they've also reported now six americans have died from coronavirus. the first fatalities from the coronavirus in the u.s. at this critical moment, we need an administration that acts with persistence and unrelenting transparency. decisiveness and lanes on the accuracy of our sciences and doctors. but this administration unfortunately has spent years hollowing out the domestic and global health security teams in the executive branch. it is both from cutting funding from the response fund, the imagine account, the public health preparedness and response onprograms. undoubtedly, the trump administration would've been better prepared to respond to the coronavirus if the president had prioritize these programs rather than urge them to be cut. the administration's early

response efforts have not instilled much confidence either . testing kits were notg probaby sent to the hospitals, and medical labs around the country, political personnel has overruled the recommendations for the cdc. in the administration was slow to appoint any single official for the public health expertise to coordinated our government's response. even now, president trump seems to be spending one of us time blaming commedia and blaming the democrats and being constructi constructive. infective blades everyone. he is downplaying, the virus to a dangerous degree. his chief of staff amazingly said to americans, turn off your televisions. they know the history of how these viruses spread and work. winnie to deny them, you don't let people know what is

happening and what to do about it. things getd worse. and if the president, being self centered as is only cares about himself and his image any tribes uas usual instead of solving te problem, blame somebody else. the deflection and finger-pointing and the denial, must stop. president trump was take responsibility to ensure everyone in the public health community has the authority andu the resources needed. we need the president and his team to level with the american people and get a handle on the situation. no later this week, appropriators will put together an emergency supplemental package to start or responses to help local communities to quickly prepare for the coronavirus. i believe i have said that we need about $8.5 billion. and for all the courts, the appropriators are very close to

that number. rather than the 2.5 billion the president talked about early on. and is good. because when it comes to americans health, when it comes to our safety, when it comes to dealing with this problem head-on, skipping does not make any sense at all if there is ever something that is penny wise and counter that's it. i'm going to have more to say as this package comes together but at a minimum, any package need to have provisions that ensure that a president cannot transfer these new funds to anything other than the coronavirus. an american and global preparedness, epidemics and in infectious diseases. vaccines must be affordable and available to all who need them. yesterday a call for vaccines to be fully covered by medicare because seniors, and vaccines most, do not have to worry if they can afford once it is

available. they should be interest-free loans available for small businesses impacted byab the outbreak and state and local governments are in burst and provided response activities. in the meantime, thead administration means to keep working with local communities including schools and universities, and local agencies. and on the steps they must take, to prepare for an increase in coronavirus cases. specifically the administration needs to do the following. first, issue coherent guidance on what school district should do in the event the viruses detected in a community. two. establish screening policies for airports and fort force of entry. our product line pretense transportation the ticket essay, clear guidance from the coronavirus. three. make it clear that federal scientists and medical experts can speak out clearly be heard

by the american people. note no gag rule. no downplaying this because it makes things worse when people don't know the max. that democrats are ready to work on the bipartisan basis to make sure federal state and local officials are ready for whatever scenario can know virus presents. our colleague, incident, must be ready to do the same. >> the new coronavirus continue to capture headlines over the weekend. news of the first american deaths, related to the disease confirmed this is a public health challenge. it is upon us.at it's an intimate, and the role is clear, we need to support this federal state and local public health officials and healthcare professionals who are workingme overtime to block delight and mitigate the spread of the virus. with her colleagues, along with

their appropriations counterparts in the house, work through the weekend on a bipartisan by agreement to provide supplemental appropriations so the coordinators response. as a challenge like this, we have no time for moving goalposts or outrage. the american people deserve the congress to meet this head-on with a bipartisan and collaborative approach and i'm confident that we will, make this happen. and whether process for supplemental appropriations dress in the hands of a bipartisan group of negotiators. i would encourage the democratic colleagues both houses to let them do the work. it will be important to pass this first benchmark to supply these important funds within the next two weeks. it. >> mr. president i want to talk for a few minutes about where we are with the coronavirus, response in the supplemental.

i think both all senators have an opportunity to be updated again today. this is not a new place for us to be. this time last year, lebron health and human services appropriations committee held a hearing on emerging threats and at that point were experiencing the second largest outbreak of ebola in the democratic republic of congo antibiotic resistance with a global danger and their was a flu outbreak bigger than we had seen in a long time. so when you later were still eafighting the bullet outbreak e drc, antibiotic resistance continues to be anu global problem. and according to doctor tony, the director of the national institute of allergy and infectious disease, the flute we are seeing this year, shaping up to be one of the worst in

decades. now several thousand americans die every year from the flu, usually at least 35000 and sometimes as high as 75000. and think 350,000 americans have died from the flu in the last decade. now facing a new danger the danger that is the new seen before. as we learned with ebola, patients zero does not know they even have this yet, can board a plane or a cruise ship, they can be in another country or even another continent in a matter of hours. in this lesson once again, h reinforce, like all other diseases, it does not know any boundaries. no longer living in a world where our health can be separated from the health of

other countries. last week the number of new coronavirus infections outside ofof china, outpace those inside china for the first time. maybe the good news is that china is beginning to see something ended in a different direction but the bad news is infections and iran in italy and south korea, and japan and other places, has moved in to europe now. and south american case was just announced in brazil but this is kind of that moment mr. president, we have some opportunity to do everything we can to prepare for the worst but we still have the option of hoping for the best. this would happen with sars, that's what happened with agent one and one. just makes it that is what happened with the other one who didn't turn out to be bad for

the other people that had it but not as bad as we had anticipated at one point. it might be disturbing to see the first deaths in the state of washington, but certainly the message to us is to be more militant vigilance and be better prepared. congress and the last five years has increased money and that doesn't count whatever we do this week and next week as interest money for preparedness by 44 percent. in a year ago, we created for the first time and infectious disease fund. our colleague in the house, toggle, one of the major components of this to let health and human services people have access to money immediately. because of that they had $105 million that they would not have previously had to be able to spend immediately to help contain this problem where it could be contained to bring americans back here particularly

from china. to keep them in a known location for the 14 day incubation. to see if anything happened and all of that was possible because we had given them the flexibility that they had not had before. the first line of defense and funding has beenne there. were no moving towards inclusion of what we can do to make more money available for a vaccine. it takes a while. we will have a vaccine for a while. continuing to talk to the doctors and teams about this. we are working with experts i was called the biomedical advanced research and developmentce authorities to moe those vaccines quickly. but even if we had a vaccine,

even if we had been 18 months, that would be the u.s. world record to develop a vaccine here we would need to have something anybody could it take vaccine and without vaccine, this particular virus, would likely be dealt with. there is no n treatments, reno d there is no cure right now. but the treatment is to handle these issues in the way that in the public health system that is been built over decades, there are 50 states and district of columbia all had public providers and were going to have no p money available to work wih them. but again the preparedness money that they have had for the last five years, should've been used in a b way and i believe was usd in a way that gets them all that much more ready to deal with this than they otherwise would have been. we need to continue that the

centers for disease control and prevention have what they need to improve the surveillance systems and the testing systems and if were going to fight quickly that there will be a test, it will be approved by fda. it allows people to check in a number of locations. another process in a number of locations that test to see if in fact, you have what you thought wasay worse than usual cold or maybe you thought it was a lot worse than usual cold. sometimes this particular disease doesn't have much happening at all and because of that, and probably at this point, a bigger number of people who we think would be a percentage of people that would have really negative consequences even death from this disease, rather than all the people that had it and did it. i have learned in the past

through outbreaks of a flu strain that we do not have a vaccine for, of ebola, zika, what we do to protect people in other countries, winds of protecting people here. we have to be sure that we understand that a lot of our fate, has been determined and will continue to be determined by what we do to first try to contain this virus and secondly to provide the money to be sure that when we do have an outbreak which is already begun in our country, that is an outbreak that is really held at the lowest possible level of people impacted and if you are infected by this disease that you have the ability to work from home, to do other things, hospital that was the place to go. working with the

state and local health officialw right now. to see that happens. the money is been used, these been used effectively, clearly we are trying to agree between the house and senate and the administration of exactly the r right number. i would say at this point, the administration has been the most agreeable to whatever money we want to provide but obviously would like to have that money provided it quickly. i feel confident we will have the resources to deal with this. feel confident this will be a problem that will not impact a more people than would usually be impacted by something like the flu. but again, we need to prepare for the very worst and hope for the very best in our driver now is toar prepare for the worst things that could happen. with having theil funding available, so that we don't have to go through a couple of weeks

again, where easy determination should've been reached. one thing we could've done is t give the administration exactly the amount of money they asked for, we could decide to spend it differently. we can do that two weeks ago. and then get into a discussion of what we need next. it is not the course we decided to go down where try to come up with an amount of money and it appears that we would get us through this entire incident with this virus. but it is time to get that done and hopefully we will see a bill filed later today in the house able to vote on that bill. before they leave this week and once that number is done, i think it will be seen as almost certain that the senate will be able to deal with that bill and proof that number and were going to move forward. i think again will more for move

forward in a way that minimizes as much as possible, the impact that this has on families and on individuals and mr. president, i look forward to you and i both having a chance to learn more about this even today, and to velearn more as we move forwardn the big thing we need to learn now she is what the amount of money we need to have to spend and how we allocate that money for vaccine and other things. >> i come to the floor today, as a senator as well as a physician. i want to do this to reassure the american people, that we are doing everything possible to combat and contain the coronavirus. according to john's hopkins university, a well-known medical institution, we care in the united states are the most prepared nation on the face of the earth. to protect ourselves and in

terms of preparation, for something an infection infectious disease like the coronavirus. nevertheless, this virus is a global conservative and in his a pandemic potential problem. and the outbreak started in china goes without saying, weird events saddened by the loss of life there as well as here and around the world. i were concerned about those currently suffering from the virus.e our focus continues to be on protecting the health and the well-being and the a safety of e american people. that is where we need to focus. president trump's earlier travel restrictions in china have actually helped slow the spread of the virus. he has since expanded these restrictions. the president i believe is acting swiftly and decisively to contain the virus and keep americans safe. still this country is nonmedically still mobile and

can't be. ewere likely to seek more cases in the days and weeks ahead. so we all must be prepare and stay vigilant. be assured of the trump administration is fully engaged in responding to this virus. the united states is the best public health system in the world. and we have a plan in place to combat the coronavirus. our public health experts are working to identify and isolate the virus as well as to produce a vaccine. at the fastest you can never produce a vaccine several years and we seem to be moving faster thanan that with regard to the coronavirus . to the vaccine develop me even moving faster than ever, will still take a minimum every year and year and six months to have a vaccine available and a level that could actually impact the population of the country. it is a new virus. so new vaccine needs to be developed. then the vice president sentxp over the weekend we expect to have a vaccine available next

year and i agree. and meanwhile our strategy for testing, for isolation, for quarantines, right now is something to lower the risks. years ago we created infectious disease rapid response team. to make sure we were ready if the time we come. ... ... ... the national institute of health talk tod about this specifically infectious disease group.

the head of the center for disease control and the area, helping with our efforts on coronavirus.eg as she has said, our aggressive containment strategy here in the united states has been working, she said, and is responsible for the low level of cases we have had so far. officials at the cdc and the national institute of health are coordinating with other federal officials. they are working around-the-clock. the administration is making sure that state and local officials have all of the resources they need to respond, and has said our healthcare system, our businesses, and our communities and schools all have action plans. senators have had a number of briefings from officials about the centers for disease control and the national institute ofey health. they are working on ways to identify the virus, test for the virus, ways to treat people who are infected by the

virus. they are working on quarantines and on a vaccine. that is what they should be doing. this is a massive nationwide undertaking. at meetings, and i have been going to meetings on this since it was first noted around the beginning of the year.no this issue in china, whereas the doctor who tried to get the word out to the world was the first to notice the specific new virus, the coronavirus, he was reprimanded by the chinese. for trying to do just what he learned to do as a doctor which was to share medical knowledge and information to try to get ahead of a disease that is progressing. he was reprimanded by the chinese government, and was subsequently has died from the disease. there are number of us who would be bipartisan to go to briefings, we've been going to briefings since the time of the impeachment. we would have impeachment in the afternoon, and discussions

about coronavirus in the morning. so there has been a focus on this for probably longer than most members around the country have been focused on it. at every meeting, we would ask the members in the center for disease control and the national f institute of health, do you right now have the funds you need for the things you need to do right now? and in alld of those meetings, they said yes we have it we need. while now things have changed. now they say they need additional funds and they are right. and we agree. they need funds for more testing, treatment, vaccine development, it's appropriate that congress appropriate that money. and i believe congress must act quickly and decisively to p protect the public by sending a bipartisan bill. parties agreed this effort has to be fully funded. we know the initial numbers that were being discussed, were only a starting point. we don't know what the total numbers going to be. but the team is going to

continue to have all of the funds that they need to deal with this disease. so i find it very disturbing, madam president, to see democrats, especially those running for president politicizing the issue. headline yesterday "new york times" democrats hit trump on virus. they're talking about the presidential candidates attacking president trump on the virus. madam president, the carotid virus is a deadly disease. it is not a political tool to try to tar and feather president trump. we need to be working on this together. this should not be about democrat candidates trying to defeat president trump, but about defeating the coronavirus. that is what we ought to be focusing on, madame president. and madame president, as my dr. my focus is on the health of the american people. so my advice for those who may be watching at the same common sense advice you would take if you said i wanted to avoid

season, and it is flu season as well. cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands freak on the, if you are sick stay home. those of the kind of commonsense things people can do at home. not just to prevent the flu, but to protect themselves against the coronavirus. there is no reason, for lots of anxiety or panic. as a w nation we are in the right position to deal the challenge we face. and this administration will continue to do everything in its power to a keep america and americans safe. but now it's time for congress to do its part. to pass the emergency legislation and get it to the president's desk. thankfully, we are the most prepared nation to face this challenge, we have harnessed all of the american energy andui ingenuity, expertise that we need for this fight. the key is for all of us to remain engaged, and to remain vigilant. as a doctor, i am confident, madame president, that we will be able to succeed. together. thank you, madam president, i yield the floor.

so i am on the floor to speak about the coronavirus. but first, let me express to the families in tennessee, my heartfelt concern for them as a result of a tornado that swept through middle tennessee last night while people were sleeping. the number of deaths is 22 so far. in nashville, wilson, putnam, and benton counties. i have seen floods, and i have seen fires, and the damage they cause is terrible. but there is nothing quite like seeing what a tornado can do. it can arrive in 30 seconds or one minute and be gone, leaving behind buildings laid flat to the ground. i cannot imagine what it must be like for that to happen at 1:00 o'clock in the morning when nobody knows it's coming.

i will be in tennessee on friday, when the senate concludes his business this week. and be visiting those areas. our office has been in touch with mayors and the counties in the communities affected. senator blackburn and i are working together along with the tennessee delegation to make sure we give full federal support to governor lee. the president talked to governor lead today and as a result of that call, the white house put out a statement indicating the person may be in tennessee on friday. that would be welcome as well. no mr. president, let me speak for a moment about the coronavirus. the country was trans x by the impeachment processor about a month. and now they contrast -- transfixed by the coronavirus. this is personal, this could affect each of us. so when i am home and i'm sure when the presiding officer's home, there are lots of

questions about thet coronavirus. i want to speak this morning about a hearing that we had in the senate committee that was reassuring to me, and i think to the democrats as well as the republicans there. it was reassuring because we had respected professionals from the government with broad experience in dealing with epidemics. whether it's anthrax, ebola, twice, other coronavirus', we have had all of that in the united states before the last 25 years. and we have dealt with that. at the end of the hearing, senator murray and i can, she is the ranking democrat on the committee, and our democrats are not bashful in our republicans are not bashful. but i think i can speak for them and saying those for professionals, many of whom have worked for 25 or 30 years in terms of helping our country deal with health crises, continue to earn our respect.

we believe what they tell us. they promise it tells the truth. when they saw the vice president earlier today i said mr. vice president, i am glad you'm have been placed in charge of this. as a former governor i think that makes sense to place a vice president, that indicates level, and a former governor, someone who is accustomed to work with states and local g government, in charge of a problem that is going to be solved primarily by our exceptional state and local public health system. so i think you are exactly the right person to be in charge, but my advice was let the professionals do the talking. because people believe them. if the president and vice president give their view, they are entitled to do it, but someone will think they are justifying what they are doing. the democrats on the other hand say something about it, someone will say they are just criticizing president trump. but if doctor 5g for example, who for 25 years, ever since

1984 which is a long time working for president reagan, president clinton both bushes, obama and presidentde trump, working with hiv-aids, working with anthrax, working with the old bull like twice, if he answers a question and tells us something we believe that. we need accurate information for the american people about exactly where we stand with this crisis. and, w what do we need to do in congress that we have not already done? sell in the next few minutes, i would like to talk about what we heard this morning, and to complement those for professionals who were there. she has had 30 years working with infectious diseases most

of that time with the cdc. doctor found she had just described i believe he has universal respect here for truth telling and confidence. doctor robert kadlec he is at the department of human services he used to advise the fbi in the department of defense any help them write the legislation help set up the agency to help us deal with such epidemics as we might experience here. and then doctor steven han, he is the newest one of the four in terms of coming to the government. but he has been the head of the cancer center, one of the most respected institutions in the world, so those are the professionals that we heard this morning. now what do we hear? we heard that the coronavirus is alarming, in terms of what is happening00 around the

world. there are 90000 cases or more, 3000 deaths, all of this has happened and the last two, two and half months. so far as we know. what is happened ate? home? what's happened at home and in the united states, is that we have slightly more than 100 cases detected about half of those are americans who were traveling and had to be brought home, and the other half of been detected here. unfortunately we have had six deaths. it is fair to say that citizens of the united states are at low risk from infection from the coronavirus. but you don't have to take my word for take the word of the professionals who testified this morning before the tenants and transcendence committee. or take the words of what the

near time said a few days ago on its front page of the sunday newspaper in describing the situation in the united states twos days ago here's what the time said quote. much about the coronavirus remains unclear. it is far from certain that the outbreak willeg read severe proportions in the united states or effect in many regions at once. continuing within your times, with its top-notch scientists, modern hospitals and sprawling public health infrastructure, most experts agree the united states is among the countries of best prepared to prevent or manage such an epidemic. that's the "new york times" front page assessment two days ago in addition to the possible effect on lives of americans, this problem can disrupt our economy. 20% of all we import,

according to our trade representatives comes to china. so we are not just talking about medicines for mass, we are talking up parts for cars, or chemicals in east tennessee which employs thousands of people. it can cause our economy to slow down, and the rest of the world to slow down. the purpose of our hearing this morning was first, to get an idea of what americans needed to know about the l coronavirus. we learned some things, we learned based on the data that we have and has been received just in the last couple days from china, children mostly aren't infected by the coronavirus. they may be, but most of the people who seem to be affected by it, are over 50 and the people who get the sickest are the people who are already sick. the second thing we learned it

seem so simple it doesn't seem to be true. but what can we do about the coronavirus? how can we keep from getting it? wash her hands. i find myself doing it a few times a day and i didn't used to do that. and what we do as individuals our hands pickup from her cell phones, from the rails we touch, or from the hands we shake, or from the seats in front of us in the airplane. they pick up germs. and then what do we do? we put our hands on her face, more times an hour then most people are aware. and that is the single biggest way that this spreads. so wash your hands, that's what doctor fat she says in the fella who has been working on these epidemics for decades. here's something else we learn to put in context this is just past the peak. of the flu season. most of us know about the flu,

we have a vaccine for the flu, not for the coronavirus but for the flu. most of us take it but there ares hundreds -- tens of hundreds of us that have the flu this year. 50000 americans on average, die from the flu each year. 50000 americans that might be 30,000 and one year 70000 and a bad year but that is a lot of people dying from the flu. the flu is a respiratory disease just like the coronavirus is a respiratory disease it's a different one but they both have the same. in fact, the symptoms are much the same, fever and cough. we also learned this morning from the professionals who told us this, that for 80% of the people who are infected with the coronavirus, it is a fairly mild experience.

20%, mainly older people, are sicker. and they are the ones who need the attention. so those are the things we learned this morning from the professionals who have been working with these epidemics or potential epidemics for a longti time. now, what should we do about it? let's start with what we have done about it. so think is important for the american people to know that. let's start with congress, this is not her first rodeo so to speak we faced public health threats for the last 20 years, there is staff and here who dealt with the anthrax in20 2001, nearly 20 years ago. 2003 we saw sars, that was another type of coronavirus. then 2009 flu pandemic, that

killed more than 150,000 people around the world. and then there were the evil eye outbreaks after every one of those instants, congress worked with presidents to better prepare for the next problem after the anthrax had co shield to stockpile new treatments and vaccines. after the sars in 2006 they said the pandemic preparedness act. north carolina senator was the principal person. it guides the government on how to respond to public health emergencies and it creates funds that the government can used to respond quickly to problems that come up. last year, congress provided more than $4 billion for public health and preparedness

programs for when a crisis occurs like this one. all of this is happened since the first of the year. maybe a little bit in december, but mostly since the first of the year. money is often needed quickly so congress has created a couple o of funds that the agencies can take money from. one of them is the rapid response fund and secretary a czar has already take $105 million from that for this healthcare issue and then we have given him the authority to take an another 136 million. and were recommending to a half billion more. and congress with many suggestions is likely this week to enact additional funding to do whatever our professionals tell us need to be done to keep us safe, and to help protect our economy. now in addition to what congress is done, our various presidents havees done even more. for example, president obama,

if you will remember, said our military to africa to do with the bullet outbreak before came here. that was quite an extraordinary reaction president bush said this these control scientists around the world to help with the sars epidemic. in the same wayre president trump has donene something that hasn't been done in this country 50 years ago and hasn't been number 50 years, at a time when there were only six confirmed cases of coronavirus in the united states, this administration announcedd they would quarantine americans who may have been exposed to the virus while in china, and impose travel restrictions on foreign nationals who travel to china and the last 14 days. he warned americans not to travel to china and recently not to travel to italy or south korea. instead foreign nationals who have traveled to china and the

last 14 days cannot reenter the united states. the president added iran to this recently. doctor fauci and the national institute of health professional record from this morning said without those executive actions we would have many more cases right now. the third thing the administration is done, is to develop a test to diagnose whether you've got thevi coronavirus. now we did not have that before, because this is a new virus. working on rapidly that. not as fast as everyone would like, but fast as far as i can tell. and the fda is working on 65 private developers in addition to the 46 labs in 38 states who are developing tests. the goal is to have in place kits that will allow 1 million tests to be made shortly.

and as far as a vaccine, we are working on a vaccine, the professionals are. more rapidly than any vaccine everer before. but it still takes more than a year. when the president met with drug manufacturers to see if existing treatments might be used earlier it international laboratories and got involved as well. so mr. president -- madam president, as we look at the coronavirus we think most about her own health. but we also see other issues, and thathe is the effect on our economy and the 13% of the facilities that make active ingredients for drugs are in china. we need to take a look at that. but i would like to conclude where he started. people ask me what can we do about the coronavirus? the answer is as simple as it wash her hands, drink a lot of water, isolate yourself if you feel sick, if you've got a

fever and a cough, call your doctor. stay home and don't infect your neighbors. are we going to be able to contain the coronavirus in the united states? i go back to what the "new york times" is on the front page on sunday. we have experience in dealing with epidemics in the united states. we have professionals who for several decades in several administrations both democratic and republican have been successful at doing this. wepu have administrative presidents both democratic and republican have taken strongg executive action, including this one to protect the american people. in short, while this is an alarming problem around the world, it surely more americans will be infected. most experts agree, we are fortunate that the united states w as a country in the world, with the scientist,

with the resources, and with the experience to do the best possible job of containing the spread of this virus. i think the president, i yield the floor. ♪ ♪ watch our live campaign 2020 super tuesday coverage of the presidential primaries and congresses from 14 states including alabama, arkansas, california, colorado, maine, massachusetts, minnesota, north carolina, oklahoma, tennessee, texas, utah, vermont, and virginia. with candidate speeches and results coverage begins today live at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span@c-span.org, or listen from wherever you are with the free c-span radio app. ♪ ♪ our c-span campaign 2020 bus team is traveling across the

country asking voters what issues should presidential candidates address? >> of the issue most important to me in campaign 2020 is foreign policy. i know the candidates have addressed it already, but i think it is important for the candidates to focus on issues that they constitutionally have a lot of control over. i think it is just important because compared to others, the government is one area they have a lot of control over. >> the issues that are most important to me for this election cycle, is actually three of them. when i am looking at candidates, i'm looking for their stand on second amendment, immigration and abortion. >> for me in this 2020 campaign is healthcare. so many of my family and friends have had not been able to make ends meet with all of their medical bills. and medical debt. so being able to get medicare for all would be very beneficial to everyone i know. that's the main issue i have

for this election. >> my biggest issue is probably climate change. and how we can address it while also addressing economic disparities and kind of rebuild our economy to be more sustainable. >> i would like the candidates to direct what their stand is on preserving those rights. here in utah, i am from arizona so i would like the candidates to dive a little deeper and where they stand on americans. >> voices from the road, on c-span. >> the flu is a respiratory disease, like coronavirus, is that correct customer. >> that is correct. >> how do you know if you have the flu as opposed to coronavirus? >> welt the definitive test would be to get a test of the flu or a test for the coronavirus.

>> so you need a tests. >> there is overlap in symptoms the situation with coronavirus, is predominately fever and a lower respiratory infection. as opposed to an upper respiratory infection, starting off with and then you might get a pulmonary involvement, which is flu. >> what's a lower respiratory customer. >> year long as opposed to sore throat, snide side titus and sneezing. when you have long involvement, you can get that with the flu, but usually it's upper respiratory and then lower. >> so fever and cough customer. >> fever and cough can be either of them. >> what should you do if you have even a cough? >> it depends on the circumstance. if you are in the middle of the flu season right now, and you fever and a cough, you could been in monisha bcf position. certainly if you are in a person in orissa group with elderly underlying condition during the flu season, you should see a physician because

we do have antivirals for the flu. and you could be help by doing that. >> federal health officials testified for the health committee on coronavirus response efforts. watch that tonight at nine eastern on c-span2, online is c-span.org or listen with the free c-span radio app. ♪ ♪ c-span's "washington journal" live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up wednesday morning, we are getting your reaction to the primary results from super tuesday. join the live conversation all morning with your phone calls, facebook comics tax and tweets. be sure to watch c-span "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern wednesday morning, join the discussion. ♪ ♪ >> following a closed-door briefing with vice president mike pence in health officials on the coronavirus outbreak

earlier today, senate leaders held their weekly news conference at the capitol. we will show you those now starting with the republicans. [background noises] [background noises] okay we just had a good discussion with our major healthcare professionals, doctor ouchi, doctor brooks, cms, and doctor hahn from fda. on where we are on the coronavirus. as you know they are over with the democrats now making the same presentation.

with regard to our role here and congress, we are very optimistic we are going to come together on a bipartisan basis with a package, something may have happened in the last hour i am not familiar with. but i think we are on our way to get that through the house this week and with cooperation could get it through the senate as well. we have an energy bill on the floor, it is open for amendment. hopefully we will be able to have a regular amendment process. i think this is a bill that has been languishing for several congresses. there is a lot in there that would be good for the country. it has been added to the bill and committed by both the democrats and republicans. we hope to be able to move that across the floors well. as soon as possible. >> as we all know, americans have been affected by the

coronavirus in a very direct way. we have had six deaths now in our country and our prayers go out to the loved ones of those who have been lost. as leader pointed out, we heard today from vice president pence and his team, and i want to credit them with continuing to act swiftly to address issues as they come up. our role here in the senate, is one that hopefully we will be able to fulfill in the very near future. senator shallowly is working along with his colleagues in trying to come up with a package that will address any issues associated with this virus. we look forward, here in the senate to moving that and supporting it as soon as we can get it up on the floor. >> this should not be a partisan issue, this should be a bipartisan issue. it is something that affects the nation, and i hope we can work together in a constructive and cooperative bipartisan way to ensure that we are doing everything we

possibly can to mitigate the impact of this virus. and to keep our american safe. >> is a leader pointed out the energy bill is on the floor is a very substantive piece of legislation that focuses on clean energy alternatives. his got policies and know that are good for our economy and national security. good for global competitiveness. highlights many of my colleagues look forward to the opportunity to vote on an issue, that is so integral and important to the livelihood of every american. i hope that before it is all said and done, as we get through the amendment process, we will have a good, strong, bipartisan votes in support of this energy bill. hopefully see the house take it up, and get it on the president's desk and signed into law. >> we had the discussion today on the coronavirus and i will tell you to be able to visit with tony fouts she, who is a physician at the national institute of health and invest infectious disease who i've relied on for information,

advice, guidance on so many issues in the last decade. he is a superstar in this area. and then doctor burks as you know is well trained in infectious disease and was president obama's ambassador on global health to deal hiv, aids, and she is an expert as well wait listen to them and listen to them we can be assured that the john hopkins university said the united states is the most prepared nation in the world to deal with this sort of infectious and problem like coronavirus. and the republicans in the senate, are committed to making sure the resources are there to contain and combat this disease. that includes the research effort a check efforts, money for coming up with the vaccine and treatment. now as a doctor, let me say, to try to prevent this sort of virus for me personally, you would want to do the same thing you would do regard to

the flu. wash your hands regularly, if you cough cover, if you are sick stay home. those are the ways to help try to prevent the transmission. i would also say that it has been disturbing to watch the political colorization of this process. specifically with the democrats are playing politics running for president. we have seen it in their ads, comments, discussions, and debates. this needs to be bipartisan, it should not be partisan and should not be an effort of one side to play politics with the presidential election. we are all in this fight together, to protect the health and safety of the american people. >> while on that same topic, and the last five years we have increased by almost 50%, preparedness money available to hospitals, available to local health agencies to get ready for this kind of thing when it occurs. we are about to test to see if

that preparedness money does what we hoped it would do, but also put more money behind that now to reach out to states and local health delivery agencies to be sure they are ready to did their part. this is not something the federal government can micromanage from washington d.c. we can provide resources so it is done somewhere else. the money, the substantial amount of money will go to develop a vaccine, we would be fortunate and would have said a u.s. record if the vaccine was available within 18 months. but doctor faucher, has already been mentioned, has a vaccine that is going into testing in the next two or three weeks. the fda has worked with the center for disease control to now have a test that could be done in multiple places. right now all of those verifications of any sample taken, any test sample taken had to be done at cdc.

we are moving to a point now that 2500 kits will go out to various places around the country, that would have the capacity in this 2500 kids to do the first 1 million tests. so all of those things are happening. i think what we saw today with the vice president, with his ability to assemble a great team. remember that is a great team in the country that is the best prepared of any country in the world to deal with the sort of thing. whether it's cms, fda, or the center for vaccines and infectious disease control, all of those things were on focus and on target. i think we are going to put the resources we need behind those efforts to be sure we do everything we can to minimize the impact of corona virus in our country. >> march is women's history month, and so this month, i am

sure on the floor you will hear a number of our members talking about the wonderful trailblazers that went before us by many, many years. susan b anthony, anna hattie carraway, just to name a couple. we will also celebrate this month the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. and of course, one of those original suffragettes of the great state of iowa, so i hope to be able to speak about some of her accomplishments as well. we do want to talk about things that are very pro- woman, and pro-business woman. a couple of those things that i am proud to champion and support, not just from a republican perspective, but in a bipartisan way. access to childcare, making sure we have more affordable quality childcare and our childcare across the united states. expanding healthcare for women

and things such as over the count counter contraception. make sure have a paid family leave policy of the supports new moms and dads. those that are working and so they are just so many efforts out there, i could go on and on and on. but again, we really want to celebrate women this month. especially those early trailblazers and everything that they have brought women to today. and i hope you'll join me in the celebrations. thank you. >> i am pleased this week the senate will bring to the floor and we will all have an opportunity to vote on an energy bill. this energy bill, in my estimation, will help american workers significantly in the future. it will lower energy costs and enhance our nations security. much of my work in the senate has focused on addressing, what you might call affordability crisis. we know the economy is strong,

that unemployment is that a 50 year low, that wages are rising, people are optimistic about the future. and yet some people have a difficult time making ends meet. why is that? while the cost of the things we buy often times is too high and there are some responsible public policies we can put forth to address that. whether it's housing affordability, healthcare, childcare expenses, or higher education expenses, we have been offering solutions and all manner of these things. this energy legislation fits right within that broader theme of affordability. i'm going to be supporting this important legislation that's especially important to the state of indiana seeing as we are the most manufacturing intense estate in the country. one of the reasons we've grown such a strong manufacturing sector over the years, aside from this 30 hoosier's to help populate our factories and the various enterprises throughout the state, is we have

affordable electric power. we have affordable energy. and this energ bill will help further that into the future. >> i know there is a meeting tomorrow with the congressional leaders and the speaker to talk about the bill and discuss congressional operations with the coronavirus. what are you concerned with and getting on the same page if there has to be drastic action here on capitol hill. >> i am not going to answer hypothetical. but i am going to tell you is we are reviewing policies to protect to both the health of those who work here and those who visit here. and if we have more announcements to make we will let you know. [inaudible] >> my own preference is to

extend these three or four expiring authorities who put into law in the wake of 911. but there are differences among my members and the democrats on the way forward whether we can resolve those and pass new legislation is unclear if we are unable to resolve our differences, my preference would be for another extension, which would give us more time to talk. and for those who are interested in potentially fisa reform, i would put myself in that camp, the attorney general is addressing that himself. the fbi director has already addressed it, and senator graham is in the process of looking at what reform would be appropriate. i think he has begun that committee process already.

what you make of the dual endorsements. [inaudible] and also senator biden. [inaudible] >> i think the last thing any of the democrat candidates for president need is that what mitch mcconnell strengths and weaknesses are. they all have in common, this is not a democratic party of even four years ago. all of the remaining candidates have basically signed on to the same sorts of things that would lead america in the direction of a socialist state. and i think, for mice perspective it doesn't really make any difference who they nominate, the battle in the fall, is going to be what do you want america to be like for your children and grandchildren? i think it is going to be a

stark difference. the biggest policy difference i have witnessed in my time in the senate and a presidential race. thanks. [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] >> okay thank you everybody. i am very glad to be joined by senators leahy and murray and shots. and sorry we are a little late. we spent about 45 minutes with the vice president and his team from cdc and sdc and

hss. they answered a lot of questions. forty-five minutes of straight q&a. that was very good of them. the problem is they did not have as many answers as we needed. they did not have the answers we needed. the biggest question, testing. when and where. they could not answer how soon people would be able to get the test, we need an on-site test, not a test that has to be sent far away and sent back. and we need to know where people can get it, how people can get it and we need to make sure it's not so costly people don't get it. there were no answers to those vital questions. we hope we will have answers from them soon. but that is the real problem. second, i would say this. we are making good progress on the legislation that senator leigh hee, senator murray, and senator shots are all working

on. the democrats are adults in the room while the president sends all of his time spreading misinformation, downplaying blaming people even latching on to conspiracy theories, it's good that democrats and republicans are working together very quickly and we all believe we will have a bill passed in on the president's desk by the end of this week. the number will be much closer to the one i had in our caucus had suggested 8.5 billion then the 2 billion, two and half-billion the president suggested which has been way too little. it will provide a lot of funding to the localities, the community health center that needs a health, it will provide funding so that we can get equipment such as masks and ventilators to the communities it will provide

funding so we can have a vaccine. we believe the vaccine should be very cost-effective and not to be out of the reach of our rich folks. that is one of the arguments being disputed, how much the vaccine should cost, particularly as senator leahy reminds us since much of the research is being funded and helped by eight federal agencies. we're working with the states on public health officials to make sure they get as much information and resources that they need, we are also making sure that as much information is is available get store local folks. so while the trump administration's response has been too slow and halting. congress is taking swift action. we would plead with the present to start showing some leadershi leadership, to

start acting like a leader, like the adults we need, serious, sober, incredible. not going to rallies and blaming people. when you make a legitimate criticism that is our function and for the president to act correctly, he would take this criticism seriously and deal with them. we hope that will happen. the american people need the truth. when an administration loses its credibility nothing but fear takes over. senator leahy. >> thank you sandler and i appreciate the briefing we just got. i've been here long enough to remember when the senate would show its conscience and come together. this i believe is one of those times. one of those issues involving a great deal of money, a great deal of concerns i see republicans and democrats working very closely with each other. senator shelby and i are

trying to aspire to that in appropriations we have also had support with senator murray senator schumer, and our counterparts in the house. we will -- we are very close to appropriations i would urge, and i believe it could be done by friday evening, have a bill that has gone through both the bodies in the on the president's desk that should be. we need the funding for this we need to repay some of the accounts that borrowed money from like light heap we need to have the funding and we need to have the american people see where you can get it. this is a serious as everybody thanks it is. it is not a place for partisanship, it is a place for us to be americans, and a place for the senate to show its conscience.

>> senator murray who state has been the epicenter for the corona virus crisis. >> thank you, isis coronavirus continues to spread, people across the country are looking for answers. they are looking for action and they are looking for reinsurance that we are prepared for this. unfortunately the administration's response far has not inspired confidence, quite the opposite. just as we are standing here i was just texted that two more people have been confirmed fatalities in king county and washington state. just what we are standing here the failure to develop and distribute working test kits to public health agencies has really cost us valuable time. i am hearing from people personally across our state, who are frustrated. they believe they have been exposed, they are sick, they want to get tested they have nowhere to go. even when people can get tested, which has been very

few so far, the results are not coming back as fast as their supposed as we are being told by officials. i have been in constant contact with her local health officials, with the federal officials here in washington d.c. with our state and local officials on the front line back in my home state it is very clear from those conversations the most important thing we can do right now is pass a strong and emergency supplemental as quickly as possible so that our federal and state and have all the resources they need. this is truly a serious crisis and we cannot respond on the cheap or at the last minute. i was particularly frustrated by the trump administration and took a really long time to send us the emergency supplemental request. we literally had to send a letter to them asking them to do this. they waited until it was clear we were seeing new cases of community transmission and it was totally in adequately got

it. i am very pleased that here in congress, as senator leahy said, democrats and republicans were quick to make clear that was not adequate and we are working right now to negotiate a robust emergency supplemental that will treat the situation as it is, a crisis, and provide the resources we need. i am focused on boosting support for our state and local health departments so they can scale up to and respond to this. to provide stronger protection for healthcare workers so they can respond to the virus without getting sick themselves. and spreading it even beyond where it is. making sure state and local health departments are reimbursed for their efforts, and investing in prevention and response internationally and in research development for vaccine and treatment, which we will have to keep saying it has to be affordable or the people who needed the most common core spreading it will not get it. democrats have made it very clear that this new funding,

that is dedicated to the coronavirus outbreak, cannot be stolen for other programs or political projects. families and communities are already grappling with the disease's and spread of this. be urgently need to focus on the people who can't take a day off work without losing a paycheck. or don't have affordable childcare for school closes. or do not have health insurance who are experiencing homelessness. we know there are not enough tests out there right now. people cannot get access to them. what people in my state are being told is stay home for two weeks. imagine if you are a low income worker, or your boss says you can't stay home, what is happening in our communities, people want to be safe and protected, they do not want to spread this. they want to take care of themselves but we do not have the capability to do it with the policies we have in place. i have not even mentioned homelessness was the mayor of seattle told me she is

extremely worried about that population as well. so we don't have time for partisan politics here. i'm encouraged by the bipartisan work that is happening here in congress, but we do not need any more downplaying, fear mongering, calling off democrat spear mongers or have ms. mulvaney tells not to watch television. people need facts, they need to know what to do, these tests need to be developed, parents, families communities need to know when exactly they are going to get this testing and what to do so they can respond effectively. that is why we are working here in congress and why we need this administration to be absolutely at the epicenter of this with an ability for all of this to trust them not mistrust them. >> will senator murray, captured the situation accurately. i will just add a couple of things.

the state and county and local governments are on the front lines of this. so the federal government has two essential roles. one is communication and coordination. and that's not just about interagency cooperation. that's not just about keeping our state and locals informed. although that is an essential aspect of this it has been lacking. also about the ability to convey adverse information. to convey negative information and have the administration receive negative information and not treated as though it's a partisan attack. will we report anxiety, would we report a lack of masks, will we report that despite the happy talk of the administration, that test kits are not in fact available to the extent that which is being talked about, that is because we all care about the safety of our communities. this is not a partisan attack to say the administration has

been not coordinated in their response. so one of the things this administration has to settle into, is this idea that we are going to convey negative information to them both privately and publicly, that will help them in their response. this is not designed to hurt them and their response. and the second thing that the federal government ought to do is fund the state and local governments who are already on the front lines and already incurring costs. i am hopeful the supplemental will do that, but it may not be enough, and we may have to look at the hard costs that especially state and local governments are incurring and look at additional appropriation the future. >> questions? >> the first focus should be getting managed localities, getting tested localities, coming up with better test, we are going to concentrate first and foremost of the safety and

health of our people. not on the stock market. >> there is going to be a meeting tomorrow to discuss how to affect all of the people who visit the senate, all the people who work in the senate and the house as well. in the whole congress. >> worried about the economic impact the coronavirus has? >> again we certainly want to look at that, but job number one, is the health and safety of people. the best way to have economic security is a deal this as effectively as possible. >> one of the vaccine costs customer. >> we want to make sure that it either with the vaccine, that no one, no one, whatever their income avoids getting the vaccine because they can't afford it or because they are asking or being asked to high a fee.

>> fica just adds to the last one, and our discussions the appropriations committee we've talked about the fact that millions and millions of dollars possibly hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars is going to go into developing vaccines and test kits. we are not then going to say the companies after we taxpayers would pay for all this, now go out and make a huge profit on it. that's not going to happen. >> that is one of the disputes wait wait wait stop stop stop. that's one of the disputes holding up the bill right now. our republican friends don't want to see the limitations we want to see based on what senator leahy and i said. >> senator murray is jurors states an extension of the outbreak and are you getting work with funding? >> the number one thing i am

hearing from personal family members who are sick to community leaders to businesses who are trying to make decisions, to local school districts who are trying to decide whether to keep their school open today are not, is we need facts. the most important way to have that is to have tasks available for everyone because if you know you are sick, stay home. but right now, it's if you're sick just a home. and that is having a really huge impact. the number one concern is that. secondly to have the proper equipment and supplies which hopefully the supplemental will help. i'm talking about first responders, healthcare officials, when you have a fire department that has 15 members of the fire department who are on corn team for two weeks because they responded to the crisis that your hearing about. the impact is real. we need masks for healthcare

facilities, winning ventilators, we need equipment, and we did a fast. >> the cdc has given us some of the stockpile, but is not yet enough. >> and there is money in the bill i think about 900 million for those kinds of things. masks, ventilators and other kinds of equipment that will be needed as we go. less question. >> i heard that the senate is restocking masks were people not just in healthcare are wearing masks. >> we need some guidance from the authorities, i am not the medical authority. i'd like to see guidance from them, not just here for the senate i'm not familiar with that. but for the whole country. thank you everybody. [background noises] [background noises]

>> good morning everyone. earlier today the fomc announced a reduction in target range for the fed funds rate with equivalent of one / 1 percent my colleagues and i will help the us economy be strong in the face of new risks to economic outlook. the fundamentals of us economy remains strong the

unemployment rate is near half-century lows for more than a year and job gains has been solid and wages have been raising the strong labor market conditions have underpinned solid household spending which is the key driver of growth over the pt year. at the time of the fomc meeting in january prospects for continued economic growth to monitor policy and we support that outlook since then the spread of the coronavirus has brought new challenges and risk it has afflicted many communities around the world and our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been harmed. the outbreak has disrupted economic activity in many countries and cause significant movements in the markets. the virus and the measures taken to contain it will be abroad for some time we feel

the effects on the tourism travel industry and we are hearing concerns from industries that rely on the global supply chain. and with their persistence on the economy to be highly uncertain and the situation remains fluid. against this background the committee judge the risks to the us has changed and in response we have ease the stance to provide more support for the economy. of course the ultimate solutions to this challenge will come from others, particularly health professionals. we can and will do our part to keep the us economy strong as we meet this challenge. has always actions are guided by the congressional mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability. in the weeks and months ahead we will continue to closely monitor developments and implication for the economic outlook and use our tools as appropriate to support the

economy. thank you i will be happy to take a few questions. >>. >> thank you wall street journal. to questions what changed between last week when many seem to indicate it was just too soon to tell how this might influence the outlet - - outlook? between last week and today and what about there will be complete recovery after the peak of the virus has passed? >> what changed? we have been carefully monitoring the situation since it first became known and waiting to see how it would evolve. we have come to the view now it is time to act in support of the economy and then we decided to go ahead so what changed really over the course

over the last couple weeks with the spread of the virus beginning to spread a bit in the united states not only the epidemiology but the risk to the economy so we chose to act. into my colleagues and what was your question? >> how do you expect the economy to recover or will that temporary and short-lived? >> nobody knows how long it will be but it is strong and we will get to the other side i fully expect we will return to solid growth and a solid labor market as well. >> new york times. you said the ultimate solutions will come from others.

i have two questions about that. first is it a coordinated action with other central banks and should we be expecting to see more as a result? said what would you like to see from american fiscal policy makers in response to the new threats? >> first question. and active discussions with central banks around the world on an ongoing basis and regular contact with central bank leaders from around the world. that will continue. central banks are doing what makes sense and that context as we all talk to each other on the ongoing basis and that is what we think is the right policy under our mandate. you saw this morning g7 statement from ministers and governors it does reflect coordination at a high level and use all available tools with healthcare policy fiscal

and monetary policy is appropriate. in terms of fiscal policy, we have a full plate with monetary policy. you saw the g7 statement as wel well. >> it seems to indicate that policy makers with the tools that would not do anything imminent. does this contradict that or keep in with the statement by the g7 this morning? and can i ask what caused you to take another step? what would you be looking for with economic outlook or data? >> with the g7, the sense with

those seven countries and the different policies and mandates there is a lot of overlap that with that high level to do what we're going to do and use all of our tools to try to support the economy that is a statement of general support. you will see actions. it is up to individual countries and fiscal policies in the central bank to do what they are going to do and it's possible there will be more formal coordination moving forward. in terms of moving forward, i would say we take a current policy stance, it is appropriate for those mandate

goals and then to act appropriately depending on the flow. >> what metrics are you watching? >> i cannot point to any one thing it is always a range of things. >> "washington post". there has been rising concern of insolvency with businesses or individuals from the coronavirus. can you speak to the fomc talking about this or any emergency provisions or what you normally do during a hurricane or that type of disruption to the economy? >> we don't see that happening yet. of course we are thinking about but the economy continues to perform well. particularly from those most directly expose but nothing to

that nature. when it comes to those sorts of issues and to make sure they work with their borrowers i can imagine those but that's not at the moment. >> financial times. has the committee discussed any other monetary policy tools in addition to rate cuts or when that's appropriate? >> in the review of all of our tools we talk about our toolkit and what it is. but in the current context, no. and to come to the view that is appropriate. >> bloomberg. thank you for the press

conference. take us through the reasoning of the rate cut a little more in depth. this is a supply shot one --dash side shock the rate cuts are not suitable others say more often to demand but can you give us the reasoning behind the rate cut? >> the virus outbreak is something that would require a multifaceted response that comes in the first instance from healthcare professionals and health policy experts and also from fiscal authority sure they determine the responses to the program. it could come from any other public and private sector governments but there's also a rule for monetary policy. as a tool to support overall economic activity we do recognize a rate cut doesn't

fix the broken supply chain. we get that we don't have all the answers but we do believe it will provide meaningful boost to the economy and to support those conditions and tightening conditions and help boost why you see central banks around the world respond to particular institutions. >> can you tell us what you were do if the viruses contained fairly quickly. where the fed actually be raising rates in short order if the economic damage doesn't occur or what you fear and the second question president bush was tweeting this morning talking about cutting rate so did you feel any political

pressure? >> for the first question and we will always set monetary policy at any given time in a way that best serves our mandate goals. so we get to a place where we think it's see an appropriate time to change monetary policy we will not hesitate to do that. i would also say it's really important that people understand that we will always make our decisions based on what we learn through nonprofits and educational institutions reserve from always making decisions to carry forward and to achieve those mandates we will never consider any political consideration whatsoever. it's very public the one - -

important the public understands. >>. >> associated press there is some outreach from the fed bank presidents talking about how much they would listen to content have you got and reports from the ground from your business content that have affected your decision? were do you hearing? >> i will just say the effects are at a very early stage. but concerns from people in the travel business for hotel business are things like that. that is what you are hearing they are not showing up in the actual data but in the forecast indicators and things like that. we suspect that will continue and grow and that's one of the reasons why we come to the

view it's appropriate today to move to support the economy. thank you very much. >> president trump reacted to cut interest rates half a percentage point after speaking of the national association of county legislative conference an update on the federal response to the coronavirus. ♪ ♪ >> thank you. what a nice group. thank you marianne.

i thank you like her i said he was out there they like so much? it is marianne. before i begin i want to send my warm wishes to the great people of tennessee in the wake of the horrible very vicious tornado that killed at least 19 people and injured many more. we are working with the leaders and tennessee including the governor to make sure everything is done part one - - properly. fema is already on the ground full of sorrow the vicious tornadoes i have seen many of them during the three-year period and their results and they are vicious. bad things happen. i went to alabama and i saw the devastation that left and everybody was so incredible

, the people were incredible but so many are killed and many will be going to tennessee on friday. we send our love and prayers of our nation to every family affected. we will get there and recover and rebuild and help them and condolences. a tough tough situation it's bad news when you see that. i am honored to be here with the national association of counties annual legislative conference. a good group of people. i've dealt with you for a long time over the years. every once in a while i will find i don't like. [laughter] but generally speaking. [laughter] [applause] and when one of you are away it's tough to get that job done. [laughter] when you are helpful if we could get it done then we have

good results. and people that were doing before i got here incredible job. some of the most incredible people doing what you do. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] in this room there were over 1200 those that drive directly and profoundly improve the lives of americans each and every day. want you to know my administration will always be your friend and partner and ally and resource as you work to deliver an amazing future for your communities and the country itself. as i said in my state of the union address, three years ago i had a number of the state of the union's already, can you believe it? we were the great american come back.

we launched it with a certain splash that hasn't been seen in a long time our country is so strong now. we have rebuilt the military, cut taxes, cut regulations. [cheers and applause] you know the regulation business better than any group i can think of. sadly 5 percent of you say i wish he would not have cut. [laughter] but 95 percent say there was a problem and we talk about highways that would get to be approved 18 or 20 years i can give you many examples not even highway sometimes just roadways but you cut regulations at a level nobody ever thought possible and we did it with the extraordinary help of local officials, people like yourselves who work with the

department of transportation and other departments that we work with sometimes it would take 20 or 21 years to get approval we have it down at two i want to get it down at one. [applause] meaning it could get rejected if there are safety concerns to look at, environmental concerns we have to look at but to go 20 years and then get a rejection how about you wait ten years and then at the end of ten years they flow and reject you. i guarantee there are some people in the room. [laughter] that's not fun you devote a big chunk of your life to something that you lose three / two. you go home how did you do? not good. [laughter] there is a lot of power in this room. you know the kind of power that you have. yes you do but welcoming over

through all 50 states and new cooperation. [applause] as we speak my administration is working very closely with leaders on the coronavirus. we are working hard on it. vice president pence is leading the white house task force and he's doing a terrific job. [applause] we have already met with state and county and health officials to conduct regular briefings with governors to coordinate our response to contain the disease it just shows you what could happen six or eight weeks ago you never heard of it now all of a sudden it has the world on fire. sometimes not to this extent or a greater extent but things

happen you would never think would happen and then you do a lot of good work and you take care of the situation. people do that better than anybody the levels most advanced public health system we know county health officials play the front-line role to battle public health threats and we are working closely with congress to pass supplemental legislation for state and county health departments. i asked two.5 million, looks like it will give us a.five. [applause] i should say i'll take it. right? i asked for two and a half and they give me a and a half and i said i will take it but everyone is working together very well to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the disease. we have stopped earlier than

people wanted me to do that and that was a wise decision. [applause] we increase travel advisory level the screening measures to impose historic quarantines we urge all of you to share information about basic safety practices for communities back home cdc has all the information it's a good thing to refer to following my remarks today doctor redfield the doctor of the cdc and doing a fantastic job working around the clock with the world's greatest professionals and working very very hard. we are moving aggressively to accelerate the process of this vaccine. i met yesterday with the biggest drug companies pfizer and johnson & johnson and other great companies.

a lot of things are happening they are happening very fast. i said speed it up. they will. they are working very hard. we are moving at maximum speed to develop the therapies not only the vaccines but the therapies for a cure it helps to get the people better faster and reduce the severity of the illness. if you look at what is happened with aids and a tremendous job they have done there. nobody would of thought to be a it's free within nine years. [applause] they are doing a fantastic job. over the last three years to put our country in the best possible position. our economy is prospering like never before we relocated supply chains back into the united states. now it is back in the united

states and also as you probably have noticed after two years complaining of the medicines outside of the united states and want them to be back here. there's no reason we cannot use another country but i wanted to be made here and we have started the process before this happened. [applause] for this is why we have to do it. jobs and growth have soared in the united states at a level that is unprecedented historic and also historic investment in our country no country has had greater power to overcome adversity and what we have done in so many different ways to rebuild the military two two.$5 trillion it's important to have a good budget but if we don't have a strong military. [cheers and applause] we never want to be in a position where you try to explain to people i wish we had a good budget as a run-up to the white house no thank

you. you say you should have spent more money on military i guess. but the military was totally depleted it was an embarrassmen embarrassment. we totally be built the military must one - - most of the equipment is there with planes and missiles and rockets. making the greatest military all made in the usa. [cheers and applause] all made in the usa. every bit. rebuilding our navy. we are doing the job. two.$5 trillion when you think of the importance of the military the most important thing the president does so

218 new federal judges have been named. [cheers and applause] that is a record. only one person beat me percentagewise. does anybody know? president obama was very nice he had 142. who was that one percentage? george washington. he had 100 percent. [applause] we have done a lot more than him. but he had 100 percent the my reading administration make engagement a top priority because of the needs of the local community better than local officials nobody and with your help we feel very

strongly about that with our economy is the envy of the world by the way yesterday did you notice the market went up? the highest, the biggest one day gain in the history of our country. that was a nice surprise it took hurt from the previous week from something we didn't think would happen. that was tremendous and today it is up in the federal reserve cut rates finally. finally. [applause] do wed a little bit more to be competitive with these other countries. the current seas are cut to the level of what their rate is cut they play with the value of their currency we

have a different theory going i don't say necessarily to do it but we have to be competitive with other countries to points more than germany or more than other countries. we should be paying less we have the strength in the greatest country on earth we should be paying less it is too high and it puts us at a competitive disadvantage especially exporting product to other countries. other countries like that i don't like it at all. [applause] so i would like to see our fed lead instead of being led we have created 7 million more job since the election if you said 7 million jobs nobody would have believe that number. [cheers and applause]

the optimistic projection by the previous administration was 2 million jobs that it would be 2 million by this time now it is over 7 million. that something incredible african-american and at the lowest level in history. did you know that? median household income is at the highest level ever recorded president bush it is 450 he go to president obama over eight years $975 and then you go to president trump over a period of three years almost $10000. [cheers and applause] that is a big difference. over a much shorter. and if you take a look at it and look at the results, our

consumer is so powerful and strong it is what's leading our economy nobody has a consumer like we have. for the first time in nearly three decades every single metro area of the united states has seen income rise. every single area. [applause] the economy of rural america. i love rural america. [cheers and applause] that's great. we have all of those cities liquors in the back. we put them in the back corner. i love those beautiful red

areas on the map just a little blue here and there. [laughter] [applause] and what we did for you farmers usmca we got out of the horrible nafta it is like tremendous day and night and then deal with china $50 billion worth of purchases i think the farmer that 50 billion, the highest ever was 16 billion the biggest purchase in the year was 16. we made it and then the day before the agreement how are we doing with the farmer? because they suffered not too much because i gave them and nobody else would do that we bought china out of the tariffs with a lot left over that wasn't so bad that's why the other presidents never did it because they didn't quite get it. but i will say the farmers

have 20 billion and said make it 50. one.5billion people. they said no no no i said what does it matter to you? anyway they agreed to do it so instead of 20 billion the highest ever was 16 million now 50 billion and am a people say sir, the american farmer will not be able to produce that much i said trust me they will produce that much. [applause] i said tell them to go buy more land they get bigger tractors. assuming they get approval. [laughter] the farmers were so incredible when the cnn of the world you can see them looking for someone to speak negatively. china is very smart they pull

back almost anything the farmers were hurt and then we started to help out with money from china. but frankly it was a tremendous thing actually but the farmers never said anything bad. it's terrible and that there is some suffering going on but it's like an operation. and the american farmer almost anybody they tried to stick the microphone what you think of the horrible thing that president trump is in a trade war with china? they say sir it is painful for the should of been done 20 years ago. then cnn then they put in front of somebody else and then they say are you disappointed?

they had 12 weeks ago. i think they convinced cnn to say bad news about me just ten incredible women and convince them you are women that voted for president trump last time. who will you vote for this time? all of them say trump. [applause] what? that was incredible. [applause] four more years. [chanting] >> this is not supposed to be a political rally. [laughter] i don't like talking politics. we are talking the economy and rural america. i don't like talking politics this is a wild group you have here. but it's a great group of peopl people.

you can feel that we have a great group of people and i appreciated the economy of rural america 30 times faster under my administration 30 times and that's not an exaggeration if it is you will read about it tomorrow. [laughter] they will give me a pinocchio. they have to get it somewhere but 30 times sounds like a lot but they are doing great the most prosperous economy in most inclusive society ever to exist under the massive tax cuts governors across the country have designated distressed communities as opportunity zones and neighborhoods have been revitalized. [applause] the opportunity zone senator

scott from south carolina with the opportunities i don't think there's been anything like it and areas that have not seen investment in 40 years people putting tremendous amount sometimes they say rich people are putting money into creating jobs nobody has seen anything like it may be because the economy is so good so what has been very unusual and then the government comes in with massive subsidies this is where people are investing in areas and it is a tremendous success but one day they will it is one of the great successes also workforce

development those that have committed to providing new jobs for 15 million americans we had a great people get jobs. and starting off with 500,000 jobs and did the 500,000 with the first week that is the a lot so many of the great companies like johnson & johnson one had 1 million people and government is in no position they have nowhere to begin is just another program. [laughter] so you just can't do that it

is very specific one of the problems that we have is we have tremendous amounts of companies going back to the united states. [applause] and in many cases they cannot get help taking people that did not have jobs or specifically training in the state of the union address i called on congress to support my plan to offer that education but when i went to school and then to strip it

blindfolded that it was the most incredible thing and that was extraordinary and doing things that are just as important and high paying jobs they are high paying jobs. [applause] and i love the name vocational school. know they train for cars and plumbing and all the things it was incredible now they call them junior colleges you really don't know what that means. so we are getting back to the word vocational that is important that is something i would be very proud of also people have that tremendous ability and we don't allow them to use it we want to help every american have

cutting-edge skills that they need for the jobs for today and tomorrow to put more money in american pockets with regulatory reductions and with those regulations cutting those on one of the most exciting things that happened so let's put up windmills all over your community windmills all over the place and solar powers one - - panels to power all these factories cutting regulation on american energy massively driving down energy prices you can see that happening in the community they don't allow that to happen which in one case new york is an example with the jobs of the pipeline very very

high energy prices we could cut them in new york and new england by half and we are fighting the very hard we would be successfu successful. we would cut the prices down by half it's very on thing for the rest of the country the american energy revolution has an average of $2500 per year now we have more energy independence. how nice is that? [applause] energy independence that's why you don't see the ships going out to the straits what happened to the usa ships? but we are energy independent with the largest producer of

energy by far. [applause] and the keystone xl pipeline we approved and the dakota access pipeline i did that in my first week 48000 jobs were more importantly to take it under the soil nobody even sees it as opposed to trains and other things that can happen but with us today is the commissioner from lee county new mexico i hear we will win new mexico. rebecca please come forward a little bit of what is happening with the energy boom and your state is at the forefront if we don't win it i won't say that. i'm only kidding.

please. >> and the remarks thank you to the county new mexico your agenda is helping us on the drilling permits we see a much healthier america be energy independent in december 2016 right before you came on we had 17 active producing 7 million barrels of oil december 2019 we had 53 active rigs with 18.2 million barrels of oil. [cheers and applause] so right now we county new mexico is the second largest oil and gas producer in the united states thank you so much for all you do for us

energy independence is so important we appreciate who we are. thank you. >> good job. we are not getting political because i refuse to do that but you know if bernie or any of these characters they say we don't want petroleum products. so we are all sold building wall to stop people say hello to the people of new mexico we are reversing decades of calamity policies that decimated your communities and you know that better than anybody in the country we have renegotiated trade deals with

south korea and japan hillary clinton said we want this deal there's 250,000 jobs and she was right. so you can't say she was wrong it was 250,000 that's a horrible deal and we renegotiated that was south korea. that was ridiculous and in january we finally ended the catastrophe i finally signed us canada and mexico agreement into law. [applause] and we also took the strongest ever action to stand up to china's trade abuses that has gone on for years explained that one of 500 billion-dollar per year deficit allowing us to reach a landmark agreement to deliver benefits to

ranchers and farmers working closely with local officials to curb the opioid epidemic that is a problem no matter where you go and for the first time in 31 years some communities 17 or 18 percent but still it is a massive problem for country it is just a terrible problem and it's a world problem also it is pretty tough and frankly no matter where you go unless i have really really strong measures in which case i have no problem but how does that work when you go to the country with very unbelievably

stringent if you go to china you say how is the drug problem president she doesn't know what you're talking about. they don't have trials i won't even tell you the punishment but it's very swift if you go to singapore they don't have a drug problem they are very tough i just don't know if this country is ready for that or if we can do it but the only countries that don't have a drug problem are countries where the retribution is unbelievably tough. if we work together we can dramatically improve public safety of all state and local officials cooperate fully with all requests from our offices. but the i.c.e. officers.

[applause] they are taking people out of your communities by the thousands including ms 13 and other members law enforcement doesn't want to do that that is seriously tough and crazy people in many cases. we are keeping them there and guatemala and honduras so in the past administration they would say no no you cannot bring them back. sit down they would fly over they would not land and the people would have to bring them back they don't do that with us. with us they say thank you very much thank you for bringing these citizens back now they take them immediately and we have set records coming

through the border we built 128 miles of wall we have some going up in new mexico if you think that was easy i could do anything i could re- bill the military at two.5 trillion but if you spend ten cents on a wall they wouldn't do it but we actually did shut down the country but the wall is under construction at 128 miles we will have close to 500 miles close to next year and in the areas where we have the walls you are brilliant but you have great common sense and the good ones the bad ones probably don't there's probably some bad ones but so much of life and government is common sense that we have all

wall the numbers went down to almost zero but the numbers have been incredible the democrats used to say we don't want to wall we will give you drones what are good drones watching thousands of people across the border we will give you technology walls are old-fashioned two things will never change a wall and a wheel. [laughter] come back in a thousand years you will have a wheel come back in a thousand years you will have a wall. probably the only two things that will not change. it is true if you think about it. 128 we are building rapidly that is what border patrol wanted it is expensive very

expensive per square foot but it's a kind of fall that we needed for going to do it we might as well do it right. [applause] we had a big story the wall fell down and then to be surrounded by heavy concrete and steel and made of concrete and rebar inside. one of the newscaster says the wall fell down i said this is bad i said we build a wall and fell down i said what the hell happened they had a tremendous windstorm they were setting in very wet concrete we were holding it up as much as we could we came in at 58 miles per hour and blew it over we held it with cranes so you are putting it up and the concrete was wet they said we just put the concrete and it fell down. they didn't say that.

[laughter] they don't say little things like that. do they. i don't know how you put up with the fake news. [applause] [cheers and applause] americans are safe when we support the heroes of federal state local law enforcement. [applause] my administration they are doing an incredible job and they are very much appreciated and i.c.e. has done an incredible job getting some very bad people out of your communities my administration is reshaping the approach to mental illness calling for almost $5 billion to improve access to mental health care through medicaid. as you know county jails were

not meant to deal with a mental illness problem. [cheers and applause] thank you. [applause] i know that would hit such a high note. that is incredible i do know that is appreciated the way it is meant to be but you understand and the situation you understand all the things we are talking about better than anybody we can imagine you are underground so when you make a statement like that it's meaningful to me with that kind of response.

it is also not compassionate to leave those people with mental illness on the street we must get americans the care that they need and we will work with you to overcome natural disasters such as a tornado in tennessee 62 percent of counties have received major emergency your disaster declarations for the federal government to commit $124 billion to support your citizens. we get you the money quickly we do what we have to do but everybody would say you get it much quicker under our administration. [applause] it used to be unfair to the point it would take you so long to get the money you are

afraid to do the work we are joined today from catherine in florida please come up and share your story about your community recovering from a very big disaster that i know very well. thank you. >> in 2017 president trump with the governmental affairs had the innovative outreach program and had a member from each state this opened the bridge for communication with federal agencies. then hurricane irma hit my state later that year and the family had an issue and with your administration counties were getting into bidding wars of the removal contract of debris and had prices for other municipalities. fortunately i called the

office they immediately set up a conference that quickly resolve the issue and this would not have happened without the incredible outreach of the white house early on. thank you president trump and the iga office in the federal agencies who are such incredible partners in our local government. [applause] thank you for making america a great again. [applause] >> thank you. thank you so much. beautiful i have to say catherine you had to governors you had rick scott previously he did a fantastic job and now your current government on - - governor separate but very similar they want money is that what you want they said

we want more for the panhandle. [applause] i love the panhandle. but they say we need money how much? 500million? that's a lot. but these people having the right governor is so important. the goodwin mom - - the good ones you have great ones in this country you have so many great ones governor lee is a great wine in tennessee texas, florida the job that rick scott did as governor it is so important if you have the wrong governor you understand that better than anybody but they would come up

they would want everything said and done and they need a fast because you have to build the community and debris was the biggest thing it was so crazy one would do very well the other would be very high i said they could use the low one and we did a lot of great things but they really have done a fantastic job. thank you very much. that's beautiful. everyone here is a devoted public servant you love your neighbors and your country and you love this nation like nobody else. were every town is booming as long as i am president the federal government is on your side 100 percent.

[cheers and applause] you will always have a very important seat at the table and always find an open door at the white house. . . . .