nation has never been defeated. And we are not going to be defeated now.
The pandemic of 1918. The Great Depression. Two World Wars. 9/11.
We overcame them all.
And out of each crisis – we emerged stronger.
And we will again.
This new enemy may be unseen – but we have the tools, the expertise, and, most important, the will and the spirit to defeat it.
But we need to move – and we need to move fast.
It matters for the public health. And it matters for our economy.
Later today, you will hear from the President in his daily briefing.
These briefings are an important opportunity to inform and reassure the American people
They’re not a place for political attacks. Or to lash out at the press.
They’re about the American people.
So I hope today and in the days ahead, the president will give us the unvarnished truth. That’s what the American people need and deserve.
I hope he lets medical experts and FEMA leaders and others carrying out the work take center stage so we can hear directly from them.
And I hope we hear less talk and see more evidence of fast action.
My principal focus today – and every day – will be on what we should do to get this response fixed, to save lives, and to provide economic assistance to the tens of millions of Americans who need it now – and who will need it in the weeks and months ahead.
It starts with adopting a mindset of real urgency.
For too long, the warning signs were ignored.
For too long the Administration said the threat was “under control,” “contained,” like a “flu.” The president says no one saw this coming. That’s just not true.
Our own intelligence officials were warning of the coronavirus threat in January.
Just based on public information, I warned that this threat would get worse way back on January 27, and urged the need to put science first, draw on emergency funds to get the response started, and think about invoking disaster powers to respond.
Many of us talked about the need to get U.S. scientists on the ground in China to see first-hand what was happening, rather than relying solely on China.
My point is not simply that the president was wrong.
My point is that the mindset that was slow to recognize the problem and treat it with the seriousness it deserves, is still too much a part of how the president is addressing the problem.
South Korea detected their first case of coronavirus on the same day that we did.
But they had tests and a sophisticated tracing program to stop the spread of the virus, so they didn’t have to put the country on lockdown.
We had none of that.
So we are left with only the extreme social distancing measures currently in place.
That’s a failure of planning and preparation by this White House.
Today, months later, Americans who need to be tested still have no access to tests in many parts of the country. And in many places, our health care system teeters on the brink of collapse.
Hospital beds are filling. Doctors and nurses are already running out of critical equipment.
The federal government needs to coordinate getting medical supplies out to every corner of our country so we don’t have governors competing against one another.
As late as yesterday, we are being told that the president still has not activated his authority under the Defense Production Act to direct American manufacturers to make essential supplies.
Trump keeps saying he’s a wartime president— well, then, he should act like one.
To paraphrase a frustrated President Lincoln writing to an inactive General McLellan during the Civil War: “If you don’t want to use the army, may I borrow it?”
We need to get in motion today what should have been set in motion weeks ago.
Any public health expert will tell you that in a crisis like this you can’t move too fast – you can only move too slow.
Let me be clear: Donald Trump is not to blame for the coronavirus. But he does bear responsibility for our response.
And I, along with every American, hope he steps up and starts to get this right.
This isn’t about politics.
There is simply too much at stake – too many lives, too many livelihoods, too many homes and families and businesses and communities at risk.
I’ve laid out a very detailed, in-depth plan for what we should do. You can read it all on JoeBiden.com.
We need immediate action –on testing, on research for treatments and vaccines, on leading a global response to beat the virus everywhere.
But today, I want to focus on just four key areas for action.
First, the President must take immediate steps to increase the capacity of our health care system to treat the sickest coronavirus patients, safely.
I’m glad the president has finally activated the National Guard.
Now we need the Armed Forces and the National Guard to help with hospital capacity, supplies, and logistics.
We need to activate a reserve corps of doctors and nurses to beef up the number of responders dealing with this crush of cases, and allow doctors and nurses trained abroad, not currently at work in the U.S., to temporarily work alongside our overburdened health care providers.
Second, the President must use the Defense Production Act to radically increase the supply of critical goods needed to treat patients and protect our health care workers and first responders, including protective gear like face masks, and critical equipment like ventilators so desperately needed in our hospitals.
It means working with our allies and partners to get supplies from overseas when available, and dispatching U.S. military assets to retrieve them quickly.
It means federal coordination of the supply chain to accelerate deliveries and get them to the right places. And much more.
We are the nation that built the arsenal of democracy in the 1940s. We can make personal protective equipment for health care workers in 2020.
Third, the President needs to end the infighting and bickering in his own administration, listen to the scientists, and provide clear guidance.
The American people are not getting clear leadership, clear action, or clear accountability.
Management matters in a crisis. I’ve been there in the Situation Room. There are thousands of steps that need to be taken, all at once.
You need to be planning not just for today and tomorrow, but for the day after.
Is this White House actively planning for what it will take for America to begin to return to something resembling normal life?
Just waiting and seeing isn’t going to cut it.
What are the conditions required? What capacities should be in place? What protections and protocols do we need to ensure the virus doesn’t simply start spreading again?
They need to start planning now, so the current measures stay in place for as long as they are needed, but not longer.
And fourth, the President needs to set the right priorities for our economic response.
Our guiding principle must be to keep everyone paid through this crisis.
We should be doing everything in our power to keep workers on payrolls, make small businesses healthy, and help the economy come out the other side strong.
The Federal Government should provide the resources to make that happen, while still protecting the American taxpayer.
Unfortunately, as of last night, President Trump and Mitch McConnell were offering a plan that let big corporations off the hook. They proposed a $500 billion slush fund for corporations, with almost no conditions.
Under their plan, the Trump Administration could even allow companies to use taxpayers’ money for stock buybacks and executive pay packages.
They wouldn’t have to make commitments to keep workers employed.
They wouldn’t even have to tell Americans where the money goes for months.
Today, there are active efforts to fix this bill so it focuses on workers and families and small businesses rather than no-strings corporate bailouts.
Here’s my bottom line: Millions of small businesses, like the family-run restaurant that is trying to stay open and pay its workers – they should get the funds they need.
Big companies will need help, too — but no blank checks.
If corporations take money from taxpayers, they have to make a commitment that they will keep workers on payroll.
The worker who is seeing their wages slashed — they need to be made whole.
Those who do lose jobs – they need strong, sustained, unemployment benefits, whether they are a gig worker or a full-time employee.
The family that will go hungry tonight – they need food on the table.
Social Security checks need to be boosted.
Student debt should be forgiven.
Cash relief needs to go out fast to all of the people who need it the most.
We can act quickly and together.
We can put the politics aside to meet this moment, like Governors all across the nation.
Mike Dewine in Ohio, Larry Hogan in Maryland, Charlie Baker in Massachusetts.
Gavin Newsom in California, Jay Inslee in Washington, Gretchen Witmer in Michigan.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s briefings are a lesson in leadership.
Republicans and Democrats — all are rising to the moment, putting aside politics to do what needs to be done.
But they all are looking to the federal government for more help.
Finally, it’s worth noting that today is the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act. I’m proud of the role I played, alongside President Obama, in bringing Obamacare into law. And I’m proud of its record of achievement.
But also today, in the middle of one of the biggest public health emergencies in generations, the White House and Republican attorneys general are actively pursuing a lawsuit to invalidate the ACA in court.
They are working to strip millions of Americans of their health care and tens of millions of their protections for pre-existing conditions.
I sent them a letter this morning, with a simple request: Withdraw this lawsuit. End this effort to take away people’s health care.
This is not the moment to add additional uncertainty and fear in this nation or to let politics trump doing what is right. Give Americans peace of mind.
In a crisis, character is revealed — and each day we are seeing the courage and heart of Americans shine through.
Our military, our first responders, our doctors, nurses and health care workers, of course.
But also those who we don’t think about as much: the grocery store workers; the mail and package carriers; the workers manufacturing the gear we need, keeping delivery trucks on the road, cooking meals to deliver, and tending our elderly loved ones; the journalists who keep us up to date and hold leaders accountable; the government officials working on this problem, and so many more.
They are putting it all on the line for us. We need to give them all the help they need now. And we need to be sure we never forget what they’ve done.
Let me close with this thought: Deep in the heart of every American, there burns a flame. It’s an inheritance from every generation of Americans that has come before us. It’s why we have overcome every crisis we have ever faced before. It’s what makes this nation special and why we stand apart.
That flame is not going to be extinguished in this moment.
If our leadership does its part, the American people will do their part.
Because here’s the simple truth: The American people have never, ever let this country down.
So, we need to get moving, and moving fast.
This is the United States of America, and there’s not a single thing we can’t do — if we do it together. Thank you.