Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump to Detail US Coronavirus Efforts, Schumer Seeks $8.5B
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
February 26, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pushed back Wednesday against criticism that his administration isn’t doing enough to meet the coronavirus threat, as lawmakers called for giving disease fighters much more money than the $2.5 billion the White House has requested.
A day after he sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the U.S., Trump prepared to hold a White House press conference with experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, two new coronavirus cases have been reported in Americans who had traveled on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, health officials said Wednesday. The new cases bring the U.S. tally to 59.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that the CDC, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and others in the administration are “doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus!” and accused some news outlets of “panicking markets.”
The White House said Wednesday that it had faith in Azar and was not considering appointing a virus czar.
On Capitol Hill, senior lawmakers called for a bipartisan spending package that would give federal, state and local officials more resources. Congress in recent years took a similar approach with the opioid epidemic, pumping out federal dollars for treatment and prevention. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York unveiled an $8.5 billion coronavirus proposal.

Schumer’s $8.5 Billion Plan Is More Than Triple Trump’s Request

Trump and members of his administration have been sending mixed messages about the virus.
The CDC on Tuesday warned the American public to prepare for an an outbreak of the disease, which has spawned more than 80,000 cases around the world but relatively few so far in the U.S.

Schumer’s $8.5 billion plan includes $4.5 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to work to contain the outbreak in the U.S., $1 billion to develop and manufacture a vaccine, $1 billion to help other countries battle the coronavirus, and $2 billion to reimburse states for costs incurred in tackling the outbreak.
The count includes 14 people who traveled back from outbreak areas in China, or their spouses; three people who were evacuated from the central China city of Wuhan; and 42 Americans, passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship who were evacuated by the federal government to the U.S. from where the ship was docked in Japan.
But before he flew home from India on Tuesday, Trump said the coronavirus situation is “very well under control in our country.” The administration has asked Congress for an additional $2.5 billion to speed development of a vaccine, support preparedness and response activities, and to gather needed equipment and supplies.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have questioned whether that request is sufficient.
Schumer’s $8.5 billion plan is more than triple Trump’s request. It includes $4.5 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to work to contain the outbreak in the U.S., $1 billion to develop and manufacture a vaccine, $1 billion to help other countries battle the coronavirus, and $2 billion to reimburse states for costs incurred in tackling the outbreak.
“We will put together a supplemental that will address this issue,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs a key panel that sets spending for health agencies. Aides said the House measure is likely to be unveiled next week. Bipartisan “four corner” meetings — Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate — are beginning Wednesday, a House Democratic aide said, with a bipartisan bill the goal.
Photo of Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar
FILE – In this Feb. 13, 2020 file photo, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Democrats controlling the House wrote HHS Secretary Alex Azar earlier this month to request funds to help speed development of a coronavirus vaccine, expand laboratory capacity, and beef up screening efforts at U.S. entry points. Azar is slated to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, and the U.S. response to the outbreak is sure to be a major topic. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Schumer Has Been Harshly Critical of Trump’s Response to the Outbreak

DeLauro dismissed the White House’s $2.5 billion request, saying the two-page summary appeared to have been put together without much thought. She contrasted it to a 28-page submission from the Obama administration on Ebola.
Testifying before her committee Wednesday, Azar said, “I appreciate your frustration with the two-page letter being the documentation,” but he said he believes $2.5 billion will be enough for now. “If it doesn’t fund it, we’ll come back to you.”
Schumer has been harshly critical of Trump’s response to the outbreak, and his request — announced before the Democratic-controlled House Appropriations Committee has weighed in — rankled some Democrats hoping for quick, bipartisan action to address the crisis.
Arriving back in the U.S. early Wednesday, Trump immediately began to counter critics who say he should have acted sooner to bolster the federal response to the coronavirus.
He tweeted announced that he would be briefed later Wednesday. Then would come the news conference.
Trump also accused some news outlets of “panicking markets.”

The National Institutes of Health Received a Shipment of Test Doses of a Vaccine Candidate

The president keeps close tabs on the stock market, seeing it as an indicator that his economic policies are working and frequently boasting of its growth. Markets tumbled Monday by a huge amount and then again on Tuesday, and Trump noticed.

“It’s very clear. If we have a global pandemic, no country is going to be without impact.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH’s infectious disease chief
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham also engaged in the pushback after returning with Trump. Grisham retweeted a CDC post that said “there is currently no reported community spread” of coronavirus in the U.S.
This week, the National Institutes of Health received a shipment of test doses of a vaccine candidate from Moderna Inc., in preparation for first-step safety testing in a few dozen people aimed to begin by April. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH’s infectious disease chief, cautioned reporters that in a best-case scenario, “you’re talking about a year to a year and a half” before any vaccine would be ready for widespread use.
Fauci said that while only a few cases have turned up in the U.S. from travelers outside the country, “we need to be able to think about how we will respond to a pandemic outbreak.”
“It’s very clear. If we have a global pandemic, no country is going to be without impact,” Fauci said.
A pandemic involves the continual spread of sustained transmission from person to person in multiple regions and hemispheres throughout the world simultaneously, Fauci noted.

DON'T MISS

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

13 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

13 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

13 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

13 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

13 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

14 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

14 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

15 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

17 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

18 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

11 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
11 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

12 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

13 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

13 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

13 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

13 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

13 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

13 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend